Red Wine, Dark Chocolate & Coffee; what do they offer to your nutritional lifestyle?

Can it be true!?
Can 3 AMAZING "indulgences" fit into your day-to-day routine!?

I am so excited to say that YES! Red wine, chocolate AND coffee CAN fit into your day-to-day life. (YAY)

I'm sure you're thinking something along the lines of "Yes, but where's the catch?" or "What do I have to give up to be able to enjoy these 3 AMAZING man-made creations?"

The answer?
Nothing.

Red wine, chocolate and coffee fit into a list called the "FEON's"
What is this list?
Food Essential to Optimum Nutrition.

A FEON is a nutritional material that possess extensive research demonstrating unique benefits optimal for your everyday health. This nutritional material will aid in your journey to success. At this time, there are 18 FEON's. As research advances everyday, the list may grow BUT as of RIGHT now, there are 18.

To give you an idea, here are (in no particular order) 5 FEON's;

#1 High Quality Whey Protein
#2 Cruciferous Vegetables
#3 Omega-3 supplement
#4 Blueberries
#5 EGCG- Green Tea extract

AND, of course, the RDC's; Red wine, Dark chocolate and Coffee.

For years, everyone has been under the impression that these foods do more harm than good; and yes, they do have the potential to do just that. BUT if you do your research, there is actually very little science-based evidence to support this notion. In fact, research suggests quite the opposite. RDC's contain unique properties that promote better health and possibly, more efficient fat loss!

First things first. One thing you need to know is that red wine, dark chocolate and coffee all have one thing in common; they are packed with antioxidants.

What actually are antioxidants?
Antioxidants protect you from something called "free-radicals". Free-radicals are molecules that have a loner electron. This is called "unpaired". This causes these free-radicals to become extremely reactive. These free-radicals could be in your cells for all kinds of reasons; your body naturally pumps them out when you're producing energy. Once these free-radicals are in your body, they are desperate to find an electron. They can steal these electrons from things like your DNA or even the lining of cells. This can mutate our DNA and cause more harm than good. SO one of the places that these free-radicals can get an electron WITHOUT causing harm would be from an antioxidant. And the awesome thing about antioxidants are that they are ready to give away one of their electrons to these free-radicals!

One more thing you should know before going into why these 3 treats are beneficial for our health (and sanity) is because of a protein called Sirtuin. And, of course, we are lucky enough to say that red wine, dark chocolate and coffee all contain these sirtuins.
Sirtuins are proteins that are found in your body and they play an important role in aging and metabolism; therefore playing a role in fat loss!

NOW, onto the red wine, dark chocolate and coffee and how they can fit into our day-to-day routine!

Red Wine; we all love it. Especially with a nice bowl of yummy pasta or a juicy steak or even at the end of a stressful day (guilty). Red wine has an active ingredient called resveratrol. Resveratrol contains anti-oxidants, anti-inflammatory and fat-metabolising properties that enable cells to live longer. This happens during the fermentation process; during this process these cells are actually preserved and concentrated on the polyphenol's unique capacities. This active ingredient also ramps up another protein called sirtuins.

Dark Chocolate; who doesn't love a nice, big square of dark chocolate!? That bitterness that just melts in your mouth and literally activates serotonin levels! (not kidding guys!) Dark chocolate is a rich source of flavan-3-ols (a phytochemical found in cocoa) that maintains the elasticity of artery walls and therefore, offers a clear protective effect against cardiovascular disease. Dark chocolate also activates the protein sirtuin and therefore aids in the metabolism promoting in fat loss.

Coffee; what are mornings without caffeine? Now, despite the popular theory that coffee ramps up our cardiovascular system; research shows that coffee (decaf and caffeinated) does not adversely affect our cardiovascular system. Not when consumed in realistic doses anyway. Coffee appears to promote an insulin sensitizing effect! The body starts to produce insulin when glucose is released into the bloodstream when we intake carbohydrates. This is then converted from fat to energy more efficiently. Recent studies suggests coffee consumption lowers and sustains the blood glucose response of meals by slowing the gastric emptying of food from the stomach. Lower blood glucose = key attribute to fat loss.

Now, the big question!
How can I fit this into my everyday life?

The key to achieving the benefits from RDC's is a moderate approach. Particularly, regarding red wine and dark chocolate.
1-2 standard glasses of red wine, 3-4 times a week will promote health. Anymore than this, the benefits can be wiped out by the negatives of alcohol consumption.
Only 5-6 squares (30 grams) of dark chocolate contain almost 9 grams of fat (and this is mostly saturated fat. The worst kind) along with approximately 150-160 calories! With this being said, 1-2 squares every other day is optimal to reap the benefits that dark chocolate has to offer.
As for coffee; adding that cream and 2 sugars obviously contradicts the benefits coffee contains. With this being said, anymore than 3 MODERATE cups of coffee a day also exploits the benefits. SO, 1-3 average-sized cups of regular coffee (black is always preferred) a day can give you the amazing advantages as said above.

The key is really all in moderation. If you know you can't have that piece of dark chocolate without going through the entire bar, than don't set yourself up for failure. Once you are comfortable enough with your current nutrition lifestyle, then can you incorporate these 3 treats.

I truly hope this blog helped with your insight on red wine, dark chocolate and coffee!

Until next time!

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