The wonderful World of Chocolate
As I sit sipping my hot chocolate and writing this blog, I cannot help feeling grateful (for the thousandth time) that the Native Americans have discovered the wonderful world of the Theobroma cacao beans, as early as 1900 B.C. The Aztecs and Mayans mixed the ground beans with hot water and seasoned with vanilla, chili pepper or honey, as milk and refined sugar were unknown to them until the Europeans arrived.
Although the Europeans became familiar with the cacao beverage in the 16th century, it did not become popular until the 1800's when special processes were developed to remove the bitter taste and create solid chocolate bars. Today, chocolate has become so common in our culture that it is nearly impossible to go through your day without encountering chocolate in your house, office, cafeterias, stores and schools. Chocolate has become one of the most popular ingredients in desserts, and chocolate lovers who ever-tried to lose weight know the heart-break of parting with delicious chocolaty desserts in the name of good health (OK, now I am really getting hungry).
While most chocolate containing desserts are considered detrimental to your health due to the high number of calories as well as sugar and fat, there is a significant amount of research supporting the consumption of chocolate in small quantities. If you like dark chocolate and are able to stop after just a few bites, you will probably be excited to learn the numerous health benefits of this delicious treat:
-High concentrations of antioxidants
-Shown to lower blood pressure
-Reported to lower cholesterol
Many graduate students are young and are not concerned about heart disease, but dark chocolate has also been reported to increase the feelings of well-being and happiness by boosting serotonin in your brain.
A more significant concern for students is that chocolate products are high in fat, but dark chocolate is composed of three types of fats, and only one of them (palmitic acid, which comprises 30% of fat in chocolate) has been shown to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. The other two fats are oleic acid (which is a healthy fat, also found in olive oil), and stearic acid (which is a saturated fat, with neutral effects on cholesterol level).
If you choose to eat chocolate for the health benefits, go for the dark kind. If you like fillings, choose the bars with whole nuts. Nougat and caramel, while delicious, have no nutrition value and only add to the calories. Scientists also recommend to skip the milk, because it can interfere with the absorption of antioxidants.
For more ideas on how to get the most out of your next chocolate treat, you can visit these sites:
http://longevity.about.com/od/lifelongnutrition/p/chocolate.htm
http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/prevention/nutrition/chocolate.aspx
http://www.allchocolate.com/health/basics/
http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20030827/dark-chocolate-is-healthy-chocolate
Bon Appetit!
Dora Farkas, PhD, Founder, PhDNet
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Life after publishing?
Most of us know the old adage of academia: "Publish or perish". It is no surprise then that most professors, and their students and post-docs, strive to publish as much as possible. Some departments even have a standard for a minimum number of papers a student must publish to get their degrees. But, does your publication record in graduate school determine the rest of your career?
This is a question that many academically-inclined students (and postdoctoral fellows) struggle with. Let's take a look at two extremes. Student A publishes several first-author papers in prestigious journals, while Student B publishes few or none. Does this automatically mean that Student A will have a better chance of landing an academic position?
While Student A might pride herself on her solid publication record, she cannot afford to sit back during her postdoctoral fellowship. Rather than looking at the total number of publications, search committees look for consistency in publishing. The question thy ask is can you publish papers in graduate school as well as during your postdoctoral fellowship? Unfortunately, I know several postdoctoral fellows with solid publication records from graduate school, who did not receive academic offers (or even interviews) because of a lack of papers published during their fellowship. This can be disheartening to postdoctoral fellows who are looking to do research in a novel area where they might not be able to publish.
What if you are Student B, with no publications from graduate school? A few years ago I spoke with Ramu (not his real name), who published papers in graduate school, but they were in a field that was so obsolete that neither academia nor industry took an interest in him. Fortunately, Ramu found a postdoctoral advisor whose research was more relevant and he was able to publish several papers. "I worked hard for three years to publish as many papers as I could, so I would be employable," he recalled.
Industry has a slightly different mind-set than academia. While they appreciate papers, they are more focused on the skill-set that candidates bring to the environment. Since industry is product driven and has a tight schedule, they are looking for highly skilled and productive individuals who can integrate very quickly into the work environment. Nevertheless, companies value individuals who like writing scientific papers, since many industry scientists do not like writing or do not have the time to.
Publishing papers can only be to your advantage, whether you are in academia or industry. While writing is (very) time-consuming, always keep an eye open for a research opportunity that can be published. Besides improving your CV, the quality of your research will also benefit from the careful analysis and peer review that is part of the publication process.
Wishing you the best,
Dora Farkas, PhD, Founder, PhDNet
Author: "The Smart Way To Your PhD:200 Secrets From 100 Graduates."
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