It would be hard to find a more widely adored snack, compared to chocolate. Old or young, basic or even stylish, the big assortment of chocolates entice equally as large a number of men and women. Because of the uncanny ability to provide scrumptious satisfaction, chocolate gifts are a no-fail strategy to enhance anyone’s time.

Decedent and delicious, cocoa-inspired enjoyment will certainly set a smile on any ones face. An excellent way to express ‘With thanks,’ ‘Congrats,’ as well as everything in between, this kind of yummy treat communicates a wonderful meaning. Because there are many patterns, colours along with themes out there, just about anyone’s character could be demonstrated within a clever way. Essentially the most advanced tastebuds see why fine-quality extravagance, and also the uncomplicated taste buds can also.

Couples can certainly experience the flavour of love, making use of this greatest aphrodisiac as the best delicious way to declare ‘I love you.’ Special statements translate well whenever presented using delicious attraction. Excellent wine is a yummy compliment to the sweetness. Trips just could not come to be complete devoid of this sugary treat. Essential in lots of puddings, as well as a favorite which never fails, it’s really a necessary preference regarding festivities and get-togethers. Needed in cupcakes, pastries, ice creams, and also lovely small appetizers. For best luxury it can also be dissolved and move readily within a fountain, an ideal dip for refreshing strawberries, bananas, cherries as well as berries.

This self-indulgent superstar carries a broad range of followers, and equally as broad, is the range of treats and gifts produced from it. Usually being used as a base just for different delightful treats, this kind of prominent confection is often teamed along with a number of nuts, sticky caramel, peppermint, vanilla, peanut butter, dried fruit, pretzels, and even popcorn. The list of enhancing ingredients goes on and on. Effortlessly mold-able this specific sugary snack may take design to match virtually any theme. From sophisticated to easy, naive and mischievous, presently there simply isn’t a more functional element. Dark, white or milk, every single style features it’s personal distinct tastes.

Present your admiration, and develop pleasure with the gift idea that simply is unable to be unsuccessful. Family, lovers, associates, co-workers, in addition to simply just about everybody else, will truly delight in the scrumptious gift. Customize the selection to satisfy the preference of the person, through so much choice it’s really a straightforward process. Be it some sort of box of sweet varieties, a themed-out delicious giftbox, or any other rich and creamy treat, a smile will be ready upon the other end of the delivery. An extravagant present will surely end up being thought of as well as treasured, and also the intent for happiness, undoubtedly can be attained.

Chocolate is really a sure-fire way to enhance your senses. An enormous number of chocolates create an uncomplicated fit for just about any situation, or just about anyone. Chocolate gifts are an all round satisfaction which can be certain to provide pleasure as well as joy.

What more can I can about chocolate? It is the sexiest gift anyone could give simply because it’s sweet, rich and luscious nature helps to release inhibition and bring out the beast in all of us. Chocolate, particularly of the dark class, has been known to release chemicals in the brain that aid in relaxation and pleasure. So it is only natural that this candy and sex would go hand in hand, but there are other more tantalizing reasons why this dark sweet would make a very sexy surprise to anyone.

Engages the Senses: To accomplish the most sexual satisfaction you must involve as many body senses as possible. That is why candy is very important. It activates the oral cavity and raises the interaction of the taste buds during sex. This of course is a plus because the more alert the taste buds are the more memorable the experience will be.

To Stimulate Passion: Chocolate is a very intense aphrodisiac and is known to heighten the libido in humans especially women. And this characteristic makes it a gift that should be used during foreplay to increase passion and sensuality.

Increases pleasure: This addictive confectionery has been proven to release endorphins in the brain which not only relaxes, but also boosts happiness. So it can be used to make a lover more comfortable and allow them to fully enjoy the love making. Kind of like the same affect wine has.

Keeps Things Interesting: This dark treat can actually bring back some excitement in a worn out relationship particularly in the bedroom. When used on the body it can make some very discreet parts taste really really good.

For centuries chocolate was the most romantic gift that could be given by a lover or admirer, and that has not changed. Chocolate makes a fantastic gift for days of the year that call for romance like Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, weddings or any other day on the calendar you want to show some love. You could also have a chocolate dessert over a romantic dinner where the both of you will be anxiously anticipating to start the “activities of the night”. Or it could be given in a form of a gift card [http://www.giftgrease.com/delicious-gift-card.html]. Any way you choose to present your candy is fine as long it is used to help achieve the ultimate pleasure possible.

