Foods for Better Health & Wellness

Kalee Carson

Saw Palmetto and Chocolate

This week we are going to talk about another supplement and another food that are both good to get our sexual engines running, Saw Palmetto and wait for it… Chocolate!!!

Saw Palmetto

First, I would like to talk to you about Saw Palmetto, Serenoa repens. The palm produces a reddish black berry from which the extract is taken. The berries themselves are very high in Fatty Acids and Phytosterols. Originally used by the Native Americans, not only as nourishment, but to treat a wide variety of ailments, settlers watched and soon adopted use of the plant themselves. Not only was it good to treat urinary problems, but coughs and respiratory inflammation as well.

For our purposes now, we are going to talk about the affects it has on the urinary system and prostate and the increasing fame it is receiving for its effect on a person’s sexual vigor. In both men and women it can be used to treat urinary tract inflammation, tone the urethra, and it has diuretic properties. I’m sure you can all see the plus in having a healthy urinary system, right?

Next, in the gentlemen, it is very helpful in preventing and treating an enlargement of the prostate gland, called benign (non-cancerous) prostatic hypertrophy (BPH). Saw palmetto doesn’t shrink the overall size of the prostate, but it seems to shrink the inner lining that puts pressure on the tubes that carry urine (and sperm). Saw palmetto has been found, in clinical trials to be nearly as effective as prescription medication and may soon be accepted by the FDA as a recommended treatment. The typical starting dose for most people is 160 mg twice daily or 320 mg once daily. As with any supplement, do not take anything new without consulting your physician first. You should have proper testing to confirm a diagnosis before taking any medication or supplement.

New studies are also showing that saw palmetto improves sexual performance while giving you gentlemen the cancer protection in the prostate area that you need. The prostate is such an important part of a healthy functioning sex life and keeping it healthy is a top priority!!

Chocolate

Now on to the more fun and enticing portion of this week’s article, the chocolate! It is truly the rare person, I have found who doesn’t like or maybe more accurately LOVE chocolate. It’s everywhere we look, every holiday, no matter how small or insignificant has its own chocolaty confection to commemorate it. We use it to celebrate every occasion from births to weddings, from bar mitzvahs to anniversaries. When we walk into a store whether it’s a convenience store, a grocery store, or even a high end department store, you are bound to run into the luscious confection. So, what is it with Americans and their love affair with chocolate? How did it happen? What is it about that dark, smooth, creamy stuff that we just can’t seem to get enough of?

History of "Chocolate"

The word chocolate came from the Aztec word “xocoatl” the name for the bitter drink the Aztecs brewed from the cacao beans, which are the unprocessed beans of the plant from which chocolate is made. Theobroma cacao the Latin name for the tree literally means “food of the gods”. Cacao beans were treasure in early Latin America, so much so that they were actually used as currency. The Aztec and the Mayans believed the bitter drink that was made from the beans to have magical powers and it was used in ritual ceremonies.

When the Europeans discovered the Americas, Montezuma was believed to have offered Cortes the drink. However, it was not to his taste and honey or cane syrup was then added and it became a popular drink taken back to Spain. By the 17th Century it was fashionable throughout Europe and was believed to have medicinal, nutritious and aphrodisiac properties. It is rumored that Casanova himself was a fan of the drink.

In 1828 a Dutch chemist figured out how to make the cacao into a powder form (Dutch process cocoa) and soon after it was discovered how to turn it into a solid and in 1868, the Cadbury chocolate company was born!! Today cacao farming and harvesting has become more sustainable. Good for us, as that means chocolate will be around for a long time to come!

What's in Chocolate

So, what’s in that chocolate that’s so good for us? First it has magnesium, which is relaxing and put us in a good mood!! It helps lower cholesterol and improves blood pressure. There’s that increased blood flow to you-know-where again. A new study reports that the chemical theobromine may help reduce preeclampsia, a major pregnancy complication.

Another new study shows that people who consume at least 20g (approx. ¾ oz.) of 70% dark chocolate (high in polyphenols) daily showed a marked improvement in blood flow. The milk in milk chocolate prevents the absorption of the polyphenols, so to get the effect it must be dark.

So here’s the final low down on our favorite sweet vice, it contains phenylethylamine the same chemical our brains produce when we are falling in love! We love all those wonderful endorphins. Not to mention the sweet creamy taste. Nothing else melts in your mouth quite like that. It really is one of the best things you can treat yourself to every day and not feel guilty about any longer…

Until next time, keep loving yourselves,

Love,
Kalee

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