Jessica gave me some of these for my birthday last June and they are slowly disappearing. Slowly by force of will. They are amazingly wonderful and would be gone in a few days if I had less will power. Rich fails completely as a description.
The Shady Maple Farms maple syrup variation of the Dutch Stroopwafel just works. The product is Canadian and you can find them in the US. It turns out Amazon carries six packs.
The CBC has a new podcast called "Diet for a Small Planet" - I've caught the past three on noon walks and todays (episode 5 on food blame) was particularly interesting. Recommended
The audio is also available here
I know better than to install major releases of brand new software - particularly on something like a phone.
Installation was somewhat slow and all of my information had to be resynched - about an hour.
But things are working again and I'll be looking for non- trivial apps that are useful. Too bad the rpn calculators aren't free.
hmmm - this is the stuff of experiment rather than theory. The recipe link is in their sidebar.
I think I'll go and cut a slice from the loaf to celebrate
Sukie is very allergic to potatoes - so much so they can't be cooked at home. But she is traveling so it seems reasonable to attempt to OD on the huber
Nancy knows of my weakness and recommended this
Fresh blueberries are sooo good!
Eating slow is good for losing weight - low calorie sweeteners and flavorings also have an effect
snip
Subjects lost an average of nearly 15 percent of their body weight, results showed. It is not clear whether the apparent weight loss benefits of the tastants would extend past 6 months or to people who weigh less than the obese subjects in this study.
"It could be that the percent of weight reduction would be lower in people who are less obese," Hirsch said. "In theory, tastants won't work for people who eat even when they're full and for people who have lost their sense of smell."
Hirsch said the tastants worked so well that they contributed to the dropout rate. Some of the subjects stopped the study before 6 months because they already had reached their ideal body weight—an unexpected result, he said.
Despite the tastant crystals not yet being commercially available, Hirsch said that people can use these techniques of enhancing their senses of smell and taste, to lose weight now. "Sniff your food before you eat it. Chew it a lot. Choose low-calorie foods and season them," he suggested.
Plant your yard with edibles - an increasingly good idea if your zoning allows it and perhaps something to fight for if it doesn't
Frtiz Haeg has a project called Edible Estates where he goes around the county and plants vegetable and fruit gardens in front of ordinary homes - here is Maplewood, NJ
for whatever reason cupcakes seem to be a big thing these days...
a blog for those who want to make serious stuff .. it is closed, but there are more than a few recipes for the serious student of the art (although I'll pass on the bacon cupcakes)
Nancy?
Insects (via Science News)
snip:
Diners who want to reduce the size of their environmental footprint might reassess their aversion to bugs, DeFoliart says. Insects typically eaten by people are vegans—at least for much of their life cycles, he says—and generally “clean-living in their choice of food and habitat.” Moreover, edible insects can forage on a far wider range of plants than do traditional meat animals. As such, he says, bugs can tap food sources normally worthless in conventional meat production, such as cacti, bamboo shoots, mesquite and woody scrub brush.
What’s more, insects turn more of what they eat into tissue that can be consumed by others. For crickets fed diets comparable in quality to the feed given to conventional Western livestock, diet conversion efficiency is about twice as high as for broiler chicks and pigs, four times higher than sheep and nearly six times higher than steers, DeFoliart reports. Insects’ quick reproduction and high fecundity makes them look even more environmentally attractive. For the crickets, DeFoliart has calculated, this translates into “a true food conversion efficiency close to 20 times better than that of beef.”
Gracer likens these differences to gas-guzzling versus gas-sipping vehicles: “Cows and pigs are the SUVs of the food world. And bugs—they’re the Priuses, maybe even bicycles.”
And bugs can be raised sustainably, the U.N.’s Durst says, pointing to an industry that has sprung up in northeast Thailand since 1999. Entomologists and agricultural extension agents at Khon Kaen University developed low-cost, cricket-rearing techniques and offered training to local residents. Currently, 4,500 families in Khon Kaen Province raise crickets, as do nearly 15,000 others elsewhere around the country, Khon Kaen entomologist Yupa Hanboonsong said at the recent meeting organized by Durst.
nope - I'll stick with being a vegetarian
Slashfood suggested that people compare food in ads with the real thing - particularly for fast foods.
a fine idea ...
