The truth about our favorite treats

There has been a lot of talk lately about two of our favorite foods: chocolate and red wine. There is some new research and evidence that these two perennial favorites are actually good for us. But while there is some merit to those studies, that doesn’t mean you should start drinking wine and guzzling Snickers bars. Here, we look at the truth behind our favorite treats.

A delight for chocolate lovers…or is it?

There is certainly a buzz in the media about the health benefits of dark chocolate. What makes chocolate healthy is a component of cocoa called flavanol. While all cocoa is created high in flavanols, it is primarily the processing of natural cocoa solids into cocoa powder or confectionery chocolate that determines whether a final product is high or low in flavanols.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of variability in the processing of chocolate, making it difficult to know how much flavanol is left in an average chocolate bar. Due to chocolate’s high saturated fat and calorie content, if you love chocolate, consume it in moderation.

Some experts also say that those health benefits are only found in dark chocolate with a cocoa content of 70 percent or more. Most processed milk chocolate doesn’t have anywhere near that amount, so if you’re going to eat chocolate, make sure it’s high quality and has a high cocoa content.

Come, vidi, came?

You may have heard that red wine can be good for heart health. Like chocolate, it is still unknown if the health benefit of red wine outweighs the negative effect of the extra calories and alcohol. Wine is very high in calories. A 5-ounce glass of red wine has about 120 calories, which means it doesn’t take many glasses to add pounds to your waistline.

If you love red wine, drink it in moderation, no more than one or two drinks a day (with a maximum of nine a week) for women and no more than two drinks a day (with a maximum of 14 a week) for men. the men . If you don’t normally drink alcohol, don’t start drinking to reap the health benefits, as other foods can provide similar heart health benefits.