Eat your chocolate — but don’t inhale it!

Americans eat 2.8 billion pounds of chocolate ayear,enticedbycatchy slogans like “Do you dream in chocolate?” And folks are encouraged to indulge by the numerous scientific reports that chocolate is good for you — well, at least 70 percent dark chocolate is, in 1-ounce-a-day doses. But that, we worry, makes folks who vape think chocolate-flavored electronic cigarettes are healthy too. Far from it.

A new study found that of all the lung-polluting elixirs added to e-cigs, chocolate flavor (with a high dose of what the researchers say is benzene-ring flavorings) is the most harmful. According to the study published in the American Journal of Physiology/lung, Cellular and Molecular Physiology, it delivers a brew of toxins that can kill off lung cells and reduce the ability of your immune system to remove bacteria and regulate inflammation. Banana, cherry and cinnamon flavored vapes aren’t much better for you.

DRS. OZ AND ROIZEN

And, oh yeah, about chocolate: Three ounces of milk chocolate delivers 518 calories, 24 mg of cholesterol, 82 mg of sodium and 54 g of sugar. Three ounces of dark chocolate has 6 mg cholesterol, 19 mg sodium and around 39 mg sugar. That’s better, but it still can have around 470 calories! So while dark chocolate is a smart choice, you want to eat it slowly and savor a 1-ounce portion.

Spinach is actually in the same family as beets and beet greens, Swiss chard and the grains amaranth and quinoa. Great relatives.

One cup of raw spinach makes one serving. That delivers 34 percent of the daily recommendation for vitamin C. A bit less than 1/2 cup of raw spinach contains 24 calories, 2.3 g protein, 2.4 g fiber and 553 mg potassium.

Whole Foods ranks spinach as the number one source of magnesium and iron; number two for vitamins K, E, B2 and B6; and number three for folate, calcium, potassium and vitamin A. Spinach also contains ALA, an omega-3 that is good for your heart, boosts insulin sensitivity and can lower blood sugar. Baby spinach delivers even more anti-inflammatory flavonoids than larger leaves.

The chlorophyll that gives spinach its bright green color has been found to have anti-cancer powers, and other components help battle tumors.

To preserve nutrients when cooking, steam or saute, don’t boil. Then, like Popeye, you can declare, “I am strong to the finish, ’cause I eats me spinach.”

HEALTH ADVICE

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