A Sweet Way to Lower Blood Pressure

By Kelley Herring

Great news for chocoholics: Dark chocolate, a good source of powerful antioxidant phenols, has recently been found to help reduce blood pressure.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association included six men and seven women ages 55-64 with mildly high blood pressure. Every day for two weeks, participants ate a 100-gram piece of dark chocolate. They balanced its hefty 480 calories by not eating other foods similar in nutrients and calories. Half of the participants got dark chocolate, while half got white chocolate.

At the end of the study, those who ate dark chocolate saw a significant drop in blood pressure (by an average of five points for systolic and two points for diastolic blood pressure). Those who ate white chocolate experienced no benefit.

To enjoy the health benefits and delicious flavor of dark chocolate, you don't need to eat a 480-calorie candy bar. In fact, one tablespoon of unsweetened dark cocoa has a mere 80 calories, with all the benefits. So mix it into your coffee or whirl into a smoothie to help keep your blood pressure in a healthy range.

It's Fun to Know: Monkey Baby Talk

Baby talk isn't just for human parents. According to a study by University of Chicago researchers, female rhesus monkeys in Puerto Rico use distinct sounds to communicate with their infants. The scientists have identified several sounds, as well as behaviors such as tail swinging, that the monkeys use only with their babies. The noises match the raised pitch and sing-song style of baby talk used by people around the world, but so far the researchers have not been able to translate any of them.

(Source: National Geographic)

Word to the Wise: Garrulous

"Garrulous" (GARE-uh-lus) - from the Latin for "to chatter" - means talking a lot, especially about trivial things.

Example (as used by Mark Twain in an article titled "Some Rambling Notes of an Idle Excursion II" in The Atlantic): "He took a great liking to this Rev. Mr. Peters, and talked with him a great deal: told him yarns, gave him toothsome scraps of personal history, and wove a glittering streak of profanity through his garrulous fabric that was refreshing to a spirit weary of the dull neutralities of undecorated speech."

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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2172, 10-13-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.