Chocolate has certainly become one of the most popular flavors in the world. Countries like Belgium, England, France, Italy and Switzerland have stood out as great chocolate producers. However, since the past 5 years, the eyes of chocolate lovers around the world have also turned to Ecuador.

Despite being a country that provides only a 3% of the world’s total production of cacao -the plant chocolate is made from-, Ecuador happens to be one of the best when it comes to cacao quality and flavor. Ecuador is the world’s number one producer of fine cocoa, with the 63% of the world’s total production.

Ecuador’s fine cocoa, utilized to elaborate chocolate truffles for the Queen of England, has unique secondary flavors that depend directly on the region where the plant has grown, just like it happens with wine. The country has three main spots for the production of high-quality chocolate: the province of Los Rios, that has two well-defined seasons together with volcanic and alluvial terrains and produces a unique, fruit-almond flavored chocolate; the province of Manabí, known for its dry, desert geography that provides a magnificent flower-flavored chocolate with a strong personality; and the province of Esmeraldas, where the most European-like chocolate is produced, due to its resemblance to the African cocoa lands.

This Ecuadorian, 100% organic chocolate is indeed a luxury product. If you have the chance to travel to the coastal region of Ecuador, you shouldn’t miss the opportunity to enjoy a cup of Ecuadorian chocolate made right before your eyes. Watch the cook as he toasts, peels, grinds and melts the cocoa beans to finally pour you a cup of hot, delicious chocolate that will certainly cheer you up. Made from the finest cacao grains once known as “gold beans”, this sweet treat will be a feast to your senses!

Here is some startling and great news for chocolate lovers everywhere. It is good for us! But only under certain circumstances.

In an article in the Washington Post dated 9 February 2005, Katherine Tallmadge a spokesperson for the American Dietic Association states that “cacao or cocoa beans contain “Flavanols” a naturally occurring plant compound also found in tea, red wine and apples. Their properties have been studied as a heart disease inhibitor”. Also in the same article Carl L Keen the Chair of the Department of Nutrition at University of California states that “the Flavanols in cocoa help maintain a healthy vascular system. They reduce blood clotting – an aspirin like effect – reduce oxidative damage and improve blood flow”.

Yet is the Flavanols in the chocolate which are bitter and often extensively taken out of processed chocolate. Each level of processing that takes place when the bean is being made into chocolate the level of flavinols decreases. Yet nowadays you will find some of the top producers of chocolate products such as Nestle and Mars Inc are trying to produce items that are good for you. It should not be too long before you will see bars and candies made from chocolate with high levels of flavanols included within them. However, if you are looking for a bar that does at present state the flavanol levels contained within it you only need to look at “Mars Dove Dark Chocolate” which contains 150mg of flavanols in every 1.3oz’s of this chocolate ( a very high level indeed), but the downside to this product is that it contains 200 calories. But we do not live in the perfect world yet.

However, Ms Tallmadge recommends that whilst waiting for more high levels of flavanol products to be made you should take unsweented cocoa powder (not the Dutch processed kind (alkalized) as this has reduced flavanols). The next item you could try instead is either semi-sweet or bitter-sweet chocolate which has a high cocoa percentage. You may find some chocolates contain as much as 70% cocoa, but some may only have as much as 35%, and certainly with milk chocolate products you will find that the percentage will be even lower, and Ms Tallmadge suggests that these should not be eaten. In fact she states in the article that “I recommend cocoa or an ounce per day of dark chocolate, which will may be about 110 to 150 calories, depending on the chocolate. Any more than that and you’re probably going to take in too many calories for weight control.”

Are you sure that what you just read is too true. A person of some note in the nutritional field is RECOMMENDING that we eat chocolate? Okay she may state that we should not eat too much of it, but its still chocolate.

You know the world is changing when the cognoscenti start to talk about gourmet chocolate in the same way other connoisseurs talk about wine. It used to be the norm that wine critics held sway using terms like gravel, blackberry, sweaty saddle and honey peach to describe a particular wine. These days a similar practice is being adopted by gourmet chocolate connoisseurs. There are top line producers of chocolates who are actively encouraging this trend by sponsoring chocolate tastings. At my local wine shop I have seen Shiraz filled chocolates at outrageous prices. The peculiar terminology or terroir that used to be the preserve of the wine industry is definitely changing and so are chocolate prices.

