Food for Thought: Calories Influence Eating Habits

Hey everyone,

Thanksgiving is next week and it typically signifies the start of the holiday season! I can't speak for anyone else but this is also the time I indulge in the over abundance of available food. No shame.

A study done in Yale showed that the caloric value of a food item affects eating behavior independently of how much the food itself is enjoyed! Our brain associates flavors with a caloric value and over time we have a preference for this flavor due to "flavor-nutrient conditioning" versus the actual flavor itself. Test subjects were given flavored beverages deficient in calories. After a set period, unflavored calories were added to the beverages. At the end of the taste test, the researchers observed an increased rating for flavors containing the added calories. 

Additional experiments completed found that the metabolic response to the consumption of glucose controlled responses involved with cues that signal calories. Maybe that is why we "love" food that is "bad" for us, because these items typically are overloaded with calories.

Here is the original post:

http://www.futurity.org/its-the-calories-not-flavor-youre-craving/

Here is the full published research article:

http://ac.els-cdn.com/S0960982213004090/1-s2.0-S0960982213004090-main.pdf?_tid=de343814-5147-11e3-8fba-00000aacb35e&acdnat=1384885666_3983fc233faaaf1e290f935372098790

Enjoy!

- Charles Quinto

Recipes: Now Serving, Butterbeer!

What is butterbeer you ask? Well for those of you who are not familiar with the Harry Potter book series, it's a drink that is supposed to warm you up and can be purchased in the fictional town of Hogsmead. However, Hogwarts and Hogsmeade were created in a physical form in Universal Orlando! For those of us that can't afford to fly to Florida just to try a drink, you can customize a drink at Starbucks and get it locally!

Here are the two ways to order your very own butterbeer replica thanks to a posting on slashfilm.com! Enjoy!

Frappucino Version:

• A Creme Frappuccino base. Don’t skimp on the fat by asking for skim or 2% milk as whole milk is required for the right consistency.
• Add 3 pumps of caramel syrup.
• Add 3 pumps of toffee nut syrup.
• Top with caramel drizzle

Hot Version:

• Whole milk steamer
• Add caramel syrup (2 for tall, 3 for grande, 4 for venti)
• Add toffee nut syrup (2 for tall, 3 for grande, 4 for venti)
• Add cinnamon dolce syrup (2 for tall, 3 for grande, 4 for venti)
• Whipped cream and salted caramel bits on top
• Optional if you prefer to add a coffee taste: Add a shot of espresso (2 for a grande or venti)

Here's the link to the website:

http://www.slashfilm.com/starbucks-serving-harry-potter-inspired-butterbeer-to-muggles-heres-how-to-get-it/

Have a good weekend!

- Charles Quinto

Food for Thought: More Pork, Hold the Antibiotics

Hey everyone,

It's November! Today's article is about pigs and antibiotics! As you may know, one of the problems we are facing with foodborne illness is the antibiotic resistance the bacteria exhibit. This is largely due to the use of antibiotics in farms. What you may not know is that feeding animals small amounts of antibiotics actually correlated with increased growth rate which is part of the reason they were used in the first place!

Steve Dritz, a specialist in swine nutrition at Kansas State University, explains that 60 years ago there was a a trend between increased growth rate of animals and the consumption of antibiotics. Observed effects showed 12-15% increased growth with antibiotics with the added benefit of requiring less feed in order to reach full weight! Over time, additional studies performed observed similar growth-promotion with the introduction of antibiotics.

Dritz says that in the 1990s, pork production changed dramatically. Instead of pigs being born and raised in the same barn or barns within a close location,  pigs were now born in one location and moved to a new site. In previous years, pigs would develop in areas with a high risk of infections spreading from one generation to the next. The new regulation ensured that the piglets were growing in a clean area free of disease. Groups of pigs brought onto one site are kept together without mixing pigs from other groups. The regulations are so strict that even workers moving between groups must change their boots to prevent any transmission of infectious diseases.

