Chocolates And Violent Video Games – How They Are Related
This particular research was done in Italy, and it involved 170 teenagers showing their skills in a violent video game, like Grand Theft Auto III, or a non-violent game like MiniGolf 3D, in a span of 45 minutes. A bowl of chocolate was beside the gaming console while they were playing. They knew they could eat the candies, albeit they were told that it was unhealthy to devour so much chocolates in a short period of time.
Those who played violent video games ate three times as much chocolates as those who played non-violent ones. After playing, the participants went through a 10-item logic test where they got one ticket for a prize raffle for every question they answered correctly. After learning the number of answers they got right, they were told to get the corresponding number of tickets from an envelope while not being watched.
The research team could definitely know if a certain participant took more than appropriate. Those who played violent games helped themselves to extras about eight times more often than did those who played a nonviolent game.
The aggressive tendencies of the participants have gone through testing when they played a game with an unseen fictional “partner” to get rights to blast the losing party with a loud noise via headphones. It showed that violent game players decided to blast their fictitious partners with louder noises that lasted much longer as compared to the non-violent gamers.
There could be teens that stay unfazed by these video games that suggested violence, but this particular research aids us in addressing the question of who is most likely to be affected. According to the study, the effects were most noticeable in teen participants who scored pretty high in moral disengagement. (Moral disengagement is defined as one’s ability to convince himself that ethics do not apply in all situations.)
Both genders were affected. Girls ate even more chocolate, and were more likely to cheat, and to act aggressively when they were playing Grand Theft Auto as opposed to the mini golf or pinball game.
I was never the gamer girl. The video games I have played in my life, if there were any, have been few and far between. And for the most part, it’s just my way to give in to the hype. When I download a game on my mobile phone, I play it for like 3 days, a week tops, and then I move on with my life. So I can’t really have a say.
Categories: chocolate articles Tags: chocolate science, chocolate studies, likely, research, told, video games, violent video games
Lose Body Fat With Chocolate
Based on the studies done by the researchers from the University of Granada in Spain, European adolescents who eat chocolate on a regular basis, even those who weren’t necessarily going on a diet or exercising, tend to be slimmer.
1,458 teenagers aged between 12 and 17 in nine European countries, including Spain and the UK were the subjects of this particular research. Turns out, those who are fans of chocolate and consume a lot of it had lower body fat.
Furthermore, those teenagers who swear by chocolate had better circulation, blood pressure and heart health. The study was published in Journal Nutrition. However, it wasn’t specified what they deemed “high chocolate consumption.”
Janet Aylott, a nutrition scientist for Nutracheck, which commissioned the survey, claimed that diets that zero in on going cold turkey on a certain food are more likely to fail. “The key is to take a more relaxed approach and to have a little of what you like,” Aylott said.
Chocolate is notoriously known for its high calories and its reputation for ruining diets, but that is being slowly debunked because of a variety of benefits from chocolate; some of those are the fact that it’s packed with antioxidants, and it being good for the heart and circulation.
Studies in the past have also shown that those who totally get rid of treats like wine, cookies, and chocolate have a higher chance of putting on weight, considering they make up for it by consuming more of other foods. A certain study even displayed that as much as 65% of those who go cold turkey on their favorite treats end up gaining weight.
However, this still doesn’t give you permission to go bonkers with your chocolate eating. Moderation is, has been, and always will be, key.
Another new research study from the University of Cambridge showed that those who enjoyed chocolate on a daily basis were 29% less likely to have a stroke and 37% less likely to suffer from heart diseases than those who steer clear of it most of the time.
We all know how a lot of diets, programs, and other mumbo-jumbo surfacing these days are just a fad. I, too, fell victim to such. A certain diet compelled me to stick to eating certain foods, and only those foods, for days on end.
I quit my beloved chocolate for days, and I ended up binging on it a week later. I failed, miserably. I decided to just exercise and eat healthy and still have my chocolate fix on a daily basis! And I never looked back.
How about you? Do you have any diet mishaps to share? Hit me with some comments below!
Categories: chocolate articles Tags: body fat, chocolate diet, chocolate weight loss, likely, research, Spain, University
More Reasons To Love Chocolate – As If You Need A Reason
Chocolate comes with a wide array of health benefits, we basically state that like all the time. Those benefits just seem to multiply with time.
