I thought my life was over. ‘No more ice cream, no more cookies, no more candy’ was all I could think about. The day I was diagnosed with borderline diabetes was the day I thought my life had ended, but in fact, it didn’t. If anything, being diagnosed with borderline diabetes had made me realize how important it was to watch what foods I ate, as well as how much sugar, starch, fats, and proteins I took in. It became a big part of my life.
Recently, in Biology class, we did a test on certain foods to see if they contained sugars, starches, lipids (fats), and/or proteins. I found it to be quite helpful for people like me. Considering how much I have to watch with my food. To begin, how about we learn what exactly each category is.
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We’ll begin with sugars. Sugars are a sweet, crystal-like substance that is obtained from various plants, such as- and mainly from- sugar cane and sugar beets. It typically contains glucose, which is a natural occurring carbohydrate that is found in many plant parts. Sugar is also used as a sweetener for foods and drinks. Yet, too much sugar can be harmful to your body. Some people’s body, those with a fast metabolism, burn the sugar for energy. For the people who have slower metabolisms, the sugar is stored as fat. Too much sugar can also cause an increase or decrease of your blood sugar, depending on how much insulin, which is a hormone produced by your pancreas that is designed to help maintain your glucose level, is distributed into your blood system. Next we’ll talk about starches. Starches are a solid, white carbohydrate that occurs in the form of small pellets in the seeds, tubers, and other parts of the plants. It is an important ingredient in rice, wheat, beans, and other vegetables. Now, you may be asking why starches are so bad if they occur naturally in vegetables. Starches are made of many glucose molecules linked together. Remember that glucose if a type of sugar, so starches will break down to sugar. So, over-eating on starchy foods can cause your body to store the extra starches as fat. Third on our list are lipids. Lipids are a molecule the contain hydrocarbons (which are just hydrogens and carbons). They make up the building blocks of the structure and function of cells. Lipids can come from either plants or animals. From plants, we get oil, and from animals, we get things like meat and butter. There is a wide variety of lipids, including fats, waxes, oils, certain vitamins, and many more. Last, but certainly not least, is proteins. Proteins are made from amino acids. Every amino acid is structured the same, with the exception of the R-Group, which is the side chain. The R-Group us was decides what the protein is, such as whether it is a hormone, enzyme, or any of the other types of proteins. Hypothesis: 1) I believe that apple, syrup, white potato, sweet potato, oil, and corn will contain sugar. 2) I believe that apple, sweet potato, oil, mayo, corn, and yogurt will contain starch. 3) I believe that apple, oil, chicken, and corn will contain fat. 4) I believe that sweet potato, bread, chicken, and yogurt will contain protein. In order to do this experiment, you will need a few things. First thing you’ll need is a small pot (or beaker), brown paper towels, and a spoon. You will also need a Bunsen burner, ten test tubes, and small dishes. Four of the most important items you will need are the ten food items, the Benedicts solution, the Lugols Iodine solution, and biuret solution. To test for sugar, you will need the Benedicts solution, a small pot, the Bunsen burner, and brown paper towels for cleanup. First step is to turn your Bunsen burner on, fill your small pot about a quarter of the way with water, and place it on the burner. You will then take a sample of each of the ten food items and place them in an individual test tube. You may have to push the food down to the bottom. Once you do that, go ahead and put a few drops of the Benedicts solution into each tube. You will most likely have to swirl some of the test tubes to get the solution and the food to mix. Once you have your test tubes prepped, and your water is boiling, put each test tube into the water. Remember where you put them each, since you will be boiling the tubes for about five minutes, and some foods may not be recognizable once they are boiled. After the five minutes are up, take out the tubes and record what color they changed to, if there was any change. If there was any color change in the food, that indicates that the food contains sugar. For the next test, which is starch, you will need the brown paper towels for cleanup, the spoon, the small dishes, and the Iodine solution. To start, take a sample of each of the ten foods and place them in an individual spot on the small dish. Next, take the Iodine and place a few drops of it in each sample of food. You may need to use the spoon to mix the Iodine and any of the liquids together. After maybe a few seconds, just to let the Iodine soak