On TRAC with DrMark

Content of Cocoa Beans and Chocolate

Cocoa beans, what chocolate is made from, contains about 50 percent fat. This fat content is primarily composed of stearic acid, palmitic acid (both saturated fats) and oleic acid (monounsaturated fat). It is important to take note that cocoa butter and chocolate alone do not raise blood cholesterol levels. It is when milk or other types of fat are added to chocolate that it becomes instrumental in raising blood cholesterol levels.

Cocoa beans contain a significant amount of dietary fiber (soluble and insoluble) and starch. It also contains a very little amount of simple sugars. However, the chocolate’s sugar content is increased because sugar is added during its manufacturing process.

Cocoa beans have polyphenols or flavonoids that are known to have antioxidant properties. These polyphenols are composed of catechins, procyandins and epicatechins. These flavonoids are stored in the non-fatty parts of the cocoa beans. Part of the functions of flavonoids is reduce blood clotting, thus help in reducing the risk of heart attacks or strokes.

Other nutrients found in cocoa beans and chocolate include theobromine (helps increase urine production), caffeine, phenylethylamine, serotonin, magnesium, iron, copper, manganese, calcium, zinc, potassium, vitamins A, B2, C, B1, B3 and pantothenic acid.

 

Chocolate Addiction

With chocolate, it's love at first bite. 

To suggest that chocolate is as good as sex -- when we're talking about champagne truffles for example -- is not as outrageous as it seems. But like anything that's almost too good to be true, there's a downside. Chocolate doesn't sustain or satisfy us for very long. A chocolate truffle gives us the same rush as, say, a passionate kiss from a handsome stranger. And then it's over, leaving us longing for just a little bit more.

Can we become addicted to love? Or chocolate? Do they really go hand in hand? Chocolatiers the world over insist they do.

Awake or asleep, I dream in chocolate: bittersweet, semi-sweet, milk, even white chocolate. The details of chocolate intensity are irrelevant. It's that momentary feel-good surge I crave.

Fact is, chocolate does contain phenylethylamine (PEA) a natural antidepressant that acts as a mood elevator, and is reputed to stimulate the same reaction in the body as falling in love. Chocolate also contains caffeine and theobromine, ingredients that mildly stimulate the cardiac muscle and central nervous system. But chocolate should never be more intellectual than sensory. You can give chocolate to anyone you love and make them happy. And if it happens to be, say, Irish cream chocolate mousse cake that you've made with your own hands, experience tells me there's a good chance they'll love you back.

This article, in whole, may be found at: 

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/sara-waxman/chocolate-addiction_b_880438.html

 

Getting giddy with Chocolate

LEGEND has it that the great Italian lover, Casanova, ate chocolate before he becomes too intimate to his conquests.

Still, even if scientists debunk the theory that chocolate is a subtle aphrodisiac, why let science keep you from having a good time?

A potent ingredient in chocolate called phenylethylamine (PEA) is said to be a "love-chemical," which triggers the pleasure centers in the brain. The darker the chocolate, the better: that helps further the feelings of attraction, excitement, giddiness, apprehension and euphoria.

Intimate feelings aside, there are also those who feel and think sexy just by seeing chocolate in the fridge or on the table, or at least feel comfortable and relaxed at the sight of a box of delectable chocolates.

 

Study unlocks resveratrol’s fat fighting potential

Daily consumption of resveratrol, an antioxidant compound in red wine, may reduce body fat levels by preventing the formation of fat tissue, suggests a new study with rats.

Lab animals fed a high-fat diet but supplemented with resveratrol had less body fat than non-supplemented animals, despite both groups having similar body weights, report researchers from the University of País Vasco in Valencia report.

Resveratrol’s rosy potential

Resveratrol is often touted as the bioactive compound in grapes and red wine, and has particularly been associated with the so-called 'French Paradox'. The phrase, coined in 1992 by Dr Serge Renaud from Bordeaux University, describes the low incidence of heart disease and obesity among the French, despite their relatively high-fat diet and levels of wine consumption.

