Happy St Valentine’s Day to you! Today is the day when loved ones all over the world will eat lots of chocolate and share champagne in celebration of their love!
So can you do this guilt-free knowing that what you are eating and drinking is actually good for your holistic health as well as fun?
Let’s start with the champagne
Real champagne is made from red and white wine grapes. Champagne is made from a mixture of two black grape varieties, pinot noir and pinot meunier, and one white grape variety, chardonnay.
Now, I am sure that you have heard before that red wine in moderation is good for you? Why would this be?
Red wine is made from red grapes. The skins and seeds of red grapes carry polyphenol antioxidants. When red wine is made, the skins and seeds are fermented in the grapes’ juices, causing red wine to have high levels of these antioxidants. These antioxidants have become famous for their ability to protect us against heart disease.
Research undertaken at Reading University in England has shown that two glasses of Champagne contains the same antioxidant polyphenols as red wine and therefore can be good for you!
What do these Polyphenols do?
These antioxidant polyphenols reduce the effects of cell-damaging free radicals within the body. They slow the release of nitric oxide from the blood. This can have stroke-reducing capabilities. The research actually found that drinking champagne daily can improve arterial function. Now I am not suggesting that you drink champagne daily. These health benefits have been shown when you drink a couple of glasses daily.
However, what this research suggests is that a couple of glasses on St Valentine’s day will not harm you and could even help you!
I am sure that most people enjoying a couple of glasses of champagne tonight will not be thinking of the health benefits but it is fun to know anyway! Champagne is a fun bubbly drink that is associated with celebration. Oh and I love that it doesn’t stain our teeth like red wine does!
What about chocolate?
Well chocolate is made from cocoa beans and the percentage of cocoa in your chocolate affects these findings. I highly recommend that you eat dark chocolate which ought to contain a minimum of 64% cocoa. Cocoa contains the same antioxidant polyphenols as red grapes.
In conclusion…..
So together, a couple of glasses of champagne and a few dark champagne truffles can actually fight cell-damaging free radicals as well as bring fun, happiness and joy to your occasion!
Will you be eating chocolate and drinking champagne with your loved one?
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About Clare Kelway
From Mom and Homeopath to Network Marketing Professional, Clare is passionate about helping you create freedom in your life - equipping you with success and a naturally healthy life. Health and Financial stress are the two greatest stresses we experience. Clare has a part time natural health clinic and spends the rest of her time teaching people how to effectively build a network marketing business. She builds her business online and offline using blogging, online marketing and speaking engagements. She lives in Kentucky, USA with her husband and two of her three sons.
{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
Instead of just buying the regular or common chocolates, I’ll buy dark chocolates since it’s better for our health. This Christmas season, I’m also planning to buy red wine because it’s not just for drinking but also it’s good for our health, provided we drink it moderately right?
Chocolate includes a reputation for derailing diets and causing cavities but, surprisingly, consuming organic chocolate can offer significant health benefits. For chocolate to become marketed as organic, it should be grown without the use of chemical pesticides. Although this alone may make organic chocolate healthier than conventional chocolate, the variations in the process used to sweeten organic chocolate are answer to maintaining the natural health benefits. Where conventional chocolate is usually sweetened by corn syrup, an artificial derived from genetically modified corn, organic chocolate is sweetened with the addition of fruits like dates and raisins, malt syrups, or cane juices.
OK Clare I am going to go out and get some dark chocolate!
Champagne triggers migraine headaches for me so I will just have to double up on the chocolate! I love the way you think.
One day we are going to have to get together since you are just an hour or two down the highway from me!
Hi Carla,
yes, great that we are within driving distance!
Have an awesome week.
Clare
Hi Clare,
I do love your way of thinking.
Chocolate being one of my favourite foods …I presume it is classed as a food…
While champagn is not something i drink much …just give me the red wine anyday.
Cheers
Bryan
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Champagne and dark chocolate, what a delicious collections… I can’t wait to taste this nutritious+delicious one….
Hmmmm… I could live with that! Love chocolate… but I think the kind I like best wouldn’t have the benefits that you talk about!! And champagne… I swore off alcohol a few years back so I do the grape seed extract instead of the booze! I will definitely share this info with friends when they try to convince themselves why they shouldn’t enjoy it!!
Holly recently posted..Hooked Into Another Weight Loss Miracle?
Having champagne with your friends is really fun and enjoy..hope you celebrate it..
Thanks Clare! Good to know that there are chocolates that can be good for your body. No need to feel guilty about eating them. Same for champagne, glad to find out that drinking it has stroke reducing capabilities and can improve arterial functions.
I’ve learned something new today!
This is such an knowledgeable post.. Thank you for sharing this! Good job!