It will come as no surprise that some Italian chocolate manufacturers like Amadei, which makes the Porcelana and Chuao ranges of gourmet chocolates, are leading this push. Terroir is the terminology that describes the peculiar taste characteristics of a particular wine region. Prices can be as high as $100 a pound.

When prices go this high the comparison with wine is well and truly justified.

What if it’s Just Too Expensive?

Luckily there is a large range to choose from. You don’t need to go straight to the top. Also, it’s a matter of taste. Just because a chocolate is the most expensive does it really mean it is the best? Well it depends on what you like. Remember when a block of Cadbury plain milk chocolate was the standard? Now there are so many alternatives I guess the only way to see what you really like is to go ahead and try them all!

You could start with Valrhona, Scharffen Berger, and possibly small local producers. This is where it gets exciting. As this new breed of chocolatiers begins to grow, you may find a local one producing well priced high quality gourmet chocolates.

You can even try to make some yourself. Imagine bringing out your own specially developed chocolates at your next dinner party! You’ll need the best ingredients and maybe have to take a course but can you imagine a better way to spend a few hours. The rewards are out of this world!

You can find most of what you need online, and remember, tasting the products that are available to you can be a wonderful past-time. You will soon develop your own preferences and you can buy as much or as little as you want when testing new gourmet chocolates out. Soon you will be in chocolate heaven.

You may think you already know all about Italian food. Almost daily you make spaghetti, lasagna and pizza for your family. You may also cook most everything in olive oil and use plenty of garlic. However, you have not really lived until you have tasted these scrumptious Italian desserts.

The dessert course at an Italian table is called “dolce,” meaning sweet. Regarding Italian desserts, they have an endless array of chocolates, cookies and various other enticing ambrosial offerings, the flavor of which ranges from slightly bitter to fairly sweet. In general, Italian desserts are not too sweet and are usually served with an Italian wine.

Life and love will not be the same after you have experienced the self-indulgent flavor of ladyfingers dipped in a mix of coffee and Brandy layered with cream made up of eggs, mascarpone and Marsala wine in the authentic Italian version of Tiramisu. Your taste buds will thank you and you will crave it forever.

Next you should dive into a Cannoli. It is made of pastry shells that resemble pasta shaped cannelloni. The oblong tube is filled with chocolate chips, ricotta and candied fruit usually garnished with a sweet candied cherry. This precious dessert dates back a couple of thousand years.

There are so many to choose from, but another memorable Italian dessert is biscotti. The cookie dough is baked not once, but twice for crispness, is almond flavored and often dipped in chocolate. These are for those who love to indulge in gastronomic delights.

It is no wonder that people all over the world consider Italian food as some of the most tasty and intricate foods around. Not everyone can afford to go to Italy to find them, but if you look for a local Italian restaurant and skim their menus for these specialties, you will not be disappointed.

If you are a dessert addict like me and get somewhat weak in the knees without the occasional foreign cuisine, you should make sure that you discover these delicious Italian concoctions.

I believe if there is no dessert, then why have the meal in the first place? You need to set a goal during dinner and that goal is dessert. Hey, I have even started out my meal with dessert and had another one afterward although I would not recommend it. You might hurt yourself and then blame me.

Gift baskets will always be popular and a great idea to give as a gift. People love to receive gift baskets. Making your own chocolate lover’s gift basket is cheap and easy.

You can fill it with a variety of inexpensive items and there are lots of choices.ou can easily customize each chocolate theme gift basket to your recipient.

I’ve put together a few great ideas for making a chocolate lover’s gift basket, complete with instructions on how to make them. You can make inexpensive gift baskets or expensive gift baskets depending on your budget.

First make a list of your recipient’s hobbies and interests. List everything you can think of.

Suggestions: sports, books, television shows, in-house hobbies, outdoor recreation, camping, workshop, enjoy working with tools, golf, fishing, computer-related, environment friendly, golf, and tennis.

Also relaxation, food, wine, spa, bath and body, fruit, cookie, crafts, gardening, etc. You can tie in any interests into your chocolate theme. These are just a few ideas.

You can find many inexpensive items for use in making your gift baskets or filling your gift baskets, at ‘dollar’ stores, craft stores, party stores, discount outlets, flea markets, close-out stores, etc.

