Happy St. Valentine's Day!

[Synthaholic]

I know it's a day early, but I'll be busy tomorrow.

 

[Synthaholic]

 

[Synthaholic]

 

[Synthaholic]

 

[Synthaholic]

 

[Synthaholic]

 

[Synthaholic]

Whew! Glad I got that out of my system!

 

[FuelRod]

Happy 83rd birthday.

 

[waltky]

Uncle Ferd gonna woo his womens w/ chocolate an' strawberries on Valentine's day...
:heart:
Love is a Matter of the Brain
February 13, 2012 - Romance has complex biochemical nature

Tuesday, Feb. 14 is Valentine's Day, an annual occasion which celebrates romantic love. However, love is not only a matter of the heart. Brain researchers have discovered romance has a complex biochemical nature. While our thoughts and emotions seem like invisible, intangible things, these internal states can be inferred by monitoring blood flow in different parts of our brain using advanced imaging techniques. Neuroscientist Lucy Brown conducted an experiment with 17 college students, who described themselves as being in the throes of new love. They were subjected to brain scans and asked to look at a picture of their beloved.

Without exception, the picture stimulated heightened electrical activity in two key areas of the brain: the caudate nucleus and ventral tegmental area. Brown – a professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine - says these two regions comprise the brain’s reward system. A primitive part of the organ also found in other mammals, it is more closely associated with the desire for food and water than with the sex drive. "And this is the system that was active, to our amazement, in the people who were in love,” she says. Brown notes that this is the region of the brain that lights up during a cocaine high, and is responsible for the craving that drives cocaine addiction.

A similar mix of euphoria and longing is familiar to anyone who has ever been in love, which may help explain why romantic love is often a bittersweet experience. “It’s not just euphoria," Brown says. "You can be anxious. You can actually get angry a little. But the key, the core that remains, is this motivation toward the other person. That other person is a goal because they produce so much reward.” When the brain’s reward system is aroused, it releases a neurotransmitter chemical called dopamine. Rutgers University anthropologist Helen Fisher, who worked with Brown on the brain imaging and love studies, says dopamine then spreads to other parts of the brain, each of which has its own function.

“As you reach for a piece of chocolate and want it, as you want to get a raise at work, as you want your child to do well in school, this brain system is being activated," Fisher says. "But it is being activated with a different combination of other parts of the brain, making the experience of wanting the chocolate different than the experience of wanting a sweetheart.”
The ventral tegmental area of the brain signals reward and drive in humans in the early stages of romantic love. The ventral tegmental area of the brain signals reward and drive in humans in the early stages of romantic love.

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Study: Chocolate, Strawberries Help Blood Pressure
February 11, 2012 - Researchers find dark chocolate helps thin out the blood so it flows more easily even through partially-blocked arteries

Many people in the United States and around the world like to share special gifts and cards with their loved ones every year on February 14, Valentine's Day. Originally a day to honor a Christian saint, it is no longer associated with any particular faith. It has become synonymous with expressions of love - and most of all, gifts of chocolate. These days, some might feel guilty about sharing such high-fat, high-calorie confections. But nutritionists say a little bit of chocolate can be very good for your health. In the days leading up to Valentine's Day, Americans buy some $700 million worth of chocolate treats... luscious, creamy and loaded with fat. But recent studies show that dark chocolate can also be good for your heart.

Researchers find that dark chocolate and aspirin have similar effects on the blood. They thin out the blood so it flows more easily, even through partially-blocked arteries, and that could reduce the possibility of a heart attack. But for chocolate lovers everywhere, the health benefits are even better than that. "Research shows that we get flavinoids in dark chocolate," said nutritionist Tammy Roberts. Flavinoids are nutrients found in many different kinds of plants. They help protect plants against disease and insects. When we eat food with high levels of flavinoids, these nutrients trigger our immune systems to produce enzymes - proteins - that reduce the risk of some kinds of cancer, heart disease and some other diseases that come with age.

In fact, 21 scientific studies involving more than 2,600 participants examined the effects of dark chocolate on the heart. The studies showed that eating dark chocolate lowered blood pressure and improved the ability of insulin to regulate blood sugar. Tammy Roberts says flavinoids are also found in something that tastes great when covered with dark chocolate, strawberries. "The health benefits of chocolate-covered strawberries are that both chocolate and strawberries contain antioxidants, and antioxidants are important for immune function and preventing infection," Roberts added.

Roberts says the best Valentine's Day gift combines fruit and chocolate. "When you give your Valentine a basket full of fruit that has just a little bit of chocolate, then you're really showing them the very best kind of love, because you're giving them a lot of antioxidants and vitamin C with just enough chocolate to make it exciting," Roberts explained. Just remember to make it dark chocolate.

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[Mr. H.]

Happy VD.

 

[The Infidel]

Happy VD.

Enjoy:

Sexually transmitted disease - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Alan Stallion]

Just remember...
it's the thought that counts...
unless she was expecting far, far more...
then you're in deep doo-doo.

 

[Baruch Menachem]

I got a weird Chat with my son's romantic interest about what he would like for tomorrow. Well, since he is a guy he really doesn't give a rip. Maybe I should have warned him about her? Too late now. She settled for chocolate strawberries. He really isn't into candy.

 

[MeBelle]

I got a weird Chat with my son's romantic interest about what he would like for tomorrow. Well, since he is a guy he really doesn't give a rip. Maybe I should have warned him about her? Too late now. She settled for chocolate strawberries. He really isn't into candy.

Aww c'mon! You know the strawberries really aren't for him...