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Scientists probe dark chocolate's health secrets

Love dark chocolate? Now you can eat it with much less guilt because scientists have discovered why it is so good for us. A recent study on dark chocolate and heart health found eating the stuff in moderation can reduce the risk of atherosclerosis, or the thickening and hardening of the arteries, by restoring arterial flexibility and preventing white blood cells from sticking to blood vessel walls. Now scientists have discovered why this happens - and its down to how our guts ferment the fibre in cocoa beans. Good microbes, bad microbes Researcher Maria Moore, from Louisiana State University said: 'We found that there are two kinds of microbes in the gut: the 'good' ones and the 'bad' ones. 'The good microbes, such as Bifidobacterium and lactic acid bacteria, feast on chocolate. ' When you eat dark chocolate, they grow and ferment it, producing compounds that are anti-inflammatory .' This naturally forming anti-inflammatory enters the bloodstream and...

Regular exercise may slow diseases that cause blindness and decrease the risk of stroke in women

More and more research confirms the health benefits of regular exercise. Now a new study published in The Journal of Neuroscience suggests that moderate aerobic exercise may slow the progression of diseases that destroy the retina of the eye and eventually cause blindness. What is age-related macular degeneration Age-related macular degeneration is characterized by a gradual deterioration of the macula, the central part of the retina that helps you perceive fine details in your field of vision. As a result, central vision and sharpness is impaired, problematizing daily tasks like driving and reading. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) estimates that the condition currently affects about 1.8 million Americans over 40. The study Although several studies in animals and humans point to the protective effects of exercise in neurodegenerative diseases or injury, less is known about how exercise affects vision. Machelle Pardue, PhD, together with her colleagues Er...

To savor the flavor, perform a short ritual first

We all have them. Rituals we do before eating, though most of us don't think of them that way. You may be the type of person who always eats chips in a bowl because they're just not the same out of the packet. Or you might only drink peppermint tea from your favourite striped mug because it tastes better that way. University of Minnesota psychological scientist Kathleen Vohs's ritual was to shake her sugar packet prior to pouring a little bit in to her espresso. She would then take a sip, realise her coffee wasn't sweet enough, and add the rest of the packet. She did this every time she ordered coffee, despite the fact she always ended up using the entire packet. Vohs was so intrigued by her own behaviour, she went on to lead a study about food rituals and how they affect perception of taste. The first experiment in the study, published in  Psychological Science , involved 52 participants. They were divided into two groups and instructed to either eat a ...

Study shows what foods deposit fat and where it is deposited on your body

If you want to avoid developing an apple shape, then you should eat salmon and walnuts, new research suggests. Swedish researchers discovered that people who eat a lot of polyunsaturated fat gain more muscle - and less fat - than those who eat a lot of saturated fat. People who eat mainly polyunsaturated fat - which salmon and walnuts are rich in - also store less fat around their waists and their internal organs. This was the first study on humans to show that the fat composition of food not only influences cholesterol levels in the blood and the risk of heart disease, but also where in the body fat will be stored . The findings have recently been published in the American journal Diabetes . The study Researchers at Uppsala University studied 39 young adult men and women of normal weight, who ate 750 extra calories a day for seven weeks. The goal was for them to gain 3% of their starting weight. The project received considerable attention when it started in 2011, partly because th...

Why We Can't Stop Liking the Brands We Loved as Kids

One paradox of advertising comes from a powerful inverse relationship between age and money. The people most likely to be swayed by most commercials are impressionable children (who have no money). Meanwhile, it's incredibly difficult to persuade adults (who have all the money) to break from habit and buy a new product. A new study from the Journal of Consumer Research   finds a clever loophole in this paradox. People hold onto a deep fondness for brands, like Kellogg's cereal and other foods with friendly mascots, that they were exposed to as children. The consumer brain is a bag of concrete mix before a person turns 13: anything you can slip in the soft blend is likely to harden, along with our neural networks, by the time we become a money-spending adult . This concrete-mix theory of habit formation was behind efforts to ban cigarette ads targeting young people. The scientific evidence In four separate studies, researchers tested subjects' attitudes for Ton...

If you think Starbucks coffee is expensive, have a look here... - video slide

LUXURIOUS  FOODS  - obscenely expensive treats Taste buds are certainly sensitive things. Mark Twain must have known this, when more than a hundred years ago he waxed lyrical on the watermelon: “The true Southern watermelon is a boon apart, and not to be mentioned with commoner things. It is chief of this world’s luxuries, king by the grace of God over all the fruits of the earth. When one has tasted it, he knows what the angels eat. It was not a Southern watermelon that Eve took; we know it because she repented.” We’ve been praising luxury foods for a long time now. Here are some cases of salivation being worth much, much more than their weight in gold. Video slide: http://youtu.be/iQJ58XGdKh8

Need some help losing weight? Try playing Tetris game for three minutes!

