Brief Exercise Can Curb Chocolate Cravings
A recent study indicated that a 15-minute walk can decrease your consumption of chocolate by half during working hours.
The research was done by the University of Exeter. It turned out that employees eat only half as much chocolate as they typically would after a brief exercise, even when under pressure.
The research made use of a simulated work environment and 78 regular chocolate-eaters, who did not have any chocolate in the past two days, took part.
Two groups were required to walk on a treadmill for 15 minutes and were then given work to complete at their designated desks. One group’s tasks were much easier and less stressful as compared to the other group.
The other two groups were asked to rest before finishing the same tasks as the first batch. Just like the preceding two groups, one group’s tasks were less challenging and less demanding. Chocolate was put in a bowl the whole time they were working so they can reach for it easily.
Those who had a brief walk on the treadmill consumed about 15g, those who had a rest had about 28g. 15g is equivalent to a ‘treat size’ or ‘fun size’ chocolate bar.
The challenge or difficulty of the task they had to do didn’t affect their consumption of chocolate. Therefore, stress had nothing to do with their sweet-tooth cravings.
Professor Adrian Taylor of the University of Exeter, lead researcher, said: “We know that snacking on high calorie foods, like chocolate, at work can become a mindless habit and can lead to weight gain over time,”.
“We often feel that these snacks give us an energy boost, or help us deal with the stress of our jobs, including boredom. People often find it difficult to cut down on their daily treats but this study shows that by taking a short walk, they are able to regulate their intake by half.”, he added.
True enough, exercise has incredible impacts on mood and energy levels that it is even deemed to have the potential in managing addictions.
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Categories: chocolate articles Tags: chocolate craving, chocolate research, exercise
Chocolate For Brighter Snails
You may have heard about rumors and talks about foods that are designed to enhance brain functions. These have taken many people by storm. If you try typing word “superfood” and search for it online, you will stumble upon diverse websites that are dedicated to this topic.
The curiosity of the researchers from the University of Calgary was tweaked by how some dietary factors can really have an effect on memory, it could be enhanced or impaired. At first, Ken Lukowiak was kind of skeptical towards this matter. He said, ”I didn’t think any of this stuff would work.”
In spite of all the skepticism, Lukowiak worked with undergraduate Lee Fruson to focus on a certain group of compounds called flavonoids. They are found in a wide variety of foods that are considered to be “superfoods”, green tea and chocolate included.
The researchers though it would be hard to single out a single food component and study the diverse impact it could have on human memory. There are so many factors included in the process of memory formation. Rather, they experimented with snails to find out whether the flavonoids that are found in dark chocolates could actually be used to improve their memories.
Then, the researchers have found out these mollusks have the capacity to be trained and be adept with a simple activity. In such case, to be able to keep their breathing tubes closed when they are subjected and immersed in deoxygenated water.
Lukowiak said that pond snails have the ability to breathe through the skin, but when oxygen levels start dwindling, they extend their breathing tubes above the surface of the water son to augment their oxygen supply.
They then worked with epicatechin, a flavonoid compound. They first had to find a concentration that did not have any impact on the snails’ behavior.
They gave the snails 30-minute training session in deoxygenated water. It may sound hilarious, but this lets the snails form intermediate-term memories that usually last less than 3 hours. This is not enough for long-term memories that would exceed 24 hours.
Thus, when the snails were put in deoxygenated water a day later, they remembered to keep their breathing tubes closed. Further experimentation allowed the memories to be intact for up to 3 days.
Categories: chocolate articles Tags: chocolate research, find, flavonoids, found, snails
