Handmade Chocolates
R
sebud
CHOCOLATE & HEALTH
Chocolate has a bad press and with so much in the news about obesity and diabetes, only a fool would ignore the warnings. But is it all doom and gloom? Certainly not. As with everything in life, the key is moderation. Cocoa is a bean after all, not that I think you can count is as one of your five a day, but you may be surprised to learn about the many benefits found in cocoa. Read on ....
eat some skinny minis on your flight
Good for the brain
Scientists at Harvard Medical School suggest that drinking two cups of hot chocolate a day may help keep the brain healthy and prevent memory decline in older people. The researchers said that hot chocolate can help preserve blood flow in working areas of the brain.
Lead author, Farzaneh A. Sorond, said:
"As different areas of the brain need more energy to complete their tasks, they also need greater blood flow. This relationship, called neurovascular coupling, may play an important role in diseases such as Alzheimer's."
Health benefits of chocolate
Can Chocolate be good for you?
Chocoholics can now nibble on their favourite treat without feeling guilty because it could actually have health-giving properties.
The secret is revealed to be naturally occurring substances in chocolate that may offer some degree of protection against heart disease and related circulatory disorders.
Many studies have shown that foods rich in flavonals, found in plant-based foods such as apples, onions, peanuts and cranberries as well as in red wine and chocolate, can help to maintain cardiovascular health.
Now evidence is accumulating that chocolate is particularly rich in larger flavonoid molecules, the complex oligomers. It also appears to have a higher anti-oxidant activity than red wine - a study at King's College London found that 50g of dark chocolate contains as many flavonoids as six apples, two glasses of wine or seven onions.
The authors concluded:
"Based on observational evidence, levels of chocolate consumption seem to be associated with a substantial reduction in the risk of cardiometabolic disorders. Further experimental studies are required to confirm a potentially beneficial effect of chocolate consumption."
Chocolate as a cough cure
Research from Imperial College London says that theobromine, a key ingredient in chocolate, is a third more effective than codeine when it comes to clearing up a cough.
According to the online FASEB Journal, the team induced coughing in 10 healthy volunteers with capsaicin from chilli peppers, and then measured how much was needed to produce a cough after they had been dosed with theobromine, codeine or a placebo.
In comparison with the placebo, when the volunteers had taken theobromine they needed around a third more capsaicin to produce a cough, whereas they needed only marginally higher levels of capsaicin after taking codeine.
Theobromine works by suppressing the activity of the vagus nerve, which causes coughing and, best of all, it doesn't produce any adverse effects on the cardiovascular or central nervous systems.
Professor Maria Belvisi, one of the study's authors commented: "Normally the effectiveness of any treatment is limited by the dosage you can give someone. With theobromine having no demonstrated side effects in this study it may be possible to give far bigger doses, further increasing its effectiveness.
"At the same time, theobromine may not have any of the side effects such as drowsiness. This means there will be no restrictions on when it can be taken. For example, people using heavy machinery or who are driving should not take codeine, but they could take theobromine."
So although it's not possible to clear a cough with chocolate, there may be a role one day for a medicine based on a chocolate extract.
Even sniffing chocolate is good for you!
You don't even have to eat chocolate to benefit from it. At the University of Westminster, Dr Angela Clow found that just sniffing chocolate can give the immune system a boost.
Worried about DVT and flying?
In a study by the University of California, volunteers ate either 25 g of semi-sweet chocolate, manufactured by Mars, while a control group had bread.
Blood samples were taken from both groups before they ate and again two and six hours afterwards and their platelet function was measured. Platelets are tiny cells in the blood, which help it clot if there is an injury. In this study, researchers looked at how long it took platelets to fully close an opening and found it took significantly longer in people who had eaten chocolate.
Professor Carl Keen, of the University of California, Davis, told the British Association for the Advancement of Science last year that eating small amounts of chocolate could have the same anti-clotting effect as taking an aspirin and so might reduce the risk of deep vein thrombosis when flying.
Chocolate and stroke
Canadian scientists carried out a study involving 44,489 people and found that people eating chocolate were 22 per cent less likely to suffer a stroke than those who didn't. In addition, those who had a stroke but regularly consumed chocolate were 46 percent less likely to die as a result.6
Chocolate and cholesterol
Cocoa and chocolate contain stearic acid. This unique saturated fatty acid has a neutral effect on the production of LDL or “bad” cholesterol implicated in hardening or arteries, even with daily moderate consumption. The same studies show that the stearic acid in chocolate can promote the production of moderate quantities of “good” cholesterol in some test subjects.
Cocoa and dark chocolate are naturally cholesterol-free, and milk and white chocolate only contain a minimal amount of cholesterol, which comes from the milk used in these products.
Another study, at Penn State University, compared a diet low in flavonoids with one high in chocolate and found that people who ate lots of chocolate had higher anti-oxidant levels in their blood and lower levels of LDL-cholesterol. Further research also found that a diet supplemented with chocolate reduced LDL levels.
Finally, scientists in Switzerland found that volunteers who ate chocolate laced with calcium absorbed 13 per cent less chocolate-derived fat and nine per cent fewer calories than those who ate chocolate on its own.
I'm doing a personal trial of this one!
For the love of chocolate
Romances are often sealed with a box of chocs and there may be a good reason for this. Chocolate contains the natural love drug tryptophan.
The brain uses this to make a neurotransmitter called serotonin and usually the more serotonin you have, the happier you feel.
In addition, chocolate contains small quantities of phenylethylamine, another neurotransmitter that creates feelings of giddiness, attraction and excitement in the brain's pleasure centre - levels peak during orgasm.
A little pick-me-up
Cocoa and chocolate also contain minimal levels of theobromine and caffeine. These substances have a stimulating effect on the central nervous system, the heartbeat and the relaxation of the respiratory muscles. Recent medical research indicates that theobromine and caffeine reduce fatigue and improve concentration.
Risks and precautions
Chocolate has a high calorie count, containing large amounts of sugar. Therefore, if you are trying to slim down or maintain your weight, it might be a good idea to set a limit on your chocolate consumption.
If you're watching your weight, it's worth knowing that a survey of people's dieting habits for Marks and Spencer revealed that chocolate derailed the best intentions of 48 per cent of female dieters and 32 per cent of male dieters.
To indulge your chocolate habit without regrets, dark varieties with a high cocoa solid and low cocoa butter content will help. And try to make a little go a long way: the researchers who've studied the subject say you get maximum benefit with fewer ill effects from just one or two squares a day.
In addition, there is research suggesting that chocolate may cause poor bone structure and osteoporosis. One study, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, was carried out to identify the relationship between chocolate consumption and bone density in older women. The authors concluded that "older women who consume chocolate daily had lower bone density and strength".
sources, medical news today, Judith Wills, Briitish medical journal