/oss/taxonomy/term/979/all en /oss/article/health-and-nutrition-did-you-know/turkey-doesnt-makes-you-sleepy <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/facts-and-fiction-of-physiological-phenomena-food-for-thought/">The Skeptical Inquirer</a>.</em></p> <hr /> <p>You may have heard the post-meal sleepies explained by the fact that turkey contains tryptophan, an essential amino acid that’s a biochemical precursor for serotonin and melatonin, two things that can make us feel tired. This is technically true, but some other facts can help put the turkey claims into context and better explain our need to nap after a bird-heavy meal.</p> Fri, 29 Mar 2024 10:00:00 +0000 Ada McVean M.Sc. 9884 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition-did-you-know/chocoholics-true-addiction-or-funny-word <p>In the third novel of the Harry Potter series, the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry encounters the “Dementors” for the first time -- creatures that feed on hope and happiness. When he is left with a feeling of depression, Harry learns that chocolate is an antidote to help counter the Dementors’ effects. For us Muggles, chocolate has a somewhat similar result, making us feel a little warm and fuzzy inside! But can we get addicted to chocolate? In other words, is being a chocoholic a real thing?</p> Wed, 25 May 2022 17:51:10 +0000 Haleh Cohn 9119 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition-you-asked/what-modified-palm-oil <p>This is a term you will see on the ingredients list of numerous products ranging from margarine and shortening to chocolate bars. I’ve been repeatedly asked about the presence of modified palm oil in Nutella, the popular chocolate hazelnut spread. Let’s squash one misconception right away. There is no genetic modification involved here, rather the term refers to altering the molecular structure of the naturally occurring fats in palm oil to produce fats with the desired melting point, consistency and mouthfeel. ��</p> Fri, 21 Jan 2022 20:41:00 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9002 at /oss /oss/article/nutrition-you-asked/why-cant-you-use-low-fat-margarine-frying <p>Margarine is fat. It’s just a different kind of fat from butter. Whereas butter contains mostly saturated fats, margarine’s fats are unsaturated. This just refers to a slight variation in the molecular structure which does have consequences in terms of blood cholesterol levels. Essentially saturated fats increase cholesterol, while unsaturated ones in moderation do not. So if margarine is just fat, how can there be a “low fat” version? Easy. Just mix the fat with water.</p> Fri, 06 Aug 2021 20:40:54 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8800 at /oss /oss/article/health-nutrition/will-game-changers-change-your-game <p>The documentary <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSpglxHTJVM">“The Game Changers”</a> has been picking up steam on Netflix. This is basically a two-hour promo for a vegan lifestyle focusing on a few athletes who attribute their high-level performance to a vegan diet. Before going further, let me say that I favour a diet that has lots of fruits, vegetables and nuts, but I think that some meat, mostly poultry and fish can be accommodated.</p> Wed, 11 Dec 2019 20:59:33 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8048 at /oss /oss/article/general-science-you-asked/kosher-soap-unsafe-because-it-contains-lye <hr /> <p><em>Shira Cohen is studying Nutrition at the School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition at ���ϲ����� University, specializing��in��Global Nutrition.��</em></p> Thu, 22 Aug 2019 19:17:15 +0000 Shira Cohen, Student Contributor 7880 at /oss /oss/article/health-videos/right-chemistry-are-eggs-good-or-bad-you <p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-1"> <iframe class="media-youtube-player" id="media-youtube-c7xcps4vaa" width="640" height="390" title="Dr. Joe Schwarcz: Are eggs good or bad for you?" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/-C7XcPs4VAA?wmode=opaque&controls=&enablejsapi=1&modestbranding=1&playerapiid=media-youtube-c7xcps4vaa&origin=https%3A//www.mcgill.ca&rel=0" name="Dr. Joe Schwarcz: Are eggs good or bad for you?" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>Video of Dr. Joe Schwarcz: Are eggs good or bad for you?</iframe> </div> </p> Fri, 05 Apr 2019 16:10:35 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7696 at /oss /oss/article/you-asked/what-difference-between-regular-candles-and-dripless-candles <p>Candles are one of the oldest forms of generating light.��Any flame, of course, is a source of light so candles emerged from a search for materials that could burn for a long time.��Nobody knows who first noted that beeswax, beef tallow or spermaceti from whales burned well, but it would not have been a difficult thing to notice.��Countless people must have observed that the fatty parts of animals when cooked would sometimes catch fire.</p> Fri, 29 Mar 2019 15:56:43 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7675 at /oss /oss/article/nutrition-videos/right-chemistry-known-benefits-low-carb-keto-diets <p></p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-2"></div> Mon, 18 Feb 2019 17:16:57 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7596 at /oss /oss/article/general-science-you-asked/what-ghee-and-it-healthier-butter <p>Ghee can be found in the international section of most grocery stores, and clarified butter on the pages of many culinary magazines, but what are these fats, and how do they differ from normal sticks of butter?