in, record the change in color, if any. If the color had changed to a blue or black color, this indicates that there is starch present. The third test is for lipids. For this test, you will need the brown paper towel, the small dish (cleaned off) and a sample of each foods. You will set the paper towel down on the table and then just place the sample of food on the towel. You will want to let the food sit there for a while to let the foods soak onto the towel. Once you let them sit for a few seconds, start checking if there is a translucent spot where the food sample just was. Make sure to do one food at a time so as to not get any foods mixed up. And make sure to record your findings. The fourth and final test is for proteins. For this test, you will need to the small dishes, the brown paper towels for cleanup, the spoon (cleaned off), and the biuret solution. You will place a sample of each food in each dish and then place a few drops of the biuret solution on each sample. Let it sit for a few seconds to let the solution soak in. Once the biuret solution has soaked in, record the change of the color, if any change. In the next two pages, you will see two graphs. These are the results from when my partner and I did the tests. The first graph (Figure One) contains the solution names and the color changes or if there was transparency. The top row of the graph has all four names of the solution. Each row afterward is then dedicated to a food. Such as row one, it is dedicated to the test results for apple. The columns after the column of food is the results of each test. The second graph (Figure Two) is what tells if the food contains sugar, starch, fat, and protein. The top row is what asks the question, such as ‘Sugar Present?’ Just like in Figure One, the first column is dedicated to the foods, and row one is dedicated to apples. Under every heading on the top row, you will find the word either ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ ‘Yes’ obviously means that whatever the heading say, is present in the food, and ‘no’ means that it is not present. As you can tell from me and my partner’s findings, there were many ‘yes’s. Many of which came from foods we did not expect. However, only two foods contained all sugar, starch, lipid, and protein. Those two foods being white potato and chicken. For my hypotheses about sugar, I had said that apple, syrup, sweet potato, white potato, oil, and corn would contain sugar.
Turns out, oil does not contain sugar. So, in turn, that hypotheses was wrong. But I did find out that bread, chicken, and yogurt did contain sugar.
My next hypotheses stated that apple, sweet potato, oil, mayo, corn, and yogurt will contain starch. Yet, apple, oil, mayo, and yogurt do not contain starch. I did find out, however, that white potato, bread, and chicken do contain starch.
My third hypotheses said that apple, oil, chicken, and corn would contain fat. But I was wrong in saying that corn would contain fat. However, syrup, white potato, bread, mayo, and yogurt do contain fat.
My final hypotheses stated that sweet potato, bread, chicken, and yogurt would contain protein. As it turns out, sweet potato and bread do not contain protein. Yet, white potato and mayo do contain protein.
Overall, testing foods for their contents has taught me more than I knew. It was quite interesting learning about what was in which foods. This test can actually be very helpful to those recently and previously diagnosed with a
disease pertaining to sugar or starch. Learning about contents in food can also help you become a healthier person and live a healthier
lifestyle.
I wonder what images are going through your mind right now. Most of you are probably thinking “no sugar, injections, diets, doctors.” You’re right, mostly. Pre-med students have it down to a science; some of them even have the nerve to try explaining it to me. I may not know all the details, but I know what they feel like. I have heard just enough horror stories to scare me away from reading up on my own illness. Yes, I realize the stupidity of this rationalization, yet almost every person I talk to about my fears seems to have the same story to tell me: “I had an aunt who had diabetes, but she didn’t take care of herself. She went blin...
During the year 1889, two researchers, Joseph Von Mering and Oskar Minkowski, discovered the disease that is known today as diabetes. Diabetes is a disease in which the insulin levels (a hormone produced in unique cells called the islets of Langerhans found in the pancreas) in the bloodstream are irregular and therefore affect the way the body uses sugars, as well as other nutrients. Up until the 1920’s, it was known that being diagnosed with diabetes was a death sentence which usually affected “children and adults under 30.” Those who were diagnosed were usually very hungry and thirsty, which are two of the symptoms associated with diabetes. However, no matter how much they ate, their bodies wouldn’t be able to use the nutrients due to the lack of insulin.
