When most people think of health food they don't automatically think of chocolate. But the proof is in the pudding, or the souffle or cake - depending on your preference. Chocolate, no matter what it's form, can actually be considered a health food. Indulging in your favorite premium chocolate treat can bring a variety of unexpected health benefits.
Premium Chocolate for Health - Make the Right Selection
There are a wide variety of wonderful cocoa products for sale out there but if you want to get all of the health benefits, you need to make your selection wisely. While all chocolate has health benefits, dark chocolate is the most beneficial type. Dark chocolate has many more health benefits than milk chocolate and other common types of chocolate. Seek out dark chocolate treats to insure that you're getting the most health-wise.
Benefits of Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolate can be great for your heart! Since chocolate derives from plants, it has a lot of the same benefits as a dark vegetables. Flavonoids are important antioxidants that are in many foods, including chocolate! Flavonoids can help curb free radicals, which are harmful chemicals that can increase your likelihood for heart disease. When you eat dark chocolate, you can help reduce the amount of free radicals floating around in your body - which can prevent heart problems down the road.
In addition studies have shown that eating a small amount of dark premium chocolate each day can reduce blood pressure. If you have high blood pressure, you can significantly reduce your blood pressure with this simple habit each day.
If that weren't enough, premium chocolate can also offer you lower cholesterol. Dark chocolate specifically has been shown to reduce LDL cholesterol by up to 10 percent. LDL cholesterol is the "bad" type of cholesterol that can significantly impair your health. Reducing it should be your top priority - so that means that chocolate should be on your menu.
The Mood Boosting Benefits of Premium Chocolate
Chocolate is not only heart healthy and great for cholesterol levels but it also has some interesting mood boosting benefits as well.
• Chocolate increases endorphin production, which increases your feelings of pleasure.
• Chocolate contains serotonin, which can act as a natural anti-depressant.
• Theobromine, caffeine and other substances act as stimulants which can have a natural uplifting effect.
So the next time you want to boost your health, reach for a piece of premium chocolate. Healthy eating doesn't get any tastier than this!
Lyle Freemerman
If you're looking for some more information and an opportunity to purchase some wonderfully well-priced premium chocolate of your own from some of today's most popular companies then please visit us at:
http://premium-chocolates.com
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Premium Chocolate - Treat Yourself to Good Health
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Tips for Serving Chocolate and Wine
Adding chocolate to the traditional post dinner cheese plate is the perfect way to give the 'sweet tooths' out there something to enjoy alongside the savoury goodies you've prepared. While this may go against the traditional idea of what you should include, there is no reason that this can't make a great compromise between sweet and savoury if you plan it well. Using a dark chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa is often the best way to serve up chocolate and wine when putting together a cheese plate. Other options include using fruit cheeses and dried fruit and nuts or selecting a sweet desert wine to compliment the sweet taste of regular chocolate.
Wine with chocolate characteristics
There are endless ways that wine flavours are described and chocolate is also used to describe certain characteristics and flavours in different wines. Looking for wine that has this characteristic may be another way in which you can narrow down the choice of wine that will be suitable to serve with chocolate. Adding a wine to compliment a chocolate desert or to drink alongside of chocolate may work best if that wine holds these characteristics which will reflect and enhance the flavour of the actual chocolate.
Matching different types of wine with chocolate
If you're not familiar with chocolate and wine served together, then the first thing you might look at is how to choose a wine that will most appropriately accompany the chocolate you have bought. Red wines are particularly well suited as an accompaniment to dark chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa, as the bittersweet taste of this type of chocolate fits well with the taste of the wine. If you are going to prepare a cheese platter and include something sweet, then the addition of chocolate is an alternative to the more usual style of after dinner chocolate. Picking cheeses with fruits such as apricot or figs will also introduce other sweeter options that will accompany the chocolate well. When served with a glass of wine this is a great way to enjoy these two indulgences at once. Nibbles such as nuts, dried cranberries or apricots and so on are also great accompaniments to chocolate and wine.
Different types of wine will suit chocolate better than others. If you have a sweet chocolate or a chocolate dessert, then desert wine that has a greater concentration of sugar will work well. This includes ice wine, raisin wine or botrytis. Fortified wine such as a Muscat which is very similar to desert wine is another option and it is ideal for those colder months. Traditional full bodied red wine can work well with a dark chocolate that is generally less sweet than its milk chocolate counterparts. Ultimately, the best way to make the perfect match is to try different options and you'll find over time that you develop a clear favourite that suits your taste.
Find more ideas on serving Chocolate and Wine and great online prices Here!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ryan_McMullen
