Staying Healthy: Can Chocolate Prevent Obesity and Diabetes?

I know, just by reading that headline you must be excited. I know I am! But is it too good to be true? Or is it the legitimate, scientific reason to eat a bunch chocolate that we've all been waiting for?

In a mouse study, led by Andrew P. Neilson at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University,  the researchers found that there was a certain antioxidant in cocoa that for all intents and purposes prevented mice from gaining weight. It also significantly lowered their blood sugar levels. Even better, this isn't the only study that's out there that suggests the benefit of chocolate for your health. 

Medical News Today recently reported on a study claiming that eating 70 g of dark chocolate every day could reduce the risk of atherosclerosis, the medical term for the thickening and hardening of the arteries. Other research claims that hot chocolate could be useful in preventing memory decline in old age. The paper concludes by finding: 

"There is a strong correlation between neurovascular coupling and cognitive function, and both can be improved by regular cocoa consumption in individuals with baseline impairments. Better neurovascular coupling is also associated with greater white matter structural integrity."

Yum. And healthy? It seems so, in moderation at least.

What is it about chocolate that contributes to weight stability and helps prevent diabetes, and how can we maximise that effect? The data from the study at first suggested it is the flavanols that chocolate contains that help provide this benefit. However, study participants then consumed both dark chocolate and regular chocolate with added flavanols and both displayed the same effects. This may suggest that another ingredient or bodily reaction to the chocolate is helping cause these effects.

In any case, I doubt that many of you need an excuse to eat chocolate, but here's as good of one as any. Best to stick to moderation though, these benefits were shown in human subjects with a consumption of 70g of chocolate per day.

Other articles in our Staying Healthy series:

Weight loss tips from the experts.

The incredible health benefits of honey.

How to lose that troublesome belly fat. 

www.sprattfinancial.co.nz

Trauma Insurance: How a friend ended up $30,000 better off.

One of my personal friends recently went in to the specialist for a routine check of his heart.

The check determined that one of his arteries was clogged, and they moved him to immediate surgery to have a stent inserted. The surgery was non invasive, with a stent that eventually dissolves after widening and freeing the artery again. After a brief period of recovery, he was back on his feet.

My friend did have medical insurance cover which immediately covered his $5,000 bill for the surgery and that was of course very helpful, but his real boon came from the Trauma Cover he had invested in 5 years earlier.

Many forms of Trauma Insurance have partial payout provisions for a large variety of conditions, where if you are diagnosed with them, you are eligible to claim a certain percentage of your policies sum assured. In his case, he had $125,000 worth of Trauma Insurance. After enquiring and putting in a claim, the insurer paid him out 25% of his sum assured for the operation, as it met the conditions for the cardiac partial payout. So just by having trauma cover, not only were his medical expenses completely covered, he ended up with a financial windfall of $31,000!

It's not every day that you can go in for an expensive medical procedure and have it end up making you 30 grand richer, but with the right insurance, this is definitely possible, and it happens far more often than you would think! For those of you who have existing Trauma Cover, keep this in mind and closely read your policy wording to see which conditions will trigger a possible claim. We have encountered a number of people who could have been paid out partial or full trauma payments for things they did not even know they were covered for! For those of you who don't have trauma insurance, think seriously about it, it has certainly made my friend a very happy man!

If you have any questions about your existing cover or what insurance options are available to you just drop us a line anytime.

News of the Week

1. Health Insurance claims near $1 billion. - TV 3 News

2. More kiwis at risk as fewer have Health Insurance. - Stuff.co.nz

3. Britain's Most Bizarre Insurance Claims. - Daily Mail (UK)

4. Perspective: Roy Morgan paints sobering picture of Insurance coverage. - Good Returns

5. Perspective: Health Funds says Roy Morgan research flawed and doesn't match what they are seeing. - Good Returns

www.sprattfinancial.co.nz

Is Home Ownership Out Of Reach?

As New Zealanders, we're a smart country. When we look ahead to the future, we know that one of the soundest ways to protect our wealth and secure our future (other than a sound insurance plan!) is property ownership. First home buyers long to be on the property ladder, but they see a booming market and believe that they have been priced right out of it. Potential investors may already have a house of their own but feel likewise about the prospects of getting another to use as the investment property they really want.

