Eat some chocolate.

Dark chocolate, that is. And I said some.

Those of you who have spent any time at all around Dr. Bogash have probably heard him encourage dark chocolate consumption. I could live without chocolate, but for all normal people, here's a little good news:

A study in the Journal of Nutrition published in October 2008 studied the correlation between consumption of dark chocolate and levels of C-reactive protein (CRP is a marker of inflammation found in the blood) in a population of healthy Italians.

This study found that those who consumed up to 1 serving of 20 grams of dark chocolate every 3 days had lower levels of CRP than the non-eaters of dark chocolate and those who consumed more than 20 grams every 3 days.

To quote the study: "Our findings suggest that regular consumption of small doses of dark chocolate may reduce inflammation."

"How does this study apply to me?" you ask? This translates into a 33% risk reduction of cardiovascular disease in women and 26% risk reduction in men. There is a 100% chance that you fit into one of those 2 categories :)

I did a little searching around because, being the American that I am, don't practically speaking know how much 20 grams is (it's about .7 ounces). As a reference point, one of those little mini Hersey's bars is approximately 10 grams. So you get 2 of that size servings every 3 days.