{"id":395,"date":"2011-09-02T08:00:57","date_gmt":"2011-09-02T12:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/doinglifetogether\/?p=395"},"modified":"2012-03-03T17:05:42","modified_gmt":"2012-03-03T22:05:42","slug":"chocolate-not-a-health-food-yet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2011\/09\/chocolate-not-a-health-food-yet.html","title":{"rendered":"Chocolate Not a Health Food Yet!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>OK chocolate lovers, put down that Snickers and listen up!<\/p>\n<p>Is chocolate a health food? Is it good for cardiovascular health? I want it to be!<\/p>\n<p>Apparently the jury is still out and we need more research.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Oscar Franco from the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge reviewed seven studies and concluded that none of them was definitive in terms of heart health and chocolate. However, and here is the hope, he did note what researchers reported&#8211; people who ate lots of chocolate were about one-third less likely to have hearts attacks, strokes and diabetes. Unfortunately, self-report is not the best research.\u00a0 You have to do studies with randomize controls and monitor health.<\/p>\n<p>Bottom line, it is too early to dive into the Godiva and think you are being healthy. Like all things, moderation is always the best approach. But we can always hope that next to the broccoli, carrots and beets, there will one day be a heart healthy choice dripping in chocolate and inviting our taste buds to a real treat.<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, just enjoy!! Of course, in moderation!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>OK chocolate lovers, put down that Snickers and listen up! Is chocolate a health food? Is it good for cardiovascular health? I want it to be! Apparently the jury is still out and we need more research. Dr. Oscar Franco from the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge reviewed seven studies and concluded&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[918],"tags":[257,255,29,83,260,256,259,258,82],"class_list":["post-395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-relationship-to-food","tag-cardiovascular-health-diabetes","tag-chocolate","tag-dieting","tag-health-2","tag-health-food","tag-healthy-eating","tag-heart-health","tag-strokes","tag-weight"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Chocolate Not a Health Food Yet!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2011\/09\/chocolate-not-a-health-food-yet.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chocolate Not a Health Food Yet!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"OK chocolate lovers, put down that Snickers and listen up! Is chocolate a health food? Is it good for cardiovascular health? I want it to be! Apparently the jury is still out and we need more research. 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Dr. Linda\u2019s fun personality and expertise comes through whether she\u2019s helping her audience stress less or make peace with their thighs! Dr. Linda has her Ph.D. in Urban Health and Clinical Psychology and is a national expert on mental health. She has specialized in the treatment of eating disorders, anxiety, depression and pain management. With 30 years of clinical experience working with couples, families and individuals, she brings her common-sense approach to people who want to live in positive mental health. Dr. Linda is also a bestselling author with 21 book titles to her credit, a radio host of the Dr. Linda Mintle show, professor, national speaker, winner of the Mom\u2019s Choice Award, a national news consultant, featured writer for Beliefnet and hosts her own website. Her academic appointments keep her abreast of current research in her areas of expertise. Her media experience includes seven years as the resident expert for ABC Family\u2019s Living the Life television show and regular appearances on network television and radio. It is often said that being with Dr. Linda is like having coffee with a friend. She makes the complicated issues of relationships and mental health easy to understand and applicable to everyday living. The ease she has with people, coupled with her clinical training and experience makes her a sought-after speaker on college campuses, conferences and special events. Whether she is doing a TV skit with Tim Conway or discussing teen violence with Queen Latifa, Dr. Linda will entertain, educate and integrate faith and mental health in everyday living. 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