December 2009

Choose dark chocolate this year for your valentine!

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and whether you celebrate it or not, here is a small bit of advice to really sweeten up your sweetie!  It is the day that some can’t wait for while others can’t wait for it to be over. The perspective you take can vary from year to year and almost always has people in a slight predicament. Do I buy my special someone a gift or make one? Should it be thoughtful and from the heart or can just make that 10 min drive to the mall and buy my way into their heart. Are roses, chocolates, and cards to cheesy or is it expected? So many questions and so little time to make the best of your valentine’s day!   Here is a wee bit of advice when dealing with a chocolate lover, choose a small treat of dark chocolate, nothing too much, but just enough to allow yourself to explain the full meaning behind this decadent treat! People and women in particular are more willing to accept food as a gift if they are told that it comes with many health benefits. This is why giving dark chocolate would be an excellent choice.  

Dark Chocolate and Heart Health:

Dark chocolate does its part by helping to keep the cardiovascular and heart systems running smoothly. Studies have shown that a small amount of dark chocolate each day can help with the following;    

• Lower blood pressure: Shown to reduce blood pressure in those individuals with high blood pressure.
• Lower Cholesterol: Shown to reduce the amount of bad LDL cholesterol in the body. Chocolate (Cacao beans) contain flavonoids which act as antioxidants within the body. You may be more familiar with the antioxidants found in blueberries, strawberries and broccoli but truth be told, dark chocolate is right up there with them. What do antioxidants do for us anyways? Antioxidants help the body while it ages by combating the free radicals that cause us damage. These free radicals eventually lead to heart disease and other potentially fatal diseases.  

• Dark chocolate tastes good, if something that is healthy for you also tastes good then why not indulge (in moderation of course).
• It helps with anxiety, by stimulating endorphin production, which gives you a feeling of pleasure and enjoyment.
• It helps fight of depression, dark chocolate contains serotonin which acts as an anti-depressant.
• If you aren’t a coffee drinker, dark chocolate could be an alternative. It contains theobromine, caffeine and other substances that act as stimulants to give the body that extra jolt it might need in the morning.

How much chocolate is still good for me?

Try to pick chocolates with at least 65% or higher cocoa content. Anything lower and you wont be able to achieve any of chocolates true health benefits. To balance the intake of calories that chocolate contains try to reduce the intake of some other sugary foods that you may love but have no benefit to your body. Overall, about 1 ounce of dark chocolate per day is recommended, so use in moderation and try not to overindulge.  

Hopes this helps to make the most of your chocolate lovers Valentine’s Day gift giving. When thinking chocolate, the darker the better, well for the health benefits anyways. It doesn’t hurt to have a treat of the milk or white stuff every so often! A treat done in moderation can increase a smile, while a treat in excess can increase a waistline! Happy snacking!  

By Ashley Hatch Referenced from: Mark Stibich (about.com, health benefits of chocolate) and (How dark chocolate benefits your health, articlesbase.com).

Ambassador Advantage Program:

The Ambassador Advantage Program just became a little sweeter! For the Valentine month of February…were going to give you more than chocolate! For every referral… you now will receive double the rewards! All you need to do is refer a new member to join Bankers Hall Club before the end of February.

Please see Teri or Danielle to get in on the action!

Expresso Bike Repair Update:

Dear Members  

We apologize for the length of time the Expresso bikes have been out of order. The reason for this delay is that the company which makes Expresso bikes has gone out of business. Due to this we were unable to order parts or speak to anyone within the company.  

After some time a new company called Interactive Fitness Holdings (IFH) purchased Expresso and committed to getting the company back in business. While IFH was setting up the business, moving, hiring staff, etc. we were unable to reach anyone or order parts. Once IFH got the company set up to run again they started with only shipping parts within the United States. In the last couple of weeks they have started shipping parts to Canada however there has been some delays in regards to receiving the parts on time. IFH will not honor the warranties on many of the Expresso bikes so we have purchased all the required parts. We have received some of the parts we need to fix these bikes, the remaining parts have been ordered and they are on their way. More information about the transition to ownership by IFH is available at http://www.expresso.com/

 We hope to have the bikes fixed as soon as possible and thank you for your patience and understanding during this time,

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns 403-298-4752,

Thank you,