Dark Chocolate Helps Fight Stroke

Baltimore-Good news for fans of chocolate. Especially dark chocolate without the milk mixture.

This time, according to a study in the Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, the content of dark chocolate can fight against stroke. The reason is epicatechin, one of the substances that exist in dark chocolate, can trigger the growth of protective cells in the brain.

According to one researcher, Dr. Norman K. Hollenberg of Harvard Medical School, from experiments on rats indicated some stoke, epicatechin can be used for the treatment of stroke. Even the effect can already be seen three hours after exposure to stoke.

"We give this substance in various doses in rats 90 minutes before he suffered a stroke," he said. "And it turns out, after infarction (damage due to stroke) to be reduced."

Even though dark chocolate has been proven good for health, Sylvain Dore, Chairman of the researchers, from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine recommends consuming more cocoa beans directly (cocoa).

"Cocoa does not like chocolate is high in calories and saturated fat. Cocoa could be a tool for the diet, especially when mixed with fruit and vegetables, "he said.

Previously, indicated dark chocolate can protect humans from diseases of the heart. Based on some research, just 6.7 grams of chocolate a day, a person can protect themselves from heart damage.

And The Most Popular Baby Names ARE...

Move over, Emma. There's a new queen in town. Isabella dethroned Emma as the top name for girls born last year, according to the Social Security Administration's annual list of most popular baby names, released Saturday.

Jacob, on the other hand, held on as the most popular boy's name for the 11th year in a row. The Social Security Administration started compiling name lists in 1997. And as in years past, the influence of pop culture is reflected in the names picked for newborns.

The boy's name that rocketed up the list the fastest is Cullen -- the name of the lead character in the popular "Twilight" book series.

Cullen's girlfriend in the books is Bella, short for Isabella. On the girls' side, the fastest riser is Maliyah, an altered version of the name of President Obama's daughter Malia -- which also is among the top 10 fast risers.

But parents are equally quick to drop celebrity-inspired names once they think the popularity is passe.

Among the biggest drops last year were Mylee and Miley, as in singer Miley Cyrus.

Also on the outs: Lindsay and Jonas (think actress Lindsay Lohan and the band Jonas Brothers).

Meanwhile, Barack continued to move up the list. Sixty-nine Baracks were born in 2009, the agency said.

As always, religious names retained their popularity -- even if some were somewhat unconventional.

Among the popular names are Nevaeh (heaven spelled backward) for girls, and Messiah for boys.

The 10 most popular girls' names, in order, are: Isabella, Emma, Olivia, Sophia, Ava, Emily, Madison, Abigail, Chloe and Mia.

The 10 most popular boys' name, also in order, are: Jacob, Ethan, Michael, Alexander, William, Joshua, Daniel, Jayden, Noah and Anthony.