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Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
Fort Myers, FL, United States (AHN) – Norman Love Confections knows the secret to sweet success. The Florida-based chocolatier has been named the best chocolate in the United States, for the sixth time, by Consumer Reports in its February issue–just in time for Valentine’s Day. Norman Love makes about 30,000 chocolates by hand every day at its Fort Myers facility. In awarding the company top honors, the magazine cited “the combination and the blending of the chocolate with the fillings.” The chocolate shop is expanding with fresh gelato and bakery selections. The company also plans to take full advantage of its location, which is very close to the Red Sox [...] Continue Reading…

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
Seattle, WA, United States (AHN) – Get ready to peel off more bucks for your Starbucks lattes, frappuccinos, espressos and standard brews. The Seattle coffee chain announced Tuesday that it is raising prices an average of 1 percent in the Northeast and Sunbelt regions. Cities that will see higher prices include Boston, New York, Washington, Atlanta, Dallas and Albuquerque. Prices will remain unchanged in California and Florida. The increase comes as Starbucks faces higher commodity costs. The company will not raise prices for its packaged coffee sold in its cafes and at grocery stores. That increase came last year when Starbucks raised prices of packaged coffee 17 percent at its cafes and [...] Continue Reading…

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
West Palm Beach, FL, United States (AHN) – Dieters take note. The color of your plate may affect how much you eat. New research published in the December issue of the Journal of Consumer Research suggests that its not just size of your plate, but also the color, when it comes to how much you eat. Experts have known for years that color has an impact when it comes to food consumption. Fast food chains have long been cashing in on this phenomenon. They rely heavily on bold colors such as red, orange and bright yellow in their advertising, packaging and decor. These color cue you to eat more. The newest [...] Continue Reading…

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
Atlanta, GA, United States (AHN) – U.S. teens are not eating enough fruits and vegetables, according to a new study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The findings, based on data complied from nearly 10,800 students in grades nine through 12 who took part in the National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Study 2010, found median consumption was 1.2 times per day for both fruits and vegetables. Median fruit consumption was much higher among males than females, and much higher among grade nine students than among students in grades 10 and 12. A little more than 28.5 percent, or one in four, of the high school students ate [...] Continue Reading…

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
Copenhagen, Denmark (AHN) – Health experts have long touted a low sodium diet for the masses, maintaining that reduced sodium lowers the risk for heart disease and stroke. However, new research published online Nov. 9 in the American Journal of Hypertension, finds that cutting back on salt may increase levels of cholesterol, triglycerides and other risk factors for heart disease. It is not yet clear what the findings mean for long-term health. The Danish researchers found that less salt did lower blood pressure in whites, blacks and Asians who had either normal or high blood pressure. But it came with significant increases in levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, the enzyme renin (involved [...] Continue Reading…

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
Glendale, CA, United States (AHN) – IHOP is celebrating Halloween a few days early by offering free “Count Spatula” pancakes for kids all day Friday. As part of its “No Tricks Just Treats” program designed to provide a safe and fun Halloween, children 12 and under can visit IHOP for a free scary face pancake. The “design your own” Scary Face Pancake includes an oversized buttermilk pancake with a whipped topping mouth and a strawberry nose. It is served with two mini Oreo cookies and candy corn on the side, allowing kids the opportunity to decorate their own Halloween hotcake, according to an IHOP statement.

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Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Blame it on the butter. Maxim magazine has named 64-year-old Southern chef Paula Deen as its “Hottest Female TV Chef,” saying man cannot resist her rich comfort food. According to the editors, “Deen’s devotion to the art of down-home, fat-laden cooking filled them with a lust for life.” Deen, a diminutive, grey-haired Southern champion in the kitchen, beat out several younger chefs including the stunning Giada de Laurentis and Padma Lakshmi. Deen has a heavy hand with butter when she cooks and frequently says that everything is better with butter. Apparently that is enough to melt men’s heart.

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Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
Ottawa, Canada (AHN) – New research links low blood sugar in obese people with a stronger urge within the brain for high calorie foods, in turn, driving them to eat more and crave these foods more, which may lead to overeating. The new findings were published in the online issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation. In the study, researchers set out to find if dips in blood sugar affect obese people differently than people who are not obese. The researchers used MRI scanners to monitor the brains of five obese and nine non-obese people as the subjects’ blood sugar levels were adjusted from normal to low. The findings show that obese [...] Continue Reading…

Vittorio Hernandez – AHN News
Sacramento, CA, United States (AHN) – Besides a proposed ban on shark fin soup, California is also set to prohibit another exotic food – foie gras, or duck liver. By July 2012, duck liver cannot be served throughout the state if the duck was force fed, which is the method used by duck raisers for the liver to become fatty. California became the first state to ban foie gras, in 2004, but the law will not take effect until the middle of next year. Then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzengger signed the legislation into law, which not only bans force feeding of ducks but also prohibits selling of foie gras produced that way. The fine for [...] Continue Reading…

Vittorio Hernandez – AHN News
Beijing, China (AHN) – The chairman of the largest fast food chain in the Philippines disclosed on Wednesday that the company will expand operations in China in 2012 by opening 100 more stores. Jollibee Foods Corp. Chairman Tony Tan Caktiong is in China as part of the 270-member delegation of Filipino businessmen that Philippine President Benigno Aquino took with him to Beijing to seek trade opportunities and ties. Jollibee, a Filipino-owned hamburger chain, has surpassed U.S. fast food chain giant McDonald’s in the Philippines in terms of sales and number of stores. The company, known for its red-and-black bumblebee mascot, has one outlet in Hong Kong, 51 Hong Zhuang Yuan branches and 226 [...] Continue Reading…