FOOD SPOILAGE

Spoilage may be defined as deterioration, which leads to undesirable changes in the organoleptic characteristics of food. These are adverse changes that are largely attributable to biological factures.

 Deterioration leads to changes in food quality induced by physical, chemical and biochemical reactions occurring within the food. Spoilt food may have the following characteristics.

• v  An offensive smell
• v  A moldy surface
• v  A sharp flavor
• v  A changed color
• v  A slimy surface
• v  A strong sour flavor
• v  Gas development (production of gas).
  
  
  

Causes of food spoilage

• v  Microorganisms such as yeasts, moulds and bacteria may cause spoilage in foods.
• v  Physiological life processes such as chemical reactions within the food (which may be enzyme catalyzed)
• v  Attack by insects and rodents, which consume the food/feedstuff and contaminate the rest with their excreta.
• v  Cold temperature and uncontrolled freezing may induce "freeze burns" which make food undesirable.
• v  Sensitivity to light is another source of food spoilage. Certain nutrients in food are sensitive to various types of radiation. Exposure to such radiation not only leads to loss of nutrients but also initiates reactions that accelerate deterioration.
• v  Humidity
• v  Oxygen

 

The Nature of Microorganisms Involved in the Spoilage of Foods Bacteria (Class Schizomyeetes)

Bacteria are small single celled organisms. They may be spherical, rod like, or branched. Their cells may be united into filaments. They may be motile, non-motile, aerobic or anaerobic. Chromatin granules represent the nucleus in bacteria. The cell wall is made up of chitin, proteins and carbohydrates. Some forms also have flagella. The flagella of the motile bacteria usually originate from the cytoplasm. Inside the cell wall, there is a thin plasma membrane. The cytoplasm contains many small vacuoles, stored food granules such as volutin, glycogen and fats, sometimes sulfur.

The classification of bacteria has been revolutionized by molecular genetics. Sometimes molecular genetics is still used in combination with the older methods such as cell wall analysis and serological profiles. Some of the new methods based on molecular genetics are:

 

v  DNA homology and the guanine + cytosine (purine bases found in the DNA molecule) content.

v  Similarities in the sedimentation pattern of the ribosomal RNA molecule.

v  The nature of oligonucleotides present.

v  Soluble proteins.

v  Morphological and biochemical characteristics.

v  Cellular fatty acids.

Balanced Body Chemistry 

Human body is approximately 99% comprised of just six elements; Oxygen, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Carbon, Calcium and Phosphorus. Another five elements make up about 0.85% of the remaining mass; Sulfur, Potassium, Sodium, Chlorine and Magnesium.

So the term body chemistry applies to all processes that occur inside the body. All these processes are made possible by the chemicals that the body produces.

 From this definition of body chemistry, we can define balanced body chemistry as having the right amounts of chemicals that support the proper functioning of the body.

The health of a person is said to be good when his body chemistry is well balanced. To attain this balance, your body continually needs the nutrients provided by the food that you eat. You get proteins (amino acids), vitamin, minerals and fats which are used for maintaining and sustaining the operations of the body. Too much or too little of these nutrients could lead to health problems.

How does body chemistry affects your body? Every day, your biochemistry constantly changes. It changes when you eat, study, work, exercise, and sleep. When you eat, the sugar in your blood increases; after jogging your heart rate goes faster, or your blood pressure rises after arguing with somebody.

Whatever you do that leads to changes creates either a balance or imbalance in your body chemistry which means that these changes can be damaging or beneficial.

When your weight is just about right, meaning you are neither fat nor thin, your blood pressure is normal and you do not suffer from any kind of health problems; then, you have balanced body chemistry. Conversely, when you weigh more or less than you should, you are likely to have abnormal blood pressure and suffer from various health problems; then, you have imbalanced body chemistry.

Water: One of the Earth's Special Compound

An adequate supply of clean water is essential to our health and well-being. We can live without food for many days, but life would end in only a few days without water. Our circulatory system is an aqueous stream that distributes an amazing variety of substances throughout the body. Our cells are filled with water solutions in which the chemical reactions of life take place. Without water and its unique properties, life would not be possible on Earth

 Three-fourths of Earth’s surface is covered with water, which gives the planet a blue color when it is viewed from space. The oceans represent the world’s largest liquid solution. Water participates in most of the chemical reactions that occur in nature. Most water used for human consumption comes from reservoirs, lakes, rivers, and wells. Much of this water is used and reused by numerous cities as it travels downstream. Such reused water may become seriously polluted with waste from previous users and with pathogenic microorganisms.

