Often when we discuss foods and health, we tend to focus on the negatives. "Don't eat so much red meat." "Don't eat too many starches and sugars." A myriad of other DON'Ts usually dominate advice about foods. We thought we would share some positive advice about foods—fun foods that may have good effects on your health.

We will start with most Taosenos favorite condiment, chile. Chile contains an oily substance called capsaicin that is responsible for the hot, spicy sensation of chile. Capsaicin has been shown to increase metabolism; this means that you burn more calories when you eat chile, which may help with weight loss. The most effective way to eat chile for weight loss is to eat 5 or 6 small meals a day including chile. In addition to helping you burn more calories, chile has also been shown to reduce appetite, so you feel less hungry. Chile seems especially to decrease the desire for sweets and fatty foods. A 2005 study in the International Journal of Obesity reported that people ate 16% fewer calories during a meal if they sipped chile-spiked tomato juice half an hour before eating compared to those who had plain tomato juice. Capsaicin also stimulates the release of endorphins that make you feel good. These endorphins can help you feel more satisfied with the foods that you eat. Some claim that the release of endorphins can make chile addictive, what do you think? Chile dilates blood vessels, which can help lower blood pressure and relieve sinus congestion. Chile has been championed for weight loss in the book "The Chili Pepper Diet" by Heidi Allison.

Chocolate is another favorite fun food. Researchers at the University of California in San Francisco have reported that eating dark chocolate every day may help prevent heart disease. Dark chocolate contains a chemical known as epicatechin. Epicatechin is a flavonoid that helps keep cholesterol from accumulating in the blood vessels, reduces the risk of blood-clot formation, and slows down the immune response that leads to clogged arteries. It is important to note that these effects result from eating only high-cocoa-containing dark chocolate. Other types of chocolate, like milk chocolate, do not contain the helpful flavonoids. It is also important to note that dark chocolate does contain a lot of calories, so if you eat it every day you will have to balance out the calories by cutting back somewhere else. While other foods such as green tea, blueberries and red wine also contain flavonoids, no food contains as much as dark chocolate. The findings of this study were published in the June 2004 edition of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition.

Numerous studies have shown reduced risk of heart disease and sudden cardiac death from eating nuts every day. It is believed that the oils in nuts protect blood vessels from cholesterol accumulation and reduce the likelihood of blood-clot formation. There does not appear to be an advantage from any single type of nut—including peanuts (which are not really nuts)—the best advice is to eat a variety of nuts. Again, because nuts contain high amounts of oils they also contain large amounts of calories, so you will have to reduce calorie intake elsewhere. Eating nuts can help you reduce your appetite because of the oils, however. Eating a small amount of nuts about 20 minutes before a meal has been shown to reduce the total amount eaten during the meal by stimulating the feeling of fullness.

References: http://www.buenofoods.com/chilehlt.htm, http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20040601/dark-chocolate-day-keeps-doctor-away, http://www.vegan.org.nz/nuts.php.

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