Foods rich in cocoa may improve performance on challenging mental tasks like arithmetic. This is the finding of a study presented as part of a symposium highlighting the potential of plant-based treatments presented at the British Psychological Society Annual Conference 2009 in Brighton.
Crystal Haskell from the Brain, Performance and Nutrition Research Centre at Northumbria University said: "Foods containing high levels of cocoa flavanols, found in chocolate, have been shown to increase cerebral blood flow, and it has also been proven that consumption of plants that have these properties improves performance on mentally demanding tasks. We wanted to discover whether cocoa flavanols produced the same effect.
The British Nutrition Foundation is a registered charity. It promotes the wellbeing of society through the impartial interpretation and effective dissemination of scientifically based knowledge and advice on the relationship between diet, physical activity and health\n\nThis site provides healthy eating information, resources for schools, news items, recipes and details of the work we undertake around the UK/EU.\n
No one can dispute that mother's milk is the ideal nutrition, as far as the biochemical composition is concerned. It contains 3 to 11 grams of fat per 1 gram of protein (0.4% unsaturated fat). The conclusion is obvious - if Nature included such a minute quantity of that constituent in such a wonderful food, then we should respect it. Meanwhile, people are being persuaded that plant-derived fats containing polyunsaturated fatty acids which do not exist in mother's milk, are healthy. Nothing is more misleading.
The best are the fats which contain the highest percentage of energy contributing constituents, or in other words, such in which COOH group is attached to the longest fatty acid chain. Short fatty acid chains contain around 30-40% of energy-contributing constituents, the longest ones over 90%.
Long-chain fatty acids fully saturated with hydrogen, yields approx. 10 cal/g when metabolised, the same as petrol. Fat's value as a "fuel" for our body increases with the increase in the amount of hydrogen per gram of carbon in its molecule, with the increase in the energy-contributing constituents.
Chemically, the best are long-chain fully saturated fatty acids, that is to say, solid fats of animal origin. Only fats with the length of the chain above 10 carbon atoms are suitable to be utilised by our cells and tissues without conversion. These fats are directed straight to the blood stream via the lymphatic system, and they do not have to be converted and made suitable by the liver, as is the case with inferior fats (with shorter chains), or all other constituents of consumed and digested foods
"Dr Jan Kwasniewski
This Website is dedicated to Dr Jan Kwasniewski who has spent his lifetime developing and using the Optimal Diet bringing health and happiness to many people.
Dr Jan Kwasniewski still lives in Poland, he has refused to commercialise his development and is not a very rich person. He does not sell any supplements. Compared with the standards enjoyed by Western medicos he lives a very ordinary, modest life."
ScienceDaily (Dec. 5, 2009) - A new study has found that the amount of vitamin D in patients being treated for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma was strongly associated with cancer progression and overall survival. The results will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology in New Orleans.
Also, several recent reports have concluded that vitamin D deficiency is associated with poor outcomes in other cancers, including breast, colon and head and neck cancer. This is the first study to look at lymphoma outcome
"(NaturalNews) New research published in The Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) has found that the "Western" diet, typically high in sugar and fat, may be responsible for activating genes that signal the body to become fatter. According to scientists, the body's response to high amounts of energy-dense food is to activate the kappa opioid receptor which triggers increased fat storage.
Researchers arrived at this conclusion by conducting an experiment on two groups of mice. One group had its kappa opioid receptors genetically deactivated while the other remained intact. Both groups were fed diets high in fat and sugar for 16 weeks. At the end of 16 weeks, the group with the deactivated receptor remained lean while the control group gained significant weight.
Besides limiting their bodies' ability to store energy-dense food in their fat stores, the mice whose receptors had been deactivated were noted to also have a limited ability to assimilate and store nutrients from the foods they ingested.
Traci Ann Czyzyk-Morgan, one of the study's researchers, indicated that the findings prove the hypothesis long held by many in the scientific community that the kappa opioid receptor may be responsible for causing widespread obesity in Western countries. She and others continue to encourage people to avoid diets high in fat and sugar.
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"Maybe vitamin D isn't the answer after all.
Not only does the above statement ring true, it's also the title of a recent post on "Dr. Len's Cancer Blog" - a website written by Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for the national office of the American Cancer Society, in order to facilitate communication with the public on important issues related to cancer. "
"DENVER, March 3 - Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids may influence mood, personality and behavior, according to results of a study presented today by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers at the 64th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society in Denver."
How Toxins Affect Your Health
Everyday our bodies are effected by toxins. A toxin is a substance that causes irritating or harmful effects in our body. Our environment determines how we are in contact with toxins from the water we drink, to the air we breath, the clothes we wear, the electronic devices we use. Our modern society uses more drugs, eats more sugar and refined foods, and turns to damaging vices such as alchohol and tobacco to help us deal with stress.
Jehle S, Zanetti A, Muser J, Hulter HN, Krapf R.
Partial neutralization of the acidogenic Western diet with potassium citrate increases bone mass in postmenopausal women with osteopenia.
J Am Soc Nephrol. 2006 Nov;17(11):3213-22. Epub 2006 Oct 11
25-hydroxyvitamin D levels inversely associate with risk for developing coronary artery calcification.
de Boer IH, Kestenbaum B, Shoben AB, Michos ED, Sarnak MJ, Siscovick DS.
J Am Soc Nephrol. 2009 Aug;20(8):1805-12. Epub 2009 May 14.
PMID: 19443637
doi: 10.1681/ASN.2008111157
"In conclusion, lower 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations associate with increased risk for incident CAC. Accelerated development of atherosclerosis may underlie, in part, the increased cardiovascular risk associated with vitamin D deficiency."
Resolvin D1, protectin D1, and related docosahexaenoic acid-derived
products: Analysis via electrospray/low energy tandem mass spectrometry
based on spectra and fragmentation mechanisms.
Hong S, Lu Y, Yang R, Gotlinger KH, Petasis NA, Serhan CN.
J Am Soc Mass Spectrom. 2007 Jan;18(1):128-44. Epub 2006 Oct 19.
PMID: 17055291
doi:10.1016/j.jasms.2006.09.002