Post implementation of the new farming standards, pigs began to grow at the same rate as seen with antibiotics. Dritz carrried out experiments and found that the effect of antibiotics on growth were no longer as high as in the past. Though it is thought that the reduction of disease and good hygiene are responsible for the increased growth rate, no definitive conclusions have been made. 

What is clear is that pigs can grow just as quickly without antibiotics with the decreased risk of organisms becoming resistant to drugs we may need to treat illnesses. However, change is slow and not all farmers have taken Dritz' advice nor were they all convinced with the evidence presented. Unfortunately it's difficult to fight against a large population's perception, especially one that has been instilled for such a long time.

With time, hopefully change will occur and we can move towards more natural ways of raising animals that are better.

Here's the article from NPR.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/11/04/241603861/why-are-pig-farmers-still-using-growth-promoting-drugs

Thanks for reading!
- Charles Quinto

FOODucation: Foods That Could Kill You

Pop quiz! Of the following, which does not belong? Cherries, Apricots, Plums, Peaches, Cyanide?
If you guessed Cyanide, I'm sorry to say that is incorrect. Actually, they all belong!

Today's post is about educating the lethality of common foods!! AHH!!! Now there's a real Halloween scare! Bon Appetit not only provides great recipes, but they also have some interesting articles, one of them is entitled "8 Foods That Could Kill You (If You Eat Enough of Them)."


Stone Fruits: Cherries, Apricots, Plums, Peaches
Some stone fruit contain cyanogenic compounds. For example, swallowing a cherry pit is not a problem, unless it happens to be broken. A single cherry yields about 0.17g of cyanide per gram of seed which does not seem like much, but 0.1g of hydrogen cyanide is enough to put a 150-lb human down for the count. So I'd advise you take the extra few seconds it takes to spit out the seed instead of swallowing it!


Rice
It would appear there is another hit against sushi. Brown rice has the highest amounts of arsenic, a toxin that may cause vomiting and abdominal pain in large amounts. The good news is that it is quite difficult to consume enough rice in one sitting to produce any harmful effects.....the bad news is that over time, consistent exposure to the toxin increases changes of heart disease and bladder cancer. The FDA states there is 2.6-7.2 micrograms of inorganic arsenic in one serving of rice and it takes about 50g of arsenic to cause death in a 150-lb individual. So unless you intend to consume 1800 cups of rice in a single evening, I wouldn't worry about it too much.


Rhubarb
Pie anyone? The leaves of this plant contains oxalic acid, a chemical found in bleach and anti-rust products! Although eating the leaves can causing burning sensations, and cooking doesn't get rid of the chemical, the good news is that it would take a 130-lb person to eat 10lbs of the leaves to show symptoms of poisoning.


Potatoes
Not the french fries!!! Green potatoes contain concentrated amounts of solanine, a natural pesticide. Poisoning leads to vomiting, diarrhea and even cardiac arrest. To show symptoms it would take a 100-lb adult to consume a full pound of completely green potatoes.


Apples and Pears
Cyanide, revisited! Dun dun dun! Yet again the seeds are the culprit behind potential cyanide poisoning. Apple seeds contain about 700mg of hydrogen cyanide per kg translating into about a 1/4 lb of seeds or 25 apple cores in one sitting....I guess this wouldn't keep the doctor away..

All photos and information were taken from this article:
http://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/ingredients/slideshow/foods-that-can-kill-you/?slide=1

Stay healthy and safe everyone!
- Charles Quinto

Funday Monday Links

Worried about a beer belly? Find out if calories from alcohol really count.

Thank you microscopes, for letting us look at stuff super up close.

Have you ever been in an interview where the interviewer asked you, "So do you have any questions for me?" and you didn't know what to say? Problem solved.

Speaking of interviews... Men, if you're going to wear a suit to an interview, PLEASE make sure it fits right. Tailoring makes a world of a difference!

If you want to start composting your food scraps but don't know where to start or what to put in it? Here's a simple infographic that can help.

Confessions of scientists. I am definitely guilty of a few of these..

And finally, Sail by Awolnation played on a Tesla coil: