Posted on 10/12/2003 8:20:04 AM PDT by carlo3b
Eat some Chocolate Cake and just Relax..!!Maybe not!.. It's A GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS story...
We always knew this was so, but most of us were at a loss to explain it.. Eating something devilish, like cake or anything sweet, makes us simmer down.
Well, let me try to explain it in words that may assist us all in understanding.. This is with the help of, none other than the prestigious National Academy of Sciences.
THE GOOD NEWS. Those sweet and fatty foods that we often turn to in times of stress might in fact calm nerves, and relieve anxiety. That's the good news in an innovative biological theory of people's responses to stress. (If you are already stresses, you should stop here an get another Hershey's kiss, before proceeding)
The bad news (You knew this was coming so calm down) is that for those with chronic nervousness, and unusual levels of stress, those extra servings of comfort food come with potentially dangerous baggage, extra fat around the waist. SHAAZAM!
If that didn't do it for you .. Chronic stress, brought about by everyday trials and tribulations, is less well understood than are intermittent bouts of extreme, and acute stress. Here is what scientists know, that when a cat is suddenly attacked by a dog or a person prepares to give a speech, the adrenal gland pumps up production of stress hormones, including those known as glucocorticoids. When present at high-enough concentrations, glucocorticoids provide feedback to the stress-response system, eventually shutting it down.
To the researchers, it is still unclear how the stress response is controlled in animals that remain anxious for days at a time. However in the labs of physiologist Mary F. Dallman of the University of California, San Francisco and her colleagues, they aim to close that knowledge gap.
Drawing on their animals studies and experiments, these and other scientists propose that glucocorticoids work differently in the long term than they do in the short term. Meaning, that when chronically present in the brain and body, the hormones maintain the stress response instead of shutting it down. At the same time, they drive animals to seek out pleasurable foods, much the same as we do in our own nest. This directs the added calories to accumulate as abdominal fat,
However, there is a bright light in this process, at least in animal experiments. That unwanted extra fat eventually checks the glucocorticoids' alarmist effects and tells the brain to Whoa!
The results from several laboratory experiments with rodents (isn't this comforting.. get another Hershey's Kiss) support this view, the scientists say. In one set of conclusions, Dallman and her colleagues simulated chronic stress by increasing the brain concentration of a rodent version of the glucocorticoid called cortisol. As cortisol concentration rose, the rats responded by drinking increasingly more sugar water, eating increasingly more lard, and gaining abdominal girth. Ugh!
In an additional experiment, the researchers found that rats (maybe even you, you dainty mouse) with extra padding produce less-than-average concentrations of a brain chemical that triggers early molecular events underlying the stress response. HUH?
"If you put on some extra weight, there seems to be some sort of signal that says things are better," says Norman C. Pecoraro of UC-San Francisco, a coauthor of the paper. While Dallman and her coworkers don't know what signal the abdominal fat sends, they suspect it's involved with the regulation of metabolism.Whatever accounts for the urge to eat a big helping of Lasagna, it's best not to indulge in it every day. The abdominal weight gain that Dallman and her colleagues have linked to glucocorticoid action increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes. {{{{{SHUDDER}}}}} OH! I see... *<@)... I just thought you should know..The model "puts a new and more meaningful slant on what we mean when we talk about 'comfort foods,'" says Bruce S. McEwen of Rockefeller University in New York. "These may actually calm down an important brain system linked to anxiety."
In a fast-paced society where food is easy to get, glucocorticoid action probably causes chronically stressed people to take in extra calories and to gain weight, says McEwen.
"People are somehow stressed, and they are self-medicating because food is available," adds Pecoraro.
"We also eat sugar and fat because they are good tasting and cheap," notes Adam Drewnowski of the University of Washington in Seattle. The stress response isn't the only brain pathway that controls consumption of sweet and high fat foods, he adds.
SOOOO.. put down the Kiss and go kiss someone..
Gather all of the ingredients together, so that they are close at hand!
Get a clean cloth and wipe the bowl clean of any lingering *dust* from the past.
Take MATURITY, RESPECT, and FRIENDSHIP, and stir gently.
Add unlimited amounts of COMPASSION and KINDNESS,
And mix well.
To this, add CARING by the handfuls, and fold in TRUST.
Continue stirring gently, adding LISTENING,
HONESTY, and large amounts of COMMUNICATION.
Slip in some DREAMS, GOALS,
And firm pieces of KEEPING PROMISES.
Bake in a home filled with PEACE, BEAUTY, and SERENITY.
Before you taste the finished product,
sprinkle liberally with PATIENCE, LOVE, and a touch of SPICE.
Serve very hot, with IMAGINATION on the side.
Author Unknown
Check out Dr. Peter Gott's no sugar, no flour diet and see if that is more suitable to your tastes and life style.
One of my all time favorite recipes! Thank you for posting it!
Answering a request from a from a fellow freeper..Authentic Italian Cannoli
Filling:
- 1-1/2 cup Flour
- 1 Tbls Sugar
- Pinch Salt
- 1/ cup Dry red wine OR-dry Marsala
- Oil for frying
1) Sift together sugar, flour and salt. Work the wine in gradually, kneading to a soft dough.
- 1-1/2 cup Powdered sugar
- 2 Tbls Candied fruit
- 1/4 cup Chocolate chips
- 1/2 teas Cinnamon
- 1/4 cup Chopped pistachios
2) Roll out on a floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness, and cut out five-inch discs. Wrap each disc around a cannoli form, sealing the edge with egg white.
3) Heat oil, five inches deep, in a small, deep saucepan, and fry one at a time until golden and crisp.
Remove and drain on a paper towel.
Let the pastry cool slightly, then slip carefully off the form.Filling:
In a mixing bowl, beat the ricotta with an electric mixer.
Add remaining filling ingredients.
Stuff shells just before serving. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
CHOCOLATE FILLED CANNOLI
- 18 prepared cannoli shells
- 3 c. ricotta cheese
- 1 1/4 c. powdered sugar
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 1/4 c. cocoa
- 1 c. chopped toasted pecans
- Powdered sugar
1) Combine cheese, sugar, vanilla and cocoa; beat with electric mixer until smooth.
2) Add 1/2 cup chopped pecans. Chill. Fill cannoli shells with cheese mixture.
3) Dip ends in chopped pecans, dust with powdered sugar.
Serve immediately.
Except for the loss of about 50 pounds.
Kohlrabi is a vegetable in the cabbage family. It looks like a turnip but grows above the ground. If you have ever eaten the core of a cabbage you will like Kohlrabi...
I believe I did post it on one of the cookbook threads eons ago geesh...I feel so old! It's hard to believe this clasic isn't more widely distributed. There's so much truth and good advice in that short little recipe. It also contains no fat, no carbs, the ingredients are free and the supply is unlimited.
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