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Moderation In All Things

A Chat About Chocolate and Coffee

Remember that thin, older French woman who wrote the runaway bestseller diet book last year on why French women don't gain weight? Of course it appealed to everyone, number one because she was so elegant and attractive and number two because you could eat anything you wanted. The gist of her book was eat anything and everything. . . but in moderation: A little dab of butter on ½ a croissant, a tiny glass of wine, a very small portion of heavily sauced meat, a couple spears of asparagus with Hollandaise sauce, two ounces of chocolate mousse, etc.

Frankly, I can't imagine this sparse and extremely controlled regime working for very long for most people, especially in our super-size world. Speaking for myself, I really like VOLUME - large quantities of food, the feeling of largesse on a groaning table, BIG colorful platters of food, MANY different dishes - so over the years I have learned to deal with this. I still eat lots of food, but the largest portions of food that I eat are water based foods, like fruits, vegetables and salads.

I do have a sweet tooth, but have learned to get by, like our elegant and attractive French woman, with just little bits of chocolate, or ice cream. And I have managed to "control" this, by and large, quite well. And you can, too. I find that if I - and possibly you - "take away" or "don't allow" certain foods, they become huge in my mind and soon I find myself thinking far too much about that which I have taken away from myself. So, I allow myself these things in moderation. My ice cream bowl is a six ounce Pyrex dish which I fill up ½ way and eat in little savory bites with a small ice tea spoon, and I don't eat ice cream every day. My chocolate consumption is no more than three squares a day of either Dagoba, Xocolatl (dark chocolate, chilies and nibs), 74% chocolate or Chocolove, 65% (the red wrapper). This is not every day either. Coffee is one large mug per day.

Here's why chocolate and coffee are now deemed healthy: Dark chocolate contains an anti-oxidant called epicatechin, and eating dark chocolate boosts the blood's anti-oxidant power by 20%. A study done in the Netherlands found that eating the equivalent of 1/3 of a dark chocolate bar per day lowered blood pressure and the risk of death. Dark chocolate also inhibits the aggregation of platelets which can cause blood clots which then cause heart attacks and strokes. Cocoa beans also contain flavonoids (along with red wine, apples, berries and tea) which improve the function of blood vessels.

Coffee: University of California-Davis researchers think that brewed coffee has the same amount of antioxidants as three oranges. This goes for both decaf and regular. Coffee also lowers the risk for type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease and possibly colorectal cancer. It also prevents pancreatic cancer and seems to prevent Alzheimer's and other dementias. It's good for your liver. On the other hand, caffeine can be dangerous for people with hypertension and unfiltered coffee like French Press increases cholesterol levels.

Frankly, I see nothing wrong with eating a bit of sweet now and again or having some chocolate or coffee or red wine. They are all good for your body and good for the soul. Just don't "use" anything like a drug. And if you don't think you can eat sweets or drink alcohol or coffee in moderation, then don't even have the stuff in the house.

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