While looking at the nutrition labels on food products can be useful, it can also be confusing. Low fat, saturated fats, unsaturated fats, trans fats are typically listed on the labels of foods you may be shopping for. The food we eat is made up of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Let’s look more closely at that fat category. Some fats, occurring in animals, are solids. Others, from plant sources, are usually in liquid form. Taken together solid fats and liquid fats (commonly called oils) are called lipids. Lipids in our bodies have many important functions such as stored energy sources, some are critical components in our cell membranes, some help dissolve critical vitamins while others are associated with health-related problems such as heart disease. Listen to learn more…

Do you have what is commonly called a “sweet tooth?” Nearly everyone, including new born babies, has at least some desire for the sweet taste of sugar. Let’s take a closer look at a molecule of a type of sugar. The term sugar is a bit general. In ancient times the root word for ground sugar meant grit. There are many types of sugars but today let’s focus on the most commonly consumed one – sucrose. When you take a drink of a sweetened soda, taste the icing on that birthday cake, a lick of ice cream or enjoy the sweet taste of a breakfast cereal, you are eating some sucrose. Listen to learn more…

What do spoiled milk, yogurt, cottage cheese and sourdough bread have in common? They all contain a small molecule called lactic acid. Lactic acid can also be used as a preservative and flavor enhancer. Humans can build up lactic acid in muscles during strenuous exercise. In this episode we will focus on lactic acid and in its role in food. Listen to learn more…

How often have you heard the reminder…don’t forget your sunscreen?  We typically follow this advice in summer, but remember sunscreen is still needed in winter too and even on cloudy days of summer.  Even though the sun is 93 million miles from Earth we still need sun protection.  The sun’s rays reaching Earth, and therefore us, include ultraviolet radiation which can damage skin, cause pre-mature skin aging and potentially increase risks of skin cancer.  Properly applied sunscreen can reduce all those harmful effects.  How does sunscreen do that?  Today’s Monday Molecule is a common sunscreen ingredient called oxybenzone.

Perhaps you or someone you know experiences that sneezing and watery eye response from common allergies to pet dander, pollen and air carried molds or even venom from an insect enters your body. Our immune response is to release antibodies (which are special proteins) that fight back by reacting with the offending irritant (called an allergen.) Then our bodies need to get rid of the tied-up allergen. This is where histamine triggers reactions that help clean up the battlefield of antibodies and allergens. Lets explore the molecule-based connections between allergens, antibodies and especially histamine. These three substances interact in some interesting ways that provide the molecular explanation for those allergic 30 miles per hour sneezing outbursts.

Enjoying some outside time this summer? If so, you have very likely encountered one of summer’s most common discomforts – the swelling and painful itching of a mosquito bite. The slender needle-like probe from a female mosquito is made of several working, moving parts that aid the mosquito in penetrating our skin. Mosquito spit is also part of the advantage mosquitos have in getting our blood. In some cases, during the puncturing and sucking, other harmful virus may be transmitted to our blood stream. So, how can we prevent, or at least reduce the effects of this summer sucker? Listen and learn…

Typical teas, coffees and sodas are known to contain a molecule familiar to most of us called caffeine. What is caffeine and what does it do? (more…)