Have A Happy and Healthy Easter Holiday!

Posted 19 March 2008

Have A Healthy Easter

Did you know that the average Easter egg has more than 1100 calories and approximately 60 grams of fat? A solitary Cadbury Creme Egg has 174 calories and a Hot Cross bun has 144 calories. Happy Easter.

When you factor in Bank Holiday booze, it's a good thing that we eat fish on Good Friday because otherwise Easter would have very few redeeming qualities health-wise.

Not to worry, we're here to help you navigate the bunny's tasty traps.

Okay, studies show that 50 grams a day of plain chocolate with 70% chocolate solids might actually be good for you. That's because chocolate contains iron, calcium, potassium and multiple vitamins, while cocoa is the highest natural source for Magnesium. It also releases chemicals in your brain that make you feel happy, as well as antioxidants called flavanol which neutralize potentially cell-damaging free radicals.

In fact, evidence suggests that eating 50 grams a day of plain chocolate with 70% chocolate solids might actually be good for you. That’s because chocolate contains iron, calcium, potassium and multiple vitamins, while cocoa is the highest natural source for Magnesium.

It also releases chemicals in your brain that make you feel happy, as well as antioxidants called flavanol which neutralize potentially cell-damaging free radicals.

But before you head to the nearest newsagents and buy the biggest chocolate egg you can find, it is worth bearing in mind that for chocolate to be good for you it needs to have a minimum of 30% chocolate solids - the average chocolate bar only has between 7 and 22%.

What's more milk chocolate has milk and cream added to it, while white chocolate has few of the healthy elements, which mean that the benefits are outweighed by the high fat and sugar content.

All that means is that you can enjoy your plain chocolate in moderation (just eat the ears off the bunny), but if you are going to be tucking into chocolate eggs this Easter you need to get on your feet and get active to compensate for the extra calories you are taking on.

Hop It Off

If you need any added incentive to get active after your annual Easter over-indulgence, the fact that summer is just around the corner should be just the ticket.

Happily, the longer, lighter evenings and warmer days make Spring an ideal time to work off your Easter excesses. If you follow these simple ideas it should mean that Easter won't be a major disaster for your healthy regime

• Go for a walk after your Sunday lunch - but make it a long one, it will take more than two hours of brisk walking to burn off a single Easter Egg so imagine how long it will take to walk off a complete blow-out. (Are you ready to keep walking until the next Bank Holiday in May?)
• You don't have to put all your eggs in one basket - or more accurately speaking you don't have to eat them all at once. Take out the contents and cut the egg into four. Eat one piece of shell or one of the contents each time you have a chocolate craving.
• Consider abandoning chocolate eggs in favour of real ones. Real eggs have just over 100 calories and less than a gram of fat each and you can still colour the shell and put a bow on it if you like.
• Here's a controversial idea: ditch the traditional Sunday roast and the car. Pack a healthy picnic and walk to a suitable venue to eat your lunch in the grass. Hey you may just stumble on some hidden eggs...

Happy Easter from your friends at Fitbug