This blog is lovingly brought to you in light of the upcoming Christmas season, and to make up for all the times I tell you to eat boring vegetables and a clean diet!
Is it actually possible? Can chocolate really be HEALTHY?? Regarded by many folks as the tastiest food on Earth, it’s true that dark chocolate also has many health benefits.
Chocolate just so happens to be loaded with antioxidants! Dark chocolate contains hefty amounts of disease-fighting flavonoids, which are antioxidants also found in red wine and many fruits and vegetables. In fact, it appears to have more flavonoids than any other food.
In addition, dark chocolate may help lower cholesterol. A study from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that daily consumption of dark chocolate containing cocoa flavonol lowered cholesterol and improved blood pressure. Although the research was admittedly funded by chocolate manufacturer Mars, Inc., the study was double-blinded and peer reviewed. This says positive things about the validity of the findings.
Dark chocolate is also known to help prevent heart disease. A recent study shows that people who regularly consume about 20 g per day of dark chocolate with 70% cocoa or higher show a marked improvement in blood flow. At the same time, no improvement is observed in those who eat “processed” chocolate, which contains very little cocoa paste. It seems that the positive effect of dark chocolate is linked to a property in its polyphenols. These polyphenols release a chemical messenger, nitric oxide, which increases arterial dilatation, while at the same time improving blood flow and reducing platelet aggregation. That’s a lot of big words, but the bottom line is, it seems to work!
However, it is important to note that previous studies have shown that milk prevents the absorption of dark chocolate’s polyphenols, thereby neutralizing its beneficial effects. Milk contains large amounts of casein, a protein that interacts with polyphenols and prevents them from being efficiently absorbed by the intestine. It is therefore always preferable to consume dark chocolate unaccompanied by milk. To state the obvious, the fact remains that it is dark chocolate that carries these health benefits, not milk or white chocolate. Sorry guys!
So there you have it, folks! True dark chocolate, in moderate amounts, is proven to have moderate health benefits. Just don’t go overboard! Chocolate still contains sugar and fat, which are NOT good for you. It would seem that all good things come with a price, in the end…
Today’s Workout:
Buy In – Dynamic leg warmup
WOD – “The AssKicker” (oh yeah I brought it back!)
Elite: For Time
- Run 800M
- 80 Sumo Deadlift High pulls (45/65lbs)
- Run 200M backwards
- 20 Sumo Deadlift high pulls (45/65lbs)
- 50 Double unders
- 20 Sumo Deadlift high pulls (45/65lbs)
- Run 200M backwards
- 80 Sumo Deadlift High pulls (45/65lbs)
- Run 800M
Zone 3: scale Sumo deadlift high pull as needed
Zone 2: For Time
- Run 500M
- 50 Sumo Deadlift High pulls
- Run 200M backwards
- 10 Sumo Deadlift high pulls
- 50 Single skips
- 10 Sumo Deadlift high pulls
- Run 200M backwards
- 50 Sumo Deadlift High pulls
- Run 500M
Zone 1: For Time
- Run 400M
- 20 Sumo Deadlift High pulls
- Run 100M backwards
- 20 Sumo Deadlift high pulls
- 50 Single skips
- 20 Sumo Deadlift high pulls
- Run 100M backwards
- 20 Sumo Deadlift High pulls
- Run 400M
Cash Out – Floor press 5 x 5 reps; increasing weight each set
