Tag Archive: research
Chocolate and the pseudo-morphine effects on the Human Brain
January 18, 2013
Endorphins are chemicals that are endogenously occurring and are functioning as good and efficient neurotransmitters. These are produced mainly by the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus during the experience of pain, excitement, exercise, spicy foods and yes, love.
Another derivative of endorphin, known as enkephalin, is a peptide that is able to do the activation of many cerebral opioid receptors that are responsible for the intense and insatiable drive for eating that can be compared to the same mechanism of narcotics that are bound to kill pain.
Eating in bulk, and even consistent small frequent feedings, are revolved around the idea of being overly compulsive and doing some kind of over-consumption that triggers the brain’s reward and satiety center.
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Medicating Cough With Chocolate?
January 11, 2013
It's cold and flu season. And, if you've been watching the news in the U.S. you've been hearing about how widespread the current flu is taking its toll.
Nobody likes getting sick. At least none that I know of who are still in their right state of mind, most especially me. I am not myself when I am sick. It feels like some dementor sucked out all the life out of me and left me helpless with a feverish feeling, leaking nose,
and noisy cough.
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Probiotic Chocolate Biscuits
November 13, 2012
Truth be told, I am a chocolate addict just like all the other millions of people in the world. I could finish a whole bar of milk chocolate all to myself or consume a liter of chocolate drink in one sitting.
But at the back of this chocolate obsession attitude of mine is the thought of making the most out of everything while I still can. I may be young and active now. But who know what follows five, ten, or twenty years from now?
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Chocolate makes snails smarter?
October 26, 2012
There have been lots of rumors and talks about foods that are designed to enhance brain functions. And this has taken the world’s imagination by storm. If you happen to type the word "superfood" and search for it in the internet, you will be surprised to see many and diverse websites that are dedicated to this topic.
A dedicated group of researchers from the University of Calgary has become fascinated and curious about how certain dietary factors can really have an effect on memory, either impairing or enhancing it. Initially Ken Lukowiak was very skeptical regarding this matter. He stated, "I didn’t think any of this stuff would work."
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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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Dark Chocolate for Kids?
June 15, 2012
If it's sweet, kids will eat it. Make that sweetness chocolate, and it's gone without even thinking about it. For most kids that's true even if it's dark chocolate (except, strangely for our son, who loves milk chocolate and won't touch dark chocolate).
Dark chocolate often in the news for its heart healthy consequences, such as lowering blood pressure and reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke in adults. Now someone has finally asked the question, "is dark chocolate healthy for children?"
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Dark Chocolate for Reducing Cardiac Diseases
June 8, 2012
As a self-proclaimed and a self-confessed chocoholic, I have always been particularly keen about the things I come across on the Internet that talk about my favorite sweet treat. In recent years, there have been many stories about the health benefits that dark chocolates are able to provide.
Recent research brings up a certain metabolic syndrome, which is a combination of many risk factors that include an elevated blood pressure as well as high cholesterol and abdominal obesity. This condition places a person in a position that can lead to diseases like coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes and many different types of carcinoma or cancer. The participants in the study showed no symptoms of coronary heart disease, and were not takers of any medications that can lower blood pressure.
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Chocolate Makes You Slimmer?
March 27, 2012
It may sound too good to be true, but according to a new research, chocolate can help people slim down. The study has shown that those who have frequent consumption of chocolate possess a lower body mass index (BMI) as compared to people who don't. Body mass index is the ratio of weight to height, and this indicates the body's fatness.
The results were discovered in spite of the fact that people who eat chocolate more frequently tend to have more calorie consumption, and these people didn't make up for it by exercising.
Research has it that chocolate may contain something that makes the calories from other food you eat less likely to be stored as fat. This was according to Dr. Beatrice Golomb, associate professor in the department of medicine at the University of California, San Diego.
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Brief Walks Can Reduce Chocolate Cravings?
December 9, 2011
New research has shown that a 15-minute walk can cut down your consumption of chocolate by half during working hours.
The study was conducted by the University of Exeter. Turns out, workers eat only half as much chocolate as they normally would after this brief exercise, even when they're in a rather stressful situation.
The study utilized a simulated work environment. 78 regular chocolate-eaters, who hadn't had any chocolate in the past two days, participated.
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Chocolate ‘As Good As Exercise’
September 16, 2011
New studies have revealed that a moderate amount of high quality dark chocolate can be as good as a session in the gym. Cocoa was found to contain a certain compound called epicatechin and this allegedly enhances muscle the same way exercising does.
Researchers at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, conducted an experiment on three groups of 12-month-old mice, the equivalent of middle aged humans: one was given epicatechin twice a day for 15 days, the second one was given epicatechin as well and spent 30 minutes on a treadmill, while the third exercised without receiving the extract.
There was an observed increase in the number of energy-producing mitochondria, the ‘powerhouses’ of cells, in the mice that only took epicatechin and they had significantly better muscle performance and took longer to tire than those that only exercised. It was unusual as these mitochondria are normally a byproduct of getting aerobic exercise such as running or cycling.
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