/oss/taxonomy/term/948/all en /oss/article/health-and-nutrition/allure-allulose <p>My first meeting with (3R,4R,5R)-1,3,4,5,6-pentahydroxyhexan-2-one, less formally known as “psicose” or “allulose,” was way back in my graduate school days. I was studying the molecular structure of simple sugars, a category of carbohydrates to which allulose belongs. I wasn’t interested in its biochemistry or its sweetness, my focus was on distinguishing it from fructose by the then relatively novel technique of carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (C-13NMR).</p> Fri, 11 Mar 2022 22:54:04 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9051 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition/food-glorious-food <hr /> <p style="text-align:center"><em>Food, glorious food<br /> We're anxious to try it<br /> Three banquets a day<br /> Our favourite diet</em></p> <p style="text-align:center"><em>Just picture a great big steak<br /> Fried, roasted or stewed<br /> But food<br /> Wonderful food<br /> Marvellous food<br /> Glorious food!</em></p> Fri, 18 Feb 2022 22:29:58 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9031 at /oss /oss/article/health/do-we-actually-need-eat-more-calories-when-menstruating <hr /> <p>This article was first published in <a href="https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/do-we-actually-need-to-eat-more-calories-when-menstruating/">The Skeptical Inquirer</a></p> <hr /> <p>Shark week, moon time, the crimson tide, a visit from Auntie Flo: whatever you call it menstruation is the roughly monthly interval during which the uterus sheds its lining. For the uterus owner, it is not generally a super fun time; cramping, bloating, headaches, and fatigue are just a few of the symptoms associated with “that time of the month.”</p> Fri, 07 May 2021 22:25:17 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 8725 at /oss /oss/article/nutrition/rutabagas-and-weight-loss <p>I’ve judged a lot of science fairs in my life. I’ve seen innumerable baking soda volcanoes, vitamin C analyses and models of the solar system. Usually, the judges’ task is over once the winners are announced, but on one memorable occasion, the event was followed by an assembly where a game of “Challenge the Judge” was played. Students were asked to name a single object that the judges were then to incorporate into a scientifically meaningful sentence. A student panel would then determine a winner based on the ingenuity of the response.</p> Fri, 23 Apr 2021 21:50:28 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8714 at /oss /oss/article/videos/feb-4-2021-dose-science <p></p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-1"> <iframe class="media-youtube-player" id="media-youtube-l14nlrwcm3o" width="640" height="390" title="Feb. 4, 2021; A Dose of Science" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/L14NLRwCM3o?wmode=opaque&controls=&enablejsapi=1&modestbranding=1&playerapiid=media-youtube-l14nlrwcm3o&origin=https%3A//www.mcgill.ca&rel=0" name="Feb. 4, 2021; A Dose of Science" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="">Video of Feb. 4, 2021; A Dose of Science</iframe> </div> Thu, 04 Feb 2021 22:42:19 +0000 OSS 8609 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-diets-food-health/end-debate-fat-chance <p>The bloggers are abuzz about a paper in the Annals of Internal Medicine that after reviewing 72 major studies found no relationship between saturated fat intake and heart disease. The reaction was predictable. On the one hand we have the bacon and doughnut lovers who see this info as a license to indulge with impunity, while on the other hand we have the sprout worshippers who refuse to accept the validity of the data.</p> Fri, 28 Mar 2014 14:26:03 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2119 at /oss /oss/article/food-health-quackery-quirky-science-you-asked/you-asked-there-any-food-or-beverage-leads-negative-calorie-balance <div>Easy answer. No. There is nothing that can be consumed that causes a greater expenditure of calories than it provides. But advertisers have given the idea a shot. But it wasn’t long before the idea was shot down. There’s no doubt that soft drink producers are in a quandary. Their product is coming under increasing nutritional scrutiny and it is not faring well. Schools are eliminating the sales of soft drinks and the public is becoming increasingly wary of consuming sugar-laden beverages with “empty calories.” Replacing sugar with artificial sweeteners does not seem to be the answer to the marketing woes, mainly because of the common (generally unjustified) perception that these substances are mired in unresolved safety issues. So if empty calories or zero calories don’t boost sales, how about “negative calories?” A beverage that causes more calories to be “burned” than it supplies certainly sounds attractive. And back in 2006 the Coca Cola Company claimed it had come up with just such a product in “Enviga,” a green tea-based drink.   At the time Dr. Rhona Applebaum, chief scientist for Coke claimed that “Enviga increases calorie burning and represents the perfect partnership of science and nature.” Well, let’s take a look at this “perfect partnership.” First, a bit about the terminology. Calories cannot be “burned,” they are not things, they are a unit of measure. Simply stated, a food calorie is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of a kilogram of water by one degree Celsius. Where then does the expression “burn calories” originate?  When a substance burns, it releases heat.  If a piece of pie is said to contain say 300 calories, then combusting it in a closed chamber, called a calorimeter, will produce enough energy to heat 300 kg of water by one degree.   Our body can also “burn” that piece of cake, meaning that 300 calories worth of energy is released as a series of chemical reactions decompose, or “metabolize,” the cake’s fats, carbohydrates and proteins. The products of these reactions are eventually exhaled in our breath or excreted in the urine and feces, while the energy produced is used to maintain our body temperature and supply the power needed for the proper functioning of our organs and muscles. If we do not “spend” all the calories that are potentially available, there is no need for the body to completely “burn” the food components, and the remnants are stored. Weight gain ensues!   