Life is All About Chemistry

Do U Like It?

2009-07-28T16:26:00.004+08:00

Whenever i shopped for the grocery, definitely i will stop by the row selling yoghurts. I believe that everyone loves yoghurt huh. It's just so tasty. So i decided to post about yoghurt, i googled the info, and here it goes. I posted it with some reason that i don't understand how it works and the benefits of yoghurts.

Yoghurt is the fermented milk product. The fermentation of lactose produces lactic acid, which acts on the milk protein to give the texture and smell of the yoghurt. Nowadays, yoghurt has been the common food throughout the world as it is a nutritional food and it has some health benefits. What's so good?

Different brands of yoghurts.

Yoghurt which is rich in protein, calcium, riboflavin, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12, insures the digestive system stays healthy and stabilize the immune system. People who lactose-intolerant can enjoy yoghurt because lactose in milk is converted to lactic acid by the bacteria culture. Yoghurt is believed to promote good gum health, because of the probiotic effect of lactic acids present in the yoghurt.

Yoghurt with fresh fruits.

A good yoghurt will contains live culture, the 4 major strains of bacteria (L.acidophilus, L.bulgaricus, S.thermophilus & bifidobacteria). Consumption of low fat yoghurt can promotes weight loss, that is why ladies love to have yoghurt all the time. :)

The process of growth from milk into yoghurt involves the conversion of lactose into lactic acid. Lactic acid helps to digest lactose. Yoghurt provides the enzyme needed to digest milk products. Calcium which is found in dairy products, needs to enter the body in an acid matrix or the body will not absorb it. Therefore, lactic acid of the yoghurt is a perfect medium to maximize the absorption of calcium. Yoghurt also enhance the HCl production, thus improve digestion, vitamin and mineral absorption.

yoghurt cake. looks so yummy~

This little girl must be thinking "Ohh. So yummy. No one can take it away from me!" XD

Deodorants vs. Anti-perspirants

2009-06-21T12:46:00.007+08:00

One day, a bunch of friends were chatting outside of the classroom, while a passer-by passed by them. Immediately, they smelt of something stink!

friend A : Did you guys smell of something smelly?

friend B : Ya, it's smelly.

friend C : It must be the smell of the passer-by just now.

friend A : Ermm.... maybe. maybe he does not use deodorant or anti-perspirants.

Have you ever experience on this? I guess I will feel really embarrass of it if I am to experience on this situation. Just back to my topic today. I gonna talk about deodorants and anti-perspirants. Before I checked on the info for this topic, my mind was just thinking that no difference between deodorants and anti-perspirants. But it proved me wrong! And I learned about it.

Different types of deodorants.

CRYSTAL, the deodorant without aluminium-based compound and paraben free.

Deodorants and anti-perspirants are substances that apply to the body, to reduce the body odour which is caused by the bacterial breakdown of perspiration. Here comes the difference between them. Deodorants work by neutralizing the smell of the sweat and by antiseptic action against the bacteria and deodorants do not interfere with sweating. While anti-perspirants work by clogging, closing or blocking the pores with powerful astrigents such as aluminium salts so that they cannot release the sweat.

I've seen through a lot of mails stated that using deodorants and anti-perspirants can cause breast cancer. Then, i checked through a lot of websites, unfortunately, there is none of a website that can confirm of it.

In anti-perspirants, the aluminium-based compounds are the active ingredient. Aluminium-based compounds form temporary plug within the sweat ducts, that stop the flow of sweat to the skin surface. Those aluminum-based compounds may be absorbed by the skin and cause estrogen-like (hormonal) effects. Estrogen promotes the growth of breast cancer cells.

The breast cancer cell.

Parabens are used in some deodorants and anti-perspirants, which build up in breast tissues. Industry insists that they are safe, but tests were carried out on samples on different breast tumours, parabens are found in every samples!

Other toxic ingredients in your deodorants and anti-perspirants are propylene glycol, TEA & DEA, FD & C colours, triclosan and quaternium. Propylene glycol as a humectant that keeps the substances from drying out. Propylene glycol is neurotoxin known to cause dermatitis, kidney damage, and liver damage. TEA & DEA are the hormone disruptors, which is known to form carcinogenic (cancer-causing) chemicals. TEA causes contact dermatitis and DEA causes liver and kidney damage in animals. FD & C colours are made from coal, and they have been shown to cause cancer in animals. They often cause allergic skin reactions too. Triclosan can be absorbed through the skin and causes liver damage. Last but not least, quaternium is the number one cause of preservative-related contact dermatitis. Allergic to quaternium can cause asthma-like symptoms and even respiratory arrest when inhaled.

