The following guest post is from Jessica Johnson, a member of Long Island Heart Associates of New York and contributor to their blog.
Can Chocolate Be the Answer to a Healthy Heart?
In recent studies from the last several years, top cardiologists have seen that chocolate can actually help reduce and lower blood cholesterol thanks to the power of flavonols. This particular class of flavonoids has natural antioxidants that benefit your body as well as help lower blood cholesterol. It also will help improve the blood flow through the body, causing blood platelets to become less sticky, which lowers their ability to clot, while also lowering cholesterol.
These flavonoids are found naturally in cocoa giving it that slightly bitter or more pungent taste in its natural form. Even after cocoa beans have been baked and refined to create commercial chocolate bars, the flavonols still remain intact.
Tomatoes have been linked to several different health benefits, including cancer prevention, 
If you have high blood pressure you need to exercise wisely.
The following is a guest post provided by Kate Flaherty. Kate is an outreach and awareness coordinator for the 
There is an overwhelming amount of information regarding what you should and should not eat available to you. Many times I see people try new diets or special foods to promote heart health. However, they don’t have the basics in place to promote a healthy heart. Therefore, making one particular change, such as eating more walnuts, won’t have as great an impact.
Maintaining a physically active lifestyle that includes regular exercise is one step towards preventing heart disease and promoting low blood pressure.
