Harvard: Chocolate Protects Against Alzheimer’s

Dark Chocolate and Cocoa

NewsMaxHealth.com: Here's some sweet health news for chocolate lovers: A daily dose of the sugary treat may help prevent Alzheimer's disease. That's the conclusion of new research at Harvard Medical School that found people who drank two cups of hot cocoa a day had improved memory and blood flow to the brain.

But the benefits only come from certain types of chocolate, which contain high levels of beneficial antioxidants, notes one of the nation's top Alzheimer's experts, Dr. Gary Small, professor of psychiatry and aging. It's also important to know that you can get too much of a good thing.

"I think it is healthy in moderation, that's the key because if you drink too much cocoa or eat too many chocolate bars you’re going to gain a lot of calories and that is not good for the brain," Dr. Small tells Newsmax Health. "In fact it's the dark chocolates that are particularly potent; milk chocolates have very little and white chocolate has almost none. So if you want the antioxidant boost, go for the dark chocolate."

Scientific research has found dark chocolates — and a host of other foods — contain powerful antioxidant flavonoids that are good for the brain, explains Dr. Small, director of the University of California-Los Angeles Longevity Center.

"As the brain ages, it undergoes wear and tear in what's called oxidative stress," he notes. "And these antioxidants in our foods actually protect the brain from that kind of aging wear and tear."

The latest Harvard study, published in a recent issue of the journal Neurology, found cocoa consumption boosts thinking and memory performance, as well as something called "neurovascular coupling" — where blood flow in the brain changes in response to brain activity — which plays a key role in Alzheimer’s and other mental-health conditions.

For the study, investigators recruited 60 seniors and asked them to drink two cups of hot cocoa a day for a month. Half drank cocoa high in antioxidants, while the others drank cocoa that had lower levels of the beneficial compounds.

At the end of the study, the team tested the participants' memory and thinking skills, and used ultrasound to measure neurovascular coupling in their brains as they completed mental tests. The results showed 18 of the 60 participants had impaired neurovascular coupling problems at the start of the study, but after drinking the high-potency coco, it had improved by 8.3 percent. They also scored better on memory tests.

Dr. Small notes that chocolate isn't the only source of antioxidants. Many vegetables and fruits — including strawberries, blueberries, broccoli, spinach, and other green leafy vegetables — are packed with the beneficial compounds.

"So there are many ways to get antioxidants in your diet and it’s a great idea to get more and more servings of fruits and vegetables," he says. "Most Americans don’t get enough."

At the same time, he also recommends cutting down on foods that have been shown to contribute to mental declines, including *milk and dairy products, **processed foods, and snacks loaded with refined sugar — such as chips, crackers, and pastries.

"It's okay to have them a little bit, but when we overdo it it's certainly not good for our brains and it's not good for our bodies," Dr. Small says.

Story continues here with Dr. Small on Video

*The human body loses the capacity to metabolize milk and dairy products beginning at age 3 and completely by age 17, so consuming milk and dairy does not help help with your calcium intake because our bodies no longer break it down into a form that our bodies can use.  So for many people it only adds weight and gives them digestion problems because they are lactose intolerant.

**Butter on the other hand, should really be considered more of a fat than a dairy product and should be the choice over margarine, a completely synthetic product.  Margarine is only one molecule away from plastic and many doctors feel it could be a contributor to many diseases and conditions, including AD.

***The list of processed foods is long but products made with artificial sweeteners, GMO foods, preservatives and flavor enhancers that you can’t pronounce, etc. should be avoided.

Related: 

1 in 3 Seniors Dies with Alzheimer's or Other Dementia 

When You Say ‘Enough’ To Giving In Home Care

Diagnosis & Treatment of Mild to Moderate Alzheimer's Disease

Part One: Researchers race to beat scourge of aging

Part Three: Burden of illness often heaviest for caregivers

UCLA on Alzheimer's Disease - young or old should read

Alzheimer’s Disease - Caregiver Tips

Final Stages of Alzheimer’s

Advances for Alzheimer's, Outside the Lab

Warning Signs: A New Test to Predict Alzheimer's

Super Spice Secrets: Can This Miracle Spice Stop Cancer, Alzheimer's and Arthritis?

