Want a beauty tip straight from Capitol Hill?  Nancy Pelosi, the democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives credits dark chocolate in this month’s Harper’s Bazaar magazine.  “I’ve never been one to have an exercise regimen,” states Pelosi. “All day, I know that by night I’m going to be doing my crossword puzzles or reading a book, soaking in the tub, eating my chocolate.”  And when it comes to shades of chocolate “the darker the better,” is her preference.

That’s awesome to hear because I love dark chocolate too.  Just this summer my niece asked me if there are any health benefits to eating dark chocolate.  Let’s find out!

According to Dirk Taubert, MD, PhD, and colleagues at the University of Cologne, Germany, dark chocolate – not white chocolate – lowers high blood pressure. Mauro Serafini, PhD, of Italy’s National Institute for Food and Nutrition Research in Rome, and colleagues agree reporting that, “Dark chocolate – but not milk chocolate or dark chocolate eaten with milk – is a potent antioxidant.”  What’s dark chocolate got that other chocolates don’t?  Plant phenols, specifically cocoa phenols. These compounds are known to lower blood pressure.

And that’s not the extent of the benifits.  A small bar of dark chocolate is recommended by the Foods Standard Agency in the U.K. as a healthy way to fight iron deficiency.

If you want to try Mrs. Pelosi’s health and beauty routine, take this tip from Web MD when choosing your darks.  “Chocolates made in Europe are generally richer in cocoa phenols than those made in the U.S. So if you’re going to try this at home, remember: Darker is better.”  Looks like Doc and Nanc are on the same page!

The benefits of an iron skillet:

• The heat spreads evenly
• You get added iron in your diet
• They last a life time
• It might be the only way to get through to your husband!

My mom’s cast iron skillet has been passed down to her from her great grandmother. When it comes to me, that’ll make over a century of good eats been cooked up in that old timer. Now if you think you don’t like iron ask yourself, what exactly is it that you can’t handle that five generations of women could?

There are some simple things you need to know about cooking with iron, but once you’ve got it down, the benefits far outweigh the Teflon – literally!