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How To Stay Healthy In a Salty World
Whenever a human is eating, a salt shaker is never too far away. For six thousand years we’ve relied on salt to improve our food. To make the uninteresting interesting and the bland, well, less bland. Though our ancestors often found it hard to get enough salt, in the modern world we are awash with… Continue reading
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The Microbiome II: Every Microbiome Is Happy in Its Own Way
In the first post of this microbiome series I covered the beginnings of microbiology. The realisation that we were surrounded by microorganisms, the development of germ theory and the first stirrings of the idea that microbes, apart from destroying our health, could also be contributing to our well-being. We left the story in the early… Continue reading
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Genes, Gluttony and Gout
As a young man, and even into his forties, Henry VIII was a charismatic, athletic and highly attractive individual. He stood, for his times, a towering six feet two inches and he was renown for his prowess on the jousting field and for excelling at hunting, wrestling, tennis, and archery. But, by the time he… Continue reading
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Quick Bite: New research shows what was on the menu 2 million years ago
The Ship of Theseus is the name given to a thought experiment first related by Plutarch around the beginning of the second century. In this story the ship Theseus rescued the children of Athens with was kept by the people of Athens and used every year in a pilgrimage to Delos. Over time, and many… Continue reading
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Hunger games: Why we get hungry and why we overeat
Imagine you are driving down a long and lonely highway. You are late but also conscientious, so you want to stick as closely to the speed limit of 100 km/h as you can. For the purposes of this story your cruise control is broken or you don’t don’t trust Tesla’s self driving function so you… Continue reading
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Quick Bite: Ultra-processed foods give you lung cancer? Maybe not
In the past I’ve been critical of both observational studies and the reporting of these studies in the media and yesterday the Independent published an article called “Food that makes up more than half of western diets linked to lung cancer” which really pushed my buttons. The title is clearly link-bait and it had me… Continue reading
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Vitamin D and Human Individuality: Why One-Size-Fits-All Nutrition Fails
Explore how human genetic variation and nutrigenomics affect vitamin D requirements. Discover why one-size-fits-all daily intake guidelines don’t work. Continue reading
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The Science of Bacterial Growth: How to Keep Your Food Safe and Avoid Food Poisoning
Discover how exponential bacterial growth affects food safety. Learn the science of cooking temperatures, D-values, and storage tips to protect your guests from food poisoning. Continue reading
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Is Pork a Red Meat? The Science Behind Meat Colour and Myoglobin
Is pork actually red meat? Discover the science of muscle fibers, myoglobin, and haem to find out why the classic “other white meat” marketing campaign got it wrong. Continue reading
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Why Bacon Causes Cancer (And Why I Still Eat It): The Science of Nitrites
Is bacon as dangerous as cigarettes? Explore the food chemistry of nitrites, NOCs, absolute risk, and how to safely enjoy cured meats in moderation. Continue reading