Healthy Food Choices: Chocolate

Chocolate has been a delicacy for hundreds of years. Try out some tips for buying chocolate in this healthy shopping video.

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Healthy
Can lower blood pressure
Contains antioxidants
Milk & white chocolate are not healthy
Chocolate with milk reduces antioxidant absorption

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Michelle Cooper has been a registered dietician for more than 10 years. She currently works for the state of North Carolina for the New Hanover County School District in the Child Nutrition Department as the supervising registered dietician on staff. She specializes in child nutrition, child fitness and overall child health. She enjoys her job because it allows her to be a pivotal piece of child development.

MICHELLE COOPER: Next, we're going to talk about chocolate. You have high blood pressure? Eat a truffle. You're worried about cardiovascular disease? Grab a bon-bon. The latest medical research has shown that chocolate, dark chocolate not white or milk chocolate is actually good for us. It can help lower blood pressure. Also, dark chocolate contains antioxidants. Antioxidants are nutrients that help quench free radicals that had been related to cardiovascular disease and other ailments. However, milk chocolate and white chocolate do not have the same benefits. For example, you're not going to get these benefits from pudding or hot chocolate made with milk. It appears that milk actually decreases the absorption of the antioxidants. So if you're looking for a healthy candy alternative or a way to lower your blood cholesterol--blood pressure, excuse me, or your risk for a cardiovascular disease, order dark chocolate, number one. Number two, make sure that you don't have milk with it as it may decrease the absorption of the antioxidants. And number three, make sure you use it in moderation and that you make up for the extra calories by decreasing your caloric intake elsewhere.

Healthy Food Choices: Chocolate Video

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