Now this is my kind of blog post! <<>>
Seriously, I think all we need to do is look at countries like France and Italy where they consume wine, etc., on a regular basis and actually have lower rates of heart disease, and so on. I read a study not too long ago (now I can’t seem to Google it) that showed there was actually no difference between the effects of red wine, white wine or spirits on the heart. According to the study, one serving of any of these tended to relax the muscles and arteries around the heart, with the residual effect of lowering the pressure. Two servings tended to even things out, and additional servings began to have the opposite effect.
Since I love Champagne (and even more so Prosecco), and all other forms of wine and spirits, in moderation of course, I’m a firm believer in the health attributes involved. It’s too bad that in this country we preach the “sins” of drinking and pass laws to keep young people from consuming alcohol, while at the same time we load our kids with high-fructose corn syrup, aspartame and preservatives and wonder why they’re obese and laden with allergies!
Okay . . . off my soap box, LOL! Thanks for a great post!
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Hi Steve,
I agree with your rant, high fructose corn syrup is responsible for more health challenges than any other single product and it is contained in a large majority of processed products in America. Time for me to write about this one too…..
regards
Clare
Hey Claire
Okay, I am convinced, I am going on a Champagne and Dark Chocolate blitz
Dark chocolate is my favourite!
Peter
Hi Clare! I love dark chocolate and eat it on a regular basis and I drink champagne occasionally. You are right on target when you talk about the importance of antioxidants and polyphenols for enhancing your health. I can’t think of two more enjoyable ways to get these important nutrients into your daily diet. Thanks for the info.
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Hi Clare,
Wow! A few truffles and a glass of champagne! That’s my kind of desert! I loved your post because it gave some new insights about champagne. I knew about the virtues of red wine and resveratrol but I had no ideas about champagne…and I’m French?… LOL
Nathalie Villeneuve recently posted..Embrace Your Leadership
Hi Clare,
I have to confess that I love chocolate. To be honest I prefer milk chocolate though. Red wine as an occasional tipple is nice. Didn’t realise that champagne was made of both grapes.
Aidan
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Hi Clare,
The research you referenced refers to the benefits of nitric oxide, although a casual reader of your post might take it the wrong way. Nitric oxide in the blood signals the arteries to relax and expand, thereby reducing blood pressure. Quoting the research you referred to: “In particular, these antioxidants slow down the removal of nitric oxide from the blood, lowering blood pressure and therefore reducing the risk of heart problems and strokes.”
Dr Spencer told a Sunday newspaper: “We have found that a couple of glasses a day has a beneficial effect on the walls of blood vessels – which suggests champagne has the potential to reduce strokes and heart disease. Here is a link to more information about the health benefits of nitric oxide: http://bit.ly/zY9OgP
I am all in favor of “fun, happiness and joy.” The social and relationship benefits of celebration add much to the health benefits as well. Research has shown that feeling loved by supportive family and friends is good for our health and longevity.
The beneficial cacao tastes bitter unless sweetened. The most common sweeteners are sugars, which are unhealthy in excess. That is why chocolate has a “bad rap.” It is not the cocoa; it is the sugar that is bad for us. Dark chocolate has more cacao and less sugar, and is therefore more healthy.
It is interesting to learn that Champagne is good for us. I only drink it at special celebrations. I drink red wine daily and am thankful for the excuse.
My father and uncle did NOT drink alcohol, and they both died of heart attacks when younger than I am now. Thank goodness for red wine!
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I did not drink any champagne for Valentine’s day, but I did have some dark chocolate. I knew about dark chocolate, but I had never heard of this from champagne. I normally do prefer dark chocolate over others and wine from one of the local winerys out here where I live.
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Hey Clare, sounds like a good reason for chocolate and champagne to me! Heck, why limit it to only Valentines day? Just one more reason… (Didn’t realize champagne had the same health properties as red wine either)
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Hey Clare,
Great post. Isn’t it wonderful how Chocolate and Champagne is good for us for a change! It it kind of funny that you wrote this because the firm I own we offer Nursing continuing education credits and we recently just made a class about the benefits of wine and chocolate. Maybe we will add in champagne too
Talk soon,
Kyle
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Hi Clare,
I know in Italy they drink a lot of red wine and my understanding is that the heart disease rate is very low there. There are many foods that we can eat in moderation that are really beneficial to our body.
Justin Mazza recently posted..— Dieting and Exercise: The Ultimate Balancing Act —
There are so many wonderful things in our world that often get such bad reputations. I haven’t ever really figured out why that should be. Champagne and chocolate are really pretty innocent treats.
Sure, you can go crazy and stuff yourself full of anything to the point of it harming you, but that is certainly not the fault of whatever it is you are eating or drinking.
