Wonderlab plans National Honey Month activities\nIn recognition of National Honey Month, WonderLab Museum, 308 W. Fourth St., will host a weekend-long event featuring an interactive show and bee-themed activities for all ages. Mike Baker, a professional beekeeper, and the bee experts of Hunter's Honey Farm will head the activities.\nFrom 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday guests can take part in events ranging from a beginning beekeeping slide show, a presentation about the inside of a hive and a hands-on honey extraction. Sunday's schedule repeats the events from 1:30 to 4 p.m. for more fledgling beekeepers.\nThe event costs the regular museum admission of $5.50 for children aged, $6.50 for adults and $6 for seniors. For more information, call 337-1337 or visit www.wonderlab.org .
Dark chocolate lovers may enjoy good blood vessel, heart health\nMUNICH, Germany -- There's more good news for chocolate lovers.\nScientists have found that eating dark chocolate appears to improve the function of important cells lining the wall of blood vessels for at least three hours.\nThe study, involving 17 healthy young volunteers who agreed to eat a bar of dark chocolate and then get an ultrasound, found that eating dark chocolate seemed to make the blood vessels more flexible, which helps prevent the hardening of the arteries, which leads to heart attacks.\nBut experts cautioned that the weight gain from eating a lot of chocolate probably would cancel out the apparent benefit.\nDark chocolate is rich in flavonoids, which act as natural antioxidants -- chemicals that combat the damage oxygen does to the body. However, that does not mean that chocolate binges from which chocolate comes, has for centuries been used for everything from medicine to currency. Although enjoyed worldwide, until recently it was considered a treat that provided fat and calories but no substantial nutritional value.\nStudies recently have indicated that it releases the happy chemical seratonin in the brain.\nHowever, during the last few years, studies have suggested -- much to the delight of chocoholics -- that it is rich in flavonoids.
