Ask Doc I love chocolate.
In fact, it's one of my favorite health foods.
Now, chocolate isn't a food you would normally call a health food. But the health benefits of chocolate just keep adding up.
For centuries, people have eaten chocolate for its variety of health benefits. Chocolate improves memory, helps regulate blood pressure, prevents heart disease, improves mood, and even helps maintain weight.
Now, according to brand-new research out of Harvard, chocolate might even lower your risk for atrial fibrillation, or "AFib." (If you missed our issue on the dangers of AFib, read it here.)
According to the study, the risk of AFib fell 10% for people who ate one to three servings of chocolate a month and 20% for people who ate two to six servings per week. It's important to note that more servings started to decrease the effectiveness of the chocolate. People who ate one or more servings per day only saw their risk decrease 16%.
A serving size was about an ounce of chocolate. Researchers didn't determine the benefits based on type of chocolate. But longtime Retirement Millionaire Daily readers know the darker the chocolate, the better the benefits.
So will you add some dark chocolate to your health-food shopping list?
Q: May 24 Stansberry Live event missed due to an emergency. Can I still get to see it? Thanks. – D.S.
A: On Wednesday night, we hosted what may turn out to be our most successful special live presentation…
Porter Stansberry, Steve Sjuggerud, and TradeStops founder Richard Smith sat down to help you figure out how to maximize your gains and protect yourself when the bull market begins to wind down.
The response to this event was huge. In fact, the majority of people who bought Richard's TradeStops did so for life. We believe that could be the most valuable investing decision they'll ever make.
If you missed it, no worries... You can watch a replay of "The Day the Bullet Market Will End" here.
Q: I appreciate your comments on cellphones, fish oil, and daily baby aspirin. Can we explore ED? – D.O.
A: Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a sensitive topic. And it's one that several subscribers have told us they suffer from. Last year, we explained the common causes of ED and four ways to reverse it... without taking those little blue pills. Read more here.
Q: Being a paid subscriber for so many years makes one sensitive to newsletter writers' bold statements. I had to admit that my eyebrow went Spock when I read the two sentences in the beginning of your essay regarding being prepared financially for "disasters." I'm astounded to find out that literally 60% of the country can't pay cash for a $500 emergency and 75% can't cover a $1,000 disaster.
I need some help in trying to decipher all of this. So, if you could send me to the website that holds all these facts I would really appreciated it. – M.B.
A: I see you're following my "trust, but verify" advice. The numbers shocked us as well the first time we saw them. Our source was Bankrate, the online aggregator of banking-industry news and information. A 2016 survey found that only 37% Americans can cover a $500 and $1,000 saving. A more recent survey puts that number at 41%... still extremely low.
You might be surprised to learn that 21% of Americans don't even have a savings account. That's why I encourage readers to share our essay on the importance of having an emergency fund.
Q: Doc, what are your thoughts on statins? You may have addressed this previously. If so, please advise. – D.H.
A: We've discussed the dangers of statins (cholesterol-lowering drugs) a couple of times. You can learn more about the risks here.
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Q: It mentions ginger as being helpful. Can you compare "ginger" (which I interpret as being "raw ginger") to something like ginger ale (other than the sugar content)? – C.S.
A: When we talk about eating ginger for help benefits, we're talking whole ginger... not what you'd get in a pill.
If you're hoping to get the benefits from ginger through drinking ginger ale, don't bother. Some companies claim to have "real ginger" in their soda. But we can't know how much real ginger is actually in there. And, as you mentioned, there's the problem with the amount of sugar in soda.
That's not to say ginger ale doesn't have any benefits. As I've said before, ginger is a natural antiemetic, which means it calms the stomach. So ginger ales with real ginger will give you similar results. Even ginger ales without real ginger contain carbonation that can calm your stomach. (A slightly flattened coke will work similarly.)
As I mentioned, mix some raw ginger with club soda. You get a good dose of whole ginger and some carbonation, without all the sugars in soda.
What We're Reading...
- Did you miss it? The No. 1 question most investors forget to ask.
- Something different: Beware trusting your fitness tracker too much.
Have a wonderful long weekend. We'll be off on Monday for Memorial Day, so your next issue of Retirement Millionaire Daily will be in your e-mail inbox on Tuesday, May 30.
What are you doing for the holiday weekend? Let us know... [email protected]
Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement,
Dr. David Eifrig and the Retirement Millionaire Daily Research Team
Buffalo, New York
May 26, 2017