Although chocolate is a high fat product, it contains more treasured anti-oxidants than red wine, blueberries or black tea. Yippee!

What are anti-oxidants? Let me briefly explain. Oxides of fats, cholesterol and fat related compounds injure the inside layer of the cells of blood vessels. These fat-related oxides are literally the beginning of cardiovascular problems. Sadly, our bodies are full of forms of oxygen that can combine with fats and cholesterol to produce these harmful oxides. Illness, aging and factors including smoking and air pollution as well as exposure to ultraviolet radiation overwhelm our natural defenses. These are the reasons anti-oxidants are important in our diets. Foods with high levels of anti-oxidants include vegetables, tea, wine and chocolate. Dark chocolate is extremely high in anti-oxidants. Anti-oxidants are valuable in helping to combat cardiovascular disease.

A 14- ounce bar of milk chocolate contains more than 300 milligrams of polyphenolic anti-oxidants. Dark chocolate has more than double that amount and cocoa powder has four times that amount.

Chocolate contains a range of polyphenolic anti-oxidants known as flavonoids, which are all good for you. To sum this up and avoid a lot of boring, big, unknown technical terms for all these components, chocolate contains plenty of these big, super-good-for-you compounds! So, not only does chocolate contain "regular" anti-oxidants, it has plenty of the super-good-for-you compounds!

I am most likely one of the rare fitness and nutritionists who will say to you "go ahead and have some chocolate!" For one thing, it's a great comfort food and you can now ease your guilt by knowing it is not only comforting, it's actually good for now! Of course, this doesn't mean you can go pig out on a super sized chocolate bar, but it does mean you can indulge in some chocolate here and there as long as you do so in sensible moderation and in keeping with your daily food intake amounts. Also know, when I incorporate chocolate into my recipes, it is more than okay to do so!

I'm going to share a little something with you. I have indulged in chocolate daily for countless years now. I do so in moderation, of course, but I do have a little every day. I learned to enjoy dark chocolate and will often indulge in that when my weight creeps up a bit and I have to fight to get it back down. Sometimes, I find myself craving dark chocolate now just because! You can really develop a taste for it after a time. Keep this in mind, and if you are a chocolate lover, give dark chocolate a try.

One more chocolate tidbit - it does have magnificent sensuous properties!

Written by Just Jeni of Fitness and Freebies
http://www.fitnessandfreebies.com
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