pleasure

Italy’s greatest fortune was forged in scarcity to become your forbidden pleasure: Nutella

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Mayans, Olmecs and Aztecs They knew how to appreciate the value of cocoa, and that is why they used it as currency to buy goods and services long before Christopher Columbus. make those lands yours just by reaching them by boat more than 500 years ago. In fact, chocolate has become a “guilty pleasure” these days. so widespreadwe are (yes, I include myself) causing global shortages. Precisely, cocoa is the main ingredient of a product that made two brothers extremely rich in ruined post-World War II Italy: the Ferreros. From that scarcity emerged an empire with $19 billion in annual revenue and a presence in more than 170 countries. The challenge: create a chocolate bar without cocoa In the middle of World War II, Italy suffered an extreme shortage of many things, but especially cocoa, a problem that had already hit Europe during the time of Napoleon. As and as explained in The Green CompassIn 1806, Napoleon Bonaparte became involved in a geopolitical and commercial battle with his enemy the United Kingdom. This caused the volume of trade to reduce considerably, causing a shortage of overseas products. One of them was cocoa, of course. Given the shortage of the main ingredient, a master chocolatier from Turin He came up with the brilliant idea of ​​mixing the little chocolate he had left with a dough made from hazelnuts that were abundant in the area. In this way, it could offer a delicacy with a certain chocolate flavor, but using less cocoa in its production. This is how the gianduia or gianduja. Almost a century and a half later, in 1946, the brothers Pietro and Giovanni Ferrero They found themselves in the same cocoa shortage situation than his Turin colleague. If it had worked before, why wouldn’t it work a second time? Cioccolateria Ferrero in Alba The Ferrero brothers revived the old recipe for hazelnut paste with sugar and cocoa to survive, creating a spreadable bar that would lay the foundations for a product that today sweetens breakfasts and snacks around the world. ​This hazelnut paste and little cocoa saved the Cioccolateria Ferrero that Pietro ran in Alba, south of Turin and in the heart of the Piedmontese countryside. The product, in the form chocolate bar that could be rolled and spread on the bread that mothers gave to their hungry children quickly sold out in local stores. Giandidot by Ferrero Faced with unexpected success, Pietro and his brother Giovanni soon formalized their business, founding a company called Ferrero SpA and opening a small factory in Alba. While Giovanni focused on distribution, Pietro focused on overseeing the manufacturing of his flagship product. However, Pietro died in 1949 of a heart attack. His son Michele, who was 24 years old at the time, took over from his father at the head of the factory. Ferrero factory workers on a company bus Michele was not a businessman like his uncle Giovanni, nor did he have a university degree, but he did he had inherited his father’s creativityto whom affectionately They called “the scientist” and he was willing to improve the recipe for the product that was making them rich. In 1949, Michele made some changes to the formula of the gianduja to make it creamier and easier to spread. With this change, the Ferreros could differentiate themselves from other confectioners who also produced the traditional Piedmontese sweet. The “Supercrema” had just been born. According to what is collected in the book ‘Nutella World‘, the success of the Supercrema was such that the brand soon had the second largest fleet of trucks, only behind that of the army. In 1947, the company barely had a dozen distribution trucks, in 1950 they already had 154 and by 1960 there were more than 1,624 delivery trucks for their company. cocoa cream with hazelnuts. Ferrero Supercream Ad ​Birth of a star product: Nutella In 1964, a change in product labeling legislation banned the use of superlatives in brand names. That forced the Ferreros to change the name of their Supercrema. Given the success of Supercrema, the Ferreros were already thinking about the internationalization of the brand, so they used the English name of its main ingredient “Nut” and, after trying variants such as Nutsy, Nussly, Nutosa and Nutina, they finally decided to use the Latin suffix “-ella” to maintain its Italian roots. Nutella was born and its iconic glass jar with a wide mouth and flattened body. Its smooth texture and addictive flavor made it an immediate success throughout Europe, but Michele continued trying different recipes. The consolidation of Ferrero as the empire it is today occurred with the Kindergarten release in 1968, the “unexpected” Tic Tac mint candies in 1969 and Ferrero Rocher in 1982, coinciding with the opening of factories in several countries. Today, Ferrero generates $19 billion annually, maintains secret formulas and operates in 170 countries without being listed on the stock market. Ferrero established itself as world leader in hazelnut creamseven having its own World Nutella Day since 2007: February 5. Michele Ferrero died in 2015 at 89 years old, leaving a fortune estimated at more than 26.5 billion dollars which made him the richest man in Italy, but he had also continued to manage a large empire as a family business in which the relatives of his employees were hired. As and how I collected The Spanish“Hiring children of employees strengthened the bond of the community and united many of its men and women to the company throughout their working lives,” noted Salvatore Giannella, biographer of the businessman and author of ‘Michele Ferrero, share values ​​to create value’. Giovanni Ferrero, grandson of Pietro Ferrero, inherited the empire of cocoa and hazelnut cream, increasing the family heritage up to 40.8 billion dollars. In Xataka | Jeff Bezos asked his parents for their life savings to found Amazon. They only asked him one question: “What is the Internet? Image | Unsplash (Marko Blažević), Flickr (Spiegelneuronen) Ferrero