For gift containers you can use: any type of basket, wicker basket, straw basket, bucket, laundry basket, plastic container, toy dump truck or other large toy truck, purse, tin, Christmas tin, seasonal container, large tea pot, large upside-down hat, or plastic storage container-put lid underneath.

Other items might be: extra-large coffee mug, boot, potted plant holder, wire basket, large pasta bowl, large popcorn bowl, cooking pot, clay pot, tackle box, colander, small wagon, skillet, antique trunk, champagne bucket, hamper, Asian-style trunk or picnic basket.

For gift basket liner you can use: tissue paper, shredded paper, shredded newspaper, tea towels, dish towels, hand towels, kitchen towels, colored towels, colored napkins, placemats, diapers, baby blankets or fabric pieces.

For gift basket filler you can use: shredded colored paper, straw, Easter basket grass, crumpled newspaper comics, a bed of wrapped chocolates or other wrapped candy.

For items in the container it’ll depend on the specialty or theme of the gift basket – in this case Chocolate! With chocolate it’s best not to include any fragrant items, unless they are wrapped in such a way that they don’t give off any fragrance. Here’s a small random sampling to give you some good ideas:

Gift certificate for massage or spa visit, gift certificate to favorite store, gift certificate for restaurant, loofah, CD of nature sounds, favorite artist CD, DVD of newer release movie, how-to video or CD, handwritten poem, watch, framed photo, inspirational book, spa pillows, bath pillows, spa supplies, or a small fluffy towel.

Also flavored teas, green tea, specialty tea, herbal tea, biscotti, tea infuser, healthy snacks, fancy chocolates, boxed chocolates, chocolate bars, hot chocolate mix, specialty coffee mix, homemade chocolate chip cookies, homemade brownies, chocolate fudge, and Ghirardelli chocolates.

Or chocolate covered raisins, chocolate covered strawberries, Hershey chocolates, dark chocolates, white chocolates, chocolate bars, chocolate covered cherries, Belgian chocolates, chocolate mints, and chocolate covered pretzels.

How about miniature or giant-size chocolate animals, gourmet chocolate candies, Tootsie Rolls, nuts, homemade chocolate-based cookies, pre-packaged chocolate food items, brownie mixes,and chocolate chip cookie mixes.

And wooden spoons, your best chocolate chip cookie recipe, your favorite hand-written chocolate recipes, chocolate dessert recipes, chocolate fudge recipes, hot chocolate or cocoa mixes in fancy packets, coffee mug for cocoa, movie tickets and cinnamon sticks.

You can use as many chocolate items as you like. You can make your basket with all chocolate items or mix in a few non-chocolate items.

For gift basket wrapping you can use tulle netting or I like to use cellophane wrap. You can buy it in large rolls. Look for specialty packaging outlets where you can buy it wholesale.

Tie off the wrapped basket with ribbon. Wired fabric ribbon is best if you have it. For bows: You can use pre-packaged bows but making your own bows is easy and the best if you can do it. Use a large or huge bow.

Assemble all your gift basket items, tools you need, etc. Now line your selected gift container. Now stuff the selected filler into the gift basket to give added height to your items. Place, layer and arrange your selected items on the filler in the gift container. Put the larger items in the back, the smaller items in front.

Fill in the holes or prop up with more filler (shredded paper, Easter basket grass, wrapped chocolates, napkins or holiday napkins etc. Also you can use ‘picks’ of artificial flowers to fill in space.

Place your cellophane or other wrap under the gift basket. Center the gift basket on the wrap. Bring the cellophane or other wrap over the top of the gift basket and tie it with ribbon and or a beautiful bow! Use ribbon and bows to match your theme colors. Tuck a card in the ribbon and that’s it!

You can find fabric or wired ribbon cheaply at Costco– especially in the fall prior to Christmas but often throughout the year in some stores. You can shred paper in a paper shredder. If you’re going to need a lot of cellophane you can purchase it wholesale through the packaging specialty stores throughout the U.S. but should be easily found in craft stores.

General tips: Try to use non-perishable items. Use freshly packaged food items, because even packaged crackers and cookies can go stale in a couple of months. You can find filler flower ‘picks’ at garage sales for pennies. If you buy wholesale they are usually around a dollar each.