Tetris is a hugely popular tile matching video game created in Moscow in 1984. Now psychologists at Plymouth University say the visual stimulation provided by the game could reduce naturally occurring cravings for long enough to ward them off. Craving is a common problem for people trying to quit junk food, smoking or other drugs. It is unpleasant and makes people feel that they have to wait until the right moment to quit. Researchers had used visual games to interrupt cravings before, but only when they had induced those cravings first, said Jackie Andrade, a psychology professor at Plymouth University's Cognition Institute in the U.K. For this study, people's cravings happened - or did not happen - naturally. "Naturally occurring cravings might be harder to disrupt because they are triggered by internal states like hunger," Andrade said. "We chose Tetris because we wanted a task that would be interesting, demanding and highly visual." The stud...

Looking for a memory booster? There is an Egg-ceptional one...

Eggs are an “egg-ceptional” food in the memory healing diet because they are packed with Lutein and Zeaxanthin - two of the best antioxidants for regeneration - and with omega-3s, the important essential fatty acids (EFA) that protect against cognitive decline and memory loss. Given this, a new study is underway to investigate whether eggs may be a useful addition to your diet, to help prevent or delay dementia. The study In the six-month U.S. study, half of the participants will have two eggs a day, and will be compared with a control group who won't have eggs. Both groups will be tested for memory, reasoning, verbal fluency and attention span - a decline in these is a major risk factor for the development of dementia later in life. The researchers, from Tufts University in the U.S., expect there will be 'a significant increase' in the mental functioning in the group given eggs. Diet and prevention of memory loss The exploration into what role diet plays in dementia may...

Exercise To Lose 10 Pounds

You decide to lose 10 pounds. Before you do anything else, think about your preferences. Do you jog at 6 a.m. every morning, even when the 30 degree weather turns your nose into frost? Or, do you shudder at the thought of getting up early and prefer to wrap yourself in a down comforter? Your preferences towards exercise determine what you should do to lose weight. Let’s say you spend most of your leisure time sitting on the couch, reading a murder mystery. While you may not call yourself a “coach potato,” you do classify as an inactive person. Simply realizing this fact puts you one step forward to losing 10 pounds. Read more »

Eating Carbs Actually Leads To Weight Loss And Health

Carbohydrates are the single most important food you can eat. That statement probably goes against everything you've ever heard, so let me explain. If you don't believe me, take this little test. Think of a carb! If you're like most Americans, bread, pasta, soft drinks, French fries, sugar, and similar foods probably flew into your mind. Yes, these foods are carbs -- highly processed and refined ones. And if these are the kinds of carbs you consume on a regular basis, let me warn you, (unless you regularly run marathons), you're most likely either overweight or heading down the road to weight gain.   Read more »

Strawberries a tasty treatment for bad cholesterol levels

Berries are among the healthiest fruits a person can consume, with a small new study adding to the strawberry's long list of benefits. Recently a group of volunteers ate half a kilo of strawberries a day for a month to determine whether the berry "altered their blood parameters in any way." At the end of this unusual treatment, their levels of bad cholesterol and triglycerides were significantly reduced, according to the analyses conducted by Italian and Spanish scientists. Several studies had already demonstrated the antioxidant capacity of strawberries, but now researchers conducted an analysis that revealed that these fruits also help to reduce cholesterol. The study The researchers recruited 23 healthy volunteers with an average age of 27 to participate in their study. All participants had an initial 10 day period with no strawberries and a diet that was low in polyphenol. This was followed by 30 days of strawberries supplementation (500 grams per day) to the...

Scientists reveal link between what we eat and how we trust

A new study from Leiden University proves that the types of food we eat affect our trust levels. Researchers found that the administration of the amino acid tryptophan (TRP) contained in food such as soy, eggs, chocolate and spinach promotes interpersonal trust. Other foods rich in tryptophan include red meat, cottage cheese, nuts and seeds, bananas, tuna, shellfish and turkey. The study The researchers looked at how people's trust levels were affected by eating foods that contain tryptophan. Interpersonal trust was assessed by the trust game, a task widely used in behavioural economics. In the game, the first member of the pair is given some money and given the option of giving some to their partner. The gifted cash is then tripled and the second person can then give some of it back. The game is seen as a measure of trust because the first player could end up a lot better off but only if he trusts the second player enough to give him a large sum initially. Those taking part in t...