That pleasure of scratching when something pikes you is a hoax. And our mothers already knew

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A summer afternoon, a Zumba mosquito in your ear and at minute you already have a red lump in the arm. The first thing you do is scratch, one, two, three … up to ten times or more. And the more you scratch, the more you want to continue. Your mother warns you: “Don’t scratch yourself, it’s worse!” And now it turns out that science is right. Scratch does not relieve. Researchers at the University of Miami They have demonstrated that scratching is not an effective method to calm the itching. On the contrary: it activates what they call the “itching cycle.” The more you scratch, the more the skin is inflamed, the more histamine it is released and more itch. A vicious circle difficult to break. So what do I do? The recommendation is clear: if you can resist the impulse to scratch, do it. And if not, choose to rub gently with your fingers or stroke with a soft brush. As the team led by Tasuku Akiyama explainsgently caress the skin, even to the side of the exact point that itchs, send signals that block the itching before it reaches the brain. A year later, the same effect It was checked in another experiment with 61 volunteers With a simple trick: pass a makeup brush slowly on the skin. In addition, in the face of histamine -induced itching – a classic molecule in allergic reactions -, It was seen that soft skin friction Sensation also decreases. According to Dr. Trisha Pasricha in her column for Washington Postthis technique can reduce up to 12% plus itching than a simple scratch. What if I crawled? Scratching relieves momentary because the generated pain inhibits the itching signal in the nervous system. That is the reason that it is so pleasant. The problem It arrives later: Active scratching immune cells called mast cells, which release histamine and other inflammatory molecules. The result is more inflammation and more desire to scratch. This was demonstrated by a study by the University of Pittsburgh, Posted in Science: When mice were prevented from scratching – with protective necklaces or eliminating sensory neurons – inflammation decreased dramatically. However, not everything is negative: the same team, led by Daniel Kaplan, discovered that scratching also helps eliminate bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureusone of the most common in skin infections. This would explain why, despite its damage, scratch has remained for millions of years in evolution. Cats, dogs, horses and practically all animals are also scratched. How does itching occur? Not everything that brushes our skin causes itching. As Dr. Pasricha remembersa cotton shirt does not usually bother, while wool does. It is the spatial contrast theory: when only a small group of nerve fibers is activated, the brain translates it as itching. If the activation is broader or more intense, the signal becomes pain. On the other hand, According to The Conversationin the spinal cord there are inhibitory neurons that act as filters: they let or block the itching signal. When these “guardians” fail, chronic itching may appear, a problem that affects about 8% of the population. Another way is through infection. Just see someone scratch or even an insect video to start feeling it in our own skin. Dr. Zhou-Feng Chen Remember that this phenomenon, studied in several experiments, demonstrates how the brain unconsciously mimics the sensations of others. Have you already entered itching when reading this? A double -face protective function. In the background, the itching fulfills a defensive function: we are alerted to possible threats such as insects or irritating substances. Scratching, although pleasant, is a brief relief that inflammation usually worsens. Instead, caress or rub the area offers a lasting relief without damage. The next time a mosquito ruins your night, remember: scratching gives momentary pleasure, but also worsens inflammation. Science coincides with the same as your mother: better a caress or a brush than desperate nails. Image | Freepik Xataka | Compact, practical and very cheap: this is the device to keep mosquito bites at bay

Pleasure, homosexuality and STDs in the animal kingdom. A specialist dismantles myths on how sex works outside our species

