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SUGAR, CHOCOLATE, SADNESS AND BRAIN-BOOSTING BISCUITS

June 8, 2018 7 Comments

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News that has made me happy this week. And news that has saddened me. And throughout it all my children – along with thousands of others – have been revising and sitting a relentless string of exams. Which is why today’s recipe is one you don’t often see on our blog: chocolate biscuits made with good old-fashioned butter and sugar (but with a healthy twist). I have to say they’re very good and very easy – I’ve made them every day this week.

You may recall from my last post that dark chocolate is excellent fodder for exam sitters. Professor David Kennedy, director of the Brain, Performance and Nutrition Research Centre at Northumbria University found that people were able to do calculations more quickly and more accurately after consuming dark chocolate. He speculated it was due to ark chocolate’s high levels of polyphenols and small amounts of caffeine. It’s much easier to persuade a child to eat a cookie than to eat unadulterated chunks of very dark chocolate, which is why I spent last week fiddling around with chocolate biscuit recipes. I’m rather pleased with the one below, if I say so myself. You could also try my friend’s chocolate brainies recipe which is a little healthier but still includes caffeine and plenty of chocolate. And yes, we’ve had a bowl of blueberries on the table every day. It’s all costing me a small fortune.

This week (forgive the upcoming boast, it has a purpose) my son won a nationwide cookery competition judged by Mary Berry. I wish I could say his submitted recipe used flaxseeds and brewer’s yeast. But of course it didn’t. I can’t share the recipe because it’s appearing – soon – in a magazine. Suffice to say it’s rich in sugar and cream – and very delicious.

I’m beginning to think sugar has been unfairly demonised. As Professor Longo (author of The Longevity Diet) said: “Sugar is not the problem… it’s the intake of excessive quantities in combination with proteins and certain types of fat.” An interesting blog post from Dr Kendrick makes the same point. He refers to a report called ‘Sugar and artificially sweetened beverages and the risks of incident stroke and dementia – A prospective Cohort Study.’ (Oh we do like a catchy title!) The next 3 paragraphs are taken direct from his blog (https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/) which is a personal favourite of mine.

‘Results—After adjustments for age, sex, education (for analysis of dementia), caloric intake, diet quality, physical activity, and smoking, higher recent and higher cumulative intake of artificially sweetened soft drinks were associated with an increased risk of ischemic stroke, all-cause dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease.

When comparing daily cumulative intake to 0 per week (reference), the hazard ratios were 2.96 (95% confidence interval, 1.26–6.97) for ischemic stroke and 2.89 (95% confidence interval, 1.18–7.07) for Alzheimer’s disease. Sugar-sweetened beverages were not associated with stroke or dementia.’3

In short, those who drank artificially sweetened soft drinks were nearly three-fold more likely to have a stroke. In addition, they were very nearly three times as likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease.

My house certainly contains plenty of sugar. In bags though, not in fizzy drinks or anything else for that matter. I firmly believe children should bake. It may be one of the most important life skills we can give them, particularly following recent news that a quarter of the world’s population will be obese by 2045. If children can bake, they can cook. And if they can cook they’re unlikely to become reliant on, or enjoy, processed food. But show me a child who wants to bake a nut roast… cooking skills inevitably start with a bag of sugar. Sorry.

And the news that has saddened me? The untimely suicide of 55-year old designer, Kate Spade. Three months ago I chatted to a Doctor at a conference where I was speaking. He specialised in mental health and so I asked for his thoughts on the mental health crisis in teenagers and old people. To my surprise he shook his head in vigorous disagreement. “That’s just the newspapers,” he said. “The real crisis is in middle-aged women. They take far more anti-depressants and suffer far more depression than any other group. But they don’t talk about it, they just take the pills.”

He was right. And finally it’s making headlines: suicide is one of the leading causes of death among middle-aged women. Sadly, it’s also on the rise.

The Samaritans – Tel: 116 123

www.samaritans.org

Brain Boosting Very Dark Chocolate Biscuits (with hidden chia seeds and reduced sugar)

This makes 30 biscuits, enough for a few days of revising. Make the dough, keep it in the fridge and when sustenance is required, bake as many as you need, before returning the mixture to the fridge, where it’ll wait quite happily until you’re asked to make more!

