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Chocolate cravings linked to gut bacteria (sm)

Posted By: Thought this was interesting on 2007-10-12
In Reply to:

WASHINGTON - If that craving for chocolate sometimes feels like it is coming from deep in your gut, that's because maybe it is.






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A small study links the type of bacteria living in people's digestive system to a desire for chocolate. Everyone has a vast community of microbes in their guts. But people who crave daily chocolate show signs of having different colonies of bacteria than people who are immune to chocolate's allure.


That may be the case for other foods, too. The idea could eventually lead to treating some types of obesity by changing the composition of the trillions of bacteria occupying the intestines and stomach, said Sunil Kochhar, co-author of the study. It appears Friday in the peer-reviewed Journal of Proteome Research.


Kochhar is in charge of metabolism research at the Nestle Research Center in Lausanne, Switzerland. The food conglomerate Nestle SA paid for the study. But this isn't part of an effort to convert a few to the dark side (or even milk) side of cocoa, Kocchar said.


In fact, the study was delayed because it took a year for the researchers to find 11 men who don't eat chocolate.


Kochhar compared the blood and urine of those 11 men, who he jokingly called "weird" for their indifference to chocolate, to 11 similar men who ate chocolate daily. They were all healthy, not obese, and were fed the same food for five days.


The researchers examined the byproducts of metabolism in their blood and urine and found that a dozen substances were significantly different between the two groups. For example, the amino acid glycine was higher in chocolate lovers, while taurine (an active ingredient in energy drinks) was higher in people who didn't eat chocolate. Also chocolate lovers had lower levels of the bad cholesterol, LDL.


The levels of several of the specific substances that were different in the two groups are known to be linked to different types of bacteria, Kochhar said.


Still to be determined is if the bacteria cause the craving, or if early in life people's diets changed the bacteria, which then reinforced food choices.


How gut bacteria affect people is a hot field of scientific research.


Past studies have shown that intestinal bacteria change when people lose weight, said Dr. Sam Klein, an obesity expert and professor of medicine at Washington University in St. Louis.


Since bacteria interact with what you eat, it is logical to think that there is a connection between those microbes and desires for certain foods, said Klein, who wasn't part of Kochhar's study.


Kochhar's research makes so much sense that people should have thought of it earlier, said J. Bruce German, professor of food chemistry at the University of California Davis. While five outside scientists thought the study was intriguing, Dr. Richard Bergman at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, had concerns about the accuracy of the initial division of the men into groups that wanted chocolate or were indifferent to it.


What matters to Kochhar is where the research could lead.


Kochhar said the relationship between food, people and what grows in their gut is important for the future: "If we understand the relationship, then we can find ways to nudge it in the right direction."




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OP said she Linked it.
nm
Eating an apple really helps my cravings. nm
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I agree, throw out. Probably teeming with bacteria.
Either that or heat it up and feed it to the dumb-dumb who turned it off and didn't put the leftovers away properly. LOL.
House. Milk chocolate or Dark chocolate?

Chocolate cake with chocolate icing!
My mother didn't like chocolate (is that unAmerican or what?) so it was always a real treat for me on my birthday when she made a chocolate cake with chocolate icing. 
Chocolate cream pie, whipped cream & chocolate shavings on it!
PLUS:

Chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream.

Pumpkin pie with a 2:1 ratio of whipped cream to pie.

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And for dessert, a few chocolate Easter bunnies and a dark chocolate Hershey bar with almonds.
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Chocolate!

Cadbury's milk chocolate 



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Hot chocolate mix
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chocolate
I would stash them in the cupboard and eat them by the handful when no one was watching....

But if you must drink them I would add a drop of vanilla, cinnamon and some sugar to the melted chocolate thinned with milk.....:)
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Chocolate Mousse - NM
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Chocolate mousse or tiramisu or
s
I got 5 pounds of chocolate candy

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Chocolate chip cookies! Who needs anything else? -nm

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The 5-minute Chocolate Cake for 1 Person
The person who sent me this says it really works.

5-MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug (microwave-safe)

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again. Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired. EAT!



a small amount of chocolate is 2-3 squares, not more.
Portions sizes are always very small, see below...

The Look of Normal Portion Sizes

1 oz. meat: size of a matchbox
3 oz. meat: size of a deck of cards or bar of soap—the recommended portion for a meal
8 oz. meat: size of a thin paperback book
3 oz. fish: size of a checkbook
1 oz. cheese: size of 4 dice
Medium potato: size of a computer mouse
2 Tbs. peanut butter: size of a ping pong ball
1/2 cup pasta: size of a tennis ball
Average bagel: size of a hockey puck.

a small amount of chocolate is 2-3 squares, not more.
Portions sizes are always very small, see below...

The Look of Normal Portion Sizes

1 oz. meat: size of a matchbox
3 oz. meat: size of a deck of cards or bar of soap—the recommended portion for a meal
8 oz. meat: size of a thin paperback book
3 oz. fish: size of a checkbook
1 oz. cheese: size of 4 dice
Medium potato: size of a computer mouse
2 Tbs. peanut butter: size of a ping pong ball
1/2 cup pasta: size of a tennis ball
Average bagel: size of a hockey puck.

a small amount of chocolate is 2-3 squares, not more.
Portions sizes are always very small, see below...

The Look of Normal Portion Sizes

1 oz. meat: size of a matchbox
3 oz. meat: size of a deck of cards or bar of soap—the recommended portion for a meal
8 oz. meat: size of a thin paperback book
3 oz. fish: size of a checkbook
1 oz. cheese: size of 4 dice
Medium potato: size of a computer mouse
2 Tbs. peanut butter: size of a ping pong ball
1/2 cup pasta: size of a tennis ball
Average bagel: size of a hockey puck.

stay away from C items, coffee, cola, and chocolate...

Keep a stash of quality dark chocolate around at all times. For
s
Chocolate mousse cake with ganache frosting! nm
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Chocolate layer cake & vanilla ice cream. (nm)
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chocolate. George Lopez or Bill Cosby?
x