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NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Time to start planning your special evening with that special someone.

If you include dark chocolate, red wine, and a big long smooch session, your Valentine’s Day will not only be fabulous but it will be healthy.

Chocolate

Buy a high-quality dark chocolate that has a 70% or higher cocoa content.

Dark chocolate contains an ingredient that stimulates your body to release endorphins which makes you feel happy and contributes to that feeling we get when we fall in love.

Dark chocolate lowers your blood pressure.

It is also loaded with lots of vitamins and minerals that help prevent anemia, stroke, type II diabetes, and heart disease.

Dark chocolate is loaded with the best source of antioxidants, which eat up free radicals in our body that can lead to cancer, disease, and early aging.

Red Wine

Add a bottle of red wine, which has similar health benefits, and you get double the effects.

The Kiss

And finally, the long kiss.

  • Kissing passionately gets your heart rate going and lowers your blood pressure.
  • It also increases the saliva in your mouth which helps cleanse your teeth to help prevent plaque formation.
  • Kissing acts as a form of meditation which clears your head of the craziness going on inside of it.
  • Your brain also releases all those feel good hormones so you feel revitalized.
  • Kissing tightens and tones the muscles in your face to help you stay looking young.
  • An intense make out session can burn up to 8 to 15 calories.

So get the dark chocolate, a nice bottle of red wine, kiss for hours and have a great Valentine’s Day.