Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions

Providing Safe Food Part 2

  Did You Know?

  • Diet is derived from the Greek word diaita, which means “way of life”.
  • Worldwide agriculture production boomed in the 20th century after development of the Haber-Bosch process for producing large amounts of inexpensive nitrogen fertilizer.
  • Proteins, not sugars, are the world’s sweetest substances. One protein, thaumatin, isolated from the African Serendipity Berry, is may be the world’s sweeter substance. Ounce for ounce, this protein is almost 3,000 times sweeter than table sugar.
  • Herbalists have used rosemary for centuries for stomach upsets and other ailments. Modern food scientists are repurposing that aromatic evergreen with rosemary extracts in “active” packaging material that preserves food. The darker the color of a fruit or vegetable, the more nutrients it usually contains.
  • A diet loaded with white bread, chips, sugars and other rapidly absorbed carbohydrates is linked to age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness in older Americans.
  • A diet low in animal fat and high in fiber, fruits, vegetables, and grain products can reduce the risk of many forms of cancers, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Blueberries, raspberries and grapes bursting with flavor. A luscious, silky morsel of chocolate melting into a mouthful’s rush of pure pleasure. Fresh ripe tomatoes. Years ago, people ate for that gratification. Food also provided the calories for people to work, and drove away hunger pangs. Today, people in industrialized countries are selecting food not just for taste and sustenance, but also for its potential effects in promoting good health.
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What is chemistry? What do chemists do?

Learn more about how important chemistry is in our daily lives through articles, hands on activities, and resources to use in the classroom.

ChemMatters

A Magazine for high school students.

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You may have noticed labels stating "No Trans Fats" or "Trans Fat Free" on the packaging of your favorite snack foods. But what are trans fats and why should they be avoided?

Carb Crazy (October 2004)
Low-carb diets and products are everywhere. What are carbs and why are some people cutting down on them?

Careers in Chemistry

Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS®)

SciFinder®, a research tool produced by CAS (a division of the American Chemical Society), found 706 references published this year on the substance resveratrol (CAS Registry Number 501-36-0). Indicative of the broad interest in this compound, further analysis of that answer set showed that 164 references included the concept of antioxidant or biological oxidative stress, 77 focused on the concept of anti-tumor agent, and 55 talked about apoptosis.

The CAS databases cover references from more than 10,000 major scientific journals and 57 patent authorities worldwide

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Books

  • Many books have been written in the past few years about nutritious foods. These books offer an amazing variety of opinions and viewpoints. Information on many of these books is available from the Library of Congress, http://catalog.loc.gov/

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