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HEALTH
The Candy That Calms
by Annamaria Anselmo May 10, 2013, 09:54 am EDT

Do you ever crave a candy bar when you’re stressed? It could be for a good reason: Dark chocolate may calm you down, says a new study from the Swinburne University of Technology.

In a recent experiment, people consumed a chocolate drink mixed with either 500, 250, or zero milligrams of cocoa polyphenols once a day for 30 days. At the end of the study, those who drank the highest dose said they felt more calm and complacent, while the lower-dose drinkers reported no changes in mood.

The reason: Polyphenols found naturally in dark chocolate respond to brain receptors associated with anxiety. Those same receptors are also targeted with the common anxiety medication benzodiazepines, which may function through a similar biological system as polyphenols, the study authors say.

How can you get the same effect? Here’s a rule of thumb: Look for dark bars with the highest percentage of cocoa you can find. “The higher the cocoa content of the chocolate, the more polyphenols the chocolate will contain,” says study author Matthew Pase, a Ph.D. candidate at Swinburne.

Source: http://news.menshealth.com/the-candy-that-calms/2013/05/10/

I hope that works for my chocolate brownies!

Science News

Chocolate May Help Keep Brain Healthy

Aug. 7, 2013 — Drinking two cups of hot chocolate a day may help older people keep their brains healthy and their thinking skills sharp, according to a study published in the August 7, 2013, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The study involved 60 people with an average age of 73 who did not have dementia. The participants drank two cups of hot cocoa per day for 30 days and did not consume any other chocolate during the study. They were given tests of memory and thinking skills. They also had ultrasounds tests to measure the amount of blood flow to the brain during the tests.

Read more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130807204447.htm

The study used people aged around 73 years old.

It noted that their response times for answering questions dropped from 160 secs to 116 secs on average.

Was this because the participants had, until the experiment, not had to answer a lot of questions for a score of years? And then brought back skills learned earlier in their life to speed up their responses?

Was the drinking chocolate mixed with water or with milk? On my Cadbury's container it says mix with water, but I use boiling milk. I do not use sugar - did the experimentalists use sugar? If so, how much.

There appear to be so many variables available in this series of tests that I immediately regard it as pointless.

However, I do like my drinking chocolate at night, even though it costs far more than I can afford.

Bournvita, Ovaltine or hot chocolate - which is your preferred nightcap? (Scotch and Drambuie or not in this study)

CHOCOLATE IN THE NEWS

By Dailyrecord.co.uk 10 Sep 2013 09:08

Milk chocolate digestive beats rivals to be named the nation's favourite biscuit to dunk in a cup of tea

THE biscuit was named the best treat with Rich Tea and Fig Rolls bottom of the barrel when it comes to dipping.

DIP, dip, hooray. The milk chocolate digestive has been crowned king of dunking.

The nation voted it as the best biscuit for dunking in a cuppa.

Fans hailed it for the combination of melted chocolate and perfect texture.

Read more: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/weird-news/milk-chocolate-digestive-beats-rivals-2263356

I fail to understand this disgusting habit of dunking food into a cup of tea or coffee. I find it absolutely revolting.

Tea and coffee are drinks - biscuits, doughnuts and toast are solid accompaniments to such drinks, to be combined in the stomach, not the cup.

Typical Northern England non-working class habit. Not to be tolerated in polite society.

I gave that up when I hit double figures.

The plain chocolate ones were always better anyway.

Different cultures have different attitudes toward biscuit dunking. Historically in British high society, dunking was frowned upon and generally seen as a children's or working class fashion. Opinion has changed over the years but continues to divide opinion, with one tea room outlawing dunking on its premises^[3] while a Michelin starred restaurateur publicly advocates the act.^[4]

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunking_(biscuit)

CHOCOLATE IN THE NEWS

Barry Callebaut wins rare EC health claim

Chocolate maker Barry Callebaut has won a rare European Commission (EC) health claim for its cocoa flavanols.

Read more: http://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/Regulation/Barry-Callebaut-wins-rare-EC-health-claim

CHOCOLATE IN THE NEWS

British designer creates dress made of chocolate

Women are used to worrying about embarrassing wardrobe malfunctions and trying to stay steady on their sky-scraping heels.