It's easy to see why we see things this way. There is a shortage of housing in the main centres of the country, especially Auckland, with a shortage of over 100,000 homes forecast for the future as Auckland's population grows. There is recovering economic growth in this country as well, and coupled with the shortage, house prices continue to boom. The median house price in 2013 was $505,000, a huge jump of 11.6% from $453,000 the year before. In contrast to this rise, the median take home income of New Zealanders only increased 2.7% over the same period. For many average Kiwis, the image of home ownership is like standing at the bottom of Mt Everest with no climbing equipment and then having to watch as the mountain itself gets bigger before their eyes every day!

Owning a home can feel like climbing a mountain - but it doesn't have to be.

Our mortgage specialist Jonathan Parsons understands this. He encounters this presumption every day. And he takes pride in dispelling it, and showing people how they can have that first home or investment property, and how the mountain might not be as high as it looks on first glance. 

Many more people can afford property than they think. This is the first and most crucial point.We can show you the best, proven and most efficient ways for you to save for that deposit to get you into your first home. We guarantee you that with careful planning, diligence and our specialised help, we can help you get to the top of that mountain. You can get there. Don’t give up. We’ll show you how.

Once that's out of the way, and the possibility of home ownership becomes real, our work you won't stop there. Jonathan will offer the following ongoing services to make sure you keep climbing that mountain, all the way to the peak.

- Securing bank approval at the best possible rates on the marketplace, taking the stress out of your hands and getting the best results.

- The best deals on insurance to protect your property when you have it. All without the hassle of having to navigate a confusing marketplace yourself.

- NO FEES. Jonathan gets paid by the mortgage providers, not by you, and his service won't leave you out of pocket!

- Continuous contact with legal and accounting professionals to review your case and ensure you are maximising your investment and your protection.

- Expert and professional structuring of your mortgage to meet your personal needs and ensure it can be paid off in the quickest possible time.

Getting into the housing market as quickly as possible means the greatest possible returns on your investment. Property has grown by an average of 9.2% per annum over the last 40 years. Inflation growth has averaged 6.7%, thus, property has been proven to beat inflation and grow in value. We're a smart country. We know this. Many just didn't know that they could be a part of it too. Until now.

Make an enquiry with Jonathan today.

Read more about Jonathan at his official bio and details page.

Visit our official website for more information.

Wild Weather Hits Auckland

It's been a pretty crazy day at the office today as torrential rain and downpours hit Auckland City! We saw similar sights to this driving to work this morning; as waves smashed into the rocks and buffeted up at the side of our car:

Tamaki Drive is currently closed and many residents are without power. Traffic has deteriorated to the point where one of our admin staff has just joined us at 10:30am after leaving home at 8 on a journey that usually takes 30 minutes. We hope everyone out there drives safe and battens down the hatches.

Keep up to date at the NZ Herald website and try not to drive anywhere that's not absolutely crucial. Oh, and wish me luck getting home in a few hours!!  

Insurance/Investment News of the Week

1. Health Insurers Target Young New Zealanders. - NZ Herald

2. The Wild World of Insurance in Saudi Arabia (Interesting read!) - Arab News

3. Opinion: EQC and Insurance Sector Deserves Fair Go - Stuff.co.nz

4. House Prices Soar Again - Interest.co.nz

5. Too many Kiwis blowing Kiwisaver Payouts - Good Returns

Need Help With Your Finances? All questions welcome: enquiry@sprattfinancial.co.nz

Travel Insurance Claim Update

A few weeks back I arrived back to Auckland after an amazing two week journey to the United States. Awesome that is, apart from my journey home being affected by cancelled flights, leading me to have to stay another two nights in LA that I had not budgeted for! (Read the full story here)

Today, after I had filed the claim with Southern Cross Travel Insurance a few days earlier, everything was sorted and my claim was accepted. It was easier than I had anticipated too. All I had to do was fill out some forms, which weren't as daunting or lengthy as you might expect, and attach the relevant receipts and hotel information. There were also facilities on their website that let me do it all online if I had chosen to. They then were excellent in updating me on the process by email and by phone.

