Health Archives - Page 3 of 6

15Apr 2019 by Vincent Summers 3 Comments

Blood Sucking Bed Bug: A Vector of Disease?

[caption id="attachment_23698" align="alignright" width="480"] Bedbug mouthparts - Image by Janice Haney Carr, courtesy of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention[/caption] Everyone hates the buzzing mosquito. Then too, people fuss when they find a tick burrowed in their skin. What about itching? Chiggers are the King of Itch. Worse, however, than any of the aforementioned is an infestation of Cimex lectularius, the bed bug most common to North America. This blood-sucking varmint is very difficult to control and even harder to eradicate. Pests as Vectors of Disease Beyond being simply annoying, some blood-feeding insects can pose serious human health risks. So how do these four pests compare when it comes to transmitting disease-causing organisms? Both mosquitoes and ticks are legendary vectors for disease. Mosquitoes, for example, spread some serious,…

20Mar 2019 by Vincent Summers No Comments

Is Lard Public Enemy No. 1? Not in Your Sweet Life

Food, Health

[caption id="attachment_23419" align="alignright" width="369"] Copyright © 2014-2015 Renderings Natural Fats, LLC. All rights reserved.[/caption] I am 70. During just my lifetime, there have been many changes in viewpoint as to what it is healthful to eat. Among the changes were controversies concerning Butter Chocolate Eggs Organ meats Lard The first three foods have regained acceptance, at least to a degree. The fourth item, organ meats, includes livers, kidneys, sweet breads, and hearts. As a result, how many of us today include kidneys or 'sweet breads' in our menu? Once removed from the dinner table, children are not exposed to such foods, so they are reluctant to try them later. But What About Lard? Just as butter was largely replaced by a manufactured product, margarine, lard was replaced by products such…

29Sep 2018 by Vincent Summers 1 Comment

Beryllium Metal: the Seldom-Discussed, Tiny Atom of Curious Properties

Chemistry, Health

[caption id="attachment_22220" align="alignright" width="440"] Emerald cabochon scarab ring[/caption] The periodic table of the elements begins with the tiniest atom, hydrogen. From there we proceed through helium, lithium, beryllium, boron, and carbon. Let's very briefly touch bases on all of these except beryllium metal. The Other Elements Hydrogen is the most common element in the universe. It is the fuel of the stars. Compounded with oxygen, it forms water, essential to life. Helium is abundant in space as the fusion product of hydrogen. It is lighter than air, as is obvious when it fills our children's balloons. It is chemically essentially non-reactive, hence harmless. As a joke, we may even inhale a little helium and speak out in a high-pitched, 'chipmunk-like' voice. The third atom, lithium, is the smallest metal. It…

21Aug 2018 by Vincent Summers No Comments

What is Hydrogenation? How Does It Affect Vegetable Oils?

Food, Health

Hydrogenation is simply the addition of one or more molecules of hydrogen to a compound. When we speak of hydrogenation, we usually refer to the saturation (adding of hydrogen) of carbon-carbon double bonds to produce single bonds. Saturation / Unsaturation Organic compounds, most of the compounds containing carbon and hydrogen, can be saturated or unsaturated. In saturated compounds, all carbon atoms that are bonded to other carbon atoms are singly bonded, whereas in unsaturated compounds, some of these are double or even triple bonds. See the illustration for examples. But Why Hydrogenation? Whatever the actual motive(s) involved, the medical and commercial worlds decided butter should be replaced by a manmade product, initially called oleomargarine, and later margarine. In order to be "healthy" we are told it should be prepared from…

10Aug 2018 by Vincent Summers No Comments

Super Health Foods Most Health Food Nuts Don’t Eat

Food, Health

Everyone living eats. Some love "junk food". Some are more judicious. We will discuss some super health foods even most health food nuts won't eat. Purpose of Eating Food. There are many reasons for eating food. For one thing, it stokes the furnace, that is it provides the needed calories to keep us going. It also contains sufficient nutrients to rebuild our bodies. And, it just plain tastes good. Well, most of it does. There are foods some of us avoid because we have to. There are foods some of us avoid because we want to. We could talk for hours about delicious junk food. But we're going to discuss the other kind. Health Food The shifting health/medical perspectives result in an ever-changing list of food identified as healthy-eating or…

