C O K E L A T baik untuk nutrisi otak
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Kalbefarma - Satu alasan lagi untuk menyukai cokelat baru-baru ini diungkapkan oleh sekelompok ilmuan dari Britain's University of Nottingham School. Mereka mengungkapkan bahwa satu jenis formulasi kokoa tertentu dapat meningkatkan fungsi otak dan memperlambat penurunan fungsi otak pada para lanjut usia.
Berbicara di dalam pertemuan tahunan American Assosiation for The Advancement of Science di San Fransisko, para ilmuan tersebut memperesentasikan hasil dari penelitian sebelumnya yang menguji efek flavanol terhadap otak. Flavanol adalah suatu zat yang terkandung dalam kokoa.
Penelitian ini didanai oleh salah satu produsen permen cokelat terkenal yang menyediakan larutan kokoa cair berformulasi khusus untuk penelitian tersebut. Dan hasilnya menunjukkan bahwa flavanoid dapat meningkatkan aliran darah ke otak sehingga diduga dapat berperan dalam memperbaiki kerusakan pembuluh darah.
Dalam penelitian yang telah dilakukan sebelumnya, uju klinis yang dilakukan terhadap flavanoid juga menunjukkan bahwa zat tersebut bermanfaat bagi kesehatan jantung.
Dalam penelitian terkini, Ian Macdonald memimpin sebuah penelitian dengan menggunakan pemindaian otak pada wanita muda yang sehat untuk mengetahui apakah kokoa yang banyak mengandung flavanoid dapat meningkatkan fungsi kognitif. Partisipan di dalam penelitian tersebut diminta menjalani beberapa tugas yang menantang mental.
Walaupun larutan khusus yang diberikan kepada para partisipan tidak tampak meningkatkan kemampuan mereka dalam menjalani tantangan tersebut, namun menurut Macdonald terjadi peningkatan aliran darah ke otak selama kurun waktu 2-3 jam.
Ia yakin bahwa peningkatan aliran darah ke otak dapat memberi banyak manfaat bagi orang yang telah memasuki usia dewasa tua dan bagi penderita gangguan fungsi kognitis, misalnya fatigue atau bahkan stroke ringan.
Sebuah penelitian Amerika Serikat yang dilakukan terhadap 50 orang dewasa sehat juga menemukan peningkatan aliran darah ke otak. Dr. Norman Hollenberg dari Harvard Medical School meneliti efek kokoa dan flavanol pada populasi Indian Kuna di Panama.
Namun Dr. Hollenberg mengatakan bahwa walaupun terlihat menjanjikan, masih diperlukan penelitian lain untuk memverifikasi manfaat kokoa terhadap otak,"Satu-satunya cara untuk membuktikan bahwa hal tersebut benar adalah melalui uji klinis yang besar."
Ia pun meminta agar masyarakat tidak terburu-buru memborong dan mengkonsumsi cokelat yang dikeluarkan oleh perusahaan tersebut. "Memang asupan kalori di dalamnya hanya sedikit, namun tetap saja merupakan penambahan kalori. Selama anda melakukan sesuatu yang dapat membakar 100 kalori, maka boleh saja anda mengkonsumsinya."
RESEP RINGAN : Bolu Cokelat SederhanaBahan:
6 butir telur
150 gram gula pasir
125 gram tepung terigu
25 gram cokelat bubuk
125 gram mentega dicairkan
100 gram kacang tanah sangrai, dicincang kasar
Vanili secukupnya
Cara Membuat:
1. Kocok telur bersama gula pasir dan vanili hingga mengembang lalu masukkan tepung terigu yang telah diayak dengan cokelat bubuk. Aduk dengan sendok kayu hingga tercampur rata.
2. Masukkan mentega cair dan kacang sangrai. Aduk rata.
3. Masukkan dalam cetakan yang telah diolesi dengan mentega. Panggang hingga matang
^^ selamad mencoba ^^
::rie::
CHOCOLATE
A rampant chocoholic
Chocolate is a psychoactive food. It is made from the seeds of the tropical cacao tree, Theobroma cacao. The cacao tree was named by the 17th century Swedish naturalist, Linnaeus. The Greek term theobroma means literally "food of the gods". Chocolate has also been called the food of the devil; but the theological basis of this claim is obscure.
Cacao beans were used by the Aztecs to prepare a hot, frothy beverage with stimulant and restorative properties. Chocolate itself was reserved for warriors, nobility and priests. The Aztecs esteemed its reputed ability to confer wisdom and vitality. Taken fermented as a drink, chocolate was also used in religious ceremonies. The sacred concoction was associated with Xochiquetzal, the goddess of fertility. Emperor Montezuma allegedly drank 50 goblets a day. Aztec taxation was levied in cacao beans. 100 cacao beans could buy a slave. 12 cacao beans bought the services of courtesan.
The celebrated Italian libertine Giacomo Casanova (1725-1798) took chocolate before bedding his conquests on account of chocolate's reputation as a subtle aphrodisiac. More recently, a study of 8000 male Harvard graduates showed that chocoholics lived longer than abstainers. Their longevity may be explained by the high polyphenol levels in chocolate. Polyphenols reduce the oxidation of low-density lipoproteins and thereby protect against heart disease. Such theories are still speculative.
Placebo-controlled trials suggest chocolate consumption may subtly enhance cognitive performance. As reported by Dr Bryan Raudenbush (2006), scores for verbal and visual memory are raised by eating chocolate. Impulse-control and reaction-time are also improved. This study needs replicating.
A "symposium" at the 2007 American Association for the Advancement of Science - hyped as a potentially "mind-altering experience" - presented evidence that chocolate consumption can be good for the brain. Experiments with chocolate-fed mice suggest that flavanol-rich cocoa stimulates neurovascular activity, enhancing memory and alertness. This research was partly funded by Mars, Inc.
Coincidentally or otherwise, many of the worlds oldest supercentenarians, e.g. Jeanne Calment (1875-1997) and Sarah Knauss (1880-1999), were passionately fond of chocolate. Jeanne Calment habitually ate two pounds of chocolate per week until her physician induced her to give up sweets at the age of 119 - three years before her death aged 122. Life-extensionists are best advised to eat dark chocolate rather than the kinds of calorie-rich confectionery popular in America.
In the UK, chocolate bars laced with cannabis are popular with many victims of multiple sclerosis. This brand of psychoactive confectionery remains unlicensed.
Chocolate as we know it today dates to the inspired addition of triglyceride cocoa butter by Swiss confectioner Rodolphe Lindt in 1879. The advantage of cocoa butter is that its addition to chocolate sets a bar so that it will readily snap and then melt on the tongue. Cocoa butter begins to soften at around 75 F; it melts at around 97 F.
Today, chocolates of every description are legal, unscheduled and readily available over the counter. Some 50% of women reportedly claim to prefer chocolate to sex, though this response may depend on the attributes of the interviewer.
In 2007, a UK study suggested that eating dark chocolate was more rewarding than passionate kissing. More research is needed to replicate this result.
More than 300 different constituent compounds in chocolate have been identified. Chocolate clearly delivers far more than a brief sugar high. Yet its cocktail of psychochemical effects in the central nervous system are poorly understood. So how does it work?