  • 150 g butter
  • 200 g soft brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 200 g plain flour
  • 30 g ground chia seeds
  • 4 tbsp quality cocoa powder
  • ½ tsp bicarb of soda
  • ¾ tsp baking powder
  • 100 g of 85% dark chocolate, chopped into small bits

Heat the oven to 170 degrees.

Cream the sugar and butter for a few minutes. I use my trusty KitchenAid.

Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until well blended.

Sift the dry ingredients. If you can’t be bothered to sift, just throw them into the wet mixture and give it all a good stir.

Roll into walnut-sized balls and place on lined baking trays, leaving room for spreading.

Bake for 12-14 minutes. Cool for a couple of minutes in the fridge if your hungry mouths can’t wait. These are very good oozingly warm.

Annabel

  • Meal Types: Family, On The Go, Treats and Snacks
  • Conditions: Alzheimer's, Brain and Dementia, Depression, Strokes
  • Ingredients: Chia seeds, Chocolate
« WHY ‘INFLAMM-AGEING’ COULD START IN THE GUT AND HARISSA-ROASTED VEGETABLE SALAD
KALE & COCOA IS NOW THE AGE-WELL PROJECT! »

Comments

  1. Layla says

    May 27, 2019 at 11:05 am

    Hi does the chocolate need to be melted, it doesn’t say? Seems like a recipe for choc chip cookies, I think?

    Reply
    • Susan Saunders says

      May 30, 2019 at 9:46 am

      No melting needed, it melts in the cooking. Enjoy!

      Reply
  2. Lizzy says

    October 11, 2019 at 4:33 am

    Hello there,
    My son is a coeliac and I generally replace the wheat flour with gluten free flour in baking recipes, with varying degrees of success! Do you think I could just do a straight substitute, or do you think I ought to adjust other ingredients – say butter/flour ratio?
    Thank you

    Reply
    • Annabel Streets says

      October 11, 2019 at 11:17 am

      I think a straight substitute would definitely work for this recipe. Good luck!

      Reply
  3. M says

    September 6, 2022 at 12:34 am

    Wondering if ground flaxseed could be subbed for chia seeds?

    Reply
    • Annabel Streets says

      September 16, 2022 at 1:53 pm

      You could try it… I love experimenting, so let us know if it works!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. WORK OUT, AND YOUR GUT WILL THANK YOU - The Age-Well Project says:
    April 28, 2019 at 4:55 pm

    […] we’ve got mock A-levels coming up in our house, so we’ll be baking lots of our chocolate chia cookies for their brain-boosting power (and they’re […]

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Welcome to The Age-Well Project

Welcome to The Age-Well Project!
Here you’ll find easy changes for a longer, happier life. We’ve immersed ourselves in the science of longevity and distilled the research to make it work in our everyday lives. You can change the way you age: here’s how.

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WHY I’VE THROWN OUT ALL MY BEAUTY PRODUCTS (nearly…)

Why Alzheimer’s Is A Women’s Issue

HOW HAVING A DOG CHANGED MY LIFE

GREEN SPACE IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH

SUGAR, CHOCOLATE, SADNESS AND BRAIN-BOOSTING BISCUITS

WHY ‘INFLAMM-AGEING’ COULD START IN THE GUT AND HARISSA-ROASTED VEGETABLE SALAD

POLYAMINES – THE NEW SECRET WEAPON FOR AGEING WELL & MOROCCAN SPINACH AND CHICKPEAS.

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Susan was lucky enough to spend a day at the olive Susan was lucky enough to spend a day at the olive harvest at Bidni Extra Virgin Olive Oil @bidni_evoo in Malta in late September. Fresh from the press, the oil was pretty peppery! That’s the polyphenols at work.

Polyphenol levels in olive oil also play a vital role in its brain boosting properties. They help reduce neuroinflammation and slow cognitive decline.

A study presented at a conference this summer by Harvard School of Public Health looked at the cognition of more than 90,000 people over 30 years. It found that those who consumed half a tablespoon of olive oil each day, as opposed to mayonnaise or margarine, had a 28%  lower risk of dying from dementia. Interestingly, this research found that the brain benefits of olive oil held up, regardless of the quality of the rest of the participants’ diet. So even those who didn’t adhere to other guidelines of the Mediterranean diet still got the benefits from the oil.