A bit of googling finds some people are doing just that
Today is Jessica's birthday and we are having a similar meal to celebrate since she is in a different part of the country. Part of the meal is pesto on curly pasta. Since Jessica is vegan, here is the recipe Sukie created for the occasion (very good btw!)
Outside the Margins Pesto8 oz of button mushrooms broken small and cooked well with 2 small minced onions, extra virgin olive oil, a little water and a good bit of golden sherry
About 1/2 to 2/3 of that will go into the pesto and you can use the rest as is or with some extra black pepper and some parsley added, or with fresh peas, or...
For the pesto itself: use the food processor to process fully:
that portion of the cooked mushroom combo
4 chopped cloves of garlic
about 1 and 1/2 cups of shelled pecans
salt and pepper to taste
a generous amount (I had to had more as it was processing.) of a flavorful oil such as Sciabica's Hillside 7 Estate Pressing
I guess about a 1/2 cup to 2/3 of a cup of very flavorful basil leaves
I guess about a cup to a cup and a half of Italian Parsley leavesAnd when processed fully that gets you our Outside the Margins Pesto!
Dietary shifts may be more effective than eating local produce
The paper (behind a paywall)
Food-Miles and the Relative Climate Impacts of Food Choices in the United States
Christopher L. Weber* and H. Scott Matthews
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213
Received for review November 28, 2007
Revised manuscript received March 4, 2008
Accepted March 14, 2008
Abstract:
Despite significant recent public concern and media attention to the environmental impacts of food, few studies in the United States have systematically compared the life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with food production against long-distance distribution, aka “food-miles.” We find that although food is transported long distances in general (1640 km delivery and 6760 km life-cycle supply chain on average) the GHG emissions associated with food are dominated by the production phase, contributing 83% of the average U.S. household’s 8.1 t CO2e/yr footprint for food consumption. Transportation as a whole represents only 11% of life-cycle GHG emissions, and final delivery from producer to retail contributes only 4%. Different food groups exhibit a large range in GHG-intensity; on average, red meat is around 150% more GHG-intensive than chicken or fish. Thus, we suggest that dietary shift can be a more effective means of lowering an average household’s food-related climate footprint than “buying local.” Shifting less than one day per week’s worth of calories from red meat and dairy products to chicken, fish, eggs, or a vegetable-based diet achieves more GHG reduction than buying all locally sourced food.
Mark Bittman at Ted (NY Times) on what we eat - our Western diet is an odd form of malnutrition
Lindsay recommends Manjula's Kitchen on youtube
This episode looks interesting - make naan with a pizza stone
Sukie and Nancy may be interested
stockpiling the things that keep ... not cheery. The return on investment might be excellent.
(er ... thanks Jim)
For less I could offer hand churned ice cream and collecting huckleberries in a field filled with drunken bears in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.
This is from an extension program in North Carolina - all states have similar programs. It is possible to provide most of the vegetables needed by two people for a year with about 1000 square feet of garden and thirty minutes of work every day during the growing season. Smaller scale efforts still produce great things, are more manageable and may be a great project for kids. (dirt covered active kids are better off than computer game kids)
A good tinkerer might be able to reduce the management time, and displacing something like tv is probably not a bad thing. There are also interesting possibilities for sharing information and trading produce through Internet based communities of place.
A Chicago-based friend is involved in an urban community garden where people trade produce for greater variety. Sadly our condo isn't interested in turning over bits of the chemically enhanced ecological deserts called lawns for such purposes, but perhaps the time has come to reconsider.
There was a time when serious efforts were made to engage people in home gardening - the victory gardens of WWII. Brewster's wonderful archive.org has an old government pr movie (mp4 stream) via the Prelinger Archives. Overkill by today's standards, but people were more focused on solving problems in that period.
A friend tells me it expands wonderfully like shaving creme. She has used it in questionable stews and bean dishes associated with April Fool's Day.
But microwaves do have uses other than popping corn, reheating food and foaming ivory soap. The food section of the NY Times investigates.
Self leveling measuring spoons
Noted on slashfood
a nice graph followed by a good visual
(thanks Alan)
Just the thing for Jim. I don't do coffee, but I wonder about something associated with chocolate.
Canned Haggis - the sort of gift when you are in a mutually assured destruction exchange.
note that there is a "vegetarian" variety ... -)
But I suspect that many will be sold as that perfect gift for that "special" someone. Perhaps the killer inverse Valentine's Day present?