Thank you Clare, I do like both of these treats, and they sure sound good for Valentine’s Day or actually any other kind of a day for celebration too.
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Hey Clare,
very interesting Post about chocolate and champaign! I wish I can drink, but since my transplant I am no longer allow to drink! ;(
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Thank you Clare for sharing the information about champagne. I love champagne and chocolate! In fact, my husband and I just got back today from a 2 day getaway to celebrate our love and have a relaxful time away from work and day to day ‘stuff’!
Fortunately I know the benefits of dark chocolate and have finally like the taste of dark chocolate. But I had to acquire the taste. Maybe it is a maturity thing!
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Hi Lynn, great that you and your husband got away for time to celebrate your love! That is more key than any chocolate or champagne! yes dark chocolate is an acquired taste as is most gourmet food!
Clare
Hi Clare,
very interesting information about Champagne. Thank you!
Does that apply for ‘ordinary bubbly’ too?
There are probably variances, especially when it comes to the chemicals included. When I have drunk bubbly regularly (1 – 2 small glasses) I started getting cramps, which means it must be using some of the minerals in my body ???
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Hi Yorinda, yes many cheap ‘sparkling wines’ contain multiple chemicals that unfortunately rob our bodies of minerals as well as loading our toxic levels. That is another topic to cover! If you are getting cramps drinking bubbly, I am sorry to say that you body is sending you messages – find something else! Clare
Clare~
Great article!
Considering how much I love the bubbles, this was a really nice read. As for the health benefits of chocolate, this is definitely a hot topic and something that a lot of consumers don’t realize is actually true. Chocolate often gets a bad rap but, in reality, some forms (as you pointed out) can be very good for optimal wellness.
We recently posted an article on various chocolate and wine pairings. I encourage you to review and give us your thoughts: http://beforliving.com/chocolate-and-wine-pairing-healthy-and-delicious-fun
Thanks again! I look forward to more good stuff!
Warmest regards,
Greg
Wow Claire, if I needed the excuse to drink champagne, then this is the perfect one
I never dreamed there might be a positive side to fizz, I just thought it was something for fun`.
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Very interesting … I’ve never been a sweet-eater, but I do like dark chocolate, and well champaigne I love! My favorite combo – dark chocolate dipped strawberries in champagne
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Hello Clare
It’s music to my ear I’m a big fan of both champagne and good chocolate and living in France I’m well placed and indulge in both often!
I’m a Laurent Perrier brut girl and adore dark chocolate 76% with chilli, or ginger or sea salt and black pepper. I have a couple of preferred chocolatiers close to where I live
Sadie-Michaela Harris recently posted..How to merge Facebook Pages and Timelines ahead
My understanding about chocolates is that they are some sort of stimulants so every time I get bored or tired of doing something, I usually ate chocolates.
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Hi Clare,
I agree with Julieanne, it was fun reading those facts about champagne and chocolate. I may not be drinking champagne but I will be feasting on chocolate, guilt-free…but only on this special occasion ( still better to practice moderation )
I’m a huge chocolate fan but I should probably eat more of the dark variety.
It’s good to know that chocolate has health benefits aside from giving us joy and satisfaction.
A Happy Valentine’s Day to you!
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Hi Clare, that was a fun post to read! I love finding out that things which taste good are healthy also. Our Valentines Day downunder was yesterday, so we had a glass of red wine and some cheese and crackers with avocado and sun-dried tomatoes, yummy! Only thing with red wine is that it makes me sleepy.
By the way, have you changed the color scheme on your blog, I love the bright pink Clare, looks beautiful! bye for now, Julieanne
PS, really weird how some blogs’ commenting systems won’t let me spell my name correctly, says “you have too many words in your name”.
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Hi Clare,
having done a great deal of practical research on Champagne I would have to say that Moet is hard to beat. It must be high in those polyphenols!
On the other hand, chocolate has tremendous health benefits and there are thousands of research papers. Pure dark, organic chocolate of at least 70% cocoa has one of the highest antioxidant (ORAC) values of any food.
You can red some of the research at the website I listed here. It makes interesting reading and will change the way you look at chocolate!
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Hi Clare,
I am not actually a fan of champagne and I would certainly prefer red wine, but I really, really love chocolate, everyday we hear bad things about chocolate and sweets in general so it’s really good to know that actually chocolate is good for our health. Actually it’s not just good for our health cause of the antioxidant effects but it actually makes us feel happy which is good for reducing stress and all its effects, thanks for sharing…
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Cocoa and champagne has a good properties of antioxidants that fight free radicals. Did not know of those properties were so high in it. Today is good day to celebrate!
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