There’s more on the blog - link in bio

#womenover50 #over50andfit #womenover60 #postmenopause #postmenopausalwomen #postmenopausalhealth 
#brainhealth #alzheimers #reducedementiarisk #cognitivehealth  #agewell #longevity #ageingwell #agingwell #longevity #EVOO
Two new pieces of research you need to know about Two new pieces of research you need to know about if you want to age well: 

1️⃣ the kynurenine pathway. It’s complicated but high levels of it don’t bode well for ageing well. Several studies have found that older people, those who’ve had hip fractures, the frail, as well as the depressed have higher circulating levels of kynurenine.  Indeed the more kynurenine in your blood, the greater your chances of dying sooner rather than later. High levels of kynurenine also seem to be associated with low levels of melatonin and serotonin – meaning both poorer sleep and a greater risk of depression.

New research has identified a very simple way of blocking the accumulation of kynurenine (and its toxic by-products) in our blood and tissues: regular, heart-beat-raising movement.

2️⃣ Platelet Factor 4 (PF4). This compound appears to keep our brains and memories sharp. And it too is released when we move. Discovered by a team from the University of Queensland Brain Institute, PF4 is a protein secreted by the tiny blood cells that prevent blood clotting (known as platelets). This protein rejuvenates brain cells (neurons) in ageing mice, and researchers now think it may be the reason that exercise  and movement amplify the production of new neurons in the brain.

Want more info? It’s on the blog - link in bio 

#womenover50 #over50andfit #womenover60 #postmenopause #postmenopausalwomen #postmenopausalhealth 
#brainhealth #alzheimers #reducedementiarisk #cognitivehealth  #agewell #longevity #ageingwell #agingwell #longevity
In today’s Observer: Check out our top tips for In today’s Observer: Check out our top tips for caring for ourselves and our parents. Take a multi vit for 50+, persevere with technology and/or try something new every day, walk daily, stay social, consume sufficient protein, supplement with vits D and B12… 

#agewell #healthyaging
Autumn giveaway! 🍂 We’ve got a bundle of two Autumn giveaway! 🍂

We’ve got a bundle of two books to give away here on Insta - one copy of The Age-Well Project and one of 52 Ways to Walk. 

To win, simply leave a comment below letting us know your favorite landscape for autumn and winter walks. Do you like hills, mountains, flatlands, canals, rivers, coastlines, cities, cemeteries, your local park, moorland...? Just a few words to tell us where you’d most like to be walking in the next few months to help you age well. 

The competition closes at midnight BST on 18 October and a winner will be selected at random.

And in case you’re wondering why Annabel’s interested in your favourite landscape, it’s because she’s writing a new book about the places we choose to walk in and how they affect us. So she’d love to get a rough idea of the best-loved locations… all in confidence, of course.

Good luck!

#womenover50 #over50andfit #womenover60 #postmenopause #postmenopausalwomen #postmenopausalhealth 
#brainhealth #alzheimers #reducedementiarisk #cognitivehealth  #agewell #longevity #ageingwell #agingwell #giveaway #womenwhohike #womenwhowalk
Look, we know not many people have round-the-clock Look, we know not many people have round-the-clock access to a sauna. But Susan found one in a hotel she was staying at recently, there’s one in our local gym and Annabel found plenty on her summer holiday in Finland. 

A growing number of studies attest to the longevity-enhancing benefits of routine forays into a sauna. Much of the research has been instigated in Finland where sauna (pronounced to rhyme with downer) has existed forever.

So how does sauna help us age well? The extreme heat activates heat shock proteins which researchers think can maintain the healthy functioning of our cells.  As we get older, the proteins in some of our cells start to misfold and collapse. They then clump together forming plaques, including the plaques thought to cause Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Heat shock proteins – triggered by a sauna stint and possibly by hot baths – appear to prevent the misfolding and collapsing of cellular proteins, as well as clearing out those that have already misfolded. Which is to say they keep our cells in good shape. 

There’s more on the blog - link in bio 

#womenover50 #over50andfit #womenover60 #postmenopause #postmenopausalwomen #postmenopausalhealth 
#brainhealth #alzheimers #reducedementiarisk #cognitivehealth #betterbrainhealth #brainfog  #agewell #longevity #ageingwell #agingwell
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