Interest in the compound exploded in 2003 when research from David Sinclair and his team from Harvard reported that resveratrol was able to increase the lifespan of yeast cells. The research, published in Nature, was greeted with international media fanfare and ignited flames of hope for an anti-ageing pill.

According to Sinclair’s findings, resveratrol could activate a gene called sirtuin1 (Sirt1 – the yeast equivalent was Sir2), which is also activated during calorie restriction in various species, including monkeys.

Since then studies in nematode worms, fruit flies, fish, and mice have linked resveratrol to longer lives. Other studies with only resveratrol have reported anti-cancer effects, anti-inflammatory effects, cardiovascular benefits, anti-diabetes potential, energy endurance enhancement, and protection against Alzheimer’s.

Source: Nutrition & Metabolism
2011, 8:29
“Changes in white adipose tissue metabolism induced by resveratrol in rats”
Authors: G. Alberdi, V.M. Rodriguez, J. Miranda, M.T. Macarulla, N. Arias, C. Andres-Lacueva, M.P. Portillo 

 

Dark chocolate for weight loss?

Chocolate is not quite connected to weight loss by anyway till now. In fact, most people who are on a weight loss mission tend to avoid chocolates. To be frank, a lot of weight loss trainers advice their followers not to eat chocolate. It’s a general conception that people do consider chocolate as unhealthy sugary stuff which could cause some health issues.

But the new findings in a recent research book have something else to say! Lily Stojanovska, a researcher from Victoria University explained several benefits of chocolate in her book “The chocolate diet”.

According to her, chocolate can help body to burn its fat quickly, control appetite and provide lots of antioxidants.

Few benefits of chocolates,

• Dark chocolate consists of ‘epicatechin’ antioxidant which is known for fat burning ability.
• Chocolate can suppress appetite effectively.
• Alkaloid themobromine in chocolate increases muscle strength.
• Chocolate can effectively control blood pressure by widening blood vessels.
• Chocolate consists of high amount of antioxidants.

(By chocolate, researchers mean the original dark chocolate that normally contains about 70 to 80% cocoa.)

Cocoa is good for health in many ways. It’s helpful in minimizing the stroke risk, controlling depression and mood related disorders etc. Lily also added a 14 day chocolate diet plan to her book.

A limited consumption of chocolate is good for health. And coming to the chocolate, the bitter the chocolate, the better it is! 

Posted by Veronica Martin

Vitamin D Levels Linked To Diabetes Risk

Lower vitamin D levels in the bloodstream are linked to an increased risk of developing diabetes, according to a new study.

Researchers at the Western Hospital at the University of Melbourne in Australia followed over 5,000 people for 5 years and found that those with lower-than-average levels of vitamin D had a 57 percent increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those with average levels of Vitamin D.

"Studies like ours have suggested that blood levels of vitamin D higher than what is recommended for bone health may be necessary to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes," said Dr. Claudia Gagnon, lead author of the study, as reported by Yahoo News.

According to the Institute of Medicine, adults should get about 600 IU of vitamin D a day.

The study findings, however, do not prove that low vitamin D levels cause diabetes. Gagnon’s researchers wrote in the journal Diabetes Care that further studies are needed to test whether vitamin D supplements make a difference in diabetes risk.

Obesity and inactivity are still the highest risk factors for type 2 diabetes and may cause low vitamin D levels, according to Dr. Ian de Boer, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Washington. He says the best way to reduce diabetes risk is to exercise and eat healthy.

This article comes to us from:

http://www.thirdage.com/news/vitamin-d-levels-linked-to-diabetes-risk_04-27-2011 

 

Compound Found In Grapes, Peanuts, Supplements Burns Fat, Experts Say

Individuals who enjoy red wine, grapes, peanuts and blueberries – or who take nutritional supplements – may have ingested it, possibly without knowing they were doing so. It's called resveratrol, and scientists are saying that the naturally occurring compound may help the body burn fat cells.

Arrate Lasa, a researcher at the University of the Basque Country, Spain, recently wrote that resveratrol appears to reduce fat stores in the human body, especially when compared to a molecule found in many meat and dairy products called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).

