Archive for the ‘Food-Nutrition-Health’ Category

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GMO Chicken: Will that be coming soon to a store near you?

Friday, January 21st, 2011

by Catherine Haug, Jan 14, 2010

Researchers in England have successfully produced a live GMO chicken with that will not pass on avian flu (bird flu). It is hoped this modification will stop outbreaks of bird flu from spreading within poultry flocks such as those that caused the slaughter of over 7000 birds a year ago. And it also has the potential to stop new strains of the virus from passing on to humans. (See PhysOrg.com (2) or Time.com (5) for more detail on the research).

At this stage in the research, the bird, once exposed to bird flu virus, will get sick and die; it just won’t spread the disease. But if the bird is butchered for consumption before exposure, it still contains the GMO genetic material. The same is true of the eggs, and chicks raised from those eggs. Do we want this in our food supply?

It’s probably a few years from being introduced in our food supply, but now is the time to start planning ahead if you want to avoid this GMO chicken in your diet.

(more…)

Posted in Agriculture, Food-Nutrition-Health, GMO, Shop Local | Comments Closed

Basic Metabolism of Fats

Monday, January 10th, 2011

by Catherine Haug, December 17, 2010

NOTE: This overview is another post in the Cat’s Fat’s series.

Synopsis:

Metabolism is the process used by the body to keep it functioning, and fats are an essential part of this function.

In addition to being a part of our diet, many fats can be made from carbohydrates or proteins in the liver. However, the essential fats (Omega-3 and Omega-6) cannot be made in our liver and must be obtained in our diet.

The process of digestion, absorption & metabolism of fats is not the same for all types of fatty acids. And while all fats can be used for energy production (just as carbs and proteins) they are also used for other purposes.

Excess fats are stored primarily in adipose tissue (fat cells), but may also be stored in the liver, for future use. Furthermore, excess dietary carbohydrates are converted to fats.

This article addresses:

  • Short-chain (SCFA) and medium-chain (MCFA) fatty acids
  • Long-chain fatty acids (LFCA)
  • Fats and energy production
  • Conversion of carbs to body fat

See also The Medical Biochemistry Page on Carbohydrate Metabolism (5) and Fat Metabolism(6) for much more detail.

(more…)

Posted in Cat's Fats, Food-Nutrition-Health | Comments Closed

Fats for Soapmaking

Friday, January 7th, 2011

by Catherine Haug, January 7, 2011

I’m working on a series of tutorial posts on fats – both dietary and for other uses such as soap, lotions, and candles/lamp oil. This is a daunting task because to understand them fully, you have to be open to learning a bit of chemistry. And I know that is off-putting, but I’ll try to keep it simple. I introduce you to a few technical terms, and provide links to learn more about them.

All articles in this series have their own Topic (in the ‘Blog Post’ pull down on our home page): “Topics: Cat’s Fats.”

Our January 2011 gathering is on Making Soap at Home. One of the topics our presenter, Kathy Mansfield, will discuss is the different fats and oils that are commonly used in soapmaking. I present here my own take on this subject.

See my recent post: Basic Organic Chemistry of Fats for an overview of fats and fatty acids, and a few molecular diagrams. And see Summer Bee Meadow (7) for much more on soapmaking. (more…)

Posted in Cat's Fats, Home & Ranch | Comments Closed

Basic Organic Chemistry of Fats

Thursday, January 6th, 2011

by Catherine Haug, November 25, 2010

This article discusses the following topics:

Introduction

  • Essential elements for life (C, H, and O)
  • What makes carbon so special?
  • Carbon bonds (single, double, triple)
  • Linear representation of hydrocarbon chains (diagrams)

What are fats?

  • Glycerides (mono-, di- and tri-glycerides)
  • Fatty acids
  • Degree of saturation (saturated, mono-unsaturated, & poly-unsaturated)
  • Omega number (omega-3, omega-6, and omega-9)
  • Fatty acid composition of fats

(more…)

Posted in Cat's Fats, Food-Nutrition-Health | Comments Closed

Love your Butter

Thursday, December 9th, 2010

by Catherine Haug, Dec 7, 2010

I’ve been wanting to do a series of tutorial posts on fats – both dietary and for other uses such as soap and lotions. This is a daunting task because to understand them fully, you have to be open to learning a bit of chemistry. And I know that is off-putting, but I’ll try to keep it simple. I introduce you to a few technical terms, and provide links to learn more about them.

All articles in this series have their own Topic (in the ‘Blog Post’ pull down on our home page): “Topics: Cat’s Fats.”

Butter is one of our most healthful dietary fats, despite being maligned for the last 40+ years, so I thought I’d start with that.

(more…)

Posted in Cat's Fats, Food-Nutrition-Health | Comments Closed

Patenting of Isolated DNA Material

Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010

by Catherine Haug

According to a news report from the New York Times (“U.S. Says Genes Should Not be Eligible for Patents,” by Andrew Pollack, Oct 29, 2010):

“Reversing a longstanding policy, the federal government said on Friday that human and other genes should not be eligible for patents because they are part of nature. The new position could have a huge impact on medicine and on the biotechnology industry.

The new position was declared in a friend-of-the-court brief filed by the Department of Justice late Friday in a case involving two human genes linked to breast and ovarian cancer.” (1,2)

This ruling directly affects current and future “development of diagnostic tests, drugs and the emerging field of personalized medicine, in which drugs are tailored for individual patients based on their genes.”(1)

So I wonder, what does this mean for Genetically Engineered (GMO) crops, and foods? (more…)

Posted in GMO, Health | Comments Closed

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