Holiday Dieting; A Sweet Way To Cheat!

Holiday Dieting; A Sweet Way To Cheat!nnnnnIf your diet is making you a humbug this season, there’s somengood news. Turns out dark chocolate, that decadent confection,nmay actually be good for you!nnnnYes, recently conducted studies published in the American Journalnof Clinical Nutrition have shown that a dose of dark chocolatenwill heed all sorts of healthy results. And with the holidaysnjust around the corner, this news couldn’t have come at a nbetter time.nnnnSo just for fun, I thought I’d conduct a mini-research projectnof my own and get the “skinny” on our friend dark chocolate.nHere’s some of the interesting “factoids” I came up with:nnnn• Cocoa—the precursor to chocolate--has been around a nlong time. A few thousand years, in fact. It has been thoughtnthat cocoa beans were brought to Europe in the 1500’s bynChristopher Columbus.nnnn• Cocoa, later made into chocolate, was given to AmericannSoldiers in WWII. A source of high energy, each solider was givenna three chocolate bar per day ration, according to historicalndata.nnnn• Researchers started getting more involved when studiesnbegan showing that in addition to being a high energy food,nchocolate also seems to stimulate elevated moods. Researchersnfound truth to this, showing that dark chocolate does, in fact,nincrease levels of the mood-altering chemicals such as serotoninnand endorphins.nnnn• Some researchers have also gone on to conduct major nstudies to prove the correlation between chocolate and a truenphysiological craving. (Check out “Why Women Need Chocolate,” nwritten by Debra Waterhouse, Registered Dietician in 1999).nnnn• And, the best news yet. Upon further study, it has beennfound that the “flavonoids” in dark chocolate are scientifically nproven to act as antioxidants, preventing “bad” cholesterol (LDL) nin the blood from oxidizing and clogging arteries.nnnnSo, if you are looking for a healthy way to “cheat” this holidaynseason, dark chocolate may not be all together a bad option. nFacts aside, however, and before you run out to fill your shoppingncart full, keep these guidelines in mind:nnnnnn• Heed the advice of Aristotle: “Everything in moderation.”nRefrain from taking the “chocolate factory tour.” Keep yournchocolate fix to a minimum. Enjoy it, but please don’t over do.nnnn• When you are shopping for chocolate, try to find “dark” nvarieties with at least 70% cocoa.nnnn• Also, make sure “sugar” or “butter fat” are not the firstnitems listed.nnnnIf you’d like to skip the treat and not the fun, send a virtualnchocolate postcard from this fun chocolate website (no caloriesnincluded) : http://www.virtualchocolate.com/index.cfmnnnnnTo summarize my findings, it appears that dark chocolate is in nfact our friend (and we will just leave its aphrodisiac qualitiesnto your own private discussion groups, thanks). nnnnAs for the cravings….Well, do we really “need” chocolate?nnnnSurvey says: Dunno. But, with the holidays upon us, a Hershey’snSpecial Dark Chocolate once in a while—now available in the n“sugar free” variety, mind you--sounds sweet enough to me. nnnn(Research Ref: Eat To Beat Cancer, Hatherill. 1998 St. Martinsn Press, New York)n