Please pass the chocolate (revised).

Dark chocolate, derived from cocoa beans, is loaded with heart-healthy polyphenols and flavonoids. According to the Australian Diabetes Obesity and Lifestyle study, these components decrease inflammation, blood clotting, and stabilize blood sugar.  Flavonoids stimulate nitric acid, which dilates blood vessels and lowers blood pressure. Additional clinical studies show that dark chocolate lowers total and low density (LDL) cholesterol levels (the “bad” cholesterol), provides satiety, and increases HDL, (the “good” cholesterol). However, milk or white chocolate don’t provide this benefit. Blood pressure and total cholesterol lowering effects of dark chocolate may be a non-drug treatment option for people with high LDL and total cholesterol, either alone or in combination modified diet and prescription medicines. However, benefits of dark chocolate on blood pressure and cholesterol are not as effective as prescription medicine.

The take home message:  chocolate could be a cost effective method for preventing cardiovascular disease in people with borderline diabetes (metabolic syndrome). Chocolate may be a pleasant and potential treatment option for people with elevated blood lipids and high blood pressure. Pay attention to the labeling. Look for sugar and corn starch levels, which add more calories. Chocolate should be dark, at least sixty to seventy percent cocoa, or enriched with polyphenols. Get your doctor’s opinion before you “go chocolate.” Don’t cut back on or eliminate fruits, vegetables, and fish.  Most people's diets have plenty of sweets.

Source: Medscape:  Journal of the American Medical Association; Aug. 27, 2011; The Australian Diabetes and Lifestyle Study; Diabetes and Clinical Practice, Vol. 57, issue 2, Aug. 2002.

Quote:  "My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far today, I have finished 2 bags of M&M's and a chocolate cake. I feel better already." - Dave Barry

Sometimes handicapped people not only adapt to a disease or disability, but rise above it and thrive with it. One of my sightless patients came to my clinic for a foot injury. An x-ray showed no fracture. However, I was amazed that this fellow could move about from the waiting room to exam room, and to the front desk with no assistance other than his white cane. When I went home that evening, I consulted my thesaurus regarding the word, "see." There were more than twenty words associated with seeing, including foresight, hindsight, view, gaze, survey, scrutinize, and ruminate. Sometimes we use the expression, "you don't see what I'm trying to explain to you," which some may interpret, "there's something wrong about your belief/standard/thinking process." In my opinion, loading a conviction with a sight word may hinder communication, unless you're careful to ferret out the the other person's beliefs and values. Let's consider Ray Charles Robinson, born 1930 in Albany, Georgia. He was diagnosed blind at age seven. Despite his handicap and mother's death, Ray learned piano at age fifteen at a state school for the blind.Through adolescence, adulthood, and old age, he built a career that combined pop, country, rhythm and blues, gospel, and jazz. He overcame a heroin addiction, and before he died in 2004, Ray recorded a song, "We Are The World" for USA for Africa. How well do you see?   When you communicate with others, do you take time and effort to listen and envision their point of view?  If so, you might not only gain new friends, but open a new pathway that will provide animation, revived spirit, deeper understanding, and added satisfaction in your life.
 "A moment's insight is sometimes worth a life's experience."  Oliver Wendell Holmes.

                                                    Middle-Age Sex Function: (Revised version)
Imagine this, a movie about mature people! Retirement- aged folks find new lives and happiness when they leave cloudy England and move to the Marigold Hotel in India. Anticipating a life of leisure, instead they find that the hotel needs a lot of fix-up. The story line involves long-lonely souls unexpectedly finding partners. One character, not having enjoyed female company for years, doubts his ability in bed and has Viagra on hand. The next morning at the breakfast table she reports they were up all night. He discovers because of his poor eye-sight he had taken aspirin instead of Viagra.
 Let's take a look at Viagra use in middle-aged men. The generic name of this medicine is Sildenafil. It helps penile erection by inhibiting an enzyme, phosphodiesterase, which relaxes smooth muscle, all of which aids an erection. Be aware of its side effects. Here are some. Stroke, heart attack, sudden death, severe low blood pressure, bleeding in the brain, lungs, and eyes; shock, anemia, staggered gait, seizures, hearing loss, blurred vision, elevated blood sodium, rash, diarrhea, nasal congestion, and skin sensitivity to light. I could add more to the list, but that would take another paragraph. The take home message:  if you're an older middle-aged guy and want to try it, make an appointment with your doctor.