General Health Questions and Answers

Q. I crave chocolate every day. Is this normal or am I addicted to it?
A. Women’s health expert Dr. Pamela Talley says that chocolate cravings can be driven by the change in balance of male and female hormones in a woman's monthly cycle. That same flux can contribute to the periodic acne that some women experience. Chocolate and other food cravings are part of a larger serotonin issue, which is why antidepressants such as Prozac are often the treatment of choice for premenstrual symptoms.
Roseanne Rust, a registered dietitian, suggests one reason that people might crave chocolate is that it has some amphetamine-like properties. “Also, the cannabinoid-like fatty acids mimic the effects of marijuana, producing euphoria,” she says.
Five hundred years ago, Spanish conquistadors called chocolate the “food of the gods” when they first discovered it in South America. That kind of reverential attitude hasn't altered much over the centuries, as we still love it. The U.S. Chocolate Manufacturers Association says that each of us consumes 5.32 kg or about 12 lbs. per year.
So when you need a little afternoon pick-me-up, you can now confidently turn to chocolate. Before chocolate-phoria over takes you, though, remember that even though cocoa powder in itself is intrinsically low in calories, all the added ingredients that help make it so tasty are high in caloric content, fat and cholesterol.
NUTRIENT BREAKDOWN OF ONE OUNCE OF MILK CHOCOLATE:
147 calories
2 g protein
9 g fat
16 g carbohydrate
65 mg calcium
65 mg phosphorus
References: * Roseanne Rust, certified dietician, regular columnist for the Meadville Tribune, May 2000.
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Q. I have a habit of cracking my knuckles. What makes that "popping" sound when they are cracked? My friend says it will make them bigger--is this true ?
A. When you crack your knuckles, you are actually pushing the joint either into or out of its normal position. In either case, when you do this, gas, mostly nitrogen, is displaced and escapes from the joint space. This displacement of gas causes the "popping" and "cracking" sound of knuckles, and a few other joints. Not all joint popping sounds are caused by escaping gases. In some joints, most notably the hip, the sound is made by ligaments moving over the bone.
Escaping gas seems pretty innocuous, right? Wrong. Your friend wasn't too far off when he told you that cracking your knuckles would make them bigger. By cracking your knuckles, what you are doing is pushing the joint further than its range of motion would normally allow. This puts stress on the ligaments and tendons that hold the joint in its proper place. Ligaments behave a little like rubber bands--you can pull and stretch them a lot, but eventually they won't return to their original shape and length.
After years of pushing your joint past its normal range of motion, it may become "hypermobile." If the joint is very mobile (as in the hand), the joint surfaces might wear out. If this happens, the body responds by laying down more bone. Although this sounds like the body healing itself, in reality, matters are made worse. Usually, the bone is not laid down smoothly, and the joint surfaces become rough. Spurring or sharp spots will develop in the joint in question. Eventually, you may have rough surfaces moving against each other, to which the body might respond by swelling, increasing the amount of fluid and blood in the area. In the end, you could have a joint ("arthro") that is inflamed ("-itis").
Little research has been carried out in this area, so it's difficult to say with a high degree of certainty that knuckle and other joint cracking will lead to arthritis or another joint disease. But it's fairly safe to say that repeatedly pushing a joint beyond its normal physical range is not a good thing to do. And years down the road, you could possibly end up with arthritis in your hands, not just big knuckles like your friend said.