Monthly Archives: April 2013

Chocolate and Acne

Researchers at the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center in the Netherlands, collected blood samples from seven participants before and after consuming exactly 48 g of chocolate on a daily basis. This happened consecutively for four days.

The chocolate consumed had approximately 30% cocoa. The blood cells collected were then exposed to bacteria known as Propionibacterium acnes.

These bacteria are said to be a contributory factor for developing acne when they grown inside clogged pores. When it happens, the pores become inflamed. It leads to growth of Staphylococcus aureus, which is another type of skin bacteria that could worsen acne.

The blood cells produced more interleukin-1b after the participants had chocolate. Interleukin-1b refers to a marker of immune system inflammation when they were exposed to Propionibacterium acnes.

The researchers claimed that such findings indicated that eating chocolate may increase the inflammation which adds up to acne. Chocolate consumption also increased production of another immune system factor, known as interleukin 10, after having been exposed to Staphylococcus aureus, according to a report at MyHealthNewsDaily.

Interleukin 10 allegedly lowers the immunity against microorganisms. That being said, higher levels of interleukin 10 may end up in conditions that would pave way for bacteria to infect pimples, and aggravate them, according to the researchers.

Despite the many talks about chocolate and some other foods that are linked to acne, little is known as evidence to show they actually cause acne, said Dr. Kanade Shinkai, a dermatologist at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, who has acne treatments as specialty.

However, past studies have shown that high-glycemic foods, like white bread, could be associated with acne. This is because they are known to release sugar into the bloodstream rather quickly. While the acne problems of some people are affected by diet, others’ acne issues are not influenced by diet at all.

Shinkai made a warning against broad dietary restrictions, like avoiding diary, considering dairy products are significant sources of calcium and vitamin D for a lot of people, and the health advantages that come with the products outweigh the effects of acne, she claimed.

This research was published in the journal Cytokine.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Creamy Nutella Frosting

My weekends are always “cheat weekends”.  I’m no health buff, but lately, I’ve been trying to eat less during weekdays. Come weekends, I indulge myself in good food, sweet treats being one of them.

Just this weekend, I came across a patisserie stall and I saw that they had Nutella cupcakes. I swear by Nutella. I love dark chocolate, I’ve been saying that forever, but Nutella just happens to be one of those chocolaty treats I can’t do without.

I don’t have their cupcake recipe, though. I can’t muster the guts and ask them for a recipe, and heck, why would they even give it to me? Haha, so I searched around looking for a comparable recipe to share with you.  I found this, but I haven't made it so I’m not sure if this tastes exactly like what I had, but I hope this will do!

Read more

The Jewish Link to Chocolate

Jews are famous wanderers. As a result, the Jewish people have played a huge role in global trade. There’s a facet to the story though that is quite uncommon. That would be the correlation of the Jewish and chocolate during the era of the Spanish Inquisition.

Spanish explorers were the ones who brought back chocolate to Spain, whereas Jews brought it to world cities such as New York and Amsterdam. The rest is history as well as the subject of Rabbi Deborah Prinz’s book, “On the Chocolate Trail.”

Read more

Milky Way Frosting

Many of us take joy in dipping a finger into a head-tilting yummy bowl of cake frosting and then popping it into our mouth. There are even times when the frosting’s just so good I’m willing to sacrifice the cake so I can have more calories to spare.

What’s even more interesting is the fact that cake frosting recipes are so diverse, and every one of them has their own appeal.

This cake frosting recipe features the Milky Way® chocolate bar, something a lot of chocoholics swear by.

The Milky Way bar is a chocolate bar distributed by the Mars confectionery company. The American Milky Way bar has chocolate-malt nougat topped with caramel and covered with milk chocolate, just like the Mars bar sold in other countries.

Read more

Chocolate Can Cause Parkinson’s Disease?

A study recently published in the Neuroscience Bulletin by Borah et al. at the Assan University in India claimed that B-Phenethylamine (B-PEA, a component naturally found in cococa beans, could be a precipitating factor for Parkinson’s disease.

The researchers said: “As consumption of some B-PEA-enriched food items has become an addiction in modern life, our proposed mechanism is of enormous significance and impact.” That is why they suggest limiting our consumption of chocolate.

However, their claim is quite arguable, considering it zeroes in on rodent studies. They admit that they need further investigation on human needs.

Read more

Quick & Easy Microwave Peanut Butter Fudge

Microwave ovens are the best friend of people who are always on the go. Did you know you can make a quick treat with just the help of this trusty machine? 🙂

Before I give you the recipe, here's a fun fact for ya. If you have been a loyal reader, you may have already heard about this from me some time back. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, did you know that chocolate had something to do with the invention of the microwave oven?

An American scientist by the name of Percy Spencer was working on what is known as the magnetron for radar sets. Allegedly, he walked by a cavity magnetron while it was at work then felt some heat and realized that a chocolate bar that he had been carrying in his pocket had melted into a sticky mess.

Read more

How To Fully Enjoy Your Chocolate

"Mindful eating goes beyond eating," said Lilian Cheung, a registered dietitian, co-author of Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life, and director of health promotion and communication at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts.

You can easily be more mindful if you opt for high-quality chocolate and check the label before buying. You can get an instant idea regarding the sweetness or bitterness of chocolate by understanding the chocolate to sugar ratio.

"If you buy chocolate with a higher cocoa content, it will be less sweet," said Stephen Durfee, a pastry chef instructor at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, in St. Helena, California. "You will get more of the natural flavor of chocolate."

Read more

Butterscotch Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Butterscotch is defined as a type of confectionery with brown sugar and butter as the main ingredients. The authentic recipe for "making Doncaster butterscotch is one pound of butter, one pound of sugar and a quarter of a pound of treacle, boiled together.", according to "Housewife's Corner" and Masluk Cream Co. in an 1848 newspaper.

Butterscotch shares some characteristics with toffee. However, with butterscotch, the sugar is boiled to the soft crack stage, and not hard crack like toffee. The term “butterscotch” usually refers to delicacies with the flavor of brown sugar and butter together, even sans the actual confection butterscotch. Nowadays, butterscotch is considered a flavor, just like caramel.

We are all familiar with butterscotch anything, and many of them are only rip-offs, and the flavors don’t even match the real deal! Now that you are bound to know how to make butterscotch, please steer clear of artificially flavored treats! :p

Read more