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served
on long-haul flights, so as to reduce the risks of deep-thein
thrombosis.
Kris-Etherton adds: "Tea is an ideal way to add
antioxidant flavonoids to your diet. Without milk or sugar, it has
the additional benefit of containing no calories. Having a
chocolate cookie that also contains fruit and nuts along with the
tea can make a healthy-heart snack. "
As a guide to threshold daily doses, Kris-Etherton claims
that either one cup of tea brewed for two minutes, or 38g of
chocolate ( about three-quarters of a regular Dairy Milk
bar), can be enough to trigger an immediate beneficial
effect. Three and a half cups or 125g of chocolate (2 1/2
Dairy Milk bars) could have of an effect lasting for a month or
more.
"If you maintain constant consumption, you will
experience a prolonged effect, " she says.
The good news is tempered with caution, however, as it is
difficult to make precise daily recommendations because each
chocolate brand has a different flavonoid level.
It is also accepted that other necessary ingredients of
milk chocolate, such as fat and sugar, can have a detrimental
effect on the body. There is also bad news for coffee
junkies—coffee contains no flavonoids whatsoever, and offers no
known benefits to health.
The Penn State study adds to a growing pool of controversial
research that claims beneficial effects for supposedly harmful
foods. Last year the British academic Dr Robin Baker announced
that eating fatty foods does not necessarily increase cholesterol
levels -- a factor long associated with heart disease.
Although the consumption of red meats and dairy products has
risen over the past 20 years, Baker cited studies from Japan that
reveal the number of deaths linked to heart conditions has fallen.
Habits once considered a sin seem to be on the path to
redemption.
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