Of course, should we then engage in some activity, the stored supplies can be called upon to undergo the reactions needed to produce the required energy, and weight is lost. Obviously then, to lose weight, more calories must be expended than are provided by the ingested food. Three servings of Enviga contained only 15 calories but according to Coca Cola stimulated the body’s metabolism to produce an extra 60-100 calories per day. These calories, given off in the form of heat, are produced when stored nutrients are converted to substances that are released from the body. The implication was that drinking 3 servings of Enviga a day leads to weight loss, although the company was careful not to make that claim.   Let’s have a look look at the science behind the hype.</div> <p><a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/2013/12/13/you-asked-is-there-any-food-or-beverage-that-leads-to-a-negative-calorie-balance">Read more</a></p> Fri, 13 Dec 2013 22:41:58 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2045 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-diets-food-health-news/advice-about-food-sometimes-half-baked <p>Back in the early 70s, just as I was developing an interest in the chemistry of food, I came across a witty quote by Mark Twain. “Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.” Twain was likely reacting to the plethora of health fads that were rippling through the American landscape at the time. As evidenced by a passage in his classic work Tom Sawyer, he didn’t approve:</p> Fri, 03 Jan 2014 20:18:34 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2058 at /oss /oss/article/diets-food-health-news/nuts-you <p>“Observational” studies are interesting but “interventional” studies are the nuts and bolts of nutritional science. And talking about nuts, a study just published in the New England Journal of Medicine is sure to generate a plethora of nutty headlines about nuts reducing the risk of death. Well, the risk of death cannot be reduced, it is 100%, save perhaps for one questionable example two thousand years ago. But the risk of death during a specific period can be reduced, and that is just what happened in this study.</p> Wed, 22 Jan 2014 02:26:11 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2074 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-food-health-history/pizza-pie-sky <p>Imagine being admitted to a hospital with a heart attack and a doctor asking how many times a week you eat pizza. This was the actual question that was asked of 507 heart attack victims and 478 others who had been admitted to a hospital in Milan, Italy, between 1995 and 1999. Why? To find out if most Italian foods had any role to play in heart disease. We’ve all heard about the benefits of the highly touted Mediterranean diet, and Italian researchers decided to find out if pizza specifically played a role in protection against cardiovascular disease.</p> Sun, 23 Feb 2014 02:42:52 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2101 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-diets-food-health-news/bitter-life-may-be-longer <p>Who would have guessed that a song by the Guess Who would become a health anthem?</p> <p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJbFVJvRqOQ">“Lonely feeling Deep inside, Find a corner where I can hide, Silent footsteps crowding me, Sudden darkness but I can see, No sugar tonight in my coffee, No sugar tonight in my tea, No sugar to stand beside me, No sugar to run with me.” </a></p> <p>Not exactly the most brilliant lyrics I ever heard, but not a bad message.</p> Wed, 12 Mar 2014 11:05:58 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2112 at /oss /oss/article/food-health/avocados-and-health <p style="text-align:justify"><a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/?p=5395"><img alt="avocados" height="150" src="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/files/2013/06/avocados-150x150.jpg" width="150" /></a>It isn’t a pretty fruit. Its skin looks like something that should be on the back of an alligator. It sometimes is actually called the “alligator pear.” And it has been shunned by some people because of its high fat content. Indeed, the avocado is laden with fat; a single specimen can harbour up to 30 grams, more than any other fruit. But, there is an important but. Not all fat is created the same. Oleic acid, the fat found in avocado, is of the mono-unsaturated variety, which is actually linked with a reduced risk of heart disease. The same fat is also found in olives and some provocative laboratory research has shown that it may alter the expression of certain genes associated with aggressive forms of breast cancer. Extracts of avocado have even been shown to inhibit the growth of prostate cancer cells, albeit only in the lab. The best candidates for this effect are carotenoids, a variety of fat soluble antioxidants found in avocados. Lutein, in particular, was examined because avocados are higher in lutein content than any other fruit. But in a laboratory study, lutein alone did not destroy cancer cells. It seems the whole mix of compounds found in avocados is necessary for this effect, including the fat content.</p> <p style="text-align:justify">Indeed the fat content may be critical to the health benefits. <a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/2013/06/04/avocados-and-health">Read more</a></p> Wed, 05 Jun 2013 00:53:08 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1954 at /oss /oss/article/food-health/aspartame-bitter-sweet-controversy <p>I get asked a lot of questions.  One of the hardest ones to answer is what question I get asked the most often.  Although I can’t say that I keep exact stats, my feeling is that queries about artificial sweeteners, particularly aspartame, top the list.  Sometimes the question is about the value of sweeteners in the battle against the bulge, but far more often the focus is on safety.  “Which is the safest artificial sweetener?”  “Which is the least carcinogenic sweetener?”  Such questions attest to a mistrust of regulatory agencies and a belief that substances known to be hazardous are allow</p> Mon, 15 Apr 2013 19:00:18 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1909 at /oss