By David Blyweiss, M.D., Advanced Natural Wellness

• Say “I love you” with this rich and tasty delight
• Super-charge your lover’s heart, brain, metabolism and more
• But NEVER, EVER do this!

When I stopped into Walgreen’s the other day, the candy aisle was a complete wreck. It looked like they had just held a frenzied yard sale in that section of store. But it only took me a few moments to realize why…

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner!

Every year when this holiday comes around, chocolates start flying off store shelves like crazy. It’s estimated that a whopping 58 million pounds of this rich treat was sold during Valentine’s week last year. And that’s a heck of a lot of chocolate.

A box of chocolates may seem like a trivial gift to some people. And the truth is I used to fall into that category. But now I know better.

It turns out the right kind of chocolate can have tremendous value when it comes to your sweetie’s health. And what better gift can you give to anyone than the gift of health? While it might surprise you to learn better health can be found in a box of chocolates, there’s no denying the power behind this rich indulgence.

Chocolate, which is made from the cocoa plant, is chock-full of flavonoids, such as flavanols and epicatechin. This is a group of antioxidants that reduce oxidative damage and inflammation in the body. And the higher the cocoa content, the more power the chocolate will have.

In fact, when researchers compared the antioxidant value in cocoa, red wine, green tea and black tea, they made a surprising discovery. The antioxidant concentration in cocoa turned out to be almost 2 times stronger than red wine. It was 2 to 3 times stronger than green tea and 4 to 5 times stronger than that of black tea.

The enormous antioxidant power found in chocolate has gained the attention of scientists around the globe. It’s been heavily researched in the past several years. And studies conducted in 2012 alone have revealed vast benefits associated with this much-loved treat.

So you have every reason in the world to tell your sweetheart “I love you” by presenting them with this rich and tasty gift. Just take a look at how eating a few grams of chocolate each week can protect his or her heart, brain, skin, sugar metabolism and more…

I have to admit. I love nibbling on a piece of dark chocolate every now and then. It used to be my “guilty pleasure.” But with all the good news about chocolate these days, I can now enjoy my indulgence without guilt. And for some reason, that makes it taste even better.

Here’s what the most recent research is telling us chocolate can do for everyone:

Reduce the risk of stroke. A study released last September found that men who consumed more than 2 ounces of chocolate each week had a 17% lower chance of experiencing a stroke. Previous studies show the consumption of chocolate also produces a lower risk of stroke in women.

Boost your brain power. Another study, published in Hypertension last September, finds cocoa can help improve brain function in people with mild cognitive impairment.

90 older individuals drank cocoa beverages containing 990 mg. flavanols, 520 mg. or 45 mg. daily. After 12 weeks, people in the higher flavanol groups were able to complete mental exams much more quickly. They also had greater verbal fluency scores. In addition to the brain-boosting effects, insulin resistance and blood pressure were both reduced.

Lower LDL cholesterol, improve blood sugar and raise HDL levels. Research published in April, 2012 showed dark chocolate may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by improving glucose and cholesterol levels. Those who consumed dark chocolate had lower blood glucose and LDL cholesterol coupled with higher HDL cholesterol.

Additional research shows dark chocolate can…

• Improve DNA resistance to oxidative stress
• Increase insulin sensitivity
• Lower cardiovascular risk
• Reduce inflammation
• Improve arterial function
• …And may even protect against cancer and reduce symptoms of chronic fatigue

But you can’t just run out and buy any old kind of chocolate to get these results. It’s very important that you know exactly what to look for when choosing your chocolates. Otherwise you could do more harm than good.

The one thing you don’t want to do is go out and buy the love of your life a cheap, heart-shaped box of chocolates. About 36 million of these chocolates were sold last year, and that’s a travesty. These inexpensive chocolate gifts are typically over-processed, filled with sugar, stripped of antioxidants and have very little nutritional value. So it’s something you never, ever, want to do.

You want to look for the “good stuff.” By the good stuff, I mean dark chocolate that hasn’t had all of the flavanoids processed out of it.

Here are some tips to keep your gift of chocolate healthy and wholesome…

1. U.S. chocolate doesn’t contain nearly the amount of cocoa as the dark chocolate produced in Sweden. Over there, they require at last 35% cocoa solids compared to 15% here in the U.S. So select a tasty delight from a high quality Swiss manufacturer to get the biggest health benefits.
2. Research shows milk can interfere with the absorption of the healthy flavanoids found in chocolate. That’s a big reason not to give our sweetheart a box of milk or white chocolate. Neither of them will produce the same benefits. Stick with dark chocolate for healthier results.
3. If you’re the recipient of a box of dark chocolate keep this in mind. Chocolate is a very high calorie food and can cause weight gain. You only need about 1.5 to 3.5 ounces of dark chocolate a week to get positive results. So don’t gobble it all down in one setting. Enjoy it over the course of several weeks.

This is a very special time of year. So make it super-special and let your better half know just exactly how important they are to you.

References:
American Chemical Society (2003, November 6). Hot Cocoa Tops Red Wine And Tea In Antioxidants; May Be Healthier Choice. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 14, 2012, from http://www.sciencedaily.com¬ /releases/2003/11/031106051159.htm

Larsson SC, Virtamo J, Wolk A. Chocolate consumption and risk of stroke: a prospective cohort of men and meta-analysis. Neurology. 2012 Sep 18;79(12):1223-9.

Larsson SC, Virtamo J, Wolk A. Chocolate consumption and risk of stroke in women. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2011 Oct 18;58(17):1828-9.

Desideri G, Kwik-Uribe C, Grassi D, Necozione S, Ghiadoni L, Mastroiacovo D, Raffaele A, Ferri L, Bocale R, Lechiara MC, Marini C, Ferri C. Benefits in cognitive function, blood pressure, and insulin resistance through cocoa flavanol consumption in elderly subjects with mild cognitive impairment: the Cocoa, Cognition, and Aging (CoCoA) study. Hypertension. 2012 Sep;60(3):794-801

Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) (2012, April 24). Beyond apples: A serving a day of dark chocolate might keep the doctor away. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 14, 2012, from http://www.sciencedaily.com¬ /releases/2012/04/120424205143.htm

I. Andújar, M. C. Recio, R. M. Giner, and J. L. Ríos. Cocoa Polyphenols and Their Potential Benefits for Human Health. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2012; 2012: 906252.

Serafini, M. et al., Plasma antioxidants from chocolate. 2003. Nature 424, 1013