Search results for chocolate

Guyside: Chocoholic?

Posted by Bob LeDrew on Jun 25, 2014 in diet, Guyside | 2 comments

Oh, chocolate, you undo me.

I have a thing for chocolate. I love to eat it. Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem, right? Most people love chocolate. In the UK, people eat nearly 25 pounds of it every year. Here in North America, the average Canadian or US citizen eats lots less – about 11 pounds or so, but that’s still a lot.I figure if I quit, that average would go down by a pound or so.

With the gourmetization of everything, you’d think that this would be a good thing – consuming dark chocolate, with all those anti-oxidants and flavonoids is supposed to be good for you. But I have a taste – a craving – for the milky stuff. No nuts, no nougat, just good old milk chocolate. Perhaps it comes all the way from my childhood, when I used to have a big glass of Nestlé Quik for breakfast.

So when I think about how much chocolate I consume – bars, ice cream, gelato, etc. – I know that I’m consuming more of it than is likely healthy for me. Surely there are people out there that share this problem.

The key to me is that if I recognize this as a problem, then it is, at least for me.

So I decided to look for some tips to break this down a little bit, because I don’t necessarily want to go cold-turkey-total-abstinence-never-shall-chocolate-touch-my-lips-again. I want to be able to enjoy it in more moderation.

A Harvard medical blog suggests that if you note these three characteristics, then you’re behaving in an addictive way:

• intense craving
• loss of control over the object of that craving
• continued use or engagement despite bad consequences.

Chocolate, the post tells us, stimulates brain responses similar to those produced by “real” drugs. Now, I haven’t sold my body yet for a Hershey bar, but I don’t like the craving. And I don’t plan on entering a rehab program. So what do the big heads at Harvard suggest?

They focus on a mindfulness-related technique: “The next time you feel the pull of chocolate, pay attention to it. But instead of automatically reaching for your preferred candy bar or fudgy ice cream, take a few moments to actively decide whether or not to indulge the desire. If you decide to have chocolate, focus on each bite, slowly, to extend the pleasure in it. If you decide to wait, enjoy the notion that you’re taking good care of yourself. (You can take the same approach to alcohol, cigarettes, and food in general if you are trying to lose weight.)”

I’m gonna give this a try. What techniques do you use to control food consumption?

Friday NewsFlash: more loco for cocoa, the ‘why’s’ have it!

Posted by Liz on Mar 21, 2014 in heart disease | 0 comments

Guess what? Research presented at this week’s American Chemical Society Meeting in Dallas appears to demonstrate the reasons why dark chocolate might be good for your health: microbes in your gut.

Like many writers, I’ve been reporting on chocolate for some time now and yet, while theories have focused on  flavanols, neither cause and effect, or the exact reasons for benefits have been clear. However, Lousiana State University scientists say that good microbes in your gut – lactic acid and a type knowns Bifedobacterium – actually breakdown the antioxidant properties in cocoa (e.g. cathechin and epicatechin), ferment it and produce smaller molecules that are anti-inflammatory. In other words, they are believed to help reverse the body’s low-grade inflammation that leads to heart attack, stroke and other heart-related conditions. The discovery came when the scientists exposed three different cocoa powders to simulated digestion and then fermented the non-digestable materials.

Another related finding is that when prebiotics — carbohydrates that are found in foods like raw garlic or cooked whole wheat flour — are combined with cocoa, namely the small amount of fiber in cocoa, they become like worker bees to further help break down the antioxidant compounds.

Now that we have the why, let’s hope that researchers confirm an actual cause and effect. Right now, they can only confirm an association. But having your dark chocolate and eating it too may be one of the best things you can do for your heart health, at least, in moderation.

Valentine’s Day for the techie in you!

Posted by Liz on Feb 14, 2014 in sexual desire, sexual health | 0 comments

Time to lose the chocolate and roses and get your tech data geek on this Valentine’s Day. Indiana University scientists who developed the Kinsey Reporter app  (found here on Apple and here on Droid) say that they are turning this Valentine’s Day into a laboratory on sexual behavior during the holiday. Their survey, which is available through the mobile app, will collect data on sexual activity, public displays of affection, flirting, and unwanted experiences. Ultimately, they plan to aggregate global experiences that can be displayed geographically via interactive maps, timelines and charts.

(If you are unfamiliar with the Kinsey Institute, it is one of the world’s leading research organization on sexual health and knowledge. Moreover, a little known fact amongst even my closest friends is that my Aunt used to run the library; talk about kinky boots! But, I digress.)

In a related press release,Filippo Menczer, director of IU’s Center for Complex Networks and Systems Research (and a School of Informatics and Computing professor who helped design the app) says that they are beginning to see some interesting patterns as to how sexual activity varies by relationship status and are even able to dive deeper to ascertain things like the relationship between flirting location and outcome (sounds like data for the next dating app, right?!).

Go ahead; set your own sexpectations this V Day and crowdsource your loving. Who knows? You might just create the next great sexinfographic without trying!

Cheers to love!

Guyside: Don’t let winter weigh you down

Posted by Bob LeDrew on Dec 18, 2013 in bone health, diet, exercise, Guyside, health, general, men, weight, weight gain | 0 comments

There may not be a five-mile skating rink like Ottawa’s Rideau Canal in your town. But there are lots of opportunities for physical activity, even when the days are short and temperatures drop.

Where I live, this is the darkest time of the year. Instead of a beautiful sunrise when I wake up, it’s dark. When my partner is walking home from her office, it’s also dark. The layers of clothing get added to. The gloves and the puffy jackets come out of the basement.  And the road bike gets brought inside and put on the trainer. Even though the winter solstice in December marks the is a welcome “bottom” to the year, before and after, the days are dark and short and cold.

