Valentine's Day - How Sweet It Is

Ok, Valentine's day gives me mixed emotions. On one hand, I think it's a nifty marketing ploy to get us all to buy a bunch of stuff that's useless/tacky/overpriced. On the other hand, I think it's nice to be reminded to cherish your partner and shower him/her with affection and gifts...and I loooooove chocolate.

Chocolate can fit into a healthy lifestyle, especially dark chocolate, in small amounts: Maybe it can even lower blood pressure.

Look for some dark chocolate (and milk chocolate) treats in Dining Services today. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Chocolate and Exercise, Huh?

Researchers at the UC San Diego have discovered a possible link between eating chocolate and improved exercise capacity. A flavonol in dark chocolate, called epicatechin, was fed to mice in liquid form in a study of oxidative capacity and fatigue resistance in mouse muscle. Check out the study at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21788351

The researchers found that the mice fed epicatechin instead of plain water had increased exercise endurance capacity.

So, should you eat a candy bar prior to your next long run? Sadly, no. The amount of epicatechin fed to the mice in the study equates to a sixth of an ounce of dark chocolate or one half of one square of one chocolate bar. Bummer.

But there is good news about dark chocolate overall. It can be part of a healthy intake. People who regularly eat small amounts of dark chocolate have lower rates of heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure. So eat some dark chocolate, exercise regularly and go for balance in your life!