(thanks for the link George)
Japan ... from the NY Times
the public comment section is good
Sara notes a piece on flax seed oil..
It will be interesting to see if this becomes a fad and how real the effect is. As a vegetarian (no fish oil), it is interesting to me.
going through an old cookbook with recipes from the 50s...
You are on your own should you choose to try these:
Sauerkraut Jello-O
1 packet of Jello-O, any flavor
1 1/2 c canned sauerkraut
1 c cooked carrots
1 tsp waterMake Jello-O according to package, before it firms add other ingredients./ Let it firm.
Crown Roast of Frankfurters1 1/2 pounds frankfurters
1 tsp poppy seeds
2 tbl cider vinegar
2 c shredded cabbage
1/2 c boiling water
pimientoSlice franks lengthwise without separating the halves. Broil cut sides up on rack 3 inches from heat for 5 minutes.
Add poppy seeds and vinegar to cabbage and toss. Heap cabbage in a mound in the center of a baking dish. Lean frankfurters against cabbage to form a crown. Pin frankfurters together with toothpicks. Pour water over cabbage
Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until cabbage is tender.
Garnish with pimiento
Soup Cakes1/2 can condensed cream of chicken soup
3/4 c milk
1 Aunt Jemima's pancake mixMix ingredients until well blended, pour on griddle and back until golden brown. Garnish with cranberry-orange relish.
Spam Shake1 can spam
1 tin anchovies
2 12 oz cans beer
4 oz tomato juice
1 tsp mustard
1/4 c chopped parsley
1/4 c chopped scallions
dash of tabassco
dash salt
dash pepperPut ingredients in a blonder and blend until smooth. Serve chilled with celery stick
This is well known to anyone who shops. One wonders why crops that are the base for junk foods receive enormous subsidies. Would it be more effective in terms of food and health costs to encourage healthier food production? (Michael Pollan pushes this - an interesting book well worth reading despite some flaws)
food pairing may be a fun site for some of you, but things are a bit out of context.
from the site
-FOODPAIRING -“Food combines with each other when they have major flavour components in common.”
A list will be made of 250 food products each with their major flavour components. By comparing the flavour of each food product eg strawberry with the rest of the food and their flavours, new combinations like strawberry with peas can be made. The way to use is, is just to select a food product like strawberries. You will get a plot where you have strawberry in the middle surrounded by other food products. Take one of those other food products and try to make a new recipe by combining those two. The more flavours food products have in common the shorter the distance between the food products.
- FOOD IS INTERCHANGEABLE -A food product has a specific flavour because of a combination of different flavours. Like basil taste like basil because of the combination of linalool, estragol, …. So if I want to reconstruct the basil flavour without using any basil, you have to search for a combination of other food products where one contains linalool (like coriander), one contains estragol (like tarragon),... So I can reconstruct basil by combining coriander, tarragon, cloves, laurel. The way to use it is to take from each branch of the plot one product and make a combination of those food products.
- REMARK -This is just a tool to inspire you. You still need as a chef the craftsmanship, the experience,…to translate this inspiration into a good recipe. It is not only mixing two components together. The balance between the two is important.
For the meat eaters out there - a way to deal with the little ones asking when the bird is done.
(a tip of the hat to Fernando)
for any of the winter holidays...
Aplets and Cotletss - we give them as presents and people seem to love them.
completely and totally insane...
and, without a doubt, there is a market
perhaps, perhaps ...
If you missed this in the NY Times...
I have a fondness for brick oven pizzas and hardwood fires, but this looks interesting for a home effort.
or perhaps fake maple syrup.
the most vile pizza I've seen. And just 20 calories per slice short of perfection
(thanks for the like Alex)
Somehow this reminds me of Lime Jello, Marshmallow, Cottage Cheese Surprise and an earlier posting.
ok - I'm a vegetarian, so I offer this without comment.
I really like potatoes - Jheri knows that and suggests spudware - cutlery made from potatoes for eating potatoes. Probably a disaster, but...
Julia and I recently had lunch at Desi Junction (688 10th Avenue ... between 45th and 46th).
Definitely Punjabi and the lunch was very good and very inexpensive - you aren't paying for location or decor here. Recommended if you find yourself in that part of town.
Just the ticket as Summer fades.
I put heavy glass mugs in the freezer hours before serving.