Drinking Coffee Slashes Risk of Alzheimer’s

Stop Using 'Natural' Deodorants Until You Read This

Alzheimer’s Disease and Inappropriate Sexual Behavior

Pet Therapy

Animals Helping the Ailing, the Elderly, and the Young

Pets are way better than Therapy!

Low-Carb Diet May Slow Alzheimer’s Disease

Final Stages of Alzheimer’s

Activities for Alzheimer’s Patients

7 Alzheimer's Triggers by Dr. Blaylock – definitely worth listening to!!

Find Dementia Care

Games for Alzheimer's

Alzheimer's Homes

Buttered Popcorn Flavoring Linked to Alzheimer’s

Stop Using 'Natural' Deodorants Until You Read This

Warning Signs: A New Test to Predict Alzheimer's

Super Spice Secrets: Can This Miracle Spice Stop Cancer, Alzheimer's and Arthritis?

The Secret; Care Givers are the ‘Silent’ Boss 

Alzheimer's patients follow different paths to a final debilitation

The Hoax at the Bottom of Autism and Alzheimer’s

Remember 'The Girls' - Views by Ann Hood

Alzheimer's: Tips to make holidays more enjoyable 

Pet Alzheimer's Disease - Is Your Dog or Cat Showing Signs?

Obamacare's Worst Feature? It's Wedded To 50-Year-Old Assumptions About Health And Insurance

Books 

The Healing Powers of Chocolate (Kindle)

Meals For Alzheimer's Patients: A Caregiver's Guide

The Alzheimer's Prevention Program: Keep Your Brain Healthy for the Rest of Your Life

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Healthier Easter Candy Choices – BETTER CHOICES

Video: Healthier Easter Candy Choices - BETTER CHOICES

Easter is a calorie laden holiday for most. Without skipping the goodies, instead of filling up those baskets with unwanted goodies, just a little comparison and information can make for a healthier basket. If you are a chocolate person, choose dark chocolate which actually contains healthy antioxidants, and just be careful to eat in moderation. So when you are deciding what to put in those Easter baskets just make them a little healthier make sure you choose the right candy and lose some of the old standby’s.

Here is one example:

CHOOSE: Special Dark Chocolate Kisses (4 Kisses)

(4 Kisses)

• Calories 90
• Fat 5g
• Sodium 5mg
• Carbs 11g
• Fiber 0g
• Sugar 9g
• Protein 0g

LOSE: Cadbury Creme Egg

• Calories 150
• Fat 6g
• Sodium 15mg
• Carbs 24g
• Fiber 0g
• Sugar 20g
• Protein 2g

Skipping the Cadbury Creme Egg and picking up the Kisses saves you 60 calories some fat, carbs, and sugar which will not only leave you happy, but your kids as well. The extra bonus is that it feels like you got more than you actually did with the Kisses because you get to eat 4 which feels like more of an indulgence than just chowing down on one Egg.

CHOOSE the Special Dark Hershey’s Kisses and LOSE the Cadbury Creme Egg. 

Some of the healthiest candies are black licorice and Mounds made of dark chocolate, coconut and vanilla.  Almond Joy’s are one of the best milk chocolate bars.

M&M’s have about half the calories of Skittles.

And choose Jelly Belly jelly beans over other brands.  They are smaller, so you feel like you are getting more and they use a higher quality of ingredients.  The even make an energizing sports bean.

Also… definitely choose chocolate (dark is the best) over the Peeps and those types of sugary candies.

The Eat This, Not That! No-Diet Diet...

Dark Chocolate Chases Wrinkles

Chocolate can help protect the skin from wrinkle-causing UV damage, but it's not the type typically found in heart-shaped boxes. It's a special dark chocolate that is high in flavanols, which means it's loaded with naturally occurring, beneficial antioxidant plant compounds.

