Coffee Good for Women’s Memory

No matter how you brew it, or serve it, coffee is one of the most favorite beverages worldwide.

Now it seems that if you are a women, over the age of 65 drinking coffee has benefits. From a study in France, researchers found that women who drank more than three cups of coffee per day, had less decline, over time on tests of memory.

I seems that the benefits increase with age, but only with women. Results were not the same for men. Women seem to be more sensitive to the effects of caffeine. Their bodies react differently to the stimulant. Caffeine is a psycho-stimulant, which appears to reduce cognitive decline in women.

Three cups of coffee contain about 300 mg of caffeine. Caffeine use is widespread, and usually has fewer side effects than other treatments for cognitive decline, and doesn’t require that much to be beneficial.

To match the caffeine in coffee you would need to eat 20 Hershey bars. A double espresso (2 oz) has 45–100 mg of caffeine. A tall (12 oz) cup of Starbucks Cappuccino contains 75 mg of caffeine. Chocolate is low in caffeine, so I say mix it with a little cappuccino.

Chocolate and Heart Disease Risk

I just found an interesting article about scientists investigating whether eating chocolate can reduce the risk of heart disease in women with diabetes.

What a thought, if you have diabetes you don’t normally get chocolate or sweets, or what you may have is very limited. The volunteers in this study would be post menopausal women under age 70 with type 2 diabetes, and have been taking cholesterol lowering drugs for at least 12 months. The scientists will ask these women to eat a bar of chocolate a day for a year.

Cocoa is rich in compounds called flavonoids, which are thought to benefit the heart. The chocolate bars that they will use, are a specially formulated form of chocolate, which contains more flavonoids than usual. They also added soy (another source of flavonoids) to the chocolate bars.

The scientists hope to show that adding flavonoids to the women’s diet will provide additional protection from heart disease. Also it may give women the opportunity to take more control over reducing their risk of heart disease in the future. They do recommend that people with diabetes eat a diet low in fat, salt and sugar with plenty of fruit and vegetables.

Scientists state that a successful outcome of this research would mean, being able to offer people at high risk better protection over and above what is provided by commercial drugs.

I have always said chocolate is good and good for you, with serotonin, endorphins, and now more flavonoids. Satisfy your taste for chocolate and stay healthy!

Chocolate Bars Find Place in Low-Tech Tetris!

A low-tech version of the popular computer game Tetris features a chocolate bar with pieces that must be positioned like a Tetris puzzle. The puzzle isn’t electronic nor chocolate. It looks like chocolate and fits into a clear container.

There are 2,339 ways to solve the puzzle. You can "level up" by buying another chocolate bar. White Chocolate - easy, Milk Chocolate - beginner, Black (dark) Chocolate - advanced. Puzzle sell for $7.00 from Strapaya World.

Apples and Chocolate Good For Your Health

Adults who regularly consume apples have less heart disease and metabolic risk that those who do not, according to a recent study. Also the study showed that apple consumption helps cut down on abdominal fat.

Chocolate maybe good for your heart and helps prevent "bad" cholesterol. Consuming chocolate can increase alertness, attention and mental performance.

Why not have the best of both worlds – "Party Size Chocolate Apples," and if you consume them regularly they can benefit your health.

Lower Your Cholesterol With Chocolate

A daily dose of dark chocolate could help lower your cholesterol. A new study states that eating two CocoaVia dark chocolate bars a day could be an effective way to lower cholesterol.

City Chocolate Bar

Entrepreneur Julie Atlas launched Chico Chocolate in Chico, California with a large chocolate bar. Packaging on the wide chocolate bars (post card size) features images from around the city of Chico. Great for tourists, thank you gifts for executives, a stocking stuffer, for gift baskets or can be used as a fund raisers.

Selling for up to $5.00 each, and offered in either dark or milk chocolate bars, they can be found in many stores in Chico and in Sparks they are sold at the Wal-Mart stores.

Largest Box of Chocolates

Confectioner Thornton’s has created the world’s largest box of chocolates, stuffed with more than 175,000 individually wrapped Thornton’s Moments. The box weighs more than 4,400 pounds.

The confectionary manufacturer broke the Guinness Book of Records for the world’s largest box of chocolates.

Candy For Change ??

You’re hungry for a sweet treat, you make a choice and hand the cashier a dollar and habitually hold out your hand for the change; but to your surprise the cashier places candy in your hand. You could receive a Jolly Rancher, a chocolate or M & Ms instead of your change??

Not yet in the United States, but in Argentina, Paraguay and Indonesia they have adopted a socially acceptable solution when vendors don’t have the correct change, to give you candy as acceptable currency.

But problems do arise with this practice. When some try to pay for foods with a "wallet full of candy!!!!"