Crystals And Catalysts

Today’s post isn’t going to be a “pro-veganism” rant or anything like that. I’m aiming to provide a balanced overview on meat-eating. This post is going to be looking at meats, their pro’s and con’s and the recent research spreading around them and also veganism and I’ll leave the decision to which option could potentially be the best for your health, to you, the reader. Pros. Meat is a good source of protein, vitamins and minerals, including iron , zinc and B vitamins . It is also one of the main sources of vitamin B12. It’s recommended that we try to eat lean cuts of meat and skinless poultry whenever possible to cut down on fat and also always cook meat thoroughly. Proteins are complex substances, made up of chains of amino acids. Amino acids are building blocks that combine in different formations to make up the proteins in your body. There are 20 amino acids in total – your body can create some of these itself, but there are nine essential amino acids that you can only

Autumn is easing its way in and the leaves are turning orange and brown hues and the pumpkin spice latte is making a major comeback. So surely everyone is starting to feel it's autumn now.  The PSL is now the official symbol of autumn - forget the weather or the leaves changing colour. Pumpkin Spice Latte Image Anybody who has tried the PSL and tasted it knows that it doesn’t even taste of pumpkin, nor does it have any of its nutritional benefits.   A cooked, mashed cup of it has most, if not all of your daily vitamin A and a significant percentage of both your daily potassium and fibre. Recently, the autumnal drink has been in the news for its recipe, which doesn't include real pumpkin or real, natural flavours. All flavours are replaced with chemicals which make up the flavouring. The caffeinated drink now has pumpkin included in it as of this year, part of the recipe.   In between a yoga retreat and a vision quest, I made a big decision to use real pumpkin. My

We’ve all heard of detoxification and detox teas and you must have seen at least one advertisement for at least one of these products in your social media feeds.  They promise to cleanse out your body from all the dirty toxins that you come across in your day which could cause horrible diseases and they also promise help you lose those five pounds that just won’t budge. They even have a familiar famous face to encourage their products. The definition for detoxification is the physiological or medicinal removal of toxic substances from a living organism, including, but not limited to, the human body, which is mainly carried out by the liver. Basically, the liver is in charge of clearing up the body from toxins which include alcoholic, drug, metabolic detoxification. Detox has been turned into a sort of marketing strategy that treats a non-existent health condition (key word: non-existent). The actual act of detoxification occurs in a hospital under life threatening co

Scientists have found that intestinal bacteria play an important role in inducing anxiety and depression. Published in Nature Communications , the new research is the first of which studies the role of intestinal microbiota in the altered behaviour that is a consequence of early life stress. Previously there has been little research on this subject. All scientists knew was that intestinal bacterium can affect behaviour, but this was all based upon research conducted on healthy mice. [Definition:  Microbiota - noun – the microorganisms of a particular site, habitat, or geological period.] "We have shown for the first time in an established mouse model of anxiety and depression that bacteria play a crucial role in inducing this abnormal behaviour," said Premysl Bercik, senior author of the paper and an associate professor of medicine with McMaster's Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine. "But it's not only bacteria, it's the altered bi-directio

Hand sanitizer is everywhere, you find it in almost every store you go to and it’s widely available in hospitals. Hand sanitizing is beneficial to protect ourselves from harmful bacteria and viruses that can make us ill. Most people carry a bottle of hand sanitizer in their bag, especially when travelling (and especially on the London underground).  I was surprised to see that there is a video , scaring people from using hand sanitizer; featured in IF******LoveScience and DNews.  Recently new research has been published which tries to oppose the use of hand sanitizer by blaming its use on increased absorption of BPA levels in the body. Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical that is used in a variety of consumer products, such as water bottles, dental composites and resins used to line metal food and beverage containers, and also is used in thermal paper cash register receipts. First data has emerged that BPA from thermal paper used in cash register receipts accounts for high levels of

"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less." - Marie Curie  I personally love this quote because it encourages everyone to learn. Just because you've stopped studying doesn't mean you should stop learning. You can learn new things in different ways, and the more you learn the more you understand the world around you.  I see science communication as a means of getting people who may not know a lot about science to understand it more.  Science communication is a great way to communicate science with everyone with the latest advances of science and also a way of diminishing any myths or misunderstandings people may have about science and health.  << Click here to find out more about Marie Curie >>