Science Moments
Carrie Taylor
Registered Dietitian for Big Y
World Class Markets
Erin and Carrie in the studio recording Science Moments
Pesky Pesticides - Organic Foods
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Click Here to explore the Planet Earth Gallery.
Buying organic foods is good for the environment and even better for you! Without the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides there is minimal soil, air, and water pollution exposed to the area around the crops. This also means you will not ingest pesticides when you decide to have a healthy snack. Organic foods have 60% higher levels of disease-fighting phenols in them, because pesticides slow or stop the formation of phenols in fruits and vegetables. Buying organic products is a smart way to support local farmers in your area too.
Body of Water - Water
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Click Here to explore the River of Life Gallery.
Good ol’ H20! This substance is extremely important to maintaining human life. Our bodies are made up of about 60% water. It can be found in our muscle tissue, bones, blood, and skin. However, we also lose water on a daily basis by sweating and urinating. Besides drinking the correct amount of water every day, you can also get water from the foods that you eat. Peas, carrots, apples, oranges, grapes and watermelons consist of at least 80% water. Eating these foods help the cells in our bodies achieve the right amount of fluids they need to function.
Rabbit Food - Carrots
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Orange carrots are an excellent source of beta-carotene, which helps with your vision, but did you know they’re also a good source of fiber, potassium, vitamin B6, vitamin A and vitamin C? Diets high in carotenoids may reduce the risk of heart disease, decrease the chance of getting cancer, and improve blood sugar control for people with diabetes. There are actually 40 different colored varieties of carrots! In addition to orange, they can range from purple to yellow to white, and each color provides a different mix of disease-fighting compounds called phytochemicals.
Stressed Out - Stress
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Stress is an automatic response to a given situation or to a stimulus in our environment. Not all stress is bad though. Sometimes it helps us to become more focused and determined to finish a project. But a natural, negative reaction to stress may cause us to create adrenaline production (causing the “fight or flight” response) or we might suffer from exhaustion, irritability, muscle tension, migraines, insomnia, chronic pain, mood swings, ulcers, as well as heart attacks, to list a few. Try to use deep breathing exercises, meditation, or yoga, to relieve you from the stressful situation.
A-A-Achoo! - Chicken Soup
How many times this year have you suffered from an acute viral rhinopharyngitis? Okay, so this is just a fun way of saying the common cold. Besides being delicious and healthy, homemade chicken soup can actually help to relieve your cold symptoms. The ingredients have anti-inflammatory properties that inhibit the movement of neutrophils – the white blood cells in our bodies that cause cold symptoms. Drinking the broth helps to loosen congestion in our chests, helps to unclog the mucus in our nose, and helps to keep us hydrated. Even the heat and steam coming off of the soup helps to clear nasal passages.
Erin and Carrie in the studio recording Science Moments
Moo! – Lactose Intolerance
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Click Here to explore the Picture of Health Gallery. We know that it is essential to drink milk everyday because it helps to create strong bones and it even rebuilds our muscles after we play outside. But there are over 30 million people throughout the U.S. who are Lactose Intolerant. That means they have a food intolerance which makes it difficult for their digestive tract to break down lactose, which is milk sugar. Lactose is found mainly in dairy products, and after eating it they can become nauseous, have stomach pains, gas, cramps or painful bloating.
Roger and Out – Food Packaging
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Click Here to find out more about space science. Did you know that the material used to package foods in supermarkets was first employed by NASA? Potato chip packaging, and some single serving applesauce and juice containers, use Mylar. Mylar is an extraordinarily strong polyester film that was first developed in the early 1950s. Coincidently, it is also the same material that was first used as a signal-bouncing reflective coating for the communications satellite, Telstar. The metallic material offers food insulation and protection against oxidation and aroma loss, achieving a longer shelf-life for the product. Plus, it is less expensive than using aluminum foil!
Caffeine Overload – Energy
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Click Here to visit our Picture of Health Gallery. Caffeine is the world's most widely consumed psychoactive stimulant drug. It can be found mostly in coffee, tea, soft drinks and energy drinks. It is also a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant which temporarily impedes drowsiness, and restores the body to being active and alert. Getting the extra boost of energy you need could be good, but drinking excessive amounts of caffeine can cause dizziness, irritability, nausea, nervousness, and it can make it hard to concentrate or sleep well through the night.
Scrub A Dub Dub – Hand Washing
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Click Here to visit the Life Span game. Washing your hands has always been the best defense in the fight against germs, and it helps immensely in avoiding all kinds of illnesses we can catch from handling food or interacting with each other. If you run your hands under warm water, lather with soap for 20 seconds, rinse well, and then dry with a disposable towel, you’ve taken a huge step toward staying healthy. You must always scrub in between your fingers and thumbs, under fingernails, and remember to also wash the back of your hands and wrists. For extra precaution, to attain the full 20 seconds needed to scrub properly sing the Happy Birthday song twice!
High Tech Cookies? - Nanotechnology
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Click Here to learn about "Ester" Eats exhibit.
Nanotechnology is the process of taking one material and breaking it into very very small particles. These tiny particles can be measured in billionths of a meter. If a particle can be measured on the nanoscale that means its size is smaller than a human cell, but larger than an atom. It is about 10-9 of a meter, or about the width of a DNA strand. Making a material into very small nano-sized particles doesn’t change the chemistry of the material it’s being added to, but it can affect its color or taste. For example, adding small nanoparticles to the icing of cream-filled cookies can make the taste more intense and the color appear whiter and brighter.
Brain Energy - Carbohydrates
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Click Here to visit our Picture of Health Gallery. Eating carbohydrates is your brain’s preferred source of attaining energy for the day. When we eat a carbohydrate, the body breaks it down into a form of sugar called glucose, which is used by our brain, nervous system, and blood cells for energy. Complex Carbohydrates, found in starches, fruits, vegetables and fibers (whole grains), release glucose slowly so energy and alertness is maintained throughout the day. On the other hand Simple Carbohydrates, found mostly in sugary foods and candy, release glucose quickly but can leaves us feeling more drained than before.