Also there’s nothing like learning how to make gift baskets from a video or DVD for making cheap and easy gift baskets. You can view it over and over again and share with your children, other family members and friends.

You can even charge for classes with your new-found knowledge and/or start a home based business if you so desire. In any event, making a chocolate lover’s gift basket is cheap and easy and will be thoroughly appreciated by the chocolate lover recipient.

It is rare that eating chocolate is recommended for health reasons. However, quite surprisingly, dark chocolate is said to contain antioxidants that benefit your body when eaten properly.

People often refer to dark chocolate as “bittersweet” chocolate. It contains roughly 70% cocoa solids and has less or no sugar added.

Since it has less or no sugar, dark chocolate is far less susceptible to heat than milk chocolate.

Some recent studies suggest that eating dark chocolate provides your body with essential antioxidants that could help with getting rid of free radicals that cause premature aging.

Other studies indicate that another benefit of dark chocolates is it could help with lowering bad cholesterol oxidation and reduce the risk of blood clots.

The primary reason why dark chocolate have these benefits is the flavonoids it contains. A flavonoid is a ketone that one can also find in the stems, seeds, and leaves of several plants. These flavonoids are members of a class of antioxidants called polyphenols, which are also found in red wine, tea, and certain fruits and vegetables.

It is estimated that dark chocolate contains eight times the levels of polyphenol antioxidants when compared with strawberries.

More studies have indicated that there are reduced benefits eating dark chocolate antioxidants if it were taken with milk or if milk were part of the dark chocolate mixture. It is believed that the molecules of milk adhere themselves to the epicatechins and prevent the proper assimilation of the flavonoids by the body.

Not all studies favor dark chocolates. Concerns have been raised about the possibility of dark chocolate inducing migraine attacks. However, data to fully support those concerns is still insufficient.

In addition to being a pleasure on the palate, consuming fifty grams of dark chocolate made of at least 70 percent chocolate solids could provide health benefits and supplement your diet with additional iron, potassium, and calcium.

Television is a seemingly harmless marvel. It wakes us, entertains us, shouts at us in surround sound during commercials and puts us to sleep after a long day.

Somewhere in between viewing its contents, we wind up watching television news. While it’s natural to want to know what’s going on in the world, the effects of what we see on television often leave our mental TiVo on pause.

Have you ever watched the evening news and felt like your insides have been completely drained? That’s what I call, ‘TNS’ or the Television News Syndrome.

We watch it to be informed and end up being infused with fear, doubt, negativity and everything that is bad about life – and that’s not good.

I’ve come up with 14 reasons why bad news is bad for us in hopes to make you more aware of what you are taking into your consciousness when you surrender your mind to television news.

1. Instillation – not to be confused with installation. To instill is to introduce gradually through persistent efforts as in to instill goodness, conscience, etc. Installation applies to machinery placed in position for connection.

My biggest problem with television news is the instillation of fear. The more fear that it instills, the more fear that is installed on our spiritual hard drive, taking up unnecessary room and making our thought system run slower.

2. Perpetuation Of Fear – it’s not enough to instill fear, they have to keep hammering it into our skulls, drilling it into our heads, plastering it all over our Souls.

3. Fear Specifics Or,”The Crisis-Crisis” – to television news reporters, the word, “crisis” is gold. Off the top of my head, there is a housing crisis, economy crisis, wall street crisis, oil crisis, water crisis, electricity crisis, health care crisis, food crisis, blood crisis, budget crisis and the crisis-crisis. For crisis sake – - enough about crises.

4. Possibilities – I have been hearing the story of Africanized killer bees for at least 20 years. When can I remove my bee keeper outfit? It’s getting really itchy under here.

I want to know if there is a recall on the food that I am consuming, food I would feed a child or animal, cars that I drive, medication, children’s toys, furniture and clothing; real dangers, not “possibilities of fatalities” because a bee may chase me one day in the future and jam its stinger into my skin.

5. Probabilities – people don’t hear the word “possible” they hear probable which translates into doom.

6. Strike That From The Record – when news is reported erroneously, (often times) it is standard to have a retraction. In print, the retraction is always on the last page – in the corner – at the bottom – where people won’t see it. On television news, a retraction is almost said in passing (by that time our mind has already stored the information it gathered when the story was first reported.)

