Why Chocolates can be good for the Health?

Chocolates is the crowds favorite, almost everybody can’t resist having it. Young and old enjoy eating chocolates as a part of dessert or just fulfilling their cravings. But have you wonder if having a sweet tooth for chocolates can give you health benefits?

There were a research that proves chocolates specifically dark chocolates and cocoa powder has health benefits and it can even make life sweeter and longer. According to these researches, chocolates have substances that are natural antioxidant like resveratrol. Antioxidants are substances or nutrients in our foods which can prevent or slow the oxidative damage to our body. Antioxidants act as "free radical scavengers" and hence prevent and repair damage done by these free radicals.

And the antioxidant that was recently found resveratrol in chocolates. It is produced by certain fruits and vegetables including grapes, raspberries, mulberries and peanuts. The difference of resveratrol to other antioxidants is that it can cross the blood-brain barrier to help protect your brain and nervous system. Here the other health benefits of resveratrol :

• Protecting your cells from free radical damage
• Inhibiting the spread of cancer, especially prostate cancer
• Lowering your blood pressure
• Keeping your heart healthy and improving elasticity in your blood vessels
• Normalizing your anti-inflammatory response
  

Though chocolates have some health benefits, from nutritional perspective there are still better food to eat than chocolate. Here are some advices from Dr. Mercola if you are eating chocolates:

• If you eat chocolate, only eat dark chocolate

Dark chocolate has antioxidant properties, which can actually help to protect the body from damaging oxidative stress. It appears that adding milk to the chocolate cancels out the antioxidant effects, according to a study published in the journal Nature.

• Only eat chocolate if you're healthy

Chocolate, even if it is dark, still contains large quantities of sugar, and eating sugar is one of the most devastating things you can do to your health. If you're sick, your immune system is working hard to combat your illness, but sugar weakens the immune system. So eating chocolate will only make it harder for your immune system to fight the illness.

• Make sure you eat it in moderation

Even if you're healthy, you don't want to eat huge amounts of chocolate. The key is to eat it in moderation (something like once every two weeks) and enjoy it when you eat it. A small bit of chocolate can be very satisfying if you savor each bite, rather than just wolfing it down.

Top Six Health Myths

As we the world continues to evolve, people tend to find ways to answer their health problems from what causes it to what can cure it. And sometimes we are not getting the right information we really need.

According to Dr. Mercola with Rachael Droege here are the top six health myths:

• Myth: Sun Causes Skin Cancer

Experts say that being exposed to the sun can cause skin cancer but the truth is that it actually prevents cancer and other diseases because it promotes formation of Vitamin D. What you should remember is that you should be cautious about sun exposure protect yourself from burning under the sun.

• Myth: Milk Does a Body Good

Commercial pasteurized milk is not a health food and should be avoided, when milk is pasteurized the structure of the milk proteins changes (denaturization) into something far less than healthy.

• Myth: Saturated Fat Causes Heart Disease

Saturated fats in the foods we eat that is causing all of this heart disease, but rather, and far more, it is the excess carbohydrates from our starch- and sugar-laden diet that is making people fat and unhealthy, and leading to epidemic levels of a host of diseases such as diabetes and later, heart disease. Trans fats are another major contributing factor.

• Myth: Fish is Good for You

Sadly, as fish would otherwise be one of the healthiest meats on the planet since it is packed with the incredibly beneficial omega-3 fats, fish (and shellfish) easily accumulate high levels of chemical residues from the water they live in. Residues in fish can be as much as 9 million times the amount found in the water!

• Myth: Low-Fat Diets are Healthy

Your body cannot function properly without adequate amounts of fat--it influences everything from blood clotting to vitamin absorption to brain function.

• Myth: Whole Grains are Good for You

While nearly everyone, including myself, agrees that whole grains are better for you than refined grains, whole grains are still not something that most people should be eating. And high insulin levels benefits from avoiding grains, yes even whole grains.

For more information Health Myths, subscribe to Mercola Free Newsletter

Energy Drinks Can Be Lethal

Energy drinks are beverages that contain large doses of caffeine and other legal stimulants like ephedrine, guarana, and ginseng giving you a quick boost of energy. This kind of beverage has been popping up all over the supermarket and convenience store shelves. And has grown its popularity for the past years, with $4.7 billion in sales in 2007, up from $3.5 billion last 2006. With these popularity health professionals was worried about who’s drinking them.

These caffeine-loaded beverage causes blood to become sticky, a pre-cursor to cardiovascular problems such as stroke. One hour after drinking energy drink like Red Bull, can make your blood system becomes abnormal, as might be expected from a patient with cardiovascular disease.

Another bad effect of drinking energy drink is when it is mixed with alcohol. It is combining stimulants with depressants which usually occur in bars. Energy drink like Red Bull when mixed with alcohol became a popular bar drinks like "Vodka Bulls" and "Yager Bombs”.

The combined effect of these substances is unknown, but researchers say overloading your body with heavy stimulants and heavy depressants could lead to heart failure and according to previous news stories about fatal outcomes from this deadly mixture, that’s not just a theory.

Everything that is overdone or excessive is bad. And instead of taking artificial energy boosters like energy drinks, you should know the reasons why you feel tired and look for more natural ways in increasing energy levels.

Here are some reasons why you lack energy:

• Poor food choice
• Low-quality food
• Stressful lifestyle
• Negative emotions
• Lack of sleep
• Lack of exercise
  

And according to Dr. Mercola's Natural Health Newsletter increasing your energy levels, then, is as easy as remedying these factors by:

• Eating right for your nutritional type
• Increasing your intake of omega-3 fats
• Eliminating grains and sugars from your diet
• Releasing emotional stress and negativity with the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)
• Sleeping when you’re tired
• Exercising

Child Overfeeding is a Crime

Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. Overweight and obesity among adults and even children has been alarming because of the increasing rate. According to WHO latest projections indicate that globally in 2005, approximately 1.6 billion adults (age 15 +) are overweight, 400 million are obese and 20 million children under the age of 5 years are overweight. And because of these figures many health institution are conducting research and giving out information about this.

On the other hand there are health professionals that are considering child overfeeding as a crime. This is because of the health consequences of being overweight and obese. Overweight children may lead to other chronic diseases like high blood, childhood diabetes. And as they grow old there are chances that they will became obese adult and thus are at risk of developing adult heart disease, musculoskeletal disorders and some cancers and eventually early death.

Knowing all the effects of overweight and obesity we should remember not to over feed our children. As parents and wise adults, we should be the one guiding the children on what foods are healthy and what is the right amount. And also taking them to a doctor for regular check up can give you an idea on how you can take care of them. Adults are the one taking care of the children and you are the one to Take Control of Your Health.