A Sweet Heart Solution

By Nicole Duncan

Go ahead, indulge. Eating a bonbon a day may lower blood pressure without weight gain or other adverse effects. The Journal of the American Medical Association study showed that out of 44 healthy, middle-age adults, the half who ate 30 calories of dark chocolate each day significantly lowered their systolic and diastolic blood pressure in just 18 weeks. By comparison, the half who ate the same amount of white chocolate saw no improvement in their blood pressure. Does this sound too good to be true? Not really: Chocolate has more antioxidants than red wine or green tea and generally, the darker the chocolate the better. Try finding a chocolate with 70 percent cocoa or higher to get your fix. And don’t go on a chocolate binge; just a small piece adds up to 30 calories, and much more may add up to unwanted pounds.