"sweet" dreams of a healthy lifestyle

Some days the news is full of bad stuff, and then, out of the gloom, comes a story that seems to make life worthwhile. I read yesterday that dark chocolate can help lower blood pressure.

Dear God, it’s a miracle. And to repeat a phrase I have often used before, chocolate: is there anything it can’t do?

Now, Jimbo, a man who has made a career of high-stress jobs, has unfortunately had problems with elevated blood pressure. Now, it turns out, the problem was that he was not eating right. Had Jimbo made a diet of strictly chocolate, perhaps all of the money he has spent on blood pressure medication could have been applied toward a better purpose-- like a shopping spree at Russell Stover.

“Now, Jimbo,” you are probably asking, “We rely on you to keep us up to date on medical breakthroughs. How did this one slip under your radar screen? If chocolate is so good, why haven’t you told us about it before?”

Alas, mon frere, you must be a new reader to this site because Jimbo has extolled at length the virtues of the sweet brown confection a couple of times in the past. Perhaps, if you are ready for a little time travel, we can revisit those glory days. Return to these glorious moments of yore to see what I said.

Back on December 27 of last year, I said this:

http://jimboandhisfriends.blogspot.com/2004/12/i-want-new-drug.html


On November 23 of last year, I did this one:


http://jimboandhisfriends.blogspot.com/2004/11/cure-for-all-ills.html

Anyway, once you are back to the present and your eyes are again accustomed to the light and you get over that little wince of regret when you realize that Bush is still the President, I have some more good stuff to tell you about chocolate. A study done in Italy in which people ate dark chocolate showed that after 15 days of eating chocolate that there was a decrease in blood pressure. The story goes on to say that chocolate contains an antioxidant called flavonoids and that flavonoids reduce blood clotting and help your heart, and can reduce the risk of heart attack and strokes. Flavonoids, the story goes on to say, neutralize oxygen-free radicals, and that is a good thing. Heck, it sounds good to me. Of course, anything with chocolate sounds good to me.

You know, the other night I ate some M&Ms and I could almost feel my blood pressure lower and the threat of a heart attack melting away (in my mouth, not in my hands). I just didn’t realize at the time how healthy I was eating. I guess this means we’ll have to make sure that Jimbo’s girlfriend adds some chocolate to her grocery list and that we start making an effort to eat “better.”

Because in Jimbo’s world we don’t just talk about eating healthy, we do it.