Below are some reasons that have been making a buzz lately as to why you should never feel guilty when enjoying your chocolate.
For one, chocolate is said to be beneficial for the heart. Consuming chocolate on a daily basis could cut down one’s risk of suffering from a heart attack and even stroke. Chocolate can also help you in your weight-loss goal. We always take chocolate for something that would make us gain unwanted pounds. That shouldn’t be the case now. Studies have shown that people who eat chocolate regularly are more likely to stay fit than those who don’t. Turns out, a person who eats chocolate five times per week or more had a lower BMI (Body Mass Index) than those who eat chocolate less frequently.
Chocolate is helpful for appetite control. Chocolate contains filling fiber, a natural appetite suppressant. Go ahead, give in to that sweet-tooth craving. You may eat fewer calories than if you cut it cold turkey.
We have tons of reasons to bask in the goodness of chocolate, but it’s a must to be smart about our consumption. Here are some tips to heed when buying high-quality chocolate:
The darker the chocolate, the more nutritional benefits you can reap. Pure chocolate could be a tad too bitter, which is other ingredients are tossed into the mixture. But the chocolate part of that bar is what contains the good stuff: fiber, magnesium and antioxidants.
Make your own hot cocoa. To take it to the next level regarding the nutritional profile of your hot cocoa, buy unsweetened powdered chocolate, and add your own sweetener. Additionally, keep it as dark as you can actually handle.
Be creative when it comes to cocoa. If you’re a fan of dark chocolate bars or drinking cocoa regularly, there are other options. Go ahead and experience sprinkling powdered cocoa in your oatmeal or cold cereal, for starters.
Categories: chocolate articles Tags: Cacao, chocolate lovers, cocoa, cold, love chocolate, nutritional, powdered
Heat-resistant Chocolate
We have all tried buying chocolate on a hot day, only to pull it out of your bag later and find it melted. This problem could now be a thing of the past, at least for some parts of the world.
After almost 10 years of meticulous research, the manufacturers of Cadbury and Toblerone chocolates are claiming they are now nearing launching of a heat-resistant chocolate to the world.
The top chocolate, biscuit and candy company, Mondelez International told Reuters that the product they will be introducing in the near future is able to endure temperatures as high as 104F and not melt.
This heat-resistant chocolate is particularly intended for places that have hot/humid climate such as India, Brazil, and Africa, where food products end up falling victim to the scorching heat of the sun.
They weren’t letting people in on the details about ingredients and taste just yet. However, according to a company executive for the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe, the products will be launched very soon.
Other brands within the Mondelez International portfolio include Cote d’Or, Milka, Green & Black’s chocolates, Trident and Dentyne gum and Nabisco.
While it may seem new to many, it’s actually not the first attempt at creating a more durable chocolate product. Premium Swiss chocolate maker Barry Callebaut launched the Volcano before, the chocolate that has a higher melting point – 98.6F. This is because of a lower cocoa butter content.
The natural melting point for chocolate is between 86F and 93.2F, lower than human body temperature.
Will there be a difference in taste? Well, coming up with a heat-resitant chocolate that can endure up to 40 degrees celius sans melting has reportedly entailed putting in combinations of cocoa butter, milk, sugar and vegetable oils. That said, yup, there will be a noticeable change in taste.
Categories: chocolate articles Tags: butter, chocolate novelty, cocoa butter, heat-resistant chocolate, modern chocolate, Mondelez International, world
Chocolate From The Past
Due to intense love of chocolate, more and more research were done just to trace back its history. While it’s great to just indulge in the goodness of your chocolate, it wouldn’t hurt to know how it made people in the past just as happy as we are now because of it.
Give credit where credit is due. That said, must be given to Fathers, specifically Dominicans, for having the Spanish appreciate chocolate. In 1544, they lured the court by preparing chocolate which was presented by a Kekchi Maya delegation of New World natives.
Because of faith, chocolate spread, making new regions of the world appreciate it. Europeans started to love it, so they made use of chocolate in Christian celebrations. They used chocolate to sustain different aspects of their lives, including physical, economic, as well as spiritual.
Chocolate progressively became a tool for adulation, which is offered for the greater glory of God. As a matter of fact, monks whipped up chocolate. They drank and hoarded it secretly. There was even a room mainly for chocolate drinking. Alphonse de Richelieu, cardinal of Paris, was privileged to be among the first ones to experience chocolate. There was a personal chocolate maker for him.