7. The Old Sleight Of Hand – now you see it, now you don’t. Red wine is good for us and red wine is bad for us. Chocolate is beneficial to our health and chocolate can kill us. Which is it? That which gives life also gives death. What are we to believe?

8. In Between The Lies – the first glass of wine relaxes blood vessels, reducing the heart’s work, thus lowering the risk of heart disease. Here’s the kicker. Researchers found that more than one glass of wine increased heart rate, the risk of high blood pressure, coronary artery disease and heart failure.

9. What They Don’t Tell You – Certain types of wine are much better than other wines. Researchers studied exactly what substances in wine could change blood vessel function and studies are funded by the red wine industry.

They studied areas where people were living longer and drinking wine and discovered that wines in those areas were richer in procyanidin, which is a flavanoid polyphenol, otherwise known as antioxidants.

You see, the study only takes in a small portion of people and the results don’t apply to everyone. Some of the nutritional advice being pushed on the general public is actually not based on fact.

The notion that red wine keeps us healthy comes from something called the French Paradox. Scientists noticed that despite a diet loaded with saturated fat, very few French people actually die from heart attacks, but that is based on the region where they reside.

Studies have shown that people who drink without food are more likely to have high blood pressure. High blood pressure increases your risk of heart disease and it increases the risk of a stroke.

10. The Drain And Fill – drains you of all of your positive images and fills you with negative images that permeate your mind, body and Soul in a C.S.I. (Crime Scene Investigation) way.

11. Visual Anesthesiology – puts us out of touch with our sensitivity and genuine compassion for others. An anesthetic is an agent that causes loss of sensation with or without the loss of consciousness. From the Greek word, anaisth-e-tos, meaning without feeling. A visual anesthetic causes a total loss of consciousness. You are force fed something that’s difficult to digest and thus it sits there on your consciousness.

12. Breaking And Entering – what we watch on television news robs us of any faith and hope we have in humanity. It breaks our spirits, enters our hearts and overwhelms us. It repeatedly tells us everything that is wrong with life and how we are doomed.

13. Robs Us Blind – it robs us of our ability to think for ourselves and and to see further into to how to improve our human condition. We watch as the blind lead the blind until we are all blind.

14. Lack Of The Feel-good Factor – when was the last time you watched the news and felt good? The television news is not in the business to make you feel good, it is up to you. I want you to feel good about life, people, experiences. I can’t ask you to stop watching the news, but I can suggest the portion. My rule of thumb is to skip the first ten minutes of any newscast. That’s where they usually serve the worst parts. While bad news is bad for you, if you find enough good pieces, you can rewrite the news and that’s what can enhance your life.

There’s been a lot of buzz lately about two of our favourite foods – chocolate and red wine. There is some new research and evidence that these two perennial faves are actually good for us. But while there is some merit to those studies, that doesn’t mean you should start guzzling wine and downing Snickers bars. Here, we look at the truth behind our favourite treats.

A chocolate lover’s delight… or is it?

There is certainly a media buzz about the health benefits of dark chocolate. What makes chocolate healthy is a component of cocoa called flavanol. While all cocoa is created flavanol-rich, it is primarily the processing of natural cocoa solids into cocoa powder or into confectionary chocolate that determines whether a final product is flavanol rich or poor.

Unfortunately, large variability exists in processing of chocolate which makes it difficult to know the amount of flavanol that remains in your average chocolate bar. Because of the high saturated fat and calorie content in chocolate, if you love chocolate, consume it in moderation.

Some experts also say those health benefits are only found in dark chocolate with a cocoa content of 70 per cent or more. Most processed milk chocolate doesn’t have anywhere near that amount, so if you’re going to nosh on chocolate, make sure it’s high quality and has a high cocoa content.

Veni, vidi, vino?

You may have heard that red wine may be good for heart health. Similar to chocolate, it’s still unknown whether the health benefit of red wine outweighs the negative effect of the extra calories and alcohol. Wine is very high in calories. A 5 oz. glass of red wine is approximately 120 calories, which means it doesn’t take many glasses to add pounds to your waistline.

If you love red wine, consume it in moderation, no more than one to two glasses per day (with a maximum of nine per week) for women and no more than two glasses per day (with a maximum of 14 per week) for men. If you don’t normally drink alcohol, don’t start drinking to reap the health benefits as other foods can provide you with similar heart health benefits.