 As a safety precaution, most of the water we use undergoes chemical and physical treatment to purify it. This treatment process includes settling, whereby specific materials are added to bring down suspended solids. This is followed by filtration through sand and gravel to remove still more suspended matter. The filtered water may then be aerated by spraying it into the air. This part of the treatment process removes some odors and improves the taste of the water. Charcoal filtration, a treatment process that is gaining in use, also removes odors along with colored materials. In a final step, chlorine or another disinfectant is added to kill any remaining bacteria.

 The treatment of water before use is an important safety precaution.

Fight Hypertension With Potassium

Hypertension (high blood pressure) is the primary reason people visit doctor’s offices, and more prescriptions are written for its treatment than any other health problem. In addition to the use of prescription drugs, hypertension is also usually treated by reducing or eliminating the dietary intake of sodium in the form of table salt (sodium chloride). Recently released research results indicate that combining an increase in dietary potassium intake with a reduction in sodium intake is probably the most important dietary decision (after excess weight loss) people can make to reduce cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension.

 Studies reveal that in societies with diets rich in fruits and vegetables, only 1% of the population suffers from hypertension. By contrast, 33% of adults have hypertension in industrialized societies where the diet contains larger amounts of processed foods, which often contain added salt. The typical diet in the United States contains about twice the sodium and only half the 4700 milligrams per day of potassium currently recommended by the American Heart Association. It might seem that taking a daily supplement is the only way to ensure a daily potassium intake as high as 4.7 grams, but that is not the case. Nature provides many potassium-rich foods such as squash, potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, spinach, beans, bananas, apricots, prunes, melons, peaches, halibut, tuna, trout, and low-fat dairy products. Specific examples of the potassium content of a few dietary potassium sources are given in the following table:

Banana, 1 medium – 422mg

                        

Sweet potato, 1 baked - 694mg

                                                     

      White potato, 1 baked – 610mg

                                                    

White beans, canned, 1/2 cup- 595mg

                                                             

Yoghurt plain, nonfat, 8 oz – 595mg

                                                       

       

Halibut, cooked, 3 oz – 490mg

                                                 

In addition to potassium, some studies have shown that the minerals magnesium and calcium may also have a positive influence in maintaining healthy blood pressure. The fruits and vegetables that provide potassium in the diet are also good sources of these two minerals. So, the parental directions traditionally given to children to “eat your fruits and vegetables and drink your milk” have been given scientific validity for all of us as a way to help maintain healthy levels of blood pressure

Here Is What Happens To Your Body When You Exercise

There are few things that in your life that changes once you start exercising. If, you are someone who hasn’t worked out for a while, here is what you need to know before you get started. Here are few in many incredible ways your body changes when you exercise;

1.    You feel sore

     Feeling sore after workout a feel like an accomplishment, it’s a physical proof that you got your muscles working. But, of course, muscle soreness can also be uncomfortable, especially the first time you exercise after not working out for a while. Exercise makes little tears in your muscles, which the body has to build and repair. That’s how muscle growth happens.

2.    Your brain chemistry changes

     Getting your heart rate up improves blood flow to the brain, which helps your brain function better, especially when it comes to memory. One recent Harvard study found that exercise also increases the size of the hippocampus, the part of the brain associated with memory and learning, and that doing just 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day was enough to help prevent the onset of dementia and Alzheimer's.

3.    The feeling good starts coming

     The good workout can cause the shift in the hormones floating around your body. As Elle Woods once famously said, "Exercise gives your endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people don't kill their husbands." Indeed, she's right. Your brain perceives exercise as stress, and puts you into "flight or fight" mode. It releases endorphins, a chemical that is to block feelings of fear or pain. If you're on the treadmill, as opposed to being attacked, this results in a feeling of euphoria. Studies have shown, however, that working out 3 times a week isn't good enough to make that happy feeling last; you need to schedule in a 20-minute work-out every day in order to benefit from this mood boost.

4.    You build up muscles

      When you workout, you make tiny tears I your muscle fibers. These tears are then repaired a built upon, resulting in a stronger connective tissue and stronger muscles. Certain types of exercise result in an increase in muscle mass called muscle hypertrophy, which occurs when individual muscle cell expands

5.    Calories get burned

     This is kind of obvious, but the way in which it happens is not. Turns out, what we call "burning calories" is actually your body breaking food down into ATP (adenosine triphosphate), then converts it into ADP (adenosine diphosphate).

