Showing posts with label Chocolate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chocolate. Show all posts

October 8, 2014

Your Heart











Photo: Ano Lobb


Today, A quick and easy reference to fight heart disease!

Add Good Fats


Almonds

Avocado

Bison

Chia Seed

Fish

Flax Seed Meal

Olive Oil


Remove Bad Fats

- Fried Foods

-Transfats & Fractioned Fats

-CAFO Red Meat

- (easy to remember: Solid & highly processed)


Exercise

Get moving! 
One of my favorite racing groups 3W Races- says "Do what you can, when you can, where you are."
I love it! Pick something you love and do it 3-5 times a week for at least 30 minutes.
(if you only have 10 minutes, then do 10!)

-Strengthens your heart (it's just like any muscle- use it to strengthen it!)

-Lowers your blood pressure

-Helps reduce stress (A big heart disease factor!)

-"Regular exercise also helps to keep arteries and other blood vessels flexible" 1.

-Keeps the blood vessels open.

Protect Your Cells

keeps cell membranes flexible...

Green Leafy vegetables

Pumpkin Seeds

Salmon

Walnuts


Increase cardiovascular function


Red Wine

Dark Chocolate- dilates your arteries.


Fiber!

Clean those arteries out!

Oats- protect against damage to LDL. (Damaged LDL sticks to artery walls)

Parsnips

Quinoa

Whole Grains


Eat the rainbow...

here's where you fight!

Carotenoids-Like Red Peppers, Tomatoes & Carrots

Foods high in Vitamin C- lowers body inflammation


Antioxidants- Beta-carotene, lutein, lycopene, selenium, vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin E


Smelly foods! -garlic, contains allicin which fights hardening arteries


A good start for today.

Make baby steps to incorporate these things into your daily life and check back tomorrow to learn about more Fightin Foods!



sources:

September 29, 2014

Fight With Chocolate










Photo: Tim Sackton

If there was ever a fight you want to pick... this is it.  Fight for your health with chocolate!


Dark Chocolate-

dilates your arteries- yay! for your heart!
improves nitric oxide, (a signaling molecule in your body)
high in antioxidants

Watch out for added milk fat or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil or even coconut or palm oil.
Stick to dark chocolate for the most health benefits.  The higher the percent of cocoa the better.

Cocoa

Has high flavonoids (cacao )
magnesium
calcium
helps control blood pressure
reduces chances of stroke


Don't buy dutched it's been treated with alkali.  (you tell it's dutch BC of the dark color.  Buy the lighter one.) It's done to make cocoa milder and make PH neutral.  Opt for the original.