Did you know.....

Dark chocolate is good for you?

Yes, it's true! Dark chocolate contains many of the health benefits of dark vegetables. It contains flavanoids (which act as antioxidants) and this helps to protect the body from ageing due to free radicals.


Dark chocolate can help to relax blood pressure, lower cholesterol, balance certain hormones in the body and reduce the risk of heart disease. It even contains more antioxidants than strawberries!

HOWEVER... This doesn't mean that we can eat a whole block of dark chocolate at once and it's going to necessarily be good for us! 100g is recommended to enjoy all of the benefits. Chocolate is still high in saturated fat, so use your common sense with this one!


Enjoy!


Tony

Not all fats are BAD fats....

In fact, fats are an essential part of any healthy eating plan. Fat helps nutrient absorption, nerve transmission and maintains cell membrane integrity . It's just a matter of working out how much we should have....

There are several different fats in the foods we eat. Healthier fats are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Monounsaturated fats reduce the "bad" LDL Cholesterol and increase levels of the "good" HDL Cholesterol. Foods which contain this good type of fat are almonds, peanuts, walnuts, pistachios, avocado, canola oil and olive oil.

Polyunsaturated fats are found in foods such as salmon, fish oil, corn, soy and sunflower oils. They contain Omega 3 fatty acids, which prevent the blood from clotting and lowers the bad cholesterol and increases the good one!

The fats we need to look out for are saturated fats and trans fats. Saturated fats increase total cholesterol levels, in particular the LDL cholesterol, and are found in animal products, such as meat, dairy, seafood and eggs. Trans fatty acids are found in packaged food, as they make the food last for longer on supermarket shelves.

Some tips for you to eat more good fats and avoid the bad ones:

• Use cooking oils such as canola, flaxseed and olive; avoid palm oil, coconut oil and vegetable shortening


• Use lower fat versions of animal products, such as lean meat, skim milk and low fat yoghurt


• Minimise using comercially packaged food - fresh is always best!

Happy eating!! Tony