6.   And afterwards? You shut down

     Studies have shown that people who exercise for at least 30 minutes a day had 65% more quality in their sleep than those who did not. Although research is still being done on the connection, it is believed that it has something to do with the drop in your body temperature after you're done, along with the way in which it de-stresses your body, can help you fall asleep faster and get through the night with fewer disturbances. Given that sleeping well is crucial to your health, not to mention a great way of losing weight without doing anything at all, exercising and sleeping are parts of the wellness cycle.

Antiseptics and Disinfectants: Same Thing?

Antiseptics and disinfectants are both used for the same purpose: to kill bacteria. The difference between these two categories of bacteria killers is where they are used. Antiseptics are used to kill bacteria on living tissue, such as wounds. Disinfectants are used to kill bacteria on inanimate objects. Some antiseptics, such as iodine and hydrogen peroxide, operate by oxidizing and thus destroying compounds essential to the normal functioning of the bacteria. A solution containing 3% hydrogen peroxide dissolved in water is an antiseptic found in most pharmacies, and it is often used to treat minor cuts and abrasions. A 2% solution of iodine dissolved in alcohol, called tincture of iodine, is also generally available, and it is used in a way similar to hydrogen peroxide. One disadvantage of the iodine solution is that it stains the skin a yellow brown color.

 Oxidizing antiseptics are often regarded as being too harsh. They may damage skin and other normal tissue, as well as kill the bacteria. For this reason, they have been replaced in many products by antiseptics derived from phenol. Water solutions of phenol, called carbolic acid, were first introduced as hospital antiseptics in 1867 by the English surgeon Joseph Lister. Before that time, antiseptics had not been used, and very few patients survived even minor surgery because of postoperative infections. These phenolic derivatives can often be recognized on ingredient labels by the characteristic -ol ending of their names. Some examples are thymol, eucalyptol, and eugenol.

 Because disinfectants are used on inanimate objects, there is much less concern about the damage they might do to living tissue, and many of them are oxidizing agents. Sodium hypochlorite is one of the most widely used disinfectant compounds. In 5% solutions, it is marketed as liquid laundry bleach. This solution is an effective disinfectant for sinks, toilets, and similar fixtures. A chemically similar compound called calcium hypochlorite is the active ingredient in bleaching powder, and it is also used in hospitals as a disinfectant for clothing and bedding. Chlorine gas and ozone gas are two widely used, strong, oxidizing disinfectants. Their most well-known use is water treatment; they are added in small quantities to municipal water supplies to kill any harmful bacteria that may be present.

Hydrogen peroxide is an antiseptic; bleach is a disinfectant.

Amazing Health Benefits of Pepper

Peppers are popular spices used in many different regional styles of cooking and they have been used medically for thousands of years. Peppers boost an impressive nutrition profile, which include a variety of antioxidants that are beneficial for your health. There are different types of peppers which includes; cayenne pepper (chili pepper). Black pepper, green pepper, white pepper, bell pepper.

Many people consider cayenne peppers to be king of medical herbs. In fact, these peppers have been used for so many years to treat many health problems. Not only do they have medical properties, are also great for cooking and contain several beneficial nutrients.

1.    May Lower Blood Pressure

Per tablespoon, chili pepper contains 3% of potassium which contribute to reduction of hypertension by balancing out the negative effects of salt. Also, pepper has an active ingredient that helps I relaxing blood vessels, while maintain proper blood flow.

2.    Can Help One’s Eyes Health

One tablespoon of pepper contains 44% of Vitamin A which is known for improving eye sight and preventing night blindness and also prevents development of macular degeneration, the main causes of which are aging and infections.

3.    Can Help Individual Fight Infections

Chili pepper contains 7% of vitamin C daily requirement per tablespoon. Vitamin C is a powerful water-soluble antioxidant that helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents and eliminates cancer causing free radicals in the body.

4.    Helps Fighting Cold Allergy or Common Cold Problems

Cayenne pepper contains an active ingredient called Capsaicin which activates mucous membrane of the nose and it opens nasal passage and reduces Sinusitis. The Health and wellness website Earthlink, for example, says you can treat sinus infection by snorting red pepper powder or by swabbing the inside of your nose with a cotton swab dipped in pepper.

5.    May Reduce Cancer Risk

Cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrollable cell growth. The capsaicin present in red pepper shows promise reducing the risk of cancer. It may do this by attacking many different pathways in cancer cell growth process. In fat, studies have shown that capsaicin can slow the growth of cancer cells and even cause cell death for many different types of cancer, including prostate, pancreatic and skin cancer.    

 An epidemiological study has shown that Indian and Mexican people have lower rates of getting cancer due to their daily consumption of spicy foods.