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05 Dec 06 - 05:03 PM (#1900958) Subject: BS: More good about chocolate From: beardedbruce MONDAY, Dec. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Women who are underweight before they become pregnant are 72 percent more likely to suffer a miscarriage in the first three months of pregnancy, according to a study from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. The study of more than 6,600 women, aged 18-55, also found that underweight women can significantly reduce their risk of miscarriage in the first trimester by about 50 percent by taking supplements with folate or iron and by eating fresh fruits and vegetables every day. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Chocolate was also associated with reduced risk of miscarriage in this group of women. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The study is published in the current online edition of BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. |
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05 Dec 06 - 07:55 PM (#1901139) Subject: RE: BS: More good about chocolate From: The Fooles Troupe It wasn't called 'Food of the Gods' for nothing you know.... and mostly reserved for Royalty without good reason, ya know.... |
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05 Dec 06 - 09:52 PM (#1901234) Subject: RE: BS: More good about chocolate From: Rapparee Well, I'm glad to know that my chances of miscarriage have been appreciably lowered. |
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05 Dec 06 - 10:12 PM (#1901244) Subject: RE: BS: More good about chocolate From: Q (Frank Staplin) In Mexico, chocolate was an essential ingredient of some meat stews, sauces, etc., often used with chili. Look up some mole (salsa,marinade, etc.) dishes in a Mexican cookbook or on the internet. Increase your ways of using chocolate in cookery. Amazing what can be done with it. |
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06 Dec 06 - 09:21 PM (#1902063) Subject: RE: BS: More good about chocolate From: Big Al Whittle Great! I'll have a sex change and get pregnant. Then I 'll have an excuse to eat chocolate. |
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06 Dec 06 - 09:51 PM (#1902078) Subject: RE: BS: More good about chocolate From: Rowan One of the best recipes for cooking rabbit involved chocolate. I used to give it to those who survived the Depression by getting 'underground mutton'. And then I went and lost it. Cheers, Rowan |
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06 Dec 06 - 10:11 PM (#1902096) Subject: RE: BS: More good about chocolate From: catspaw49 I dunno'..............I only smoked cigarettes in the packs labeled that they could cause pregnancy problems and yet I still got coronary problems instead. But I'll try the chocolate because I am sure I don't want to have a miscarriage. Spaw |
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07 Dec 06 - 04:41 AM (#1902228) Subject: RE: BS: More good about chocolate From: The Fooles Troupe But only 1% of chocolate is the real good stuff - the cocoa beans are white... Quiz... what is the name of the specific bush? Hint - it's mainly grown in Venezuela nowadays... |
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07 Dec 06 - 07:34 AM (#1902317) Subject: RE: BS: More good about chocolate From: catspaw49 Juan Valdez Bush? |
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07 Dec 06 - 04:10 PM (#1902711) Subject: RE: BS: More good about chocolate From: Mrs.Duck Mother of five! Need I say more. |
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07 Dec 06 - 04:31 PM (#1902736) Subject: RE: BS: More good about chocolate From: EBarnacle No, but what about father of none? |
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07 Dec 06 - 06:09 PM (#1902836) Subject: RE: BS: More good about chocolate From: The Fooles Troupe Hint: An Italian company uses some of it in its chocolates. |
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07 Dec 06 - 08:15 PM (#1902969) Subject: RE: BS: More good about chocolate From: Bunnahabhain Is Guanaja the variety you're after Foolestroupe? Whatever it is, I had some today. I had many samples before getting various high cocao things to cheer people up... |
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07 Dec 06 - 08:39 PM (#1902983) Subject: RE: BS: More good about chocolate From: The Fooles Troupe I heard about it, but cannot remember the exact name - but that one wasn't it, I'm sure - and it is not a trick question, no little rodents need to digest the beans or anything... :-) It apparently was one of the original varieties favoured by the 'indigenous' when Columbus first arrived, but was not 'commercialised' by Europe early on. Now it is being slowly propagated, but it is a 'delicate' spindly variety, unlike most commercial varieties, which are usually chosen more for ease of growth, robustness, etc. Bunnahabhain , unless it was extremely expensive, I doubt it - it is much less than 1% of the cacao bean produced. Apparently there is a South American chocolate company (based in Venezuela) that produces a very small quantity of it too. Only two companies do so - and I think the Italian one is named 'Amaro' or similar... I doubt if any is imported into Australia for instance, if so, it might make it into Melbourne, but I doubt even Sydney would see it, let alone Brisbane... ~~~~~~~ Columbus was presented with some dried up cacao beans, tasted them and spat them out over the side - to the horror of the locals, who dived into the sea to recover them - the original cacao beans were used as currency and traded widely, even to where Columbus first landed (that's the cacao beans in general, not just this variety ...) |
