Posts Tagged: chocolate

Depressed people eat more chocolate

Depressing news for those who love chocolate. A recent study published by UC Davis and UC San Diego medical scientists in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that consumption of the delicacy appears to be associated with depression.

The scientists examined the relationship between chocolate and mood among 931 women and men who were not using antidepressants. Their surprising conclusion: Participants who screened positive for possible depression ate an average of 8.4 servings of chocolate per month; those who weren't depressed ate on average 5.4 servings per month.

People who reflected major depression ate an average of 11.8 servings per month. What does that say about people like me who eat 30 or more servings of chocolate every month? It is depressing to contemplate.

The study's authors offered some possible explanations for the seeming correlation of chocolate consumption with depression:

• Depression could stimulate chocolate cravings as 'self-treatment'
• Depression may stimulate chocolate cravings for other reasons
• Chocolate could contribute to depressed mood
• Inflammation could drive both depression and chocolate cravings

"Future studies are required to elucidate the foundation of the association and to determine whether chocolate has a role in depression, as cause or cure," the authors conclude.

If you are looking for some good news associated with chocolate consumption, go to the UC ANR website Feeling Fine Online and view the 15-minute video of UC Davis nutrition professor Carl Keen explaining the health benefits chocolate.

According to Keen, a diet high in flavanols, such as those in chocolate, can reduce inflammatory conditions associated with cardio vascular disease, vasoconstriction and the risk of forming a blood clot.

A new study indicates that flavanols may increase a population of certain cells in the blood that scientists think help repair the inner walls of blood vessels, improving blood flow and potentially lowering blood pressure. This suggests that, in the future, isolated flavanols or flavanol-rich foods might be useful in preventing or possibly even treating coronary artery disease. For more information, read the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences story Flavanol-rich foods may help heart disease patients, study suggests.

(Ann King Filmer contributed to this story.)

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Move over, Mrs. Fields

Move over, Mrs. Fields. Make way for Mrs. Miller. “Mrs. Miller’s Chocolate Chip Cookies,” that is.

“Mrs. Miller’s Chocolate Chip Cookies” scored a big hit at the annual Solano County 4-H Presentation Day, held in Fairfield.

Caitlin Miller, 10, of Vacaville, a member of the Elmira 4-H Club, chose to give a presentation on a cookie she loves the most:  her grandmother’s chocolate chip cookies.

Her grandmother, Alice Miller, of Washington state, formerly of Benicia, “makes them all the time,” Caitlin said.  “She showed me how to make them and they’re really good.”

The secret ingredient, cream cheese, keeps them soft.

The two judges, Sally Moore of the Roving Clovers 4-H Club, Dixon and Sarah San Nicolas of the Golden Hills 4-H Club, Vacaville, proclaimed the cookies “delicious.” They gave a blue (very good) award for her presentation.

Caitlin, a fourth grader at Cooper School in Vacaville, posted the recipe on her display board, complete with photos of the entire process.

She said she enjoyed making them.

Probably not as much as the crowd at the Solano County 4-H Presentation Day enjoyed eating them. Within a matter of minutes, not a crumb remained on the platter.

Here’s the recipe:

Mrs. Miller’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter
4 ounces cream cheese
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
2-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
12 ounces chocolate chips, semi-sweet
1 cup of nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Soften cream cheese and butter. Blend with brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth. Add egg and vanilla and blend. Add flour, salt,  baking soda, baking powder and mix. Then add chocolate chips, and if desired, nuts.

Using an ice cream scoop, place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten dough slightly. Bake at 375 degrees for 12 to 14 minutes (until lightly golden).

Caitlin Miller

ELMIRA 4-H CLUB member Caitlin Miller offers a plate of chocolate chip cookies at the Solano County 4-H Presentation Day. The secret ingredient that keeps the cookies soft: cream cheese. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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