St. Patrick's day delicious mocktails: to your health! - video slide

Few ingredients is all you need to invite an Irish Blessing into your belly. These nonalcholic drinks are simple, and FUN to make and drink! Video slide Cheers!

Edible masterpieces: when food also looks good! - video slide

Edible Masterpieces is a new fundraising initiative from the Art Fund encouraging art-lovers and keen bakers to help raise money for UK museums and galleries. The Edible Masterpieces site is now live at artfund.org/edible , jam-packed with recipes and downloadable extras. Campaign co-ordinator, Katharine Richards, says, 'We're hoping to inspire people, through the medium of food, to raise money for our national museums and galleries. What could be more fun than recreating your favourite work of art out of simple ingredients you have in your fridge – which you can then eat!' Unleash your imagination: you can decorate a cake to look like a contemporary artwork, bake a biscuit that resembles an Old Master painting or make a pie inspired by a landmark building. And if you’re not a dab hand in the kitchen, you can recreate a whole host of artworks with uncooked ingredients, such as vegetables, fruit or cheese. Description 1 Mondrian-inspired battenberg (Photograph by ...

WEIGHT LOSS TRICK: spice up your drinks with chilli to burn fat and and boost your metabolism

Could spicing up your drinks/food help you lose weight? Recent studies showed that a key chemical contained in chillies could boost your body's ability to burn fat . So how does it work? It's no secret that eating hot foods such as curries and Mexican chillies makes us feel warm. This is because capsaicin, the chemical that gives chillies and chilli-based spices such as cayenne and paprika their characteristic pungency, stimulates a natural process whereby some of the food we eat at each meal is converted immediately to heat .  Called diet-induced thermogenesis, this process is good news for dieters because it means we burn up calories automatically rather than storing them . Researchers have discovered that spicing up a fatty meal with chilli powder significantly increases levels of diet-induced thermogenesis; studies showed that chili-based food increases the number and activity of so-called "brown" fat cells, which burn energy, rather than store it as ...

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Life Alterations to Assist Your Weight Loss Plans

Are you searching for ways to reduce weight? Do you want something more genuine than a tight work out and dieting regimen? Are you ready to start making way of life changes that can help you shed bodyweight and still experience like yourself? If so, there are several recommendations here that will help you on your trip. Try including them into your way of life and watch the pounds start to fall. If you eat out with a significant other, family, you can save nutrient consumption by breaking your food with one of these individuals. Cafe foods are often high in nutrient consumption and have bigger sections than most individuals need. By breaking the food in half, each person helps you to save money and prevents excess nutrient consumption. You can do the same thing with sweet. Instead of eating while viewing tv, choose to work out. If you have the area and tendency and treadmill machine make excellent cardio exercise choices. Missing string will have similar heart advantages and the string...

Don't Put on More Pounds

As fall comes around and the air gets sharp and awesome, we look forward to heated cooked products, hot beverages, and comfortable night time inside. This is all excellent, but most of the time this come with excess bodyweight. Luckily, there are so many methods have fun with the drop, such as these actions, without creating that additional cushioning. The following are some straightforward recommendations to create you that the only additional cushioning you will have this drop is a jacket. Rethink Fall Treats No one wants to compromise drop meals, even for a very necessary eating plan, but there are methods in which you don't even have to. Just choose more smartly. Appreciate periodic vegetables, like crush, modifying a side that may have been large in carbohydrates. Rice crush is the perfect alternative to pasta, and makes for a more vibrant dish, too. Cooking pumpkin plant seeds after you have designed your pumpkins create an excellent cure that is excellent for you, and they c...

Addiction Treatment To Help With Obesity

Unnecessary eating is not considered an addiction as such, specially not when compared with major drug addictive problems, however, we can draw some training from the therapy of addictive problems that can definitely help in the therapy of obesity. The Energy Of Habit In the therapy of addictive problems there are two primary elements to be addressed: the physical or scientific one and the psychological one. In both factors the ability of addiction performs a aspect, naturally our system gets used to the misused substance and psychologically routines have the sort of 'momentum' force that drive us to do it again traditional actions. In the situation of meals and consuming, we can see how these two factors are also in perform, naturally our system gets used to the meals we like and eat day in and day out and psychologically we cable our brain to like don't like and do it again dietary routines. Eating Patterns Underneath our dietary routines there are factors that are impact...