Pour a chilled root beer (I like Boylan) into the mug -- I try for a few degrees above freezing (infrared thermometers, one of the best household gadgets ever, are just the ticket)
add a good enough vanilla (Ben and Jerry's is just fine)
enjoy
The Zen Palate in Manhattan is a favorite restaurant (which isn't easy for a vegetarian like me to find).
Now there is a Princeton branch
highly recommended!
but wait - it gets worse!
Nancy notes this from /food
found on slashfood.com:
I was over at my cousin's house this afternoon, going through recipes that had belonged to my great-aunt, when I stumbled across this gem of a recipe pamphlet. There's no date on it, but I'm guessing that it's from sometime in the mid-1960's. The recipe for Velveeta Nutburgers sounds like a terrible thing to do to innocent pecans.1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
1/4 cup pickle relish
1/2 cup Kraft Mayonnaise
1/8 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt, pepper
6 round buns
1/2 pound VelveetaBlend the pecans, pickle relish, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce and seasonings to taste. Split the buns in half and spread the bottom halves with the nut mixture. Top each with a lengthwise slice of Velveeta. Place in a moderate oven, 350 degrees, for 10 minutes or until the Velveeta melts. Cover with the top halves of the buns and serve hot.
I'm told (Slashfood via Thom) that yesterday was National Ice Cream Sandwich Day...
And I didn't know.
Steve S and I used to make a rich vanilla to be applied between homemade brownies. A quality, if unhealthy, treat.
I assume you can celebrate today if so motivated
mmmmmmmmmm
cream of corn soup
We love our old fashioned corn stripper, but this model looks a bit less messy.
Wayzen notes this reaffirms his belief in humanity:-)
A different approach to carry drinking water might make sense, but the probability of people paying a bit more upfront to save money and energy seems low
Penn State has announced the particulars of next year's Ice Cream Short Course
Staging a one week course on ice cream in central Pennsylvania in early January keeps the riff raff away. These courses are well known for giving a solid background for the truly serious.
(Steve S ... one of these days we should do it...)
As a vegetarian, this looks attractive:-)
Some mentioned kool-aid pickles as being a good Summer treat.
shudders...
Apparently there are regions where they are known... and recommended...
I love pickles, but think I will pass...
yummm ... I had a bottle of CurrantC black currant nectar. I'm not paying attention to the health claims, but this is a terrific drink.
An excellent (and unhealthy) way to sample it is on a good vanilla ice cream...
yumm ... very high recommendation!
Blueberries have been mostly poor quality and expensive so far this season, but this week we saw a drop from $3+ a pint to $1 a pint and an enormous increase in quality. If you have a good source it makes sense to buy and freeze
(er ... now I'm sick and blaming Jim for the link)
A friend has been pushing me to try Häagen-Dazs pomegranate chip ice cream..
Häagen-Dazs is not at the top of my ice cream list (generally it has to be homemade to make it into the top five), but this is an excellent combination... Should you be in need of some food sin, you have my permission
... and even dying ...
Paul Krugman on food safety (behind the NY Times paywall)
an excerpt:
Without question, America’s food safety system has degenerated over the past six years. We don’t know how many times concerns raised by F.D.A. employees were ignored or soft-pedaled by their superiors. What we do know is that since 2001 the F.D.A. has introduced no significant new food safety regulations except those mandated by Congress.
This isn’t simply a matter of caving in to industry pressure. The Bush administration won’t issue food safety regulations even when the private sector wants them. The president of the United Fresh Produce Association says that the industry’s problems “can’t be solved without strong mandatory federal regulations”: without such regulations, scrupulous growers and processors risk being undercut by competitors more willing to cut corners on food safety. Yet the administration refuses to do more than issue nonbinding guidelines.
Why would the administration refuse to regulate an industry that actually wants to be regulated? Officials may fear that they would create a precedent for public-interest regulation of other industries. But they are also influenced by an ideology that says business should never be regulated, no matter what.
The economic case for having the government enforce rules on food safety seems overwhelming. Consumers have no way of knowing whether the food they eat is contaminated, and in this case what you don’t know can hurt or even kill you. But there are some people who refuse to accept that case, because it’s ideologically inconvenient.
That’s why I blame the food safety crisis on Milton Friedman, who called for the abolition of both the food and the drug sides of the F.D.A. What would protect the public from dangerous or ineffective drugs? “It’s in the self-interest of pharmaceutical companies not to have these bad things,” he insisted in a 1999 interview. He would presumably have applied the same logic to food safety (as he did to airline safety): regardless of circumstances, you can always trust the private sector to police itself.
