Is dark chocolate better than Viagra? According to Journal of Nutrition’s latest September and October issues, chocolate has some pretty exciting therapeutic potential.
If you want to avoid being on “the little blue pill” you should consider taking a daily dose of the little brown pill.
That’s right, according to the study — 50-200 dark chocolate chips a day may prevent the cardiovascular damage that is a leading cause of erectile dysfunction.
According to recent studies, the flavonoids in dark chocolate naturally enhanced natural nitric oxide levels. The drug Viagra works mechanistically as a phosphodiest erase inhibitor to enhance nitric oxide. Our bodies also synthesize nitric oxide, and nitric oxide works on our blood vessels to dilate them and increase blood flow. With psychological reasons ruled out, erectile dysfunction is typically an issue of blood flow. Increasing blood flow is how Viagra manufacturers have made a fortune.
In September of 2008, Journal of Nutrition published an Italian university study investigating the therapeutic potential of chocolate and found that, “Flavanols from chocolate appear to increase nitric oxide bioavailability, protect vascular endothelium, and decrease cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors…. our findings suggest flavanol-rich, low-energy cocoa food products may have a positive impact on [cardiovascular disease] risk factors.”
Dr. Nicole Sundene says "Most men simply DON’T care about cholesterol, blood pressure, atherosclerosis, diabetes, blood sugar, antioxidants or inflammation.The only way to get men to care about their health is to hit them below the belt with the facts that matter. Women are typically all about vanity and men are all about virility. These are the motivators to market and sell preventive medicine concepts."
Doctors know that all of the aforementioned health issues contribute to erectile dysfunction. But, what most men don’t know is that without a properly functioning cardiovascular system, things below the belt aren’t going to function either.
It’s all about blood flow and elasticity. We would never leave our garden hoses to freeze out in the cold of winter, we instead take the time to properly care for them to insure they don’t harden and become permanently dysfunctional. Although garden hoses cannot auto-repair, our arteries do by making scar tissue, and the similar type of destruction from high blood pressure, cholesterol, inflammation, and diabetes is repaired by the body by throwing down scar tissue and inflammation.
Just like Viagra, Levitra and Cialis, Healthy Dark Chocolate has nitric oxide enhancement but dark chocolate also is fantastic prevention to keep that garden house ready to go in any weather.
A recent study was done on Italian men and found that Italian men that ate an ounce of dark chocolate had healthier lab markers. Keep in mind that 50 chocolate chips or roughly an ounce of dark chocolate is the minimum amount needed to prevent disease according to that study.
Another study cited previously, showed therapeutic benefit with 100 grams of dark chocolate which is about 200 chocolate chips! Is this not the best news ever for chocolate lovers?
Remember though that traditional chocolate as a medicine is not free of calories, cocoa butter, or refined sugar. Pure cocoa products are a great alternative as an ounce of chocolate chips have 140 calories.While 200 chocolate chips pack a whopping 500 calories! Which is why we suggest looking at the Healthy Dark Chocolate.
Healthy dark chocolate is a healthier alternative that can be savored throughout the day. In fact since flavanoids don't last long in the body, it may be better to eat the dark chocolate several times per day.
But, chocolate chips are not the only foods that contain disease fighting flavonoids. Most fruits and vegetables are also rich in flavonoids. Blueberries are chock full of proanthocyanins, Acai is also chock full of antioxidants. Oranges are a fantastic source of hesperidin and rutin. So, adding blueberries, acai and orange peel to healthy dark chocolate may help even more to prevent the need of Viagra too!
A healthy dose of fresh fruits, raw or lightly steamed veggies, rawnuts and seeds, and chocolate will work synergistically to prevent the cardiovascular damage that causes disease.
Any man suffering with ED (why can't we just say erectile dysfunction? or limp hose syndrome?) reading this article would absolutely agree that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
For diabetics that want to gain the flavanol benefits of dark chocolate, they may be interested to know that the healthy dark chocolate is made to be diabetic friendly (in fact the president of the manufacturer is diabetic) or you can simply enjoy them with a small handful of raw almonds to decrease the glycemic load and increase phenolic compounds(anti-oxidant/anti-inflammatory/anti-cancer). Almonds are also high in fiber, and fiber consumption also is protective to the cardio vascular system. So add about ten raw almonds to your 50 chocolate chips or make a healthy trail mix with your other favorite raw nuts and seeds.
In a future post we'll talk about how women can improve their sexual function with naturally increased nitric oxide levels by eating healthy dark chocolate.
