Yippee! I am always tickled to hear that yet another ostensibly bad-for-you food has been Officially Declared Healthy. Today, it’s chocolate milk, according to the New York Times.
Move over, red wine. Make room for chocolate milk. A new study suggests that regular consumption of skim milk with flavonoid-rich cocoa may reduce inflammation, potentially slowing or preventing development of atherosclerosis. Researchers noted, however, that the effect was not as pronounced as that seen with red wine.
Contrary to my usual practice, I am not going to even try to hunt down the original study. The NYT reports that it was done in Barcelona on people aged 55 and up, and that it also found cocoa elevated levels of “good” cholesterol (HDL). Also, my time is limited; while I was reading this article, the Bear popped downstairs (it was only 10:45, why on earth would he be asleep?) and extracted a promise that he and his little brother would get regular doses of chocolate milk, since they aren’t exactly eligible for red wine.
Instead, I am going to develop a personal action plan. I don’t have a personal trainer. This is as good as it’s gonna get.
1) Keep riding my bike to work, as this is my only defense against complete slothitude.
2) Stop parceling out my homemade mochas as if they were a special treat, and start considering them a staple food. Skim milk from happy cows with vitamin D + Hershey’s special dark syrup + Trader Joe’s Five-Country Fair Trade espresso brimming with antioxidants = live to be 112!
(My breskit of champions, photographed by me, Sungold)
3) Drink more red wine and less white. And no, adding food color to the white will not do the trick.
4) Await the day when the health benefits of martinis are announced. I don’t drink them often. I don’t expect the good news imminently. But I am a patient woman.
What about you, dear reader? What supposed vice would you love to see declared healthy?
Patron cat of Kittywampus (1985-2001)
I’d love for someone to announce that we really need 10-12 hours of sleep instead of 8. I am a champion of sleeping, and tend to absolutely fall apart (much like a small child) when my sleep schedule of AT LEAST 8 hours per night is jacked with. And people wonder why I fear parenthood…
I got an 11-hour night over the weekend. My husband and both boys kindly let me sleep the morning away. And boy did I need it! I won’t lie – sleep deprivation is one of the three hardest aspects of parenting.
Cheese, cream, ice cream… and all their kith and kin.
Oooh, don’t forget butter!
My homemade mocha can only be topped by letting it cool and then adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Mmmmm.
Depending on the books you’re reading, saturated fat is healthier than some people want it to be.
Ever since my Dad got diagnosed to be pre-diabetic and with high cholesterol, he’s been doing a lot of reading and has been controlling his blood sugar and cholesterol with diet rather than drugs.
Sorry for the really late reply – I’m only now back to decent Internet access after a few weeks on dialup.
I happen to believe butter is healthy, in moderation. Ditto for eggs. The key is balance. Good for your dad, managing to find that balance. I know my mom tried hard to control her cholesterol with diet – and she totally failed. Now that she’s on Lipitor, her cholesterol levels are good, but I’m not sure that’s the whole answer, either. There’s more to a healthy heart than that one number.