A WOMAN'S PLEASURES

The way to a woman's heart...

Ummm...chocolate and red wine.  What a combination.  What woman doesn't love a bite every now and again with a sip of deep red wine?  Most women, however, are either forbidding themselves the treat or indulging beyond reason.  There is a balance, and the good news is that research has proven dark chocolate and red wine, in moderation, are both good for you! 

Dark chocolate, not milk chocolate or white chocolate, has been shown to lower high blood pressure and is a potent antioxidant.  In a report released in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Dirk Taubet, MD, PhD and colleagues at the University of Cologne, Germany, indicated dark chocolate helps to lower blood pressure. Remember that you need to balance the calories by eating less of other things.

All things in moderation

Antioxidants eat up free radicals, those destructive molecules in the blood that are often the cause of heart disease and other ailments.  The word to the wise is not to mix eating the dark chocolate with drinking milk.  Milk may interfere with the absorption of antioxidants from the chocolate...and may therefore negate the potential health benefits that can be derived from eating moderate amounts of dark chocolate, according to Mauro Serafini, PhD, of Italy's National Institute for Food and Nutrition Research in Rome. 

So, when you go to the chocolate counter, say "Dark, please", and don't even think about a big glass of milk to wash it down.  Better to sip a glass of red wine...

A little wine for the stomach's sake

Red, red, wine...we love to look at its color as we hold the glass up to the light.  We swirl it and sip it - and when we drink it with a nibble of dark chocolate, well...wonderful things seem to happen.

Is it any wonder that men have learned throughout the years to bring their beloved a box of dark chocolate and a bottle of shiraz to entice a romantic evening.  Is wine good for you? In moderation and as part of an overall healthy diet, the short answer is yes!

Thanks to its alcohol content and non-alcoholic phytochemicals (natural occurring plant compounds), wine has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, certain cancers and slow the progression of neurological degenerative disorders like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease.

So my dear, all things in moderation.  An piece of dark chocolate and a glass or red wine are not only good for you, but they can make you feel good too.