Medical professionals have been highlighting the health benefits that some simple and enjoyable foods tend to offer – including chocolate. In fact, Beth Israel of Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, says chocolate can keep a heart healthy.
Chocolate contains flavonoids which act as antioxidants to help maintain cardiac health. Dark chocolate especially has antioxidants that can balance certain hormones. Some studies suggest that chocolate consumption will reduce stress.
People who are prone to stress and high blood pressure may be prone to health issues. This, in turn, may put you in a higher rate class for life insurance.
“They protect the body from free radicals, which can cause damage that leads to heart disease,” explained Dr. Murray Mittleman, a cardiologist at BIDMC. “Flavonoids can also relax blood vessels and lower blood pressure, which may reduce the risk of certain illnesses, such as heart attacks, hypertension and atherosclerosis.”
According to the hospital, research has found that eating chocolate once a week can help reduce one’s risk of cardiac death by 44 percent, while eating it twice a week can reduce that risk by as much as 66 percent.
Harvard Medical School suggests drinking two cups of hot chocolate a day which may improve memory by preserving blood flow. Chocolate has also been known to lower LDL cholesterol, the bad type.
But remember chocolate that is covered in whipped cream, incessant with sugar and all the other additives is not the claim to an old treat but new healthy lifestyle. However, organic chocolate bars that you can make yourself provide the better stuff.
With these things in mind, a diet that includes chocolate may help hold off health problems as well as elevated life insurance premiums.
And, thank you, I will have another brownie!