By Hayley Dixon 2:55PM BST 17 Oct 2013

But for the model walking down the catwalk tomorrow in this dress made entirely of chocolate there are a whole new set of concerns, such as keeping cool so that your clothes don’t melt.

To celebrate Chocolate Week Graduate Fashion Week Gold Award winner 2013 Lauren Smith has created a strapless dress, entitled Eternal Diamond.

The dress, which uses 50kg of chocolate and took two weeks to make, will be showcased at the Gala Chocolate Fashion Show opening night at Salon du Chocolat on Friday evening.

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/10386024/British-designer-creates-dress-made-of-chocolate.html

-- The Telegraph 2013-10-17

CHOCOLATE IN THE NEWS

Eat chocolate to banish greys: How to munch your way to younger hair

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

PUBLISHED: 11:31 GMT, 24 October 2013 | UPDATED: 13:05 GMT, 24 October 2013

You can spend hundreds on conditioners and treatments — but healthy, beautiful hair is more about what you put into your body than what you slather on your head.

Ricardo Vila Nova, resident trichologist at Urban Retreat in Harrods says: ‘Poor diet can cause hair thinning and hair loss as well as lacklustre hair, dryness and excess sebum.

A high-stress lifestyle and bad nutrition can be catalysts for damage which may need four years to recover.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2474849/Eat-chocolate-banish-greys-How-munch-way-younger-hair.html

-- Mail Online 2013-10-24

CHOCOLATE IN THE NEWS

Could a 'chocolate pill' curb heart disease and stroke?

BY KATHLEEN BLANCHARD

53 MINS AGO IN HEALTH

Just about everyone, especially chocolate lovers, has read that cocoa has health benefits for the heart. Now researchers plan to find out if a chocolate pill that contains cocoa flavonoids could help prevent heart disease and stroke.

The large scale study is also geared to find out if taking multivitamins could help prevent cancer.

Read more: http://digitaljournal.com/life/health/could-a-chocolate-pill-curb-heart-disease-and-stroke/article/376854

-- Digital Journal 2014-03-18

Wednesday 19 March 2014 - 8am PST

Gut bacteria play a role in why dark chocolate is so good for you

While a study proclaiming the benefits of dark chocolate is hardly necessary to convince us to eat it, new research presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society may make us feel better about eating that truffle after lunch. It seems bacteria in the stomach eat the chocolate and produce anti-inflammatory compounds that are beneficial for the heart.

Flavanols - naturally occurring antioxidants - are plentiful in cocoa products, but until now, scientists have not been clear on what happens to them in the lower gastrointestinal tract.

Read more: Flavanols - naturally occurring antioxidants - are plentiful in cocoa products, but until now, scientists have not been clear on what happens to them in the lower gastrointestinal tract.

-- MNT 2014-03-19

Key chocolate ingredients could help prevent obesity, diabetes

Date: April 2, 2014

Improved thinking. Decreased appetite. Lowered blood pressure. The potential health benefits of dark chocolate keep piling up, and scientists are now homing in on what ingredients in chocolate might help prevent obesity, as well as type-2 diabetes. They found that one particular type of antioxidant in cocoa prevented laboratory mice from gaining excess weight and lowered their blood sugar levels. The report appears in ACS' Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry.

Read more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140402110000.htm

-- Science Daily 2014-04-02

Wednesday, May 14th 2014 12AM

Chocolate and red wine 'WON'T extend your life': Study reveals antioxidant found in both has no 'substantial influence' on longevity

• U.S. researchers set out to investigate low heart disease 'French paradox'
• Phenomenon occurs despite diet traditionally high in cholesterol and fat
• It was thought that a chemical called resveratrol in red wine was the reason
• But extensive tests found no link to disease protection or lifespan

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2626655/Chocolate-red-wine-WONT-extend-life-Study-reveals-antioxidant-no-substantial-influence-longevity.html

-- Daily Mail 2014-05-14

PhD in chocolate – a sweet job on offer at Cambridge University

Research project is aimed at discovering how the treat can stay solid when sold in warm climates

Maev Kennedy

The Guardian, Sunday 17 August 2014 17.51 BST

It could be a sweet job for the right candidate, but demands a good university degree, engineering and physics skills, a track record in scientific experimentation, extensive experience of studying soft solids, and good maths. A sweet tooth might also help: more than three years of full-time chocolate is not a career for the soft-centred.