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07 Dec 06 - 08:55 PM (#1902996) Subject: RE: BS: More good about chocolate From: The Fooles Troupe Serendipity... I stumbled across... http://www.amazon.com/Extra-Bitter-Chocolate-Cioccolato-Fondente/dp/B0000DCYN2 Extra Dark Bitter Chocolate (Cioccolato Extra Fondente Amaro) Bar Now the word "Cioccolato" sounds very much like what I heard on the radio in the discussion as the name of the particular type of the (rare) bush... Since there are others out there with more experience and knowledge of me in biology, zoology, and even chocolatology... :-) "Baratti & Milano" MAY have been the Italian brand, but I'm not so sure on that... |
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08 Dec 06 - 03:59 PM (#1903786) Subject: RE: BS: More good about chocolate From: autolycus I heard some time ago that cocoa beans was the most heavily pesticided crop going, so I stick mostly to organic. Does anyone know more? Thanks. Ivor |
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08 Dec 06 - 04:49 PM (#1903847) Subject: RE: BS: More good about chocolate From: Q (Frank Staplin) T. cacao suffers from blights which strongly reduced production in some areas. Researchers are actively working to develop resistant varieties. Dunno how much the beans are affected by pesticides. |
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08 Dec 06 - 09:17 PM (#1904068) Subject: RE: BS: More good about chocolate From: Genie I'm sure my chances of miscarrying have been reduced greatly by my chocolate consumption. I mean, I found out long ago that, because of all those extra calories, a serious chocolate addiction could noticeably reduce a girl's opportunities for doing that there thing that gets ya pregnant in the first place. §;-D (Please, folks, no tomatoes. Fortunately -- or unfortunately? -- avoiding motherhood ain't that simple. LOL) |
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21 Feb 07 - 08:06 AM (#1974781) Subject: RE: BS: More good about chocolate From: Pauline L Chocolate -- actually flavanols in chocolate -- is good for brain function because it improves blood flow to the brain. It works for the Cuna Indians in Panama, and it works for young women who are given tests of intellectual function. Listening to Mozart has also been shown (in some studies but not others) to improve brain function (test taking) in college students). Hey, science has finally caught up with me. I've been listening to classical music and eating chocolate for years. That must be why I'm so damn smart. Here is the article from http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/articles/2007/02/18/some_cocoa_may_improve_brain_blood_flow/?p1=MEWell_Pos5 Some cocoa may improve brain blood flow By Randolph E. Schmid, AP Science Writer | February 18, 2007 SAN FRANCISCO --A nice cup of the right kind of cocoa could hold the promise of promoting brain function as people age. In an increasingly aging world, medical researchers are seeing more cases of dementia and are looking for ways to make brains work better. One potential source of help may be flavanols, an antioxidant found in cocoa beans that can increase blood flow to the brain, researchers said Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Ian MacDonald of England's University of Nottingham reported on tests given to young women who were asked to do a complex task while their brains were being studied with magnetic resonance imaging. Among the women given drinks of cocoa high in flavanols, there was a significant increase in blood flow to the brain compared with subjects who did not drink the cocoa, he said. This raises the prospect of using flavanols in the treatment of dementia, marked by decreased blood flow in the brain, and in maintaining overall cardiovascular health, he said. The next step, MacDonald said, is to move from healthy subjects to people who have "compromised" blood flow to the brain. Norman Hollenberg of Harvard Medical School said he found similar health benefits in the Cuna Indian tribe in Panama. They drink cocoa exclusively. But the cocoa typically sold in markets is low in flavanols, which usually are removed because they impart a bitter taste, Hollenberg said. He also said the findings do not mean people should indulge in chocolate. "Chocolate is a delight. It can never be a health food because we have a calorie problem," Hollenberg said. But, he added, in cocoa a lot of fat is removed from the chocolate. "I see a bright future for cocoa," he said. Hollenberg, an expert in blood pressure, studied the Cuna because those who live on native islands do not have high blood pressure. He said he found that when tribe members move to cities, their blood pressure rises. A major difference is the consumption of their own prepared cocoa, which is high in flavanols. In native areas, that is all they drink; in cities they adopt the local diet. In addition to having low blood pressure, Hollenberg said, there are no reports of dementia among the native Cuna. Henriette van Praag of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies discussed the effects of a specific flavanol, Epichatechin, in tests in mice. She said when that chemical was added to their food, the mice showed improved ability to solve a maze and remembered it longer than mice without the flavanol. She said Epichatechin affected the hippocampus, the brain area important in memory. In a study reported a year ago, older men in the Netherlands who ate the equivalent of one-third of a chocolate bar every day had lower blood pressure and a reduced risk of death. The researchers said, however, it was too early to conclude that chocolate led to better health. The men who ate more cocoa products could have shared other qualities that made them healthier. Hagen Schroeter of Mars Inc., the candy company that paid for some of the research reported Sunday, said that cocoa long has been studied for potential medical benefits. He noted that in addition to cocoa, flavanols occur in other foods such as fruits, tea and wine that have been associated with dilation of the arteries. Mars last year announced plans to market a line of products under the name CocoaVia which is high in flavanols. Other major chocolate companies, including Hershey's, have started promoting the flavanol content of their dark chocolates. ------ On the Net: American Association for the Advancement of Science: http://www.aaas.org |