Chocolate has been used medicinally for more than 3,000 years, variously used as a treatment for angina, dysentery, fevers, constipation, and a host of other illnesses. Modern medicine started taking chocolate seriously in 1997, when a Harvard professor discovered that high-flavanol cocoa relaxes the blood vessels, thereby acting as a protectant against heart disease and hypertension.

Now scientists at European Dermatology London say a few squares of high-flavanol chocolate a day helps prevent wrinkles caused by UV rays from the sun, and may even lower the risk of skin cancer. But they emphasized that it has to be high-flavanol chocolate. In a statement in the Daily Mail, the researchers said, "The main mechanism is likely to be the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. But conventional chocolate had no such effect."

Until recently, most health research with chocolate was done using unsweetened cocoa or specially formulated high-flavanol chocolate, since ordinary chocolate candy has had the flavanols removed because they have such a bitter taste. Companies like Mars and Nestle, however, now provide high-flavanol chocolate in highly palatable form. Mars, for example, markets Dove Dark, which is made with a proprietary, specially processed cocoa that is so high in antioxidants that it is used in medical research.

Flavanols are also found in green tea, red wine, and other foods and drinks. However, a 20 g portion (less than an ounce—.0705) of high flavanol chocolate contains roughly 660 mg of flavanols, while a serving of red wine contains about 160 mg and a serving of green tea contains only 47 mg.

Washington-based nutrition consultant Katherine Tallmadge recommends roughly an ounce a day of high-flavanol chocolate such as Dove Dark for health benefits. "Any more than that," she said in an article in the Washington Post, "and you're probably going to take in too many calories for weight control."

By Sylvia Booth Hubbard - Wednesday, February 10, 2010 7:56 AM

© 2010 Newsmax Health

Posted: True Health Is True Wealth

The Legume That Lowers Cholesterol

There's a certain bean that may have cholesterol-lowering powers. Where can you get it? Try a creamy side of hummus. 

Research shows that chickpeas, the luscious legume that's pureed for hummus dips, could go a long way toward improving your cholesterol profile. 

Gaga for Garbanzos 
In a small study, people who ate roughly 25 ounces of chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans) per week for 12 weeks showed an improvement in their total cholesterol levels compared with when they ate a chickpea-free diet for 4 weeks. And that's not all: Their insulin levels also improved, and they lost a small amount of weight -- without dieting or exercising. All good reasons to fall in love with this legume! Start adding chickpeas to your diet and then track your weight loss with this too! 

Pass the Chickpeas, Please 
Researchers think the fiber, protein, and polyunsaturated fatty acids in chickpeas should probably get the credit for the cholesterol improvements. Chickpeas are also a great source of vitamins, minerals, and phytoestrogens. Have chickpeas for dinner tonight with this Fragrant Chickpea Stew recipe. 

Fragrant Chickpea Stew When time is of the essence, this hearty stew makes a quick meal. It has a complex, almost beefy flavor that develops when the onion and garlic are cooked until dark brown. Accompany with steamed rice or whole-wheat flatbreads (chapatis).

Ingredients 1 tablespoon canola oil 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 1 medium red onion, chopped (1 cup) 5 medium cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, ground (see Ingredient Note) 1 cup water 1 red potato, scrubbed and cut into 1-inch cubes 1 19-ounce or 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro, divided 1 medium tomato, cut into 1-inch cubes Directions 1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat; cook cumin seeds for 10 seconds. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring, until dark brown, 5 to 8 minutes. Add coriander; cook, stirring, for 20 seconds. Stir in water, potato, chickpeas, salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon cilantro. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until the potato is tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Some other cholesterol busting strategies, try these tips:

• Get seedy.  Add Sesame seeds to you diet. 
• Think soy. 
• Nibble dark chocolate.
• Add GoChi or Himalayan Goji Juice to your daily diet.
• Lose weight naturally with TaiSlim

Source:  RealAge

Chocolate - Dark Is The Key!

Think chocolate is one of the worst things for your skin? Think again. 

Skin expert, Dr. Amy Wechsler, has a recipe for hot chocolate that can make your skinglow. 

