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If you are a chocolate lover, take your sweet time reading article number one . . . all the way to the bitter end.
Good news for dark chocolate-lovers
Jul 19,
Jul 19,
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Dark chocolate can not only soothe your soul but can lower blood pressure too, researchers reported Monday.
The study, published by the American Heart Association, joins a growing body of research that show compounds found in chocolate called flavonoids can help the blood vessels work more smoothly, perhaps reducing the risk of heart disease.
Blumberg and colleagues at the University of L'Aquila in Italy studied 10 men and 10 women with high blood pressure. For 15 days, half ate a 3.5 ounce bar of specially formulated dark chocolate, while the other half ate the same amount of white chocolate. Then each group "crossed over" and ate the other chocolate.
"White chocolate, which has no flavonoids, was the perfect control food because it contains all the other ingredients and calories found in dark chocolate," Blumberg said.
When the volunteers ate the special dark chocolate, they had a 12 mm Hg decrease in systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading) and a 9 mm Hg decrease in diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) on average.
Blood pressure did not change when the volunteers ate white chocolate.
Eating dark chocolate also seemed to improve how the body used insulin, and reduced low density lipoprotein (LDL) or "bad" cholesterol by about 10 percent on average.
"The findings do not suggest that people with high blood pressure should eat lots of dark chocolate in lieu of other important blood pressure-reduction methods, such as medication and exercise," Blumberg said. "Rather, we are identifying specific flavonoids that can have a benefit on blood pressure and insulin sensitivity."
You've heard it before, "what fruit are you shaped like?" . . . . This next article investigates why it's better to be shaped like a pear than like an apple.
Fat thighs may benefit health, say researchers
August 13, 2005
August 13, 2005
For many people, mainly women, fat on legs, hips, and buttocks may actually help ward off heart disease and diabetes, recent research suggests.
University of Colorado researchers reported this week that in a study of 95 women past menopause, being bottom-heavy was linked to better scores on several markers in the blood, including triglycerides and high sugar levels. "Our body of research, as well as some others, suggest that leg fat is good fat," said Rachael Van Pelt, the lead researcher.
Researchers are not sure exactly why leg, hip and buttocks fat carries benefits, but this latest study complements the growing understanding that all fat is not alike. In recent years it has become clearer that "visceral fat," which swells waistlines and wraps around organs, poses the greatest health danger, while "peripheral fat" on arms, legs, hips and buttocks is more benign and, according to recent research, may even be helpful.
Researchers caution that their work does not translate into advice to gain or retain excess weight. Though people tend toward either a bottom-heavy pear shape or a top-heavy apple shape, there is no way to gain only peripheral fat (pear shape) without gaining visceral fat (apple shape), as well.
Click Here For The Complete Story=> http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/fitness/articles/2005/08/13/fat_thighs_may_benefit_health_say_researchers/
Men do have trouble hearing women.
2005-08-10
2005-08-10
BEIJING, Aug. 10 -- Men who are accused of never listening by women now have an excuse — women's voices are more difficult for men to listen to than other men's, British scientists found.
The Daily Mail, quoting findings published in the specialist magazine NeuroImage, said researchers at Sheffield University in northern England discovered startling differences in the way the brain responds to male and female sounds.
Men deciphered female voices using the auditory part of the brain that processes music, while male voices engaged a simpler mechanism, it said.
The newspaper quoted researcher Michael Hunter as saying: “The female voice is actually more complex than the male voice, due to differences in the size and shape of the vocal cords and larynx between men and women, and also due to women having greater natural 'melody' in their voices. This causes a more complex range of sound frequencies than in a male voice.” Hunter explained. The findings may help explain why people suffering hallucinations usually hear male voices, the report added, as the brain may find it much harder to conjure up a false female voice accurately than a false male voice.
Click Here For The Complete Story=>
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-08/10/content_3333499.htmThe above is not meant to be medical advice or a substitute for professional evaluation or treatment. Seek the advice of your physician or healthcare provider before any modification in the treatment of any medical condition. Also, please read the attached Disclaimer, Etc.
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