Today 7 percent of people have diabetes, whereas in 1980 only 3 percent had the disease. Research suggests that sugar may very well cause diseases that kill hundreds of thousands of Americans every year. With all that being said you have to understand how and why sugar has affected our people. You have to understand how sugar consumption is linked to Diabetes. You have to understand that even though it’s killing our people, Sugar is the most traded commodity for some countries, and if you took that away there economy would implode. Why has sugar had such an effect on our society, and how has that transitioned into Diabetes?
At the age of twelve, I was diagnosed with Type One Diabetes. I remember the whole event of my diagnosis. At first, I thought that it was fun to have, because I had no understanding of what diabetes meant. People found out at school, and It gave me a lot of attention. As time progressed, I realized that I would have to eventually give myself shots. It gave me a wake up call. I eventually figured out that I would not be able to get rid of diabetes, because it is permanent. It was not a game, it was real life. I couldn't just turn off the video game and have it be done. Diabetes caused me to grow up really fast compared to most of my friends. I gave myself my first shot at the age of 12 and a half. I had to test my own blood sugar four times
The encyclopedia showed the educational view on nutrition and how it has affected students. It described proper eating habits and how to follow them.
Nuts (I eat almonds and raw peanut butter, but most of the nuts are similar in nutrition facts).
Bread and pasta (Check labels! 90% of sandwich breads have added sugar. We like Ezekeil bread for a sugar free
Saturated fat and cholesterol and an increased risk of heart disease. Fiber and a reduced risk of cancer. Fruit, vegetables and grain products that contain fiber and a reduced risk of heart disease.
It is important to stay away from empty calorie foods and energy dense foods. Empty calorie foods are foods high in calories but contain little nutrients like vitamins, proteins, and minerals. Examples of empty calorie foods include chips and soda. These are the normal snack foods and craving foods. Energy dense foods are foods that contain a high amount of calories per unit. These foods are often processed and have a high shelf life. Fast food like hamburgers, fried chicken and milkshakes are examples of energy dense foods. There are some exceptions to energy dense foods. For example, nuts are high in calories, but are a good source of healthy fats. It is acceptable to eat nuts in
We have turned sugar, a biochemically harmful substance into a comfort food, using it to reward as well as cure unnecessary cravings. ’Every bite you take is either fight, disease or feeding it’.
safflower, soy, and sunflower oils. In general, stay away from foods that have a long shelf life and are loaded with preservatives. Foods high in simple carbohydrates, such as white bread and bagels, English muffins, and rice and corn cereals, should also be avoided. Artificial flavors and colors in foods can also trigger dangerous inflammation.
You've probably heard about how influential protein is to gaining muscle, but it also gives you
These two articles introduced the people living in two very common nutritional value of food. Which can be seen through the introduction of the nutritional value of food that people actually do not understand. I recommend that people in the pursuit of a healthy life and same time we should first understand the nutritional value of various foods, this way we can more effectively pursue a healthy life. If you do not first understand the nutritional value of various foods you may get bad results. The nutritional value of each food is different, it will benefit and harm. If you can not understand
The most important nutrient categories are starches, minerals, sugars, and electrolytes. Starches and minerals fit into the area of complex carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates are polysaccharides (many sugars bonded together). Because of the multiple bonds, polysaccharides are able to store energy for later use. Simple sugars make up the other group of carbohydrates. The bonding structures of simple sugars are much less advanced that than those of complex carbohydrates. This allows for the burning of simple sugars in an athlete's body. Electrolytes are a category of their own because they are helpful to an athlete all of the time, whether energy storage or energy burning is needed.
Proper nutrition is one of the most essential elements to being healthy and living a long life. People deal with food every day, and food has been a part of life since the beginning of civilization. What we eat becomes our diet, and our diet plays a major role in deciding how healthy we are and how well our body functions. Without proper diet, our body cannot carry out the functions it needs to perform. Most people have some common knowledge on what is good and what is bad for the human body to consume. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains are some common items people think of when they think of healthy foods. However, it is not enough just to know what foods are good for your body, it is also important to understand why certain foods are good for you and what they do to help the body function.