06Aug 2018 by Vincent Summers 1 Comment

Cane Syrup, Regular and Blackstrap Molasses

Food, Health

Although there are a host of sweet syrups produced in the U.S. and other countries, molasses that finds its way to the table is derived made from the sugarcane, Saccharum officinarum. Curiously, sugarcane is considered a true grass! The juice of the sugarcane is extracted from the pulp in various ways. It is concentrated by boiling. Cooling yields an abundance of sugar crystals, sucrose. The remaining fluid is popularly called cane syrup. It is still quite sweet and was once popular in cooking. Another boiling and cooking yields additional sugar crystals. The remaining liquid is molasses. Upon removal and yet another boiling, a thick, dark, slow-pouring, not-so-sweet syrup results, called (you guessed it) blackstrap molasses. Nutrition in Blackstrap Molasses As is true of many other food items used in industrialized…

28Jul 2018 by Vincent Summers 1 Comment

What’s the Difference Between Turnips and Rutabagas?

Food, Health

[caption id="attachment_20643" align="alignright" width="440"] Turnips - Image CCA 2.0 Generic License by thebittenword.com[/caption] There are two vegetables I'd always see at the grocery store as a child, though now I see them on a less regular basis -- turnips and rutabagas. They look a lot alike. Yet, they are different. How so? What's in a Name? The official or Latin names of the turnip and rutabaga are (you really do want to know, right?), Turnip: Brassica rapa var. rapa Rutabaga: Brassica napobrassica That doesn't tell us much, at least most of us. The first word is the same, Brassica. This word refers is the genus of a large group of plants, plants in the mustard family. They are sometimes referred to as cruciferous vegetables. In addition to turnips and rutabagas,…

06Jun 2018 by Vincent Summers No Comments

Our Planet and Atmosphere: Ozone – the “Other” Oxygen

Health, Technology

[caption id="attachment_20184" align="alignright" width="440"] The Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia[/caption] Oxygen atoms are very reactive chemically. We call them electrophilic or "electron loving" because the oxygen atom seeks to bind to other electron-rich sources, especially itself. Thus oxygen is present in our atmosphere primarily as the molecular O₂. Another Form A small percentage of atmospheric oxygen exists in another form, ozone, O₃. This less stable form of oxygen is produced by ultraviolet light or high voltage electrical discharge. It's garlicky odor may be discerned after a heavy thunderstorm. Geometry The O₂ molecule consists of only two atoms, and two points make a line, right? So what shape is the O₃ molecule? Unlike its more abundant companion, ozone is non-linear. As a result, it carries partial charges on its constituent atoms.…

04Jun 2018 by Vincent Summers No Comments

Goiter, Seafood and Table Salt – What’s the Connection?

Food, Health

Times change. Travel is now common. Cross-country shipping is common. How does all of this fit in with our discussion concerning seafood, goiter, and iodized salt? Not long ago, I met a woman, a lovely older lady, who had a very large goiter encircling her neck. It was shocking and I felt so sorry for her. A month later I saw her following surgery and she looked perfectly normal! Many surgeries have come a long way. Nevertheless, what is the cause of goiter, and how do seafood and iodized salt come into the picture? What Causes Goiter This is not a medical article, per se, but touches upon the food chemistry behind the common, endemic variety of hypothyroidism.¹ In time, insufficient thyroid hormone secretion produces a goiter. The hormone lacking…

22May 2018 by Vincent Summers No Comments

Slip ’em a Mickey: Chloral Hydrate, a Stabilized Geminal Diol

Health, Medicine

Among the endless thousands of organic compounds that are familiar to the public, one is associated with foul bars, booze, and foul play. It is chloral hydrate (Cl₃C-CH(OH)₂). Combined with an alcoholic beverage, the result, an infamous "Mickey Finn" causes the victim to pass out as quickly as if he had been knocked out. Mickey (Not Steamboat Mickey) In the Movies In old-movie and TV shows, the bad guy (often in a saloon) wants to capture his victim by rendering him unconscious. Maybe he even wants to sell the man to a ship's captain who needs to complete his crew. The poor guy is Shanghaied! An interesting example is this old Bonanza western TV show episode: Was There an Actual Mickey Finn? It appears there was! In the latter part…