Chocolate was a reputed “road food” when the church had a mission to California. The thrill of chocolate experience traveled there through Franciscans like Father Junipero Serra. When he left Spain to fulfill his duties in the New World, he brought along with him some chocolates.
Unfortunately, storms made his ship stop at Puerto Rico. When the captain defaulted on his promise to feed them, a local Christian mission provided chocolate for sustenance. Serra reported: “For eighteen days we ate better than in any convent, all drinking chocolate every day.”
The best chocolatiers back then, known as mendiants, always made delicacies. These immortalize the mendicant (beggar) orders-Augustinians, Carmelites, Dominicans, and Franciscans-those that were serving the poor and depend mainly on donations for support. Dried fruits and nuts in the mendicant were symbols for the color of different monastic robes: raisins for Dominicans, hazelnuts for Augustinians, dried figs for Franciscans, and almonds for Carmelites.
Adapted from On the Chocolate Trail: A Delicious Adventure Connecting Jews, Religions, History, Travel, Rituals and Recipes to the Magic of Cacao, published by Jewish Lights.
Categories: chocolate articles Tags: chocolate background, Chocolate History, done, drinking, New World, published
350-year-old Iced Chocolate Recipe Recently Discovered
A university lecturer has found some notes that had instructions on how to make a 17th century version of what many of us are crazy about these days, the chilled coffee drink, but in this case, it’s chocolate. Health warnings about drinking too much of the brown confection were even attached to it.
Dr. Kate Loveman, an English lecturer at the University of Leicester, said that the recipe instructed the maker to mix chocolate, some “snow” and some salt and “shake the snow together (for) sometime” in what’s supposedly the first sample of its kind.
She said, “It’s not chocolate ice-cream but more like a very solid and very dark version of the iced chocolate drinks you get in coffee shops today.”
Because of the fact that in those times, freezing food was a pain in the neck, this iced dessert would have been a luxury. Dr. Loveman discovered a myriad of other recipes in a note written by one of the country’s earliest chocoholics, the Earl of Sandwich, in 1668. His great, great grandson is allegedly the one who invented the sandwich. Dr. Loveman has now published a paper on the introduction of chocolate into England.
She said the chocolate became famous first in England by 1640 as an exotic drink made out of cocoa beans. During the 1660s, chocolate typically went hand in hand with advice about safe consumption.
There was even this certain doctor during such time that gave warnings about how the composition of hot chocolate could stir up insomnia, excess mucus, or hemorrhoids.
“People worried iced chocolate in particular was ‘unwholesome’ and could damage the stomach, heart, and lungs. She added, “There were ways around this and the Earl thought the best way to ward off the dangers of eating frozen chocolate was drink some hot chocolate about an hour afterwards.”
To cut it all short, the chocoholics of the modern day didn’t just recently surface. Chocoholics have been around for like forever, or at least ever since the treat was discovered.
Categories: chocolate articles Tags: chocoholics, Chocolate History, chocolate recipe, England, first, hot chocolate
Enjoying Dark Chocolate
Want something to balance the savory taste of your meal? Go for dark chocolate. Even a little amount can do the trick, that’s why it’s the go-to dessert of a lot of chocoholics who want a healthy lifestyle.
Savor dark chocolate by doing some or all of these:
1. Make it you workday treat!
In the middle of a particularly demanding day, take a break, and much on some dark chocolate. It will melt away stress as it melts in your mouth.
2. Make it a staple in your relaxing ritual.
“Me time” is not complete without your heartwarming comfort food. Cap off the experience with some dark chocolate in hand.
3. Bring it to family dinner and game night.
Sharing some dark chocolate with the ones closest to your heart can work magic. Pass around a few pieces after the home cooked meal you all just devoured.
4. It’s perfect for a wine-tasting party.
Host a wine tasting party and entertain friends in a casual setting. Get a wide array of wine along with different kinds of cheese, fruits and dark chocolates to bring out different notes in each one.
5. Toss in some chocolate on your next brunch with your girl friends.
Catch up with your girls over brunch. Talk about anything and everything under the sun. It’s even better when done in your house, with your homemade dishes to boot. End the meal with a few bites of dark chocolate.
How do you enjoy your dark chocolate?
Categories: chocolate articles Tags: dark chocolate, meal, party, tasting