O.K., I’m not saying that Mr. Friedman directly caused tainted spinach and poisonous peanut butter. But he did help to make our food less safe, by legitimizing what the historian Rick Perlstein calls “E. coli conservatives”: ideologues who won’t accept even the most compelling case for government regulation.
Earlier this month the administration named, you guessed it, a “food safety czar.” But the food safety crisis isn’t caused by the arrangement of the boxes on the organization chart. It’s caused by the dominance within our government of a literally sickening ideology.
+++
update
Greg offers this...
frightening stuff
caltech (la times)
(thanks for the tip Sara)
A classic site that deserves a re-visit
Nancy notes a piece on woks in Tigers & Stawberries.
excerpt
“You can’t get a wok too hot,” is not exactly a myth, but neither is it always true. In the case of most American home stoves, it is absolutely true. When someone is using an outdoor burner that pours out 65,000 BTUs of raw power, it is false.
As a rule of thumb, when your oil ignites upon contact with the wok, the wok might just be a little too warm to cook in.
That said, I was happy to find out that Elliott was cooking outside on a concrete and brick patio with a fire extinguisher and wok lid handy just in case something went awry. When you are working in high heat and high flame situations, safety considerations are quite important.
with the recent comments on chocolate, this club looks interesting
A very negative, but interesting, article on Noka chocolate (read all 10 parts ... each is short. the last has a list of alternatives)
(a tip of the hat to Jim for the link)
___
note (see the comment section)
Although I have tasted many chocolates (including many that are incredible) I have not tried this chocolate and only offer the reference as information. I am more than willing to objectively try it is a free sample is provided (I have been given many free samples of chocolate at the NY Chocolate show by other marques, so this only seems fair)
this will make an impression (the song is an ear worm that bothers me about twice a year)
We've mentioned chowhound several times - the concept is great .. there are probably great eats you don't know about nearby, but a large number of people can spread the word.
I haven't been pleased by the execution - perhaps it is my vegetarianism and the low density of interesting posts on that topic. The New York Times ran a piece that mentions splinter groups.
now if someone wants to start a vegan or vegetarian chowhound group... (sigh ... approximately unlikely). This list is good, but it is upscale.
Conventional Thanksgivings can be grim affairs for vegetarians (and even worse for vegans) ... last year a friend of mine noted she made it through the day on green beans, nuts and wine. Even the pies were out with butter and lard crusts.
One can do better. There you are having vegetarian guests, consider a few of these dishes. If it works out spectacularly well, you may want to invite me next time.
I haven't tried it, but it looks like fun
Impressive (via slashfood), but we are lucky enough to have some excellent pizzerias in this part of the world, including one with hardwood fired brick ovens and really outstanding toppings and sauces.
a reasonably serious root beer blog ... worth reading if you are into the sport
There is a related soda-pop blog (which,for a Montanan like me, should be called a pop blog)
I was listening to Leonard Lopate's Please Explain podcast on my lunch walk today. The August 28 show is devoted to the chemistry of cooking and I strongly recommend it. You can find the podcast on iTunes or on WNYC's podcast link list. The direct link to Please Explain is here.
Soufflé glacé au citron vert et aux graines de pavot - as seen on slashfood
freezing the soufflé - a neat trick
I would do it with blackberries or raspberries rather than strawberrries, but very interesting!
from an abstract clipping service I use:
New Study Provides Antioxidant Concentration for More Than 1,000 Foods and BeveragesBlackberries, grape juice from Concord grapes, walnuts, strawberries, and artichokes top the list of antioxidant powerhouses
CONCORD, Mass., Aug. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- A newly published study provides a listing of the total concentration of antioxidants for more than 1,000 foods and beverages commonly consumed in the U.S. Ranking the items by antioxidant concentration per serving size, the five foods and beverages with highest antioxidant levels were blackberries (1 cup), Welch's 100% Grape Juice (8 ounces), Ocean Mist artichoke hearts (1 cup), walnuts (1 ounce) and strawberries (1 cup sliced). These items ranked higher than blueberries, red wine, chocolate, coffee and tea -- often touted for their high antioxidant capacity.