Dark Is Key
In one study, just 6 weeks of a daily dose of cocoa made skin smoother, better hydrated, and less sun sensitive. And 12 weeks did even more. All thanks to the skin-boosting antioxidants in cocoa, called flavonols. But it’s got to be dark chocolate, according to Wechsler. "Skip cocoa mixes, which don't have the same flavonol levels, and go for the real thing: dark, unadulterated cacao powder that contains 70 percent or more cacao," she writes in her new book,

Super Simple, Healthy Hot Cocoa
The secret to this easy recipe? Heat it slowly. Slow heat helps release the antioxidants. 

Ingredients
1 1/2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder with 70% or more cacao (such as Scharffen Berger natural cocoa powder or Ghirardelli unsweetened cocoa)
2 teaspoons sugar
Pinch of salt
1 cup skim or low-fat milk

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and heat gently (do not let it boil), stirring frequently, until cocoa is just beginning to steam. Pour into a mug and enjoy. 

Getting the right amount of antioxidants through diet or supplements can make your RealAge 6 years younger. 

Some Healthy Food Choices for Your Skin and Body Choose Nutrients Supplied Vegetables  Spinach, leaf lettuce, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes Vitamin A (carotenoids) Tomatoes, bell peppers Vitamin C Fruits  Papayas, mangoes, cantaloupe Vitamin A (carotenoids) Oranges, grapefruits Vitamin C Other Foods  Fortified whole-grain cereals (check label) Vitamins B, D, zinc, selenium Nuts, sunflower seeds Vitamin E, zinc Salmon, tuna Vitamins D, E, calcium, omega-3 oils, selenium, protein Vegetable oil Vitamins D, E Low-fat milk Vitamin A (retinol), calcium, zinc, selenium Eggs Vitamins A (retinol), E, B, zinc Legumes, dried beans Vitamins B, zinc

Also:  FreeLife's Himalayan Goji Juice or Go-Chi

Source:  RealAge

Halloween Is Coming... With Sugary Goodies Galore

Halloween is coming...

In the U.S., we spend $1 billion dollars on Halloween candy (we load up on 20 million pounds of candy corn alone!).

And for what?

To help the visiting ghosts and goblins (and ourselves and our own kids) experience more of sugar’s spooky fallout: obesity, diabetes, tooth decay, accelerated aging, and a host of other health concerns.

It’s not your fault. Marketing of sugary products is very intentional and very slick. In fact, the food industry spends millions upon millions of dollars each year to advertise products loaded with sugar to a public that just can’t seem to get enough.

As children, most of us loved Halloween and all things sweet. Now, in a perfect world, I would advise you to forget about eating sugar and just stick with healthy foods. And that's still the best policy to follow most of the time.

But it's not always practical — or realistic. Especially on holidays such as Halloween, when you don’t want to disappoint those trick-or-treaters… or your own children.

So, maybe it’s time to…explore some options and be creative:

Homemade snacks for people you know

sugarless candy

give out quarters

energy or nutrition bars

candy with dark chocolate and coconut (at least a bit healthier)

coupons

designer pensils

Mufas - The Trick To A Flat Stomach and to Losing Weight

The trick to a flat stomach and losing weight is having MUFAs at every meal and snack. What is a MUFA? It stands for monounsaturated fatty acid, which is found in nuts, seeds, avocadoes, olives and flax and olive oils, and dark chocolate. So walnuts in my cereal? Flaxseed oil in my smoothie? Tapenade in my turkey wrap? Guacamole with my dinner? Totally doable!

"Jumpstart" your diet for about 4-days by having Mufas at every meal and snack which is designed to not only lower the calories a bit more (an acceptable 1,200), but also reduce belly bloat and gas so you have the visual proof that your gut is deflating.

Add 2 liters of Sassy Water -- a mixture of water with a lemon, a cucumber, grated ginger and spearmint leaves each day, for the first 4-days ,strained of course, and you are on your way!

Add some GoChi and you are on your way to weight loss and good health, which truly is the greatest wealth!!

Source:  Prevention  Magazine!