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" Looking for a health-conscious activity to fill those frigid winter weekends? Instead of dusting off the StairMaster, why not just throw on a Ben Stiller DVD and tuck into a Dove bar? New studies show that watching comedies and eating certain types of cocoa can improve blood flow to the heart. For a study published in the February issue of the journal Heart, 20 young adults watched short segments of sad and funny films, including Saving Private Ryan and There&amp;#039;s Something About Mary. After watching a sad segment, 14 of the 20 participants showed reduced blood flow, but 19 of them showed increased blood flow after a humorous segment. Overall, the difference in blood flow in subjects following sad and funny segments was more than 50 percent. Another study identifies the flavanol (\u2013)-epicatechin as an agent that can improve the relaxation of blood vessels. This flavanol is especially prevalent in cocoa, although it can also be found in green tea, red wine and some fruits and vegetables. The study, which was conducted by German and American academics with assistance from Mars Inc. (which provided scientists as well as the flavanol-rich cocoa), was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. \u2013John Matson "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/a432/2213987/>