Most people know that eating a well balanced, healthy diet, taking plenty of exercise and avoiding bad habits such as smoking is the best way to lead a healthy lifestyle. However studies suggest foods such as ice cream could benefit our health. Below we list the surprisingly good health foods.

Chocolate

With Easter just around the corner most of us are preparing to chomp down on at least one Easter egg, and, thankfully, several recent studies suggest that chocolate may actually not be as bad for you as first thought. In fact, the health benefits of epicatechin, a compound found in cocoa, are so striking that it may rival penicillin in importance to public health!

Also, several recent studies suggest that consumption of a special cocoa made to be rich in flavanols, a naturally occurring nutrient abundant in fresh cocoa, may improve blood vessel function. This means that chocolate related products high in cocoa could help protect the body against conditions such as heart attacks and stroke, as well improve overall circulation. But before you go out and buy every snickers bar in the country, be warned; dark chocolate is usually seen as having more health benefits than milk or white chocolate, and eating in moderation is always recommended.

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Why Chocolate is Practically a Health Food

Chocolate May Offer Brain Benefits

Soy

Numerous studies have shown that a soy based diet can be beneficial in improving life expectancy. Many peer reviewed scientific studies suggest that soy products such as tofu, can be beneficial to health, in particular in preventing prostate cancer in men. The lower incidence of prostate cancer in Asian countries, where large quantities of tofu are consumed, is usually cited as evidence for this. Meanwhile other studies have shown that a diet rich in black soya beans could help control weight, lower fat and cholesterol levels, and even aid in the prevention of diabetes.

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Soya Prevents Obesity and Diabetes

Soy Protects Against Prostate Cancer

Ice Cream

Like chocolate, this is probably one of the first foods you would suspect to end up on the bad food list, but recent studies have shown that ice cream and drinking whole fat milk is extremely beneficial for women trying to become pregnant.

Read More: Ice Cream Boosts Fertility

Fish Oils

Everyone knows that oily fish and the omega-3 fatty acids that are within them, are beneficial to health, but did you know that fish oil can boost hand-eye co-ordination? A recent study suggests that pregnant women taking fish oil supplements may be inadvertently making sports stars of their children because fish oil has a notable impact on hand-eye coordination, which is crucial to success in tennis, golf and cricket, among other sports. But, for those who are not pregnant, fish oil has other benefits too, and could even play a crucial role in determining our behaviour. Research has revealed that increasing your omega-3 intake leads to structural brain changes. A study in the US claims that those with higher blood levels of omega-3s were found to be more agreeable and less likely to report mild or moderate symptoms of depression.

Read More: How Omega-3s Boost Your Mood

Watercress

The one time classic sandwich filler and now celebrity superfood thanks to the efforts of models such as Liz Hurley, a pioneering new study has found that daily consumption of watercress could protect against the development of cancer. Although unsubstantiated watercress is often also claimed to be an aphrodisiac.

Read More: Watercress Linked to Cancer Prevention

Spearmint Tea

Spearmint has been a popular ingredient in chewing gum for years and is widely used as a way of freshening breath. But new studies suggest that spearmint tea could have other health benefits for women suffering from unwanted hair growth. Unwanted hair is caused by unusually high levels of the androgen hormone in women.

According to research published in Phytotherapy Research, drinking two cups of spearmint tea a day for five days will successfully reduce the level of androgens in the body. And, for all those women keen to dampen their male partner’s libido; scientists were first alerted to spearmint tea's potential when reports emerged that it appeared to lower libido in men.

Read More: Spearmint Tea Control Unwanted Hair Growth

One to Avoid..

Supermarket Bread: Research has revealed that many wrapped breads on sale in supermarkets throughout the UK contain unhealthily high salt levels, and could even be responsible for more than 7,000 unnecessary deaths each year. Read More: Many Supermarket Breads Unhealthily High in Salt