Posts Tagged ‘antioxidants’

Indulge in Chocolate, It Is Good For You

Friday, May 14th, 2010 by Lena

When you were a child, have you ever dreamed of going inside a chocolate factory and wondered what it was like to swim in a river made of chocolate?  What child would not fantasize about chocolate?  Its creamy texture and bittersweet taste are deeply ingrained into our young heads.  If you smother healthy stuff like fruits and grains in chocolate, they will definitely get eaten.  Of course, we also remember our parents telling us that too much chocolate will make our tummy hurt and our teeth fall out.

For many people, chocolate is the ultimate comfort food.  For them, eating a piece of chocolate makes them feel like they are being transported to a time in your childhood when you were still innocent and free of worries.  You may think this is just psychological, but recent studies have shown that there are more health benefits from chocolate apart from just getting good feelings.

Recent studies discovered that chocolate is rich in flavonoids.  These are anti-oxidants that are formed from the combination of amino acids called acetate and phenylalanine.  Flavonoids neutralize the effects we get from free radicals in food and the environment, which are bad for us because they destroy the cells in our bodies.  Did you know that eating 1.5 oz of dark chocolate has the equivalent amount of antioxidants contained in a cup of black tea?  Both of them contain around 800mg of antioxidants, so which would you choose?

Yummy Chocolate

Whiskey Chocolate Brownies by FotoosVanRobin, on Flickr

Aside from containing antioxidants, chocolate also contains theobromine, which is an alkaloid compound usually found in cacao plants. Theobromine and caffeine are very similar in that they improve blood circulation and can be used as diuretics and heart stimulants.  However, the effects of theobromine are weaker compared to caffeine and the amount of it contained in chocolates are very minimal.  Unfortunately, theobromine poisoning can occur in the elderly and they are cautioned against consuming too much chocolate. This alkaloid compound is also dangerous for pets, who have an inability to digest it.
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Eating Healthy, the alternative that’s better

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 by macinger84

Reducing weight does not suggest to starve yourself. In fact, there some food items that you could adjoin to your daily diet that would lend you a hand to swift up your body metabolism and essentially help you reduce weight quicker.

Add some of these foodstuffs to your daily diet-

Apple
Having an apple prior to a meal can help you out to eat less of the meal. It is because they are rich in fiber, so they are stomach stodgy. Some more preeminent facts about apples are that they are not only filling but also very rich in healthy antioxidants, and they are very easy to move which means it can be the ideal adding up to, lunch, breakfast dinner or as an splendid snack.

Oatmeal
Oatmeal is one more eminent weight loss inoculation. One bowl of oatmeal in the breakfast may not just taste deliciously, but it is also very stodgy as well as fantastic healthy food for you. You can also add some of the fresh fruits in it. If you choose to miss eating it unaccompanied, you could use it in any of your preferred recipe. For instance, rather than using breadcrumbs for your meatloaf add one cup of oatmeal.

Steak
unbelievably it has been clear in investigation that natives have reduced more weight when adding red meat in their daily diet than natives consuming equal calories have but with very less beef incorporated. The protein content in the steak aids you uphold muscle mass when you are losing weight.

Roasting or grilling a 4 oz plateful of beef and amalgam it with good for health vegetables or piecing and adding it on a salad it a ideal way to pace up your body system plus make the dish delicious.

Blueberries
About all berries are fine for you; the berries have the maximum antioxidant content. In addition, they are also rich in fiber. This is an additional accessible fruit. You may append berries to breakfast cereal, or just intersperse of puffed rice on top of your berries. You may add it in yogurt or you may also add it to your oatmeal for a delicious tang. They are delicious and advantageous too.

Yogurt
According to some studies people on a less calorie diet that incorporated yogurt reduced 61% much fat than individuals whose diet does not comprise yogurt in the diet. In addition, yogurt is one more food item that might make you sense full for rather a short time after you have added it in your diet, resulting you to intake less.

Olive Oil
Olive oil may tame the hunger because it satisfies your hunger. You could trickle olive oil on the vegetables and salads or muddle it up with pasta, sautéed garlic and fresh basil, for an tremendously healthy, yet fulfilling meal.

Eggs
Eggs are an additional helpful foodstuff to reduce weight. The natives on a less calorie diet, who eat an egg along with its yolk with jelly and toast daily, reduce double as weight lost by as someone who only eats a bagel.