Chocolate for christmas

Ok, so christmas is approaching and despite our best intentions we know that chocolate is going to be all around us and eventually we might succumb. But what really is so bad about chocolate? Below are some of the facts, so you can enjoy all the benefits and avoid that christmas bulge.

There are three things you need to know about chocolate.

Firstly, and most importantly, you need to make sure that what you are eating is proper chocolate. All the research done on the benefits of Chocolate was carried out on dark chocolate. Now, this isn’t the chocolate most people are eating. Many people find dark chocolate too bitter and prefer milk chocolate which is actually, in some cases, more sugar and milk than chocolate – so contains a lot less of the benefits that real chocolate provide. Bizaarely enough, white chocolate is actually made from cocoa butter and does not contain any chocolate liquor, therefore technically isn’t actually chocolate at all. Eating plenty of white chocolate and milk chocolate gives you all the drawbacks of high sugar without any of the benefits of that real chocolate can give.

Secondly it is important to know that real chocolate, from the cocoa bean, does have many benefits. It possesses plenty of phytochemicals called flavanoids which, it has been claimed, may reduce the risk of heart desease. Various research carried out on indigenous tribes with diets rich in these flavanoids has shown that they have considerably reduced instances of heart desease and strokes.  

 Lastly the bad news. Even dark Chocolate is high in fat and high in calories. An ounce of chocolate contains 8-10 grams of fat and 145 calories. If you are going to eat chocolate this christmas you need to up your exercise or be happy with putting on some extra weight.

 Therefore in conclusion we can see that chocolate isn’t all bad. If you are going to get stuck into chocolate this christmas, then make sure that a) It is good quality organic dark chocolate and b) You plan an activity the same day to burn off those extra calories (A walk or active board game) With a plan like this you can enjoy your christmas and stay on top of your game.

How the media confuses the issue

On Monday 4th december BBC news ran the story, “Obese should exercise not Diet”. Now, although this article was useful in it’s actual content the headline appeared, to me anyway, to suggest exercise was more important in losing weight than what you ate. I couldn’t help thinking that this might leave some people a little confused as to whether they should make any effort to eat healthily at all, if exercise appeared to be the most effective route to weight loss.

For more information on genuinely effective ways to lose weight and feel great, check out the rest of this blog or contact me for a consultation. However, with regards to the press and your health, my experience has been that the real answer to our health issues lies within us (Body Intelligence) rather than in the hands of the media or the many experts out there telling us what to do.  

I have found with both myself and my clients that the journey to increased health and vitality tends to involve a process of trusting and knowing yourself enough to listen to what your body wants rather than what your head thinks you need. Yes, education is a crucial part of this, and good judgement demands knowledge, but in an ever changing world there wouldn’t appear to be one right answer, only an approriate answer for that time.

With the complexities of each individuals own genetic, emotional and environmental make up, the answer to most of our health challenges is rarely found in one article or approach, but tends to be a collection of approaches and knowledge gathered over time, successfully applied in order for us to get what we want from our lives and bodies. 

Although this approach isn’t a quick fix it does work, and gives you the skills and knowledge to create a body that, truly, canm be beyond your wildest dreams. The human body running to optimum efficiency is truly amazing and with correct food, lifestyle habits and exercise it is definately within reach of us all. Now that is one hell of a story.