I was wondering, there are so many toxic ingredients that will cause so many harms to our body, but why deodorants and anti-perspirants are still allowed to be sell to everyone in the store? Government should ban it!

Aware of breast cancer, not only for women. Men do have breast cancer too.

C-I-G-A-R-E-T-T-E-S

2009-05-30T15:28:00.007+08:00

In this generation, smoking is so popular. The old ones, the middle age ones, and even the teenagers do smoke! I'm wondering what's so "nice" to smoke. If somebody is to ask me to try, I will say "NO!NO!NO!".

I can remember that when i was a young, little girl, my grandma used to live with us. She loves to smoke everyday and every hour. One day, my sister advised my grandma of not to smoke so much as it's not good for health. And yay, grandma stop smoking after that! Seriously, i hate people who smoke. Some of my relatives do smoke too, but impossible that i hate them, because they are my relatives. Therefore, i just got to bear with it. sigh~ Whenever i know someone else is smoking, i will automatically close my nose or stop breathing. I rather to die if you want me to smell the smoke. Haha. Sounds crazy?

Buying cigarettes are crazier! To those who loves to smoke, try to think of the price of a packet of cigarettes. I don't know how much is it, but juz take it as RM10. For a smoker, you will be buying packets and packets of cigarettes. Within a year, you are spending lots of money on it. So, why not you spend the money on food or live a better life?

Okay, let's back to the topic-Cigarettes. Do you know what actually contains in a cigarette? Cigarettes contain so many chemicals which are poisonous to us. Some of the worst one are:

Nicotine - a deadly poison
Carbon monoxide - gas from the vehicles
Tar - material in road making
Arsenic - which used in the rat poison
Methane - a component of rocket fuel
Ammonia - found in floor cleaner
Cadmium - used in batteries
Butane - lighter fluid
Hydrogen cyanide - poison used in gas chambers

Let's just talk about the main 3 chemicals. Actually nicotine doesn't cause cancer, but it is highly addictive and fast-acting drug. Nicotine as the main ingredient is to keep smokers buying cigarettes to "relieve" their addiction. While carbon monoxide is tasteless and odourless poisonous gas. This gas is emitted by vehicles. If you inhale too much of carbon monoxide, it may causes you into a coma and asphyxiation. Tar, substance made up of various chemicals, which cause cancer. Around 70% of tar in cigarettes will be deposited in the smoker's lungs.

For a long term smoker, probably he or she will develop health problems like heart disease, stroke, emphysema (breakdown of lung tissues) and various types of cancer, such as lung, throat, stomach and bladder cancer.

The problems of smoking

Bad breath (eww!)
Yellow teeth
Bad smelling clothes
Increased risk of illness
Reduced athletic performance
Bad skin
Empty wallet (haha!)

To those who does not smoke, you probably have been the secondhand smoker or environmental tobacco smoker. A secondhand smoker can also have health problems as the secondhand smoke comes from the combination of the burning end of a cigarette and the smoke exhaled by the smoker, which contain more than 50 substances that can cause cancer. There is no any safety precaution of secondhand smoke. Therefore, we should becareful, especially pregnant women and people with heart or breathing problems.

I knew that every smoker will have the quote of "Once you start smoking, it's hard to stop!" when we ask them to quit smoking. Ya, it's true that it's hard to stop. But, can't those smokers think of something that is much more important. If they die of smoking, then who will be to take care of their family? It is never be too late to quit smoking. As you quit, the health problems will be improve. If you find it is hard to quit, you may search help from anyone you trust, such as your family members or the psychologist.

Lastly, there is two quotes for people around the world. =)

"Congrats, if you are a non-smoker!"

"Quit smoking to stay a better and healthy life."

Beach time!

2009-05-17T16:19:00.000+08:00

Beaches will always be full of people, during this period, the sunny days! Do you agree with it? People around like to play with the water, reading books, and enjoy under the sun.

What's the most important for everyone of us when we go to beach? It's SUNSCREEN! It cannot be neglected when you are packing your luggage because without it, you may get sunburn. Sunburn can damage your skin and cause skin cancer, precancerous changes in the skin, as well as premature wrinkling and signs of aging.

various types of sunscreen.

sunburn

How to avoid from getting sunburn? During the peak sunlight hours, that is between 10a.m and 3p.m, you are not advisable to go for any outdoor activities. Wear sun protection clothing can avoid from sunburn. The most protective way is to use your sunscreen, it helps to minimize the penetration of the ultraviolet rays (UV).

