Dark Choclate: Tastes Good, Is Good

It has been a very exciting week for health, here is the latest news that has come across my desk. Cocoa, as in dark chocolate, was found by the American Academy of Cardiology to increase arterial blood flow. Cocoa, high in flavinoids was shown to improve blood flow, which might be helpful in fighting off arteriosclerosis. The study participants were given plain dark chocolate, dark chocolate flavored with sugar and a placebo. The groups given the chocolate showed the improvement with the sugarless cocoa showing more improvement than the chocolate with sugar. Here is a new twist on the benefits of Fish Oil. Not only is it a life saving supplement for the heart and arteries, we also know it is good for the joints, improving brain function and fighting disease with it's anti-inflammatory effect on tissues and cells, but now it has been found to increase bone density. This finding could revolutionize how we prevent osteoporosis. Lastly, a note on the environment. Plastic bags, the kind given to us in the grocery store, are a huge environmental hazard. One million plastic bags produced, generates 13 million pounds of Carbon Dioxide. It takes 11 barrels of oil to make 1 ton of plastic bags and 950 tons of plastic bags are in our landfills with only one percent ever being recycled. San Francisco is currently considering a measure that would ban the use of plastic bags in stores. When given the choice at the market, ask for brown paper bags. If the paperbags have plastic over them as a double bag, don't take them. And as always, recycle your brown paper bags. They are picked up with the newspapers and other recycled house wares.

Thought for the Week: "Virtually all conventional physicians are unaware, as I was when I was in the system, that they have been seriously brainwashed by the multinational drug corporations. Drugs are virtually never the long-term answer to any medical problem. They can provide short-term relief when addressing the underlying cause of the problem. Once you understand that you can teach your patients this, they can use you appropriately as a health coach to guide them in their process of taking control of their own health." ----- Dr. Joe Mercola, DO Mercola Wellness Center, Chicago, Ill.

Chiropractic Tip of the Week: "The real, primary cause of disease is tension. The cause of tension is pressure on the nervous system. The cause of pressure on the nervous system in 95% of diseased conditions is misaligned vertebra." ---- D.D. Palmer, D.C.