</p> <p>Butter is made from milk, which itself is composed of globules of butterfat suspended in water, with carbohydrates, minerals and proteins dissolved in the mix. So, when you melt butter it separates into three layers.</p> Thu, 13 Sep 2018 18:38:18 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7348 at /oss /oss/article/nutrition/how-caloric-value-food-determined <p>A very good question to tackle because many people do not have a good understanding of calories.�� First of all, a calorie is not a thing and therefore cannot be full or empty.�� You cannot put calories in a bottle.�� A calorie is a unit of measure of energy.�� Very specifically, it is the amount of energy that is required to raise the temperature of one mL, (which is also one gram), of water by one degree Celsius.�� If you really want to be a stickler for detail, it is the energy needed to raise the temperature from 14.5 to 15.5 degrees C.�� The word calorie was actually coined by the great Fren</p> Thu, 06 Sep 2018 18:39:09 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7337 at /oss /oss/article/health-videos/right-chemistry-egg-cholesterol-panic-wasnt-warranted <p></p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-3"></div> Thu, 02 Aug 2018 20:24:36 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7204 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition/battle-milks-are-plant-based-milks-appropriate-children <p>A <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/plant-based-milks-for-kids-pediatricians-dietitians-1.4392857">recent CBC article</a> reports on a new joint statement from the Dietitians of Canada and the Canadian Paediatric��Society that says plant based milks are “inappropriate alternatives to cow milk in the first two years”, citing their lack of protein, lack of fortification (most cow’s milk is fortified with a subset or all of vitamin A, D and C), sugar content and potential to “displace hunger”. So let’s take a look at the nutrition of plant based milks.</p> Thu, 16 Nov 2017 17:22:02 +0000 Ada McVean, OSS Intern & Cassandra Lee, OSS Intern 6820 at /oss /oss/article/diets-environment-food-health-household-products/conundrum-associations �� Tue, 03 Jun 2014 10:09:52 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2150 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-food-health/lets-preserve-rational-thinking-when-it-comes-preservatives <p style="text-align:justify"><a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/?p=6934"><img alt="preservatives" height="150" src="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/files/2014/11/preservatives-150x150.jpg" width="150" /></a>Open a box of old crackers or potato chips and a smell emerges. It isn’t pleasant. The same goes for that bottle of oil that’s been sitting in the cupboard for months. It’s the smell of rancid fat. Technically speaking, the smell, which consists of numerous compounds, is the result of oxidation. Simply put, that means fats have reacted with oxygen in the air causing them to break down into smaller molecules. Not only are these malodorous, detectable at an unbelievably low concentration of 1.5 picograms per liter of oil, they can have nasty health consequences. It is not a good idea to eat foods in which the fat has gone rancid. Annoyingly, it is the healthier, polyunsaturated fats, that are more prone to rancidity. These fats have multiple double bonds in their molecular structure, a feature that enhances reaction with oxygen. Initially the fats are converted to hydroperoxides which are unstable and decompose to yield compounds like vinyl ketone, nonadienal and malondialdehyde. On top of having very low odour thresholds, some of these, malondialdehyde specifically, can cross-link proteins and DNA molecules and that is bad news. Such an affront to DNA can trigger cancer.</p> <p style="text-align:justify">Knowledge of the mechanism of such oxidation reactions has led to the use of “antioxidants” that react with hydroproxides and prevent their breakdown. The most effective ones have the tongue twisting names of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and butylated hydroxyl anisole (BHA) which are added to foods containing solid fats or oils such as shortenings, baked goods and cereals. These chemicals are not just randomly added, like all other food additives, their use is strictly regulated. Manufacturers can add BHA or BHT up to 0.02% of the weight of the fat in a food which is an amount determined by extensive studies on animals.</p> <p style="text-align:justify">Of course if you give enough of any chemical to a test animal something will eventually happen. For example, BHA can cause carcinomas in the forestomach of rodents at a dose of 230 mg per kg per day. Internet bloggers can parlay that into scaring consumers who are unaware of the principles of toxicology and species differences. Humans do not have a forestomach and human exposures are actually less than 0.1 mg/kg/day. So while BHA can indeed be declared to be an animal carcinogen, this has no relevance to humans. On the contrary, studies have shown that at concentrations of 125 ppm which is close to food additive levels, both BHA and BHT have anticarcinogenic properties. Not only have there been no studies correlating these additives with human cancer, rates of stomach cancer have ben significantly decreasing possibly due to the use of preservatives.</p> <p><a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/2014/11/28/lets-preserve-rational-thinking-when-it-comes-to-preservatives">Read more</a></p> Sat, 29 Nov 2014 04:28:38 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2216 at /oss