All posts tagged chemistry

Meal Replacement Bar: The Ingredients Translated

The following is the ingredient list of a strawberry-flavored meal replacement bar, marketed as a “healthy” option for people who need to eat on the go.

Ingredients: Proprietary protein blend (soy isolate, whey isolate, whey concentrate, wheat isolate), vegetable glycerine, sorbitol, maltitol, corn syrup, rolled oats, icing (sugar, water, vegetable oil, palm kernel oil, corn syrup, soy lecithin, mono and diglycerides, pectin, potassium sorbate, agar, citric acid, calcium chloride, xanthan gumand salt), strawberry flakes (sugar, vegetable [palm, plam kernel], wheat flour, corn syrup solids, malic acid, strawberry natural and artificial flavors, soy lecithin, tricalcium phosphate, sodium citrate, strawberry juice, red 40 lake, acetic acid, blue 1 lake), sugar, polydextrose, margarine (palm oil, water, salt, whey, vegetable monoglycerides, soy lecithin, natural butter flavor, citric acid [acidulant], beta carotene [color], vitamin A palmitate added), palm oil, flax seed, N&A flavors, blueberry powder, baking soda, salt, potassium sorbate, calcium propionate and guar gum.

What is all that stuff? Read on…

Ingredients: Proprietary protein blend (soy isolate denatured GMO soy, whey isolate extra denatured dairy, whey concentrate denatured dairy, wheat isolate denatured wheat), vegetable glycerine byproduct of rancid vegetable oils, sorbitol poorly digested sugar alcohol, maltitol another poorly digested sugar alcohol, corn syrup GMO sweetener, rolled oats nice!, icing (sugar practically identical to high fructose corn syrup, water fluoridated?, vegetable oil rancid, most likely GMO soy, palm kernel oil crude, denatured, rancid, corn syrup more sugar, soy lecithin GMO emulsifier, mono and diglycerides emulsifiers, potentially from GMO soy, or from animal sources, pectin gelatinous starch concentrate, potassium sorbate anti-fungal preservative, agar a fairly natural gelling agent, citric acid a naturally occuring preservative made on a massive industrial scale, calcium chloride a “generally recognized as safe” firming agent, xanthan gum, another thickening agent and highly effective laxative of unknown derivation, most likely from GMO soy, GMO corn, or wheat (gluten containing), sometimes associated with bloating, and salt sodium chloride, for flavor), strawberry flakes (sugar addictive substance, vegetable [palm, plam kernel] crudely processed, toxic, wheat flour bleached, nutrient-poor, pancreas-exciting powder , corn syrup solids powdered high fructose GMO corn syrup, malic acid tart flavoring generally used in sour candy, strawberry natural this means nothing and artificial flavors non-disclosed chemicals, soy lecithin denatured GMO soy, tricalcium phosphate raising agent known as “bone ash,” commonly used in porcelain and dental powders, sodium citrate acidic salt, strawberry juice concentrated sugar, red 40 lake food coloring, since strawberries aren’t already red?, acetic acid main component of vinegar, blue 1 lake neurotoxic food coloring linked to ADD), sugar drug polydextrose synthetic fiber derived from glucose (sugar), margarine (palm oil toxic vegetable grease, water probably fluoridated, salt to make this crap palatable, whey denatured dairy, vegetable monoglycerides synthetic emulsifier, soy lecithin GMO thickener, natural butter flavor meaningless, citric acid [acidulant] acid, beta carotene [color] vitamin A, nice!, vitamin A palmitate added wait… vitamin A twice? Something is up here…), palm oil again?!, flax seed either whole and indigestible, or milled into a rancid meal. take your pick, N&A flavors natural and artificial flavors–all of which are pretty artificial, blueberry powder doubt there’s much left of the blueberry, baking sodawow! something we recognize, salt again, so you can palate this garbage, potassium sorbate anti-fungal preservative, calcium propionate slightly toxic fungicide that and guar gum thickening agent and laxative.

1 Comment

by demogirl06 on December 3, 2011 • Permalink

Posted in Food Production and Policy, Nutrition

Tagged adult, bar, candy, chemistry, GMO, health, junk food, meal, preservatives, replacement, soy, sugar

Posted by demogirl06 on December 3, 2011

http://mariamaestevens.com/2011/12/03/meal-replacement-bar-the-ingredients-translated/

Your Hormones & How They Respond To Exercise

Everything boils down to chemistry. Energy, emotions, fitness…

Interested in which hormones are affected by exercise? Here’s a brief summary:

Growth Hormone (GH) facilitates protein synthesis in the body. as an anabolic agent, GH promotes growth, and cell reproduction and regeneration. If, for example, you have an intense workout, your pituitary gland will produce more GH to accelerate recovery. GH affects are mediated by insulin-like growth factors (IGF-1 and IGF-2), which are synthesized in the liver as a result of GH release during exercise.

Antidiuretic hormone (ADH), also called vasopressin, reduces urinary excretion of water. By conserving water during exercise, it helps prevent dehydration.