They said it would be processed within six days and it ended up being done in two. All in all, having the cover only set me back $70, whereas not having it and having to pay for my added expenses out of pocket would have set me back over $500. That's a considerable return on my investment. I admit to once scoffing at 'unnecessary' travel insurance, but after this, never again.

Thanks to Southern Cross Travel Insurance too for processing everything so quickly and efficiently.

Breaking News of the Week

1. Caution urged over 100% home loan offers. - NZ Herald

2. How to better manage your home loan. - Bank Bazaar

3. Humor: "My car must be insured, I have a MEERKAT toy at home" - The Mirror UK

4. Southern Cross and Travel Insurance Direct win top honours in travel insurance survey. - NZ Herald

5. What we can learn as investors from three epic investment failures. - Good Returns

6. Apathy a major obstacle to getting people insured. -Voxy.co.nz

News Roundup 31st March

1. Sending Kiwis overseas for cheap surgical procedures ruled out by Southern Cross - NZ Herald
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/insurance/news/article.cfm?c_id=234&objectid=11219536

2. Sovereign has had its A+ financial rating renewed for the seventh consecutive year - Good Returns
http://www.goodreturns.co.nz/article/976501782/nirvana-for-sovereign.html

3. NIB and Fidelity team up to offer health and life insurance bundle - Good Returns
http://www.goodreturns.co.nz/article/976501743/nib-policies-offer-value.html

4. Families of missing Malaysia Airlines flight get Insurance payout - Marlborough Express
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/asia/9881525/Families-get-insurance-payouts

Travel Insurance Pays Off

I have spent the last two weeks vacationing in the US, and as well as having an amazing time and seeing the grandeur of New York City for the first time, it helped teach me an important lesson. Never assume things will go according to plan!

Three nights ago, I was sitting in Pensacola Airport in Florida. I had flown in from Orlando on a plane so small it still had propellers, and I was waiting on my connection through to LA on what I hoped would be a bigger plane! I had crafted my schedule of flights to get me back to Los Angeles and then onto a Qantas Flight back to Auckland with 5 hours to make all my connections and do my transfers. I assumed that even if my flight was delayed, I would still make it in plenty of time. So of course, as if the cosmic fates wanted to waggle their disapproving fingers at me for my presumptions, the flight I was on the LA was cancelled entirely!

I assumed I would be here...

... Then this happened.

I sat in the airport for 6 long hours, realising that the new flight I was scheduled on wouldn't make my connection, even though I had left 5 hours to get it. I spent an hour on hold with the airline changing my tickets, but the earliest ones I could get back home were more than a day later than my originally scheduled flights. It was about now that I began to think about the Travel Insurance I had been advised to purchase before I left. I had originally fought against it because surely nothing would happen right? Luckily, I had given in and got it.

I had to pay to spend another night in a hotel in Los Angeles waiting for my flight, including transport to the hotel, extra meals and an over $200 fee for changing the flights that I could no longer make. All in all, the cancelled flights would have set me back over $500 if I had to pay for it out of my own pocket. The Southern cross travel insurance though, paid for all of that and saved my credit card. It made me feel just a little bit stupid for not wanting to pay the paltry insurance premium at the start of the trip.

It could have been worse too. Upon flying into Florida from New York, my baggage didn't arrive at the airport and US Airways told me it had never even been put on the flight at JFK airport to begin with! Luckily, they found the bags and had them delivered to me within 48 hours, but if they hadn't, the loss of my property, clothing and gifts would have been covered by the insurance as well. It does happen, and it did happen to me. You just never know what will happen, and not just during travel, during your day to day life as well. Now, having insurance has paid off for me in two big ways, on this trip and having medical insurance when I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. I would have almost no financial independence right now if I had to pay my medical bills myself. Think about that, both the next time you travel or when it comes time to think about insuring your life or your health. And if you come to the conclusion like I did that insurance was a worthwhile investment, let us get the best deals for you. It's as easy as that, and we'll make sure you have the best possible cover on the market at the lowest possible price.

Visit our official website for more information.

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