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21 Feb 07 - 08:16 AM (#1974795) Subject: RE: BS: More good about chocolate From: Donuel s not a good idea to chew raw cocoa beans? |
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12 Apr 07 - 04:23 PM (#2023497) Subject: RE: BS: More good about chocolate From: beardedbruce Healthful Chocolate Does it really reduce high blood pressure? Thursday, April 12, 2007; Page A26 IN PRE-COLUMBIAN Mesoamerica, a bitter concoction of cacao beans, water and spices was a delicacy reserved for only the most fortunate in Aztec society. After the conquistadors' arrival, cocoa powder and sugar came together to produce the chocolate taste we know, and the cacao tree fast became a cash crop. Nowadays, chocolate is an everyday indulgence -- though at best not really every day. After all, it is sugary, fattening, bad for you. Or is it? An analysis published this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests that regular chocolate consumption can lower your blood pressure. German scientists reviewed a number of studies on different substances containing polyphenols, compounds that seem to have salubrious effects on the human cardiovascular system. They found that, contrary to some assertions, black and green tea appear to have no marked effect on blood pressure. Cocoa-rich diets, on the other hand, had lowered both systolic and diastolic blood pressure in study subjects after only two weeks. Measured decreases were about equal to what you can expect from standard hypertension medications. That means a decrease in the likelihood of stroke by about 20 percent and coronary heart disease by about 10 percent, the report estimates. Science has come through once again. It was only late last year that we heard that red wine contains a fantastically healthful chemical, resveratrol, that appears to counter the effects of fatty diets. Pinot noir and a chocolate bar no doubt sound like a great prescription for overweight Americans. Sound too good to be true? You're right; there's a bit of fine print. The fat and sugar that come with cocoa's polyphenols still clog your arteries and invite diabetes, and not all subjects showed equally dramatic results. If your blood pressure is dangerously high, regularly eating 100 grams or so of dark chocolate might help, but even then the report cannot reliably predict what the long-term effects of such a habit might be. So, yes, back to the broccoli. |
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14 Aug 09 - 09:33 PM (#2700646) Subject: RE: BS: More good about chocolate From: Pauline L A new study shows that chocolate is beneficial in yet another way. It cuts the death rate in heart attack survivors. Chocolate cuts death rate in heart attack survivors by Marlowe Hood Marlowe Hood � Thu Aug 13, 7:02 am ET PARIS (AFP) � Heart attack survivors who eat chocolate two or more times per week cut their risk of dying from heart disease about threefold compared to those who never touch the stuff, scientists have reported. Smaller quantities confer less protection, but are still better than none, according to the study, which appears in the September issue of the Journal of Internal Medicine. Earlier research had established a strong link between cocoa-based confections and lowered blood pressure or improvement in blood flow. It had also shown that chocolate cuts the rate of heart-related mortality in healthy older men, along with post-menopausal women. But the new study, led by Imre Janszky of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, is the first to demonstrate that consuming chocolate can help ward off the grim reaper if one has suffered acute myocardial infarction -- otherwise known as a heart attack. "It was specific to chocolate -- we found no benefit to sweets in general," said Kenneth Mukamal, a researcher at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and a co-author of the study. "It seems that antioxidants in cocoa are a likely candidate" for explaining the live-saving properties, he told AFP in an exchange of e-mails. Antioxidants are compounds that protect against so-called free radicals, molecules which accumulate in the body over time that can damage cells and are thought to play a role in heart disease, cancer and the aging process. In the study, Janszky and colleagues tracked 1,169 non-diabetic men and women, 45-to-70 years old, in Stockholm County during the early 1990s from the time they were hospitalised with their first-ever heart attack. The participants were queried before leaving hospital on their food consumption habits over the previous year, including how much chocolate they ate on a regular basis. They underwent a health examination three months after discharge, and were monitored for eight years after that. The incidence of fatal heart attacks correlated inversely with the amount of chocolate consumed. "Our findings support increasing evidence that chocolate is a rich source of beneficial bioactive compounds," the researchers concluded. The results held true for men and women, and across all the age groups included in the study. Other factors that might have affected the outcome -- alcohol consumption, obesity, smoking -- were also taken into account. So should we all be loading up on cocoa-rich sweets? "To be frank, I'm pretty cautious about chocolate because we're working on weight problems with so many individuals," said Mukamal, who is also a practising physician. "However, I do encourage those who are looking for healthier desserts to consider chocolate in small quantities," he said. "For individuals with no weight issues who have been able to eat chocolate in moderation and remain slim, I do not limit it," he added. The researchers caution that clinical trials are needed to back up the findings of their study. In the meantime, however, a bit of chocolate may not be amiss, they suggest. |