Harmonia Health

Archive for September, 2009

In case you haven’t heard – dark chocolates have grown in demand recently due to studies showing the incredible health benefits of chocolate consumption as well as the fact that it is a lower fat chocolate!  More and more people are now including dark chocolates in their diet. So in addition to the fact that eating chocolates can give you feelings of relaxation and a natural high, dark chocolates can actually promote good health. What is it that makes dark chocolate a healthy choice? The answer lies in the ingredients of dark chocolates which include more cacao, less sugar and no milk additives. These ingredients are the reason why the expression “plain chocolate” is frequently used to refer to talk about dark chocolates. With all these health benefits attributed to dark chocolates, is there a catch that you need to be aware of?

The latest studies show that eating 1.6-ounce of dark chocolate daily have several health benefits. In fact it may begin to replace eating apples as a way to avoid getting sick! The results show that the flavonoids content of dark chocolates can lower the risks of heart diseases because it promotes blood clotting.  That in turn helps increase the blood flow through the heart. Secondly, dark chocolates can help in lower blood pressure and cholesterol.  It gives you feelings of greater relaxation and acts as natural anti-depressant.  Other benefits include: enhanced digestion and appetite, reduction in potential cancers, higher levels of antioxidants in the body, lessening in the decline of brain activity due to age, and potential aid in the treatment of anemia and kidney stones, among several other ailments.

What makes dark chocolate healthy?  Basically it is the natural components of dark chocolate which comes from the plant seeds of cacao. These components carry the same benefits you get from eating fruits and vegetables. Additionally, dark chocolates are healthy to eat is because their ingredient mix is different from the regular commercial chocolates. High quality gourmet chocolates include dark chocolates which are made with cacao and mixed with less milk, less sugar, and nougats or caramel as found in several popular chocolate bars. On top of this, the dark chocolate substance called flavonoids is believed to have more antioxidants than those found in other fruits such as strawberries. This health factor can also help lower blood pressure and balance some hormones in your body.

So with all of these good things said, is there a catch to eating dark chocolates? Not really, though there is a precaution – that too much of anything is still bad for anyone. Eating too much dark chocolate can still be fattening even though only 1/3 of its fat is bad for your health. Consuming dark chocolates by the pound will definitely increase your calorie intake and will convert into unwanted pounds if it isn’t outweighed by your amount of exercise! Better cut out or lessen other foods in your diet to make room for dark chocolates if you are not satisfied with the recommended 1.6 ounce daily intake.

You hear all the time that stress has lots of harmful effects on your health and body. This fact is proven many times that most diseases have their roots in in stress.

So how does stress affect your health? This is an important question, and in just a few minutes, you are going to discover the answer in this guide.

Here are some of the most common effects and signs you’ll see because of stress…

- Anxiety
- Depression
- Overeating
- Chest pain
- Loss of memory
- Headache
- Shortness of your breath
- Hair loss
- Loss of sleep
- Heart diseases
- And much more.

You see? And these are just a few of hundreds of dangerous effects and symptoms of stress. Also people who are stressed are twice more likely to get a heart attack or even cancer.

Stress has many serious effects on your health, and that’s why you want to find easy stress relief solutions to get back your healthy life without stress.

Stress has both short-term and long-term effects. It’s natural that we are sometimes stressed. After all, if you are alive, it’s totally natural that there are some days that cause you stress. The next day, you’ll be all fine.

But long term stress is what causes most of the bad health effects and is dangerous for you. If being stressed becomes a habit for you, it is when you want to do something about it and find stress relief ways to get over it.

The good news is, there are many different stress relief solutions to help you. You can choose the method that matches your taste and lifestyle more. The choice is yours.

Some people go to a doctor and simply take stress relief medicine to try to get over their stress. This method may work temporarily, but it is just a weak way of hiding your stress symptoms. But your stress will come back as soon as the effect of the medicine is gone.