Lasa noted that CLA did not appreciably diminish fat stores when injected into laboratory hamsters. However, resveratrol did, particularly when combined with a low-calorie diet.

Previous studies have associated moderate red wine intake with a lowered risk of heart disease. Reseveratrol has also been found to have the potential to lower blood sugar naturally. The Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University also states that resveratrol has been shown to inhibit tumor growth in laboratory settings.

Since most health authorities do not recommend heavy drinking, taking herbal supplements that contain resveratrol may confer all the benefits of the compound without the hangover.

This article may be found at:

http://www.betterhealthresearch.com/news/compound-found-in-grapes-peanuts-supplements-burns-fat-experts-say-800445230/

 

Chocolate Touted As the New Superfood

Just in time for chocolate’s favorite holiday, Valentine’s Day, comes a report that makes a case for chocolate to be classified as a superfood. Not just any chocolate, however; this designation is reserved for cocoa powder and dark chocolate only, both of which are high in antioxidants and low in sugar.

Superfoods are nutritional items that have one or more ingredients with a strong health benefit, such as boosting your immune system, reducing cholesterol, fighting cancer, or lowering your risk of heart disease. Those ingredients are usually Omega-3 fatty acids (found in fish, soy, and walnuts, among others) or antioxidants, which is the case in dark chocolate and cocoa powder, as well as items such as blueberries, green tea, and acai.

Polyphenols and flavonols are the main groups of antioxidants known for their health benefits. Antioxidants, consisting of vitamins A, C, E and beta carotene, protect cells from the damage by neutralizing free radicals, helping to thwart cancer, aging, and cardiovascular disease.

This isn’t the first study to extol the benefits of chocolate. The results of an eight-year study by German researchers showed that eating just 6 grams of chocolate—the equivalent of one square—per day, lowered the risk of heart attack and stroke by 39 percent.

Findings of research conducted by McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada indicated that eating about one bar of chocolate per week can help decrease the risk of stroke by 22 percent, as well as reduce the risk of death after a stroke.

Even those who have already suffered a heart attack can benefit from the consumption of chocolate. A study released last September issue of the Journal of Internal Medicine, indicates death from heart disease in previous heart attack victims are cut threefold when sufferers eat two are more servings of chocolate weekly, compared to those who refrain from eating chocolate.

So treat your sweetheart to a dose of healthy with a box of dark chocolates for Valentines Day.

This article may be found at:

 http://www.healthnews.com/nutrition-diet/healthy-eating-recipes/daily-diet-chocolate-touted-as-the-new-superfood-4743.html

 

Eat grapes, lose weight?

Remember resveratrol, the well-known antioxidant that's found inside the skins of grapes (red grapes in particular) and various other plants? It caught researchers' attention a while ago when they discovered it was also an anti-inflammatory substance that perhaps could lower the risk of heart disease and cancer.


Well, now a new report out of the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, says that resveratrol might also help us manage our weight. The study was published in the January 7 Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Another hero: adiponectin

The Texas researchers think that resveratrol helps with weight management because it stimulates another winning substance called adiponectin, a hormone found in the cells that make and store fat. Adiponectin helps us manage our weight by fighting insulin resistance, a scary syndrome that can lead not only to extra pounds but also to diabetes.

Why Wine Lovers Will Flock to the New Sonoma Die

With February being American Heart Month and red wine's resveratrol being consistently deemed "good for the heart,"  it just seemed like appropriate timing to introduce wine lovers to the latest heart healthy diet book that considers a glass of wine a team player in today's Sonoma savvy weight loss plan. 

It's not every day that I'm asked to take a peek at a new diet book, after all this is a wine site with a focus on good wine and subsequently good food.  However, The New Sonoma Diet, based largely on lively Mediterranean-inspired recipes, offers a particular draw for wine enthusiasts looking to shed a few pounds.  A daily glass of wine is actually encouraged, with a full three pages devoted to the culinary and health virtues of wine.  Food and wine pairings are even included as part of the plan.  Curious?  Check out The New Sonoma Diet review here.