Food basicsChemical Informations

Carbohydrates• A carbohydrate is an organic compound that consists only of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.

• Your body uses carbohydrates to make glucose which is the fuel that gives you energy and helps keep everything going. 

• Your body can use glucose immediately or store it in your liver and muscles for when it is needed.

• Natural saccharides are generally built of simple carbohydrates called monosaccharides with general formula (CH2O)n where n is three or more.

Proteins and amino acids• Proteins are large biological molecules consisting of one or more chains of amino acids.

• Proteins perform a vast array of functions within living organisms, including catalyzing metabolic reactions, replicating DNA, responding to stimuli, and transporting molecules from one location to another.

• There are 20 different amino acids that join together to make all types of protein. Some of these amino acids can't be made by our bodies, so these are known as essential amino acids. It's essential that our diet provide these.

Structure of amino acids

Fats and fatty acids• Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and generally insoluble in water. 

• Chemically, fats are triglycerides, triesters of glycerol and any of several fatty acids. Fats may be either solid or liquid at room temperature, depending on their structure and composition. 

• Fatty acids that are required by the human body but cannot be made in sufficient quantity from other substrates, and therefore must be obtained from food, are called essential fatty acids.

Chemistry of fatty acidsTrans (Elaidic acid) Cis (Oleic acid) Saturated (Stearic acid)

Elaidic acid is the principal trans unsaturated fatty acid often found in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

Oleic acid is a cis unsaturated fatty acid that comprises 55–80% of olive oil.

Stearic acid is a saturated fatty acid found in animal fats and is the intended product in full hydrogenation. Stearic acid is neither cis nor trans because it has no double bonds.

These fatty acids are geometric isomers (structurally identical except for the arrangement of the double bond).

This fatty acid contains no double bond and is not isomeric with the previous two.

Trans fat• Animal-based fats were once the only trans fats consumed, but by far the largest amount of trans fat consumed today is created by the processed food industry as a side effect of partially hydrogenating unsaturated plant fats (generally vegetable oils). These partially hydrogenated fats have displaced natural solid fats and liquid oils in many areas, the most notable ones being in the fast food, snack food, fried food, and baked goods industries. They can only be made by cooking with a very high heat, at temperatures impossible in a household kitchen.

Trans fat

• Partially hydrogenated oils have been used in food for many reasons. Partial hydrogenation increases product shelf life and decreases refrigeration requirements. Many baked foods require semi-solid fats to suspend solids at room temperature; partially hydrogenated oils have the right consistency to replace animal fats such as butter and lard at lower cost. They are also an inexpensive alternative to other semi-solid oils such as palm oil.

Health risks of trans fat• Obesity: Research indicates that trans fat may increase weight gain and abdominal fat, despite a similar caloric intake.

• Diabetes: There is a growing concern that the risk of type 2 diabetes increases with trans fat consumption.

• Infertility in women: One 2007 study found, "Each 2% increase in the intake of energy from trans unsaturated fats, as opposed to that from carbohydrates, was associated with a 73% greater risk of ovulatory infertility..."

Additives on fast food•Monosodium Glutamate• Monosodium glutamate, or MSG, is a flavoring agent present in a variety of fast food items, not just Chinese food. This food additive is generally recognized as safe by the Food and Drug Administration, but reports of headache, flushing, chest pain, nausea and weakness have been reported. MSG may also interfere with appetite suppression and cause you to feel hunger even after you've eaten a large amount of food, the book "Nutrition for the Older Adult" says.

Additives on fast food• High-Fructose Corn Syrup• Many items sold at fast food restaurants, such as soft drinks and desserts, contain high-fructose corn syrup. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 urges Americans to reduce their consumption of foods and beverages with added sugars. A study by the University of California at Davis, published in the May 2009 issue of the “Journal of Clinical Investigation,” found that consumption of beverages sweetened with corn syrup increases abdominal fat and decreases insulin sensitivity. Both of these traits increase your risk for developing Type 2 diabetes.

Food addiction• New discoveries in science prove that industrially processed, sugar-, fat- and salt-laden food is biologically addictive.

•Why we can’t stop eating fast-food? It is because certain types of food are addictive.

• Food made of sugar, fat, and salt can be addictive. Especially when combined in secret ways that the food industry will not share or make public. We are biologically wired to crave these foods and eat as much of them as possible

Scientific findings about addiction

• Sugar stimulates the brain's reward centers through the neurotransmitter dopamine, exactly like other addictive drugs.

• Brain imaging shows that high-sugar and high-fat foods work just like heroin, opium, or morphine in the brain.

• Brain imaging shows that obese people and drug addicts have lower numbers of dopamine receptors, making them more likely to crave things that boost dopamine.

Scientific findings about addiction

• Foods high in fat and sweets stimulate the release of the body's own opioids (chemicals like morphine) in the brain.

• People (and rats) develop a tolerance to sugar -- they need more and more of the substance to satisfy themselves -- just like they do for drugs of abuse like alcohol or heroin.

• Obese individuals continue to eat large amounts of unhealthy foods despite severe social and personal negative consequences, just like addicts or alcoholics.

References• Avena NM, Rada P, Hoebel BG. Evidence for sugar addiction: behavioral and

neurochemical effects of intermittent, excessive sugar intake. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2008;32:20–39.

• Bocarsly ME, Berner LA, Hoebel BG, Avena NM. Rats that binge eat fat-rich food do not show somatic signs or anxiety associated with opiate-like withdrawal: implications for nutrient-specific food addiction behaviors. Physiol Behav 2011;105:865–72.

• Pickering C, Alsio J, Hulting AL, Schioth HB. Withdrawal from free-choice high-fat high-sugar diet induces craving only in obesity-prone animals. Psychopharmacology 2009;204:431–43

• Colantuoni, C., Schwenker, J., McCarthy, P., et al. 2001. Excessive sugar intake alters binding to dopamine and mu-opioid receptors in the brain. Neuroreport. 12(16): 3549-3552.

• http://ezinearticles.com/?Fast-Food-and-Traditional-Food&id=4018676

• http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn9318

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans_fat

• http://www.livestrong.com/article/369937-addictive-ingredients-in-fast-food/

• http://www.livestrong.com/article/538217-additives-fats-in-fast-food-items/

• http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/basics/

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/protein