Good news, drinkers and choco-holics, there is some new research that suggests that by combining MODERATE amounts of those things, you are more likely to live a longer and healthier life.
That’s right, science has managed to establish a correlation between chocolate consumption and longevity. And this is not your simple Hershey’s-sponsored B.S. here, no no. This was a meta-analysis of several different studies. Essentially they compared data from over a 100,000 participants in seven different research experiments. Though scientists from THE CHOCOLATE STUDY were careful to point out that you need to be cautious when selecting your chocolate, since many chocolate products are very calorie-dense, and contain lots of sugar. I’m also sure there’s a tipping point where you eat TOO MUCH chocolate and diminishing returns kicks in and you start undoing all the good you did with the first little bit of chocolate. Here’s my best advice: the darker the better. I myself don’t really like anything under 77% anymore. At that level, sugar is very low, and positive elements like antioxidants are very high. And it’s a little pricier, so if you’re going to shell out the bucks for the good stuff, you don’t just chew and swallow. Don’t you dare. You need to work it around in your mouth until it melts into bittersweet heaven. Savor that, my friend. Thank me later. Especially when paired with the right bottle of red wine, which brings me to my next point:
MODERATE DRINKING COMBINED WITH VIGOROUS EXERCISE also extends your life according to another study. Take the link to read more, but essentially they found that active exercisers who drink between 1 and 14 servings of alcohal per week are healthier and live longer than exercisers who are NON-drinkers. Even among inactive populations even, moderate drinkers faired better than non-drinkers. But be careful, because at 15 drinks or more per week, things begin to slide down hill again.
So, dear reader, if you are like many of us in the CrossFit world and you bust your ass in part so that you have the calorie room to enjoy that glass of Belgian beer, or that wonderful Pinot Noir with a small slab of 83% Dark, then you’ve got the trifecta of health going on.
And they say its hard to live and clean and healthy life. Psh, Death By Burpees, a little chocolate and wine is all you need.
Just don’t forget that magic M-word: MODERATE.