The sun protective clothing, which seem like swimsuits.

Sunscreen is a material that protects the skin from the UV radiation. It is available in the forms of lotion, cream, gel or spray. There are two types of sunscreen, the UVA and UVB chemical sunscreen. Below is what the UVA and UVB sunscreen contain.

Ingredients of UVA sunscreen

Avobenzone
Ecamsule
Meradimate
Oxybenzone
Titanium oxide
Zinc oxide

Ingredients of UVB sunscreen

Ensulizole
Homosolate
Octocrylene
Octinoxate
Octisalate
Padimate O

Do you think SPF sounds familiar to you and do you know what it actually is? Let me explain. Sun-protection factor (SPF) is a number, such as 15,30 or 50, which indicates how long will it remain effective on our skin. I know you will be asking how long is the duration for those numbers. It is just simply by multiplying the SPF by the length of time it takes for you to suffer a burn without sunscreen. Sunscreen should be apply all over the body and at least 30 minutes before going out for outdoor activities. If you will be staying outdoors for a long period of time, you MUST reapply sunscreen every two hours.

Before i did this blog, i've been troubling of how to choose a right sunscreen. But now, i knew the way to pick a right sunscreen. Allow me to share this with you all ya. =)

Choose the right SPF - the higher the SPF number, the better the protection against the harmful UV rays from the sun.
Water-resistant vs. Waterproof - Water-resistant can maintain the degree of sunburn protection after 40 minutes of water exposure. While waterproof can maintain sunburn protection of 80 minutes of water exposure. Make sure sunscreen is reapply after the activity to maintain sun protection.
Activity you will be doing - If you are afraid of the greasy feel like me, you may try the oil-free product. For those who are prone to allergic reactions or breakouts, choose products that are hypoallergenic or for sensitive skin. Choose sunscreen for sports if you are worry of stinging your eyes while you are sweating during activity.

Some of you may just simply keep your sunscreen that it might spoil the sunscreen. Sunscreen should be store at room temperature and avoid contact with direct heat and sunlight to keep it long lasting. All the sunscreens are advisable to keep for about 3 years or until the expiration date stated on the bottle. If you realize that there is changes in the colour and odour, it should be thrown away.

Hope everyone of you enjoy your trip to beach everytime with not getting sunburn. If not, ouch!, it's painful. I knew the feeling of sunburn. Hehe. =p

What We Eat?

2009-05-15T16:46:00.000+08:00

Food is compulsory to everyone in the daily life. We eat three meals per day, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. A good breakfast provides energy and nutrients for people to start their day. Though there's benefits of eating breakfast, it is the meal that is most often neglected or skipped. If you are thinking that skipping your breakfast will make you weight loss, then you are absolutely wrong! The truth is that if you do not eat something in the morning, you are forcing yourself into running on an empty stomach, you tend to eat much more in the afternoon, and so it make you put on weight.

Simple but nutritious breakfast.

Besides, vegetables and fruits are important for us too. All kinds of vegetables and fruits are coloured as they contain special kind of chemical compounds called carotenoids. Carotenoids have an area called chromophore, which absorbs and gives off particular wavelengths of light, generating the colour that we perceive. The chromophore is formed by a sequence of linear carbon-carbon double bonds, which is much stronger than the single bonds. It's essential that at least seven linear conjugated double bonds for a carotenoid to produce a colour. The larger the number of bonds conjugated, the larger the wavelength of light absorbed and the reddish the vegetable is.

Tomatoes are red because the carotenoid lycopene, contains 11 conjugated C=C, which is generated by the plant to protect itself from oxidation. It's good for us as it protects our cells against the action of free radicals.

Why most of the plant are green in colour? They are in green colour because they contain chlorophyll, which enables the plant to carry out photosynthesis, converting solar energy and carbon dioxide into chemical energy of carbohydrates and oxygen. The chlorophyll masks the other colours of vegetables. As its amount decreases, the other colours become more obvious. This illustrate why tomatoes are green before they ripen.

Therefore, do not skip your breakfast everyday and eat more of vegetables and fruits. To enjoy your life, eat healthy and so lives happily. =) Hope that you guys enjoy my article too, and you are welcome to leave some comment about it. Thanks!