Health Archives - Page 4 of 6

21Feb 2018 by Vincent Summers 1 Comment

Should You Use Ordinary Soap or Antibacterial Soap?

[caption id="attachment_19376" align="alignright" width="480"] Triclosan - spacefill model.[/caption] Foreword: The following article was written BC. Before Coronavirus. The information that follows needs to be temporarily viewed in a different light... In the last few decades, personal cleanliness has been promoted intensely. One of the most recent marketable personal hygiene items is hand sanitizer. People purchase and use the scented stuff in all manner of situations, but especially after they shake hands with someone they suspect is sick! A typical sanitizer composition contains alcohol, a thickening agent, and scent. Another popular hygiene product is antibacterial soap. This is so despite the widespread successful use of regular soap. People want the latest and greatest. Newer must be better, right? Yet antibacterial soaps have not been received altogether with open arms. Antibacterial Soaps…

10Feb 2018 by Vincent Summers 9 Comments

Shampoo – Is It Soap, Is It Detergent, or What?

Chemistry, Health

Shampoos are hair-care products meant to clean hair while allowing it to remain manageable. Is shampoo soap, detergent, or what? Individual shampoo products may contain many different ingredients to impart additional characteristics, but largely mainstream shampoos consist of two combined surfactants. Sodium laureth sulfate or sodium lauryl sulfate is the main surfactant. Cocamidopropyl betaine is the secondary surfactant. We will consider these two ingredients in answering the title question. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate Sodium lauryl sulfate (also called sodium dodecyl sulfate) is an anionic surfactant. One online definition of a surfactant reads: "a substance that tends to reduce the surface tension of a liquid in which it is dissolved". For the purposes of our discussion, we identify sodium lauryl sulfate as a detergent, rather than a soap. Detergents do not fail…

08Apr 2017 by Vincent Summers 5 Comments

Hydrogen Sulfide or Hydrogen Cyanide: Which is More Dangerous?

Chemistry, Health

School kids laugh when malodorous body noises break the silence. “Jimmy just gassed,” little Susie giggles. Such odors are associated with the sulfur that comes from eating eggs, although that is by no means the only source. In fact, the odor that comes from eating eggs is thought by high school students to be due to hydrogen sulfide, H₂S. It is generally thought of as a nuisance, and not as a poison. Another familiar odor is associated with the pit or seed of a peach—bitter almonds. The source of the odor in this case is hydrogen cyanide, HCN. Hydrogen cyanide and its sodium and potassium salts, NaCN and KCN, are often the victim’s cause of death in a television mystery. But… in “real life”… what is the story? Just how…

22Feb 2017 by Vincent Summers 3 Comments

Purines and Gout and Our Joints

Health, History

Gout is a condition of the joints and nearby tissues. The iconic feature is extreme swelling with great pain. Until recently, gout was considered a wealthy man’s disease. The development of gout is not bacterial or viral. Rather, it is a matter of body chemistry. Diet is the most controllable factor. Purines and gout were associated with consuming an abundance of rich food. That food included oysters, red meat, and strong brew. Purines and Gout Was an attack on diet a valid call? Somewhat. Gout pain and swelling arises from needle-like crystal deposits. Chemically, these crystals are the hydrated sodium salt of uric acid. Now red meat is rich in purines (we're not changing the subject). Compare the ring structures of purine and of uric acid. Very similar, no? They…

23Jan 2017 by Vincent Summers 6 Comments

What Gives Boiled Eggs Sulfur Smell? Is Sulfur Bad for You?

Food, Health

[caption id="attachment_15992" align="alignright" width="440"] Hardboiling eggs.[/caption] Peel a boiled egg, break it open, and you will detect the distinct boiled eggs sulfur smell. Now foods do not contain sulfur (symbol S) in its elemental form. Rather, they contain compounds that include sulfur in their composition. What sulfur-containing compounds do we find in hen's fruit? In themselves, they are nutritious—even essential—compounds. Boiled Eggs Sulfur Smell: Amino Acids Eggs contain proteins such as albumin. Proteins are amino acids that have joined together. Amino acids are nutritious chemicals that contain nitrogen. Most amino acids do not contain sulfur. However, two do contain sulfur in addition to nitrogen—methionine and cysteine. In fact, they contain nitrogen and sulfur in equal amounts. The chemical formula of methionine is C5H11NO2S. Cysteine is C3H7NO2S. Boiled Eggs Sulfur Smell:…

03Dec 2016 by Vincent Summers 3 Comments

Why Do My Fingernails Split Down the Middle?

