The book,Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal, by Mary Roach focuses what we eat and why we eat it. She takes us to a pet food taste testing lab where the pet's social interactions are factored into their ability to select pet food. Chemicals such as putrescine and cadaverine in the right proportion attract dogs to food manufactured to be palatable and nutritious.
She explores the question: "Why do people in America not like organ meats?" The organ meats have much more nutritional value than the commonly ingested muscle meats. As a teenager, I gave a demonstration on the nutritional benefits of liver. Aside from the elevated cholesterol and the toxic levels of vitamin A - if you eat polar bear liver - it is very healthy.
The final chapter of her book is devoted to the terminal end of the digestive tract including a long section devoted to the death of Elvis Presley. Mary also highlights the fecal transplant research conducted at the University of Minnesota to effectively treat Clostridium difficile infections. Patients who have lost their normal intestinal microflora usually due to heavy antibiotic treatment are often colonized by Clostridium difficile. They suffer from chronic diarrhea with thousands of fatalities annually. The research is now expanding to treat metabolic syndrome and improve tolerance to insulin in diabetics.
Saliva collection and other topics - 5 min.
Brief summary of Gulp - 2 min.
Mayo Clinic C.difficile treatment - 5 min.
No comments:
Post a Comment