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Forget about the idea that animals only have sex to reproduce. Dolphins, bats, rams, bonobos or lions show that homosexual pleasure and behaviors are also part of nature. And not only that: there are species that change sex, that transmit diseases such as chlamydia or that transform their body to imitate genitals. All this composes a panorama as unexpected as fascinating. Science and apartthe Xataka section that was born to look at science with magnifying glass and do it in the company of experts, Return with a new episode in Our YouTube channelalso available on Spotify and Ivoox. On this occasion, Ángela Blanco interviews Ricardo MoureBiologist and Doctor in Biotechnology, with a very clear purpose: to explore what biology has discovered about sex in animals and leave aside the myths that we still drag. One of the points of the conversation is homosexuality in the animal kingdom. Moure clarifies from the beginning: “To be correct at a technical level, in animals we cannot talk about homosexual individuals or homosexual animals. We talk about homosexual behaviors“And add concrete examples:” Among the rams, one in five has sex with both males and females, and one in 10 only with other males. “ Another of the issues raised by the interview is that of pleasure in animal sex. Moure recognizes the difficulty of measuring it: “In the case of whether animals feel some kind of sexual pleasure, this is complicated because, of course, we cannot get into the mind of an animal and know its subjective perception, but it is true that it has been investigated if there are species in which there is sexual pleasure.” The clearest examples appear in social species, from primates to cetaceans, where relationships do not always seek offspring. Among the most graphic examples mentioned by Moure is the relationship between sexual behavior and the size of the testicles. “The size of the testicles depends a little on this,” he says. The contrast is striking: “Gorillas can reach 200 kg, they have testicles that are like two olives (…) but instead bonobos (…) They have very large testicles”The key is in sperm competition, which favors species where females maintain relations with several males. It also stops in the biological mechanisms that allow some species to change sex. “When a male clown fish is widowed, it changes sex and becomes the female,” Moure details, remembering that all these fish are born males and that their role depends on the structure of the group. But there are more factors that alter the proportion of sexes: “humans also greatly affect the distribution of sexes because of climate change,” he says. The interview also addresses a less known aspect: sexually transmitted diseases in animals. “A case that draws a lot of attention is that of the Koalas. The Koalas in Australia have a CLAMIDIA EPIDEMIA that the species is being loaded, ”says Moure. The problem is serious because it causes infertility and is very difficult to treat. What we have advanced here is just a fragment of an episode loaded with data, anecdotes and explanations that show this aspect in the animal kingdom. In Science and apartRicardo Moure provides keys that invite you to think otherwise the relationship between biology and sex. The chapter is now available. Choose the platform you want to enjoy it. Images | Xataka In Xataka | Zoophilia is the last great sexual taboo of our societies. And there are voices that want to discuss it

Not for pleasure, but because the intestine has memory

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A year ago, every time I ate something, my belly swelled like a balloon. I felt heavy, with gases, uncomfortable. I did not understand what happened to me, until I tested positive for bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine or its short version, Sibo. I started an antibiotic treatment and a very restrictive diet. I left gluten, dairy, nuts, fruits … almost everything. And when it seemed that I finally felt better, the strangest part of the process came: I had to reintroduce some foods, little by little, as if it were a vaccine; but I did, I would become intolerant. Increasingly widespread. Increasingly widespread. In both medical consultations and conversations, surely the term Sibo (for its acronym in English, bacterial intestinal overgrowth) is no longer unknown. This condition describes an imbalance in the intestinal microbiota: bacteria that should be found in the colon end proliferating in the small intestine, an environment where they should normally be almost non -existent. This invasion causes varied and annoying symptoms, such as abdominal swelling, gases, pain, diarrhea or constipation, According to Mayo Clinic. It is estimated that up to 15% of the Spanish population suffers from it, and is more frequent in women between 30 and 50 years, According to the Spanish Society of Primary Care Physicians (Semergen). Its diagnosis has increased in recent years thanks to greater awareness and evidence such as the breath test, a non -invasive technique that measures the amount of gases produced by bacteria after ingesting carbohydrates. After diagnosis. It is followed by a low diet in Fodmaps, a protocol that eliminates the most fermentable foods to relieve symptoms. It is not a cure in itself, but it helps reduce gas production and abdominal discomfort while antibiotic treatment takes effect. The problem comes later. We talk to Jesús Guardioladietitian-nutritionist, to understand what happens in that critical phase: food reintroduction. “A low diet in Fodmaps should not be maintained in time because, when restricting so much, it can affect nutritional diversity and microbiota. But also, if you stop consuming certain foods for a long time, you can lose tolerance to them,” he explains. The intestine also forgets. Stop eating gluten does not cause celiacy. This is an autoimmune disease that only appears in genetically predisposed people. However, eliminating it prolonged can generate an unexpected reaction: that the body tole it worse when reintroducing it, Guardiola points out. This can go through several mechanisms: enzymatic (the body stops producing enzymes such as lactase, necessary to digest lactose), immunological (less exposure can alter the immune response), or by changes in the microbiota (bacteria in charge of digesting that food disappear). From Monash Universityin Australia, an institution that developed the diet has explained about these effects in prolonged restrictions can reduce functional tolerance and affect microbial diversity. But not a real intolerance. No, of course. The point is that it has been shown that eliminating food groups can alter microbiota and digestive capacity. The body needs gradual exposure to adapt, so the reintroduction must be done carefully and individually, According to the academic institution. “The key is to do it little by little, evaluating the symptoms, writing amounts and reactions. If you introduce many foods at the same time and something feels bad, you will not know what it was. And if you do it too fast, it is more likely that you can fall or that you suggest you thinking that it will sit badly,” Guardiola warns. The diagnosis of Sibo. The boom has also been accompanied by some controversy. Each time it is diagnosed more frequently, but not always with clear criteria: in many cases it is by discard, when other pathologies have been eliminated, and sometimes without conclusive evidence. This complicates the precise identification of the disorder, and can lead to confuse with food intolerances, functional disorders or, simply, with bad habits. From Semergen They have insisted that the treatment requires a comprehensive approach: not only medications, but also changes in the diet, lifestyle and analysis of the full medical history. To this is added an increasingly common problem: patients who adopt low fodmap diets on their own, without professional supervision, and who keep them for months or even years. Instead of improving, this can end up deteriorating even more intestinal health. What I learned during the process. Today I eat gluten again. I am not celiac. But I went through months of fear of food, not knowing if what I ate was healing or getting sick. I understood that there are no good or bad foods, but contexts, quantities and, above all, processes. Reintroduction is not just another part of treatment. It is a way to reconcile with food. And to understand that, sometimes, the problem was not bread, but how we stopped eating it. Sometimes healing means exposing yourself to what you thought you hurt you. In my case, yes: I had to inoculate gluten. Image | Unspash Xataka | It looks like flavored water, enters as a soda and carries protein as a shake: this is the clear protein

