This is the everything-you-need-to-know-to-be-as-healthy-as-possible newsletter, brought to you by Kristy Russ, pharmacist and health consultant. I have close to 20 years experience in helping people improve their health. I specialize in nutritional medicine, which is the secret of "true" preventative medicine. Yes, if I'm successful in getting people to follow my advice, I will put myself out of a job.

For even more information go to www.antioxidants-make-you-healthy.com

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The New Health Food:

CHOCOLATE!

Yes, I said chocolate! Isn't that what you've always wanted to hear? Research is showing that it could actually be called healthfood. Woohoo!

Message to my long-time e-zine subscribers: Yes, this is a "re-run" of an old e-zine- if it's sounding familiar, that's why. I just got back from a 2 week vacation (which is always a wonderful break to rejuvenate, thankyou) and realized today (Monday) that it's already April and my e-zine is due tomorrow morning. But I honestly couldn't think of a better topic even if I had the time. So please forgive my repetition and refresh your memory about this timely issue that's well worth repeating...

In honor of Easter this weekend and the fact that most people are bombarded with chocolate, I think that the health benefits of chocolate are worth emphasizing. (Cuts down on the guilt, which is itself an unhealthy thing...)

Here are some of the benefits that chocolate may have:

• Reduced atherosclerosis
• Lower LDL(bad) cholesterol and triglycerides
• Higher HDL (good) cholesterol
• Better glucose control
• Decreased risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes

Seriously, several studies involving hundreds of thousands of people showed that those who ate chocolate at least once a week had a 37% lower risk of heart disease, a 29% lower risk of stroke, and a 31% lower risk of diabetes. That's significant.

The reason is likely that chocolate is absolutely packed with antioxidants.

Quiz: Which drink do you think has the most antioxidants? Red wine, green tea or cocoa? You're guessing green tea, right? Wrong. It's cocoa! It has twice as much antioxidants as red wine and three times as much as green tea.

If you don't know why antioxidants are so important, go to antioxidants-make-you-healthy.com and get excited about these guys.

The antioxidants in chocolate seem to be particularly good for vascular health because they do an especially good job of preventing atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), blood clotting, inflammation and help lower blood pressure.

Just grabbing a chocolate bar from the gas station is probably not the best choice though. Aside from the huge amount of calories, sugar and saturated fat, milk chocolate has pretty much the lowest amount of antioxidants. It's the cocoa that contains all the antioxidants, so the darker the chocolate, the better it is for you.

Having a cup of homemade cocoa, made with actual cocoa and skim milk would be the ideal choice. Regular cocoa is fine, but if you can find raw cocoa that hasn't been processed with high heat, you'll get even more antioxidants (3 times) than the regular, store-bought kind.

But even lowly milk chocolate in moderation is beneficial. The studies I quoted above didn't differentiate between types of chocolate and included milk chocolate. Regular consumption (once or twice a week) seemed to be the key. Isn't that awesome that it's actually worse for you to limit yourself? Have I made your day or what?


So make a request to the Easter bunny for DARK chocolate, if you can. And don't beat yourself up if you indulge- it's not nearly as bad as you're thinking. Of course, chocolate does have calories also, so moderation is best. But if you're going to indulge in something, chocolate is a healthier choice than potato chips- just sayin'...

And as a confirmed chocoholic, I will be sure to have some chocolate at least once a week. A sacrifice I'm willing to make for my health...

Because Laughter Really IS Good Medicine...

• Chocolate is a vegetable: Chocolate is derived from cocoa beans. Beans = vegetable.
• Sugar is derived from either sugar CANE or sugar BEETS. Both are plants, which places them in the vegetable category. Thus, chocolate is a vegetable.
• To go one step further, chocolate candy bars also contain milk, which is dairy. So candy bars are a health food.

Chocolate covered raisins, cherries, orange slices and strawberries all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want.

If you've got melted chocolate all over your hands, you're eating it too slowly.

The problem: how to get 2 pounds of chocolate home from the store in a hot car. The solution: eat it in the parking lot.

Diet tip: eat a chocolate bar before each meal. It'll take the edge off your appetite, and you'll eat less.

If I eat equal amounts of dark chocolate and white chocolate, is that a balanced diet? Don't they actually counteract each other?

Chocolate has many preservatives. Preservatives make you look younger.

Put "eat chocolate" at the top of your list of things to do today. That way, at least you'll get one thing done.

A nice box of chocolates can provide your total daily intake of calories in one place. Now, isn't that handy?

If not for chocolate, there would be no need for control top pantyhose. An entire garment industry would be devastated. You can't let that happen, can you?

What's New at
Antioxidants-Make-You-Healthy.com

Antioxidant skin care is one of the newest trends in beauty. That makes sense when you understand that over 90% of the signs of aging are caused by free radical damage.

BUT make sure you're using products that actually deliver or you're just wasting your money.

Antioxidant Skin Care

The Best Antioxidant Skin Care Products

Looking for antioxidant skin care products? There are more out there that are completely useless than those that actually do any good. So the odds of you choosing a good one are pretty slim actually...

The Best Antioxidants Skin Care Products

Antioxidants skin care products: you need more than creams

Usually when you talk about skin care, you're talking about things you're putting on your face. But when you're talking about antioxidants skin care products, the most effective way to get the results you're looking for is...

Antioxidants Skin Care Products

Antioxidant Discussion Forums

Create your very own webpage on my site! (Don't worry- you don't need to know anything about how to do it. If you can type, done!) If you have an interesting story to share or have a comment or question about a topic on the site, you can post it right onto the website. Read about how others have been affected by antioxidants, make a comment on someone else's submission or post your own.

It's fun. It's free. And you don't have to register for anything.

Click here to post your own story, comment or question.

Nutrition News

Regular Chocolate Consumption Linked To Leaner Bodies (A perfect article for this month's topic...)

Skin Tone Linked To Fruit And Veg Consumption

Fat Intake Affects Sperm Quality

Daily Sugary Drinks Raise Heart Disease Risk In Males

Improving Heart Health With Hot Pepper Compound

Comparing Disease Progression Of MS Between Consumption And Non-Consumption Of Alcohol, Wine, Coffee And Fish

See you next month...

Good Health to You,

Kristy Russ, BScPharm Pharmacist and Health Consultant

P.S. Give your body the best nutrition possible. You'll not only feel better now, but you'll also have that quality of life in the future that you've always imagined for yourself. Click here to find out more.