When I was a kid, winter was the time for snow forts and snowmen and skating in the community rink while Anne Murray tunes scratched over the PA system.

Now, winter is the time of year where I have to shovel the driveway, wear heavy boots that I don’t like, and the time when I can’t ride (I know I could ride, but I’ve never been a winter cyclist type).

When it’s snowy and cold, It’s easy to find that hot new series to watch, to light a fire, pop some popcorn, and wait for spring. It’s just too tempting to simply hibernate in the house over the winter months. And it’s also a terrible idea when it comes to men’s health.

In Canada, studies show that people are nearly twice as likely to participate in any physical activity in summer compared to winter. And if you look at the sporting activities Canadians participate in, only two of the top 10 are winter sports. In Canada, it shouldn’t be surprising to anyone that ice hockey bumps up winter sports participation numbers, and even with the burgeoning popularity of women’s hockey it’s still predominantly male.

And the irony of all this is that when you exercise outdoes in the winter you burn up to 31% more calories than in warmer weather.

So, some tips for guys like me who don’t play hockey or ski for getting out there:

• “There’s no bad weather, just bad clothing” is an a age-old proverb. So if you’re going to invest, invest in good layers of clothing. Go to a store that specializes in outdoor gear for winter so that you can benefit from knowledgeable staff. Fitness magazine has some tips on how to dress for outdoor exercise.
• If you’re a beer-league hockey player, don’t just rely on the hockey to keep you fit. The start-stop nature of hockey can be dangerous for people who don’t have a good base of fitness.
• Some sports — hockey and skiing come to mind — can be pricey to participate in.  But skates and snowshoes are cheaper than fully kitting out for playing hockey or going downhill, and walking (with appropriate footwear that will keep you stable) is the cheapest form of all. I live in Ottawa, where for several weeks each year the Rideau Canal turns into a free five-mile skating rink (your hot chocolate will cost you, though). Also, rent before you buy if you aren’t sure if you’re going to stick to a given activity.
• Find a buddy. There will be times when you can’t drag your own sorry butt out for that workout, which is when you need the nagging, cajoling, and potential bribery of a friend to get you going. Use that help, and offer it to your workout buddy.
• If you just can’t stand winter, then bring your sport indoors. My road bike is hooked up to a trainer, so I have the opportunity to ride inside. Other people go to spinning classes to benefit from the motivation of others suffering around them (N.B.: One discovery from spinning — all that sweat that evaporates when you’re riding the bike outside turns into a puddle beneath the bike when you spin. Be warned.)
• Even if you don’t hit the gym in summer, many will offer “winter membership” or monthly memberships.

If your tendency, like mine, is to go to ground when exercising is no longer just a matter of tossing on a t-shirt, shorts, and going, then you, like me, have to just work a little harder to not give in. Besides, drinking that cocoa will feel SO much better if you skated five miles to get it.

Pondering the weighty subject of… weight.

Posted by Bob LeDrew on Oct 18, 2013 in aging, appearance, diet, Guyside, Inspiration, men, weight, weight gain | 0 comments

With the exception of magazines like Men’s Health, which are as obsessed with the six-pack as Cosmopolitan is the “sex trick” (probably NSFW, unless you work for yourself or in a VERY liberal workplace), I’m not sure men spend a whole lot of time or energy thinking about their weight.

Guyside columnist Bob LeDrew will never be mistaken for this person.

I know I don’t. But I do see a certain uptick in that “time spent thinking about diet” graph in recent years.

As an adolescent, I was blessed with a metabolism that burned everything I could shovel into my mouth and then some. And even through most of my adult life, I really haven’t thought about diet beyond “when is the next meal?”

But as I edge toward 50, I have started to make some changes. Why? First, I have seen that little band of blubber around my waist grow from a finger-width to what is probably 15-20 pounds of weight I don’t really need. Second, my encounter with bladder cancer in 2006 led to some increased concern about health in general. Third, it was always so simple when you could go out for beer and wings at will and never show any effect (my personal best: 80 wings with an unwise quantity of beer to wash ‘em down in an evening), but when you start to feel the hangover from booze as well as post-gluttonous digestive effects, it makes you think.

At least when it comes to body image, I think men and women are working from two separate objectives. It’s my belief that generally, women are more affected by pop-culture images of women than men. I don’t look at Hugh Jackman and think “I’m grotesque.” I think men are more tied to the body image of their younger selves, and that it takes some sort of breakthrough for a man to realize that his body isn’t the same at 47 as it was at 17, or 27.

And of course, it’s clear that we men have some real issues around body image — and body reality. Even if you think you’re fine, men in the United States have a real-life obesity problem. Check this out.

These guys show the “average” man from each of the US, Japan, the Netherlands, and France

I certainly am aware of this reality. And I would like to make some changes. I don’t need or want to turn into the aforementioned Mr. Jackman. So here’s an entirely arbitrary list of what I think is going on with my diet — what I am doing right, and what I am doing wrong at this point?

Good points:

• I don’t eat a lot of fried food
• My vegetable intake is good
• I eat fish at least once a week

Now the weak points:

• Too many canned soups for lunch (bad for the sodium count)
• My long-term love affair with all things chocolate needs to be pruned
• Not enough snacking action using “healthier things” like fruit or things that aren’t chocolate
• I like beer

I’m going to start doing two things. I’m going to track how many healthy snacks I eat and how much chocolate I consume. And every week, I’m going to update this table as a way of being accountable to you — and to me.