Dark chocolate contains plenty of naturally occurring antioxidants known as polyphenols, which are absent from white chocolate. Actually, “white chocolate†isn’t really chocolate because it does...
In medical speak we talk, not about being fat, but about overweight or obese. We define being overweight as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) over 25, and obesity as having a BMI over 30. Obesity is...
The secret lies in the chemical behaviour of beta-fructofuranosyl-alpha-D-glucopyranoside. Don't worry, that's just the chemical name for sucrose, or ordinary table sugar. Sucrose is a ...
A recently published paper in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology managed to create a great deal of public angst about using some types of dental floss. “This is the...
Problems can arise if infants under a year old, or patients who are immune-compromised, ingest honey that contains spores of Clostridium botulinum bacteria. These spores are ubiquitous in soil and...
This is due to a phenomenon known as superheating. First, we have to understand what boiling is all about. At the surface of a liquid molecules are always evaporating. If we leave a glass of water...
When hypochlorite-containing bleach is mixed with ammonia containing products, such as window cleaners, chloramine gas is formed. And even though chloramine is slightly less damaging than chlorine,...
The concern about refreezing food is really a concern about two things, bacterial contamination and deterioration of texture and flavour. Let’s deal with the safety issue first. Bacteria like to...