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Aronia Berry – The Exotic Fruit Right At Home
from Patagonia and the goji berry from China. These berries from around the world have all made headlines in recent years for their remarkable healing properties.
Little do most people know, however, that there is a far lesser known North American berry about to stake it’s claim as a truly remarkable super berry: Aronia.
Off the Charts Antioxidant Power!
Aronia berries are rich in anthocyanins, the substance that gives this fruit its deep shade of purple. Anthocyanins have been shown to reduce systemic inflammation and levels of C-reactive protein, a byproduct of inflammation. If left unchecked, inflammation is the spark to many chronic and life-threatening diseases, including cancer.
Aronia berries are also high in plant-based super-antioxidants called proanthocyanidins that help boost circulation by strengthening capillary walls and act as an overall tonic for the cardiovascular system.
Proanthocyanins also suppress enzyme breakdown of collagen and alleviate allergies.
Full-Body Health Benefits
The aronia berry also possesses extreme anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-diabetic properties… This fights arterial plague formation… reduces serum cholesterol, shields the liver and kidneys from toxins, lowers blood sugar and balances insulin production. Enriched with flavonoids, the aronia berry also protects against peptic ulcers, eye inflammation and urinary infection.
Cancer Protection
The aronia berry has shown exciting promise as an anti-cancer agent. Research suggests aronia berries may help defend against tumor formation in the bladder, breasts, colon, lungs, ovaries, and skin. Preliminary studies indicate that the berry may even slow the progression of glioblastona, a lethal form of brain cancer.
New Berry on the Block!
Aronia has been commercially cultivated in Russia since the 1940s and in 
Europe since the 1950s. But it wasn’t until 2009 that the Midwest Aronia Association formed in Iowa in order to provide information and other resources to those interested in growing this super-healthy berry. Now, the Association has members in California, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Ontario, Canada. This means that if you don’t already have aronia products available on your local store shelves, you should soon (and in the meantime, you can also look online for internet retailers).
When it comes to choosing a quality product, you’ll be glad to know that aronia berries are naturally pest-resistance and need no agricultural toxins. That said, you should still look for bushels stamped with the USDA organic certification label to make sure you’re benefitting from 100% pure antioxidant advantage.
Let Dark Chocolate Help You Get Fit
When you go on a traditional “diet” it seems that everything even remotely delicious is removed from your menu. Most people cut their caloric intake too far, consume tasteless food that rabbits would avoid, exercise until they drop and make themselves utterly miserable.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
You want to maintain a healthy weight – you want to be fit. You know that excess pounds can lead to heart disease, diabetes and depression just for starters. So how do you get there?
Stop “Dieting”
Good nutrition can still taste fantastic! In fact, fresh foods prepared well are much more delicious than the high-fat, high-sugar, high-additive pre-packaged choices. Most of those frozen and prepared foods taste awful!
When you start making “real” food part of your life you will never want that artificial stuff again.
Instead of giving yourself less food or no food – you need to give it the right foods more often. Make choices – such as green smoothies – that give you tons of fiber and nutrition with less fat and sugar.
68% of the American population is overweight – half of those people are obese.
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Exercise shouldn’t scare you. You don’t have to enter a triathlon to get results. Low impact and no impact exercises and strength training will give you measurable results while also making your bones and muscles strong.
Yoga, tai chi, walking, water aerobics and light strength training with resistance bands are inexpensive ways to get moving without feeling like you’ll need a week to recover.
How Dark Chocolate Can Help You Lose Weight
Over the last several years scientists have been examining the benefits of dark chocolate. While milk and white chocolate are still a no-no, the mix of good stuff 
in varieties with 70% cacao or higher are irrefutable.
Top 5 Benefits of Dark Chocolate
- 1. A study published in
Science Daily
- found that dark chocolate slows digestion so you feel full for a longer period of time – which may curb your calories by as much as 15% at the next meal.
2. The Journal of Proteome Research reported that dark chocolate actually alters the human metabolism in a good way. The monounsaturated fats (MUFAs) in dark chocolate boost your metabolism which stimulates your body to burn fat.
3. People who eat dark chocolate have fewer cravings for foods packed with sugar, salt and fat.
4. According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, dark chocolate does not stimulate insulin resistance that can lead to diabetes. When your body is resistant to insulin, your cells go into starvation mode because they aren’t getting the fuel they need. The result is more weight gain.
5. Dark chocolate has been shown to lower blood pressure, stress cortisol levels and reduce the LDL “bad” cholesterol in your body. All of this is due to the antioxidant-rich cacao content not duplicated in other forms of chocolate. Harvard Medical School found that the flavonoids in dark chocolate reduce your risk of coronary heart disease.
Can You Eat Chocolate and Weigh Less?
Eating chocolate actually helps lower your body mass index (BMI) – the measurement that pinpoints how much of your total body weight is actually fat.
One all natural variety – which is also part of the – contains all the antioxidants dark chocolate is known for with no gluten and high fiber.
Getting Healthy and Being Happy
Getting fit and meeting your weight loss goals doesn’t have to be frustrating or depressing. Improving your health can go hand-in-hand with happiness and positivity. You don’t have to deprive yourself of the foods and flavors you love most.
– and why they are dangerous to your health.
Did you know…that certain foods contain a hormone that causes your fat cells to expand – thereby making your body look bloated?
on the Beverly Hills Mega Weightloss System on how you can lose weight working with your body’s natural biochemistry instead of working against it.
HealthyDad 