Chemistry, Health

Even something as insignificant as fingernails can experience problems. For example, Nails Magazine discusses "longitudinal ridging", exacerbated by placing the hands in alcohol or water for long periods or by stress from typing or playing piano. Another difficulty is vertical splitting of the nails. An inconvenience, it is not overly serious. Sometimes fingernails split because the sufferer also has eczema or nail psoriasis. Why, hypothyroid can be a reason fingernails split! That’s How. Why? Imagine you have an 8-1/2” x 11” piece of paper used to print a check with a stub above the check. You must "tear along the dotted line". The perforation weakens the paper so it is easily tears along it. Similarly for some varieties of heavily grained wood. The wood splits along its grain, rather than…

23Oct 2016 by Vincent Summers 2 Comments

Memorizing Long Numbers – Two Quick Memory Aids

Health, Mathematics

[caption id="attachment_15687" align="alignright" width="440"] Dice - Image Pixabay[/caption] Memorizing long numbers? How can I do that? I recall being told the average American can repeat quickly only numbers with five or fewer digits. For example, hearing several numbers, say 17, 38294, 584, and 127532, most can only say back the 17, 38294, and 584 – not the 127532. How can such a person improve in memorizing long numbers so he can recall 6, 7, and even more digits? There are two ways. The first involves a kind of 'device'. One definition of mnemonic device is “a memory technique to help your brain better encode and recall important information”. Memory Aid – Grouping Numbers Almost anyone can repeat a string of three. Jill speaks a three-digit number. Bob repeats it back…

14Oct 2016 by Vincent Summers 2 Comments

Dangerous Chemistry of Jimson Weed – Watch Your Children!

Chemistry, Health

[caption id="attachment_15664" align="alignright" width="480"] Jimson Weed CCA Share Alike 3.0 by H. Zell[/caption] During the months of September and October, the reader may discover a disarmingly beautiful flowering weed. White to violet trumpets atop a green herbaceous plant, that after fertilization yields spiny seed pods, characterizes Jimson Weed (Datura stramonium) or Jamestown Weed, also called among other things, Locoweed, Hell’s Bells, and Devil’s Trumpet. All parts of the Jimson Weed contain toxic alkaloids in potentially fatal quantity. These include atropine, hyoscyamine, and scopamine. A dose used for its psychedelic effect is marginally less than a fatal dose. Hence, there have been many hospitalizations and deaths resulting from its use. Jimson Weed - Druggery [caption id="attachment_15667" align="alignleft" width="300"] Seed pod. Image by Nova CCA 3.0 Unported[/caption] Some smoke Jimson Weed thinking…

29Aug 2016 by Vincent Summers 4 Comments

Black Knot Tree Fungus on Fruit Trees – Development and Health Issues

Biology, Health

[caption id="attachment_26968" align="alignright" width="440"] Image Bon McNeish, Edit Jonas Korte.[/caption]Black knot tree fungus (Apiosporina morbos) produces swellings on branches, limbs, and even trunks of fruit trees that can appear smooth to grainy to pebbly, depending upon the size of the knot. Photos in this article feature large specimens. Note the texture in the black knot close-up. Black Knot Tree Fungus on What Trees? Black knot tree fungus favors trees of the genus Prunus growing in a temperate zone. This genus falls within the Rosaceae or rose family of plants. This includes such fruit trees as plum, cherry, apricot, and peach. Interestingly, the almond tree is also a member of Prunus. These trees (yes, even the almond tree) feature showy flowers and fruits with large seeds, many of them called stones.…

22Aug 2016 by Vincent Summers 5 Comments

Olive Oil and Peanut Oil Fat Composition and Percentages

Food, Health

[caption id="attachment_15332" align="alignright" width="480"] Peanuts fresh from the ground.[/caption] Two of the fats among the most recommended by health buffs are peanut oil and olive oil. Let’s check ‘em out to see what the chemistry is for each of these oils, what their reputed health benefits are, and how they perform in their cooking assignment. Yes, let’s compare individual substances found within peanut oil and olive oil. Peanut Oil Components There are three major components of peanut oil – triglycerides of oleic, linoleic, and palmitic acids. A triglyceride is the combining of three fatty acid molecules with one molecule of glycerin. Approximate percentages are: 48% Monounsaturated [Oleic Acid] 34% Polyunsaturated [Linoleic Acid] 18% Saturated [Palmitic Acid] Oleic acid is an unsaturated, 9-omega, cis-fatty acid. Linoleic acid is an unsaturated 6-omega,…