Epinephrine and norepinephrine are released by the adrenal medulla as part of the sympathetic response to exercise (the “fight or flight” response). These hormones play two major roles: to increase cardiac output (the amount of blood pumped by the heart) by increasing heart rate during exercise, and to cause glycogenolysis in the liver (breakdown of glycogen), so that more glucose (sugar) can be release into the blood stream. (Note:the body produces more norephinephrine when you eat protein-rich foods).

Aldosterone and cortisol are two main hormones released by the adrenal cortex. Aldosterone limits sodium excretion in the urine so as to maintain electrolyte balance. Cortisal is a glucocorticoid and plays a major role in maintaining blood glucose by release sugar into the bloodstream by the process of gluconeogenesis; cortisol, in other words, increases blood sugar. Cortisol also inhibits the production of serotonin, possibly increasing cravings for carbohydrates (needed to produce serotonin). Due to these factors, elevated levels of cortisol can lead to emotional eating.

Insulin and gluacagon are both secreted by the pancreas, but have opposite effects. Insulin is released in order to remove glucose (sugar) from the blood, and to restore blood sugar levels down to normal. But, when blood sugar is too low, glaucagon is released in order to release free fatty acids from adipose tissue (fat storage sites) so they can be used as fuel instead.

Testosterone and estrogen are the primary male and female sex hormones. Testosterone is responsible for more “masculine” effects in the body, including anabolic (muscle-building) effects. Estrogen is responsible for more “feminine” characteristics and play an important role in bone formation and maintenance. High levels of chronic exercise training have demonstrated decreases in estrogen.

1 Comment

by demogirl06 on November 15, 2011 • Permalink

Posted in Weight Management: Chemistry

Tagged adh, aldersterone, chemistry, cortisol, estrogen, exercise, gh, ghg, gluacagon, glucose, insulin, norepinephrine, testosterone, vasopressin

Posted by demogirl06 on November 15, 2011

http://mariamaestevens.com/2011/11/15/your-hormones-how-they-respond-to-exercise/

Oxidation: Explaining Free-Radicals, Cell Damage, & Antioxidants

We hear a lot about our foods oxidizing, about free radicals, anti-oxidants, cancer, health problems… these are all terms with which we are familiar, but few laymen can actually explain how it all works.

But first, a crash course in chemistry:

- The human body is comprised of cells. Those cells are made up of molecules. The molecules are made up of atoms.

- Atoms also have a structure: a nucleus (the center), protons (positively charged particles), neutrons (particles with no charge), and electrons (negatively charged particles).

- Electrons like to circle the nucleus in pairs.

Oxidation occurs when oxygen comes in contact with other substances, thereby causing them to lose one or more electrons.

Remember, electrons prefer to travel in pairs; if one is lost, the substance becomes unstable and highly reactive.

The substances are then considered to be free-radicals (that is, atoms, molecules, or ions with unpaired electrons, which are highly reactive and circulate within the body). In doing so, free-radicals, because of their reactivity, can participate in unwanted side reactions resulting in cell damage.

Free-radicals can affect the cell membrane by making it either too vulnerable or too resistant to outside influences. They can also damage the cell’s DNA, which may cause the cell to malfunction or reproduce abnormally. The effect of such chaotic cell damage is now strongly associated with disease.

Unfortunately, the cell damage doesn’t stop at the first cell. The free-radical tends to rob an electron from somewhere else, thereby bastardizing another molecule, which in turn becomes a free-radical in search of another cell to damage.

And yet, not all free-radicals are bad. In fact, some free-radicals are necessary for the regulation of certain biological processes. The body, in turn, produces certain enzymes to control for oxidative damage. But the body isn’t equipped to handle excessive quantities of free-radicals.

Oxidative stress is unchecked free-radical activity. This stress will contribute to overall biological oxidation, which is basically life’s “rusting” process.

So how, practically speaking, are free-radicals created?

We already know free-radicals are a product of oxidation, which is a normal biological process; in fact, the immune system makes them to help destroy bacteria and viruses during an infection.

Many lifestyle factors contribute to the production of free-radicals, including exposure to pollution, chemicals, radiation, and drugs–all factors which have increased as a result of modern lifestyle. Believe it or not, free-radicals also result from exercise (The body uses oxygen to convert fat and sugar into energy. Most of this oxygen combines with hydrogen to produce water, but a fraction of it will end up diverted toward free-radical production.).

Enter antioxidants, which are molecules that behave as free-radical scavengers; that is, they seek out free-radicals and donate the electrons needed to neutralize them.

The body makes antioxidants, but it is also crucial to have dietary sources as well: Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin A, and the mineral selenium.

Fruits and vegetables are the best sources of antioxidants, especially those famous “super foods” like blueberries, gogi berries, cacao, and blue-green algae.

Though some fruits and vegetables are higher in antioxidants than others, all dietary sources are subject to antioxidant losses due to aging, processing, and their own oxidative processes.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Resources:

http://www.biological-oxidation.com/

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/66098

http://www.nutrabio.com/News/news_free_radicals.htm

1 Comment

by demogirl06 on April 29, 2011 • Permalink

Posted in Biochemistry, Nutrition