Archive for June, 2013

Chocolate Fitness

Regular ingestion of chocolate has been recently associated with healthy weight, according to a study involving 1,000 adults done at the University of California at San Diego.

Dr. Beatrice Golomb, who led the research which is published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, said: “People have just assumed that because it comes with calories and it’s typically eaten as a sweet… it would inherently have been one way: bad,”

This particular study involved 1,000 mostly middle-aged adults who had their dose of exercise thrice a week and had their dose of chocolate twice every week. Those who had more chocolate usually had lower body mass indexes.

It’s no surprise that chocolate makers will lay out the benefits of chocolate, and so will fitness trainers. Many personal trainers are now linking chocolate to fitness, especially when you eat it after a strenuous workout or right after exercising.

Blake Raun, a trainer at Lifetime Fitness in Chicago, said: “Chocolate can increase one’s resting metabolic rate,” He added: “Having a higher resting metabolic rate means better metabolism and the more calories one can burn.”

The resting metabolic rate (RMR) refers to the minimum amount of calories that the body requires in backing up the basic physiological functions. Nevertheless, fitness trainers are not suggesting chocolate to be a separate supplement to their client, but they know that chocolate really packs a lot of benefits in exercise performance.

Golomb also acknowledged the benefits of chocolate in fitness. She also mentioned how chocolate milk is so popular as a sports drink during and after a strenuous workout in this time and age. She cited the results from the research that involved lab rats.

She said: “Chocolate essentially acted as an exercise magnet, allowing rats to run farther and increase muscle mass,” She also said that the research involving rats have indicated that these animals had a noticeable  increase in their endurance, thus giving a reason to anticipate this pattern in humans.

The next time you want to hit the gym, you might want to have some chocolate with you. You can share it with your gym buddies, as well!

 

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Posted by Nikita Gould - June 27, 2013 at 1:28 pm

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Why Chocolate Is Associated With Acne

A study done at the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center in the Netherlands, involved collection of blood samples from seven participants before and after consuming exactly 48 g of chocolate on a daily basis. This was done consecutively for four days.

The chocolate that was eaten had approximately 30% cocoa. The blood cells collected were exposed to bacteria called Propionibacterium acnes.

These bacteria are supposedly a contributory factor for developing acne when they grow inside clogged pores. When such takes place, the pores become inflamed. It then ends up in the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, another type of skin bacteria that could worsen acne.

The blood cells created more interleukin-1b after the participants had chocolate. Interleukin-1b is described as a marker of immune system inflammation when they were exposed to Propionibacterium acnes.

The scientists claimed that these findings indicated that eating chocolate may boost the inflammation which can contribute to acne. Chocolate eating also gave a boost to production of another immune system factor, known as interleukin 10, after having been exposed to Staphylococcus aureus, according to a report at MyHealthNewsDaily.

Interleukin 10 supposedly lowers the immunity against microorganisms. That said, higher levels of interleukin 10 may lead to conditions that would allow bacteria to infect pimples, and aggravate them, said the researchers.

In spite of the many talks about chocolate and some other foods that are associated with acne, little is known as evidence to display they actually cause acne, said Dr. Kanade Shinkai, a dermatologist at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, who has acne treatments as specialty.

Nevertheless, past studies have shown that high-glycemic foods, such as white bread, could be linked to acne. This is because they release sugar into the bloodstream quickly. While the acne problems of some people are impacted by diet, others’ acne issues are not influenced by diet at all.

This research was published in the journal Cytokine.

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Posted by Nikita Gould - June 19, 2013 at 1:41 pm

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Chocolate Diamond Necklaces

With their outstanding beauty, chocolate diamond necklaces can give oomph to any getup. I hate to state the obvious but the main reason why chocolate colored diamonds are unique is because of the color. The following are the most important things to consider when you go shopping for this kind of jewelry.

Some chocolate diamonds are synthetic. Meaning, their coloring is not natural. There is nothing wrong with buying diamonds that have artificial color. However, a lot of people are leaning toward having a diamond that is authentic in every aspect.

Each diamond possesses a natural color. The color observed in real chocolate diamond necklaces comes about because of the chemical makeup of these diamonds when they are mined. Nitrogen particles, at their smallest form, emit a hint of yellow coloring, hence the colored diamonds.

When diamonds have a high concentration of particles which are evenly spread throughout the stone, there is a coloring which is deeper and darker. A brown chocolate-like color is the end products of a very high concentration of particles.

Among the other reasons behind the popularity of these chocolate diamond necklaces is the fact that they are so rare. Only a few diamonds have a natural brown color. You may come across stores selling diamonds of this color, but they are likely to be treated or simulated diamonds.

Chocolate diamonds are treated or irradiated white diamonds, while simulated ones are composed of crystals, or cubic zirconia. Yup, not real diamonds.

When you go buy this jewelry and other chocolate-inspired jewelries, no matter the color or their make-up, see to it that you are shopping at a trustworthy jewelry store. It’s more crucial when you are buying diamonds. You only want diamonds that have a high quality and authentic.

Among the ways to be sure about the quality and authenticity of chocolate diamond necklaces and jewelry is to confirm by some means that the jeweler has all the paperwork and certifications for the diamonds.

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Posted by Nikita Gould - June 10, 2013 at 12:19 pm

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