Tag Archive: health benefits
How To Fully Enjoy Your Chocolate
April 5, 2013
"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."
Added Awesomeness To The Already Awesome Chocolate
October 11, 2012
Did my title just scare you? Please, say it didn't. I may come off as a chocoholic who worships chocolate and its overall greatness. Well, yeah, that is actually true. But heck. I am sane enough to be writing this for you. So, welcome, and go on with your reading, and you will perfectly understand why I am just this appreciative when it comes to chocolate.
Lots of things have already been said about chocolate when it comes to its beneficial effects to the human mind and body. Little did we know that further studies and research are being conducted in order to lengthen the existing long list of the good things about it.
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Chocolate Reduces Risk of Stroke
September 14, 2012
It has come to my attention that people have been living and leading healthy lives in the past few years. They have been eating responsibly, stopped smoking and drinking, sleep for plenty of time, and exercise regularly. This is really a good news for people who have been plagued by health-related diseases that restricts them to be the best persons they can be.
In a recent study, researchers have found out that eating a healthy dose of chocolates every week was indeed associated and linked to a reduced rate of stroke incidents particularly in the male-side of the populace. (If you are a lady who loves the men in your life, then the consideration of buying them chocolates is really a good idea.)
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The ‘Emotional’ Benefits of Chocolate
September 6, 2012
Many experts have advertised that it takes only a spoonful of chocolate to send a person into a sense of bliss and ecstasy. This may sound like it's a bit of an exaggeration, but recent research shows that certain foods can affect people's mood similarly to prescription medications.
Naturally occurring chemicals in foods can be considered as a smart and safe choice rather than having to take pills for mood enhancement. I personally believe that it is just wise and healthy to go 'green' and natural in the food we consume. Aside from the many benefits it brings, it also assures us of no harmful synthetic chemicals entering our bodies.
The Torrey Pines Institute of Molecular Studies located in California conducted a study of the effects of more than 1,700 commonly occurring substances that are present in everyday foods. The fact that chocolate is known to have a 'positive' boosting effect on people's mood made it a good candidate for further scrutiny in the study.
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Cacao Nibs
May 10, 2012
Cacao nibs have enjoyed an increased amount of attention lately. They are turning up almost everywhere nowadays, but since they are often just added to other products, many people don't really know what they are.
Nibs are actually cocoa beans with the shell removed. By the time you get them as an ingredient they have usually undergone roasting and prepping to a point that making them into bars is the only major step that remains.
The chocolate making process consists of grinding up the cocoa nibs into a very consistent and thick paste and then adding sugar. For milk chocolate, milk powder would be added. For some chocolate, extra cocoa butter might be added. But the basis of all chocolates are the ground up nibs.
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Magnesium-Loaded Cocoa Beans
March 15, 2012
Maintaining a good health can be particularly tricky in this day and age. With all the processed and cholesterol-loaded food available in the market, it gets all the harder especially when the less healthy stuff is a more accessible and affordable option.
Having healthy foods as a staple in your diet is key. Cocoa beans, for one, pack a lot of nutritional benefits. Did you know that the cocoa bean is the richest source of magnesium in nature? You read right. What is magnesium, by the way?
Magnesium is a mineral that plays a significant role in your health, and it's actually contained in several parts of your body. To enable your body to absorb the ingested calcium properly, there should be enough magnesium available. A lot of individuals take calcium supplements and fail to realize that magnesium is required for optimal calcium absorption. That being said, you can consume cocoa along with the calcium supplements that you are taking.
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Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Cookies
February 22, 2012
Cookies can be many things to many people. They can be a daily treat or an occasional guilty pleasure. They can be a midnight snack staple just before you hit the sheets. They can be your go-to food during unannounced visits from friends. They can be practically anything you want them to be. It gets all the better when you throw nutritious stuff into the picture.
A banana can be a delectable dessert all its own since it is sweet by nature. Aside from being delicious, bananas are known for their substantial health benefits. They contain high levels of potassium, fiber, and essential vitamins such as vitamin C and vitamin A.
On the other hand, oatmeal makes a wise choice too when you’re rooting for nutritional content. It’s particularly good for the heart. It’s also proven to lower cholesterol and stabilize sugar in the blood, and also, it can basically boost the immune system.
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Dark Chocolate Can Alleviate PMS Symptoms
February 21, 2012
Premenstrual syndrome or PMS is a collective term for all the physical and emotional symptoms that come with a woman's menstrual cycle. Such symptoms are due to the changes in estrogen and progesterone levels in the female body during women's monthly periods. Often times, these symptoms cause immense discomfort and distress.
Such changes can bring about a domino effect in the body which often leads to a temporary drop in the levels of hormones serotonin and endorphins, both considered to be feel-good hormones.
Being irritable and feeling exhausted all the time are among the most common symptoms experienced when PMS-ing. It goes without saying that it can be such a pain in the neck, but there are measures one can take to somehow alleviate the symptoms.
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Chocolate Yogurt Ice
February 15, 2012
Yogurt is widely used across the globe nowadays, and we know all too well that it's a renowned health food. It derived its name from the Turkish word "yogurur", meaning "long life".
Research has it that a cup of plain yogurt, which is around 240 mg, purportedly contains 140 calories. Not so bad for a tasty treat, eh?
More to these, regular consumption of yogurt is said to have several health benefits, and among those is that it aids in better absorption of the nutrients you get from other food.
It is a highly nutritious food on its own, containing numerous health benefits that include protein, calcium, riboflavin, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12.
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Chocolate And Stearic Acid
February 9, 2012
Suffice it to say, chocolate is all the rage this time of the year since it's already Valentine’s Day next week. Chocolates have always had a track record of being a delectable treat yet considered as a no-no food, especially with the figure-conscious. In the present day, studies have revealed that chocolate turns out to have a handful of nutritional benefits and is not conclusively a food taboo.
Regardless of the fact that chocolate contains saturated fat, scientific studies indicate that consumption of chocolate does not have any influence on the level of cholesterol in your blood. This is possible for the reason that not every saturated fat is the same. The fat found in chocolate is derived from cocoa butter, the natural fat present in cocoa beans.
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