Thursday, August 30, 2007

A Sweet Way To Lower Blood Pressure


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Who would have though that anything as delicious as chocolate could also be healthy? But it's true, studies now show that eating a piece of dark chocolate everyday is good for your heart, and can actually lower your blood pressure several points.

Now, before you go gorging yourself on this delicious treat, listen up! Not all chocolate are created equal. The only chocolate from which you can get these healthy heart benefits is Dark chocolate. No milk chocolate! No white chocolate! The only thing these types of chocolate will give you is fat in your hips and thighs.

So why is Dark chocolate so different?

Dark chocolate have a higher content of flavonoids which is an antioxidant that has been shown to have several beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system; including, decreasing the accumulation of cholesterol in blood vessels, preventing the accumulation of blood platelets which contributes to the risk of blood clots that produce stroke, and heart attack, decreasing inflammation in the body, and relaxing the blood vessels.

According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, all you need to eat is a quarter of an ounce of dark chocolate daily to receive its blood pressure lowering effect. Also, the flavonoids are found in the cocoa so, you need to eat dark chocolate that has at least 70% cocoa content. I personally like Lindt's Excellence Extra Dark with 85% cocoa, and Ghirardelli's Twilight Delight with 72% Cocoa.

Dark chocolate is becoming very popular, and easily available so, you should not have any problem finding one that you like. Enjoying a piece of dark chocolate at the end of day when you're sitting back, and relaxing is another way to lower your blood pressure, and keep your heart safe and healthy.

To find more easy, and natural ways to lower your blood pressure, and maintain it within a healthy range, check out The Silent Killer Exposed