Some of the hottest countries are the ones that have the most pleasure for the spicy. It has all the meaning of the world

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The spicy is not considered a taste of use but it is a key element in many gastronomies. You can draw attention to the fact that some of the countries with the greatest love of The spicy are among the warmer countries in the world, something contraintuitive if we attend to the main effect of this seasoning has a lot to do with The heat. There are various types of spicy but we refer to a concrete one, The spicy food scorching containing capsaicin. Capsaicin is a molecule that occurs naturally in some plants of the genre Capsicumthe plants that give us all the variety of peppers, chillies, chiles or ñoras, although these fruits not always contain perceptible concentrations of this compound. It is often considered that plants of this genre synthesize this compound as a defense mechanism to protect their fruits and with them their seeds. However today the human being cultivates different varieties of plants in order to control the Capsaicin concentrations And, with this, control the degree of itching that causes the fruit. Very often this is done in order not to reduce the presence of the molecule but to create even more spicy varieties. Exist Many hypotheses about why the fond of spicy and spices in certain countries closest to the tropics, although there are no scientific arguments that support any specific. For example, the idea that these condiments are used to avoid the proliferation of pathogenic microorganisms is practically discarded. What we do know is that, under certain conditions, the spicy can help us reduce the temperature, by contradictory that seems. Capsaicin works activating nerve receptors in charge of letting us know for the sensation of burned. In other words, this compound deceives us by making us think that we are abrasing ourselves. In that deception is the great utility of spicy foods With high temperatures: the sensation of heat can make us break to sweat when we eat the spicy, which makes it easier for our body to expel part of the heat that is accumulating. Something similar we can experience When we drink a hot drink when the thermometers indicate an increase in temperatures. Of course, there is a “but”. Sweat is mostly water that transports part of our body heat outside our skin. Once there this water evaporates, taking the heat. But not always: in high humidity conditions, sweat takes to evaporate, which implies that the spicy or hot drinks only work when we do not exceed certain levels of humidity in the environment. It should also be remembered that sweat makes us lose water, so replenishing it is indispensable. The food, an ally It is not necessary to resort to spicy if what we want is to feed and face the high temperatures. Some meals they can help us reduce heat In our body and, above all, they can help us stay hydrated, something fundamental when heat squeezes. In this sense, fruits can be especially useful. Fruits such as watermelon and melon can give us a significant amount of water when we consume them, but also do vegetables such as tomato, cucumber and lettuce. Hot drinks can help us in some contexts but in general avoiding very hot food can be a good idea, especially if we have to cook at home, since this will imply that we will be generating residual heat in our own home, heat that can take time to fade if we do not ventilate with property. The spicy, hot drinks and fresh fruit can be ways to maintain our thermal comfort in extreme circumstances but a heat wave requires that we take different measures to ensure our physical well -being and thus not take a scare. Avoid high insolation hours or those in which the temperature reaches peaks, looking for the shadow, keeping us hydrated, and Avoid demanding activities On physical level as exercise are also precautions to take on days like those we are living during this heat wave. In Xataka | Popular wisdom is not always right: the great myths of heat that we should avoid in summer Image | Qurratul Ayin Sadia / Alvin

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