Researchers from the University of Oslo, Norway, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and the University of Minnesota used the FRAP (ferric reducing ability of plasma) assay method to measure and compile this expanded listing of total concentration of antioxidants for 1113 foods and beverages. The study, which appears in the July issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, was conducted independently of any industry sponsors. Food samples were obtained from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Food and Nutrient Analysis Program.
"Antioxidants are bioactive compounds in foods that play an active role in the human body. By quenching free radicals they help maintain oxidative balance and contribute to good health," explained nutrition consultant Carla McGill, PhD, RD. "Many high-antioxidant fruits and vegetables can be identified by their deep, dark coloring. In fact, researchers in this study found that blackberries and Welch's Grape Juice had the highest antioxidant contents per serving of all the foods measured."
The researchers quantified the antioxidant concentration of the foods by measuring the antioxidant concentration per typical serving size. For juices this was an 8 ounce serving. Welch's 100% Grape Juice, which is made from antioxidant-rich Concord grapes, had the highest antioxidant concentration of all juices with 4.089 mmol/serving, and ranked #2 over all the foods tested, whereas the average antioxidant content for all grape juices tested was much lower at 2.557 mmol/serving.
Recently, consumers have begun incorporating antioxidant rich foods into their diets to decrease risk for disease and to delay the onset of many age-related conditions. In fact, according to the Institute of Food Technologists, sales of products carrying an antioxidant claim jumped nearly 20 percent last year. One of every four consumers says they eat fruits or vegetables to prevent disease, one in three eats them to feel healthy, and nearly nine of ten eat them to stay healthy. This present study provides consumers with a guide to help decide what foods and beverages to include in the diet to maximize antioxidant consumption.
Source:
Halvorsen, B.L., Carlsen, M.H., Phillips, K.M., et al., "Content of redox-active compounds (ie, antioxidants) in foods consumed in the United States," American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2006; 84:95-135.
the abstract (you have to pay for the paper)
An earlier paper by one of the authors may be of interest
___
I would hazard a guess that Welch's will start running grape juice ads...
We've been using Sciabica olive oil for years and give it our highest recommendation. It comes from a small family run company in California.
Of course great olive oils can be very different and serious people will want several, but you need a few bottles of Sciabica Not only are the oils great, but it is a delight to do business with these folks. Ring them up for recommendations. The unfiltered fresh pressings can be amazing.
highset recommendation!
OK- it isn't the chocolate you are probably eating (I've had some of the special stuff and it is not exactly what I would call chocolate or even remotely good) and one is suspicious of the people who sponsored the research, but the sound bites are great.
Jeff suggests we start trying to prove or disprove with good chocolate... I'll start tomorrow
Public release date: 26-Jul-2006Groundbreaking research highlights myriad health benefits of flavanol-rich cocoa
Mars, incorporated scientists and researchers around the world find link between cocoa flavanols and brain, cardiovascular improvements
HACKETTSTOWN, NJ – July 25, 2006 – Research has demonstrated that consumption of naturally occurring compounds in cocoa can lead to a range of circulatory health benefits including the first observed brain and cardiovascular blood flow improvements, according to research published in the latest issue of the Journal of Cardiovascular Pharmacology, in a supplement that focuses on the potential health benefits of flavanol-rich cocoa.
Previous studies have demonstrated that the consumption of flavanol-rich cocoa can improve blood vessel function and may even reduce the formation of damaging clots. This new, published research extends these findings by showing that the regular consumption of flavanol-rich cocoa can lead to improved blood flow in menopausal women with elevated cholesterol, as well as reporting for the first time that the increase in blood flow following flavanol-rich cocoa consumption can also be observed in the brain.
"The totality of this research is impressive and gives us new insights into how cocoa flavanols may improve health in a variety of ways not previously known," said Harold Schmitz, PhD, Chief Science Officer of Mars, Incorporated, which has conducted and supported a majority of the research on cocoa flavanols and health for more than 15 years. "This publication, resulting from the science presented at an international meeting convened last year in Lucerne, Switzerland, is exciting as it adds to the growing body of scientific research demonstrating that the consumption of flavanol-rich cocoa can potentially lead to a range of physiological benefits resulting from improved blood flow."
Researchers studied the effects of cocoa flavanols in vitro (test tube) and in human subjects, on various age groups, on women and men in order to better understand the potential benefits of these natural food compounds. Among the new studies, the highlights include:
Brain blood flow in the elderly and young adults: Two independent studies, one in a healthy e
