Heart Health All Year Long

This was written as part of my paid role in partnership with CocoaVia® supplement.

As you may be aware, February is officially designated American Heart Month by the American Heart Association (AHA), and it's the time people are reminded that healthy food and lifestyle strategies are essential to maintaining good heart health.  This dietitian, however, believes people can practice healthy heart habits all year long to build better overall health. 

After a summer full of BBQ meals and outings that are often filled with foods that are loaded with saturated fat and sodium, fall is an especially good time to revamp your diet and look at foods that promote good health, especially heart health.  Fall foods like apples, pears, cauliflower and squash are filled with fiber and plant nutrients - also known as phytonutrients - that are heart healthy. Another source of phytonutrients is CocoaVia® supplement, which has 375mg of cocoa flavanols per serving. These powerful phytonutrients work with your body to maintain healthy levels of nitric oxide that helps maintain the healthy flow of oxygen and nutrients throughout your body, allowing vital organs, muscles and tissues to get the support they need to function at their best.

You may have heard that cocoa flavanols can be found in your favorite chocolate, but unfortunately it’s not that easy.  The dilemma is that there is no way of knowing exactly how many cocoa flavanols are in a conventional chocolate product, since traditional cocoa processing destroys these delicate compounds.  Luckily, CocoaVia® guarantees the highest concentration of cocoa flavanols in a cocoa extract supplement today, thanks to their patented Cocoapro® process.

An easy way to get these cocoa flavanols benefits is by stirring a stick pack of CocoaVia® into a cup of hot cocoa. You can also make a smoothie with fall fruits and a CocoaVia® stick pack, or stir it into plain yogurt.  There are lots of easy, convenient ways to use it.

No matter what time of year there are always simple tricks that have a positive effect on your heart – and your health.

For more recipes and info, go to: www.CocoaVia.com