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 help people get healthy, and more importantly, stay that way so they're not miserable and just slowly dying for the last 20 years of their lives, which IS the "norm" today.

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


Hi,

Right now I am making the last-minute preparations to go on vacation for 3 weeks. Woohoo! The longest I've ever been away and I am super excited.

It's a Mediterranean cruise for just my hubby and I (another exciting part). I will be crossing several places to see off of my bucket list in one fell swoop. It's definitely not going to be a relaxing vacation, but I am ridiculously excited...

In honor of Easter this weekend and the fact that most people will be 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...)

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!

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...

Another Grateful Customer...

I would encourage anyone to do the same!!"

Ann K.

What program is she talking about?

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?

See you next time...

Good Health to You,

Kristy Russ, BScPharm
Pharmacist and Health Consultant

P.S. Discover the secret of "true prevention". 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.