Archive for the ‘Research’ Category
It doesn’t. That’s what Coca-Cola’s spokespeople say, anyway. “The great taste of Coca-Cola is the same regardless of the package it comes in,” they insist. Rather, they say, “the particular way that people choose to enjoy their Coke can affect their perception of taste.” Sure, most people would agree that the cola is indeed delicious and refreshing, and pouring it into a glass or serving it over ice could influence the sensation of its flavor. But is it possible that the subtle variation in taste that some notice among aluminum cans, plastic bottles and glass bottles is more than just a psychological effect of their soda-consumption rituals?
Given that the formula is always the same, yes, according to Sara Risch, a food chemist and member of the Institute of Food Technologists. “While packaging and food companies work to prevent any interactions, they can occur,” she says. For example, the polymer that lines aluminum cans might absorb small amounts of soluble flavor from the soda. Conversely, acetaldehyde in plastic bottles might migrate into the soda. The FDA regulates this kind of potential chemical contact, but even minute, allowable amounts could alter flavor.
Your best bet for getting Coke’s pure, unaltered taste is to drink it from a glass bottle, the most inert material it’s served in. Even that’s not a sure bet, though. Coca-Cola maintains strict uniformity in processes in all of its worldwide bottling facilities, but it concedes that exposure to light and how long the product sits on store shelves may affect the taste. So yeah, the packaging might mess with Coke’s flavor, but we’ll still take it any day over New Coke.
9 killer foods!
Posted on: July 9, 2009
- In: Article | food | health | Research
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It takes more than an apple a day to keep viruses at bay. You can improve your body’s resistance by getting your seven servings of fruits and veggies and eight to 10 glasses of water a day, at the very least. While an all-around diet is the key to stronger immunity, these particular immune system-boosting foods and ingredients can keep you in fighting condition.
Yogurt
Probiotics, or the “live active cultures” found in yogurt, are healthy bacteria that keep the gut and intestinal tract free of disease-causing germs. Although they’re available in supplement form, a study from the University of Vienna in Austria found that a daily 7-ounce dose of yogurt was just as effective in boosting immunity as popping pills.
Sweet potatoes
You may not think of skin as part of your immune system. But this crucial organ, covering an impressive 16 square feet, serves as a first-line fortress against bacteria, viruses and other undesirables. To stay strong and healthy, your skin needs vitamin A. “Vitamin A plays a major role in the production of connective tissue, a key component of skin,” explains Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center in Derby, Conn.
Tea
Take frequent tea breaks this winter, and you may just get through it without a sniffle. Immunologists at Harvard University discovered that people who drank five cups of black tea a day for 2 weeks transformed their immune system T cells into “Hulk cells” that pumped out 10 times more cold and flu virus-fighting interferon — proteins that defend against infection — than did the immune systems of those who didn’t drink black tea. Green tea should work just as well.
Chicken soup
When University of Nebraska researchers tested 13 brands, they found that all but one (chicken-flavored ramen noodles) blocked the migration of inflammatory white cells — an important finding, because cold symptoms are a response to the cells’ accumulation in the bronchial tubes.
The amino acid cysteine, released from chicken during cooking, chemically resembles the bronchitis drug acetylcysteine, which may explain the results. The soup’s salty broth keeps mucus thin the same way cough medicines do.
Beef
Zinc deficiency is one of the most common nutritional shortfalls among American adults, especially for vegetarians and those who’ve cut back on beef, a prime source of this immunity-bolstering mineral. And that’s unfortunate, because even mild zinc deficiency can increase your risk of infection. Zinc in your diet is very important for the development of white blood cells, the intrepid immune system cells that recognize and destroy invading bacteria, viruses, and assorted other bad guys, explains William Boisvert, Ph.D., an expert in nutrition and immunity at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif.
Mushrooms
For centuries, people around the world have turned to mushrooms for a healthy immune system. Contemporary researchers now know why. “Studies show that mushrooms increase the production and activity of white blood cells, making them more aggressive. This is a good thing when you have an infection,” says Douglas Schar, director of the Institute of Herbal Medicine in Washington.
Fish and shellfish
Getting adequate selenium (plentiful in foods like oysters, lobsters, crabs and clams) increased immune cell production of proteins called cytokines in a British study of 22 adults. The scientists say that cytokines help clear flu viruses out of your body.
Garlic
Garlic contains the active ingredient allicin, which fights infection and bacteria. British researchers gave 146 people either a placebo or a garlic extract for 12 weeks; the garlic takers were two-thirds less likely to catch a cold. Other studies suggest that garlic lovers who chow more than six cloves a week have a 30 percent lower rate of colorectal cancer and a 50 percent lower rate of stomach cancer. Eat two raw cloves a day and add crushed garlic to your cooking several times a week.
Oats and barley
These grains contain beta-glucan, a type of fiber with antimicrobial and antioxidant capabilities more potent than echinacea, reports a Norwegian study. When animals eat this compound, they’re less likely to contract influenza, herpes, even anthrax; in humans, it boosts immunity, speeds wound healing and may help antibiotics work better. At least one in your three daily servings of whole grains.
Now I know how the British folks decode the Indian cooking! But then looking at the picture, how would a dumb blonde know, which ones for which one? I mean which one is really hot??
Folks you need more research!!
- In: Article | funny | Research | Technology
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Indian defence scientists are planning to put one of the world’s hottest chilli powders into hand grenades.
They say the devices will be used to control rioters and in counter-insurgency operations.
Researchers say the idea is to replace explosives in small hand grenades with a certain variety of red chilli to immobilise people without killing them.
The chilli, known as Bhut Jolokia, is said to be 1,000 times hotter than commonly used kitchen chilli.
Scientists at India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) are quoted as saying the potent chilli will be used as a food additive for troops operating in cold conditions.
And the powder will also be spread on the fences around army barracks in the hope the strong smell will keep out animals.
Other forms of pepper spray are commonly used for crowd control in many parts of the world.
Would you munch a human hamburger?
Posted on: July 6, 2009
- In: Article | food | funny | Research
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This is a big question to chew on — a matter of violating one of the greatest taboos vs. your acutely honed survival instinct. But there may be some other factors you’ve never considered, and we discuss below.
Reasons a human hamburger could be tasty goodness.
* In 1931, New York Times reporter and occultist William Buehler Seabrook obtained a hunk of human meat from a hospital intern and cooked it up. He reported it was like “fully developed veal … mild good meat.”
* Cannibalism promotes a green lifestyle — that dead guy over there is the ultimate in sustainable food. What, do you hate the environment or something? Jerk.
* Being forced to chow down on people would permanently cure most picky eaters of their aversion to things like sea urchin, snails and blood pudding.
Reasons to hold off as long as possible before tasting the flesh of your own kind.
* Cannibalism trumps all other achievements and inevitably becomes the most interesting thing about a person. Even if a cannibal went on to do something more unique, like cure cancer, the story would still read “and cancer was cured by Dr. So-and-so, noted cannibal.”
* Since human flesh would be the first sustenance the situational cannibal had had in some time, it is likely he’d come away with an intense taste for it. Years later, when the one-time cannibal’s stomach growled at night, he’d sneak over to the computer and start searching German S&M chat rooms in hopes of finding someone who would allow him to eat a chunk of their rump or thigh.
* Ironically, intra-species munching always carries a risk of catching a flesh-eating virus.
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