Cambridge University is advertising for a PhD student to tackle a three-and-a-half-year research project, into how chocolate can "remain solid and retain qualities sought by consumers", when stored and sold in warm climates.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/aug/17/phd-chocolate-cambridge-university

Better chocolate with microbes: Same yeast used in beer, wine and bread

Date: July 15, 2015

Source: American Society for Microbiology

For decades, researchers have worked to improve cacao fermentation by controlling the microbes involved. Now, to their surprise, a team of Belgian researchers has discovered that the same species of yeast used in production of beer, bread, and wine works particularly well in chocolate fermentation. The research was published ahead of print July 6th in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a publication of the American Society for Microbiology.

"Chemical analyses as well as tasting the chocolate showed that the chocolate produced with our best yeasts is much better and more consistent than the chocolate produced through natural fermentation," said Kevin Verstrepen, PhD, professor of genetics and genomics, the University of Leuven, and the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), Belgium. "Moreover, different yeasts yielded different chocolate flavors, indicating that it would be possible to create a whole range of specialty chocolates to match everyone's favorite flavor."

Read more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/07/150715130831.htm

-- Science Daily 2015-07-15

Where in Bangkok has a chocolate fountain with strawberries rather than marshmallows or bits of random melon?

Where in Bangkok has a chocolate fountain with strawberries rather than marshmallows or bits of random melon?

Do you want it to be moving?

Where in Bangkok has a chocolate fountain with strawberries rather than marshmallows or bits of random melon?

Do you want it to be moving?

Yes unless they provide a blowtorch.

Where in Bangkok has a chocolate fountain with strawberries rather than marshmallows or bits of random melon?

To the best of my knowledge, there isn't any.

Where in Bangkok has a chocolate fountain with strawberries rather than marshmallows or bits of random melon?

To the best of my knowledge, there isn't any.

The answer is to ask at the Marriott....they are usually forthcoming.

I was hoping to hear of a place that has them more readily available though.

Wishing everybody a chocolaty Merry Christmas.

 

 

Dark chocolate is one of six foods touted to help rejuvenate my skin. With the exception  of oysters, I like them all.

 

1. Olive Oil
   http://healthypanda.net/look-younger-feel-younger-6-foods-for-perfect-skin/
2. Dark chocolate
   Eat quality dark chocolate regularly to preserve the youthfulness of your skin. Chocolate is rich in flavanols, which have been found to protect the skin from harmful UV radiation and even reverse age-related memory decline
   http://healthypanda.net/look-younger-feel-younger-6-foods-for-perfect-skin/2/
3. Oysters
   http://healthypanda.net/look-younger-feel-younger-6-foods-for-perfect-skin/3/
4. Kiwi
   http://healthypanda.net/look-younger-feel-younger-6-foods-for-perfect-skin/4/
5. Pumpkin
   http://healthypanda.net/look-younger-feel-younger-6-foods-for-perfect-skin/5/
6. Red Wine
   http://healthypanda.net/look-younger-feel-younger-6-foods-for-perfect-skin/6/

The secret of why we like to eat chocolate

By Dr Michael Mosley
BBC

 

It may seem simple – we like chocolate because it tastes nice. But there's more to it than that – and it relates to a fat/carbohydrates balance that is set right from the very beginning of our lives.

 

Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/health-39067088

On 12/01/2013 at 3:40 PM, Maestro said:

I bought those Hershey shares for a lark, only a few thousand dollars' worth, then forgot about them. Looking at the broker's year-end statement now, 13 months later, I see that their value has risen by 30%. I'll forget about them for another few years, I think.

Come on folks, eat more Hershey!

 

Good gracious, I completely forgot to let you all know that I sold my Hershey shares last year.

• Bought 2011-12-06 at USD 58.525 per share
• Sold 2016-06-30 at USD 111.79 per share (+91%)
• Total dividends received: USD 8.812 per share (15% of purchase price)