Dark chocolate for Saint Valentine 0Comments
We have a way of saying in Italy that states: “on special occasions women don’t ask for a gift, but they still expect it!”. Saint Valentine is certainly one of those occasions when this applies. To all men reading our blog: “don’t event dare taking out your girlfriend, wife or partner for dinner tonight, without giving her a gift!”
If you need a suggestion for a guaranteed gift (i.e. a gift that we guarantee all women will like) then give her some dark chocolate truffles.
You will make her happy but also very healthy!
In 2009, the European Heart Journal published an article about the beneficial effects of cocoa on cardiovascular risk.
Cocoa (as well as red wine, tea and certain fruits and vegetables) seems to be rich in flavanols which have important cardiovascular effects. Of course these flavanols may not be found in the average bar of chocolate, but only in chocolate with a high cocoa content.
This is something researchers have been studying for twenty years, since Prof. Hollenberg from Harvard found out that Kuna Indians (a remote population living on islands off the coast of Panama) have a lower than average blood pressure.
