::: Guess what??? Sweet Hot Cocoa May Prevent Heart Disease :::
Isn't that a wonderful informative finding, especially when you love Cocoa, and it's freaking cold outside?
By Jeanie Lerche Davis, WebMD Medical News:
Hot cocoa has more disease-fighting antioxidants than tea or red wine. And the heat may help propel them into the bloodstream.
Extensive studies have shown that black tea, green tea, red wine, and cocoa are "major" sources of antioxidants called phenols and flavonoids - antioxidant chemicals found naturally in foods that can help prevent chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer.
...In their study, Lee and colleagues performed a complicated chemical analysis of cocoa, black tea, green tea, and red wine, finding that cocoa had the highest levels of antioxidants, twice as high as red wine, and nearly three times stronger than green tea:
Cocoa had 611 mg of phenols and 564 mg of flavonoids.
Red wine had 340 mg of phenols and 163 mg of flavonoids.
Green tea had 165 mg of phenols and 47 mg of flavonoids.
Black tea had 124 mg of phenols and 34 mg of flavonoids.
"These results suggest that cocoa is more beneficial to health than teas and red wine in terms of its higher antioxidant capacity" and ability to fight damage leading to heart disease and cancer, writes Lee.
Mind you, it's not light in calories, so I have to bear that in mind every time we go out to Tim Hortons. That's my special treat, and I try not to go overboard with it, but hey... I love Tim Hortons low cal muffins too... so... ;-))
:::Lorien @ 02:49 PM MT :::
Friday, November 28, 2003
::: Here they are... Bike pics :::
Desiree, since you asked, here are some bike pics of myself, taken by my brother while I was visiting Israel. It's amazing how much I enjoy this outdoors activity. First of all, being outside in the fresh air and not being inside a packed gym is the best way to go in my eyes. There's no boredom in a ride along the river or anywhere else in the city.
The only thing is - summer is quite short here in Calgary, so we have less than 5 months per year to enjoy the outdoors. So we make a good use of every warm day, and go out as much as we can.
In Israel, it's a different story with the weather all together, and unless it's raining, my bro goes out for bike rides all year long... almost. The bad aspect of it? He sweats like a pig during the summer months. Humidity can kill ya over there!
Regarding the next pic... No! This is not the good food one should eat when on a diet *s*... but hey, those cheese cakes where so yummy!!! *s*.
Bro and I took part in this bike riding event, that was some kind of protest and awareness thing. There's a group in Tel-Aviv which want to raise awareness towards bike riding and the need for more biking trails in the city. Every last Friday of the month they gather in Rabin square in Tel-Aviv, and from there ride along the streets of the city, letting people know what they ask for and try to find more supporters for the cause. We joined them that Friday, which was kind of special since 2 leaders of the group got married the night before, and joined the ride wearing their wedding cloths. It was quite a show for the crowd in the streets, and a lovely street party for us bike riders at the end of the ride, with good (bad) food, music and booze. So... I ate some... yum! *s*.
:::Lorien @ 07:24 AM MT :::
Thursday, November 27, 2003
::: Darn... It's hard! :::
Just got back from the gym. All I managed to do was burning 651 calories on the treadmill... 60 minutes walk, incline 11 and speed = 3.6 mph. Couldn't bring myself to work on the machines. I'm too tired after a short night sleep of only 4 hours. I so hoped I won't suffer any jet lag sensation this time... I so hoped... It didn't happen when I arrived in Israel, so I wanted it to be ok now when I'm back home...
No can do.
Ok, I'll take it as it comes... slowly go back to my regular phase. I don't have any other choice as it is, so no use dwelling on the matter, right? Right! *s*.
I need to buy lots of veggies and start making my winter soup again. It sure is time, and I love having soup with lots of different veggies inside.
I sure feel like having a nap, but if I do - there goes my night again. Phew... It's hard coming back to every day's routine after a month! But hey... I wouldn't give up my time in Israel for anything ;-)).
:::Lorien @ 04:43 PM MT :::
Wednesday, November 26, 2003
::: Hello hello... I'm back home :::
Hello, everyone... I'm back home, safe and sound *s*. I had a wonderful visit with my family, lots of trips to the southern part of Israel, lots of meetings with family members and friends, though not with all of those I wanted to meet. I guess more time was needed, so it'll have to wait for next time *s*.
So how am I doing, you ask? Well, I was a naughty girl while there, diet wise. I ate everything and anything my little heart desired, without counting any calories, and without feeling guilty!
Well, it's not quite true. Stuff I'm not eating anymore, I still managed to avoid most of the time, but hell - I had so much good Israeli food around me, I had to try some, without any regrets.*s*.
And the damage? Well, 5 extra lbs around my waist line as of today. I'm sure they'll be gone in just few days, since yesterday I had 3 more on top of these 5 according to my scale. They're not real, you know... It's the junk food they serve aboard planes, and the fact that my stomach and bowels activity is on hold for the last 2 days... so we'll see *s*... I'm not changing my stats yet ;-)).
The photo? Just me "playing" the strong chick ;-)) I have all intentions to resume workouts right away. Today is my first day back to the gym! It's going to be interesting *s*.
:::Lorien @ 11:28 AM MT :::
Thursday, November 13, 2003
::: Here for a sec :::
All is well visit wise. Diet and workout wise... Oh well, I didn't work out for 10 days. Had some walks, but nothing serious and worth reporting. I gained some 2 lbs... Tom came and went again. All in all, I'm ok with all of it. I know I'll be back OP when I go back home. Yea, vacations are just for that... rest and fun ;-))).
:::Lorien @ 12:04 PM Israel time :::
Sunday, November 2, 2003
::: Doing well and getting lots of compliments :::
I'm doing great here. My weight keeps the same even though I eat more, and that makes me happy, because there are some kinds of foods I eat only here in Israel, and feel like having them while here. Once a year is not so bad, is it? ;-))
I had a wonderful visit to my old workplace, the bank. People were shocked to see me... "You're so gorgeous!", they told me... "You're so beautiful!", they told me... "What a great change!", they thought, and told me... I felt like I was on cloud 9! One of the guys looked at me, at my arms, and said: "You work out, right? It shows!". Hehe... I wanted to hug him that moment, and would've, but there was a table between us :-)).
It sure felt good to get all those supportive comments and compliments. And I knew one very important thing: I lost only 13 lbs since they last saw me... but I worked out and lost 2 clothes sizes... and that's the thing that makes the difference! That's why people find that I had changed a lot.
Good! I'm very pleased with myself these days :-))
