Snooping Around

Awww! That cup of coffee. When you grab it, pouring that dark liquid into your mouth in early morning, you are sure it will help you against sleep. It's commonly known this is caused by caffeine, a chemical widely used for its awakening properties. Caffeine has been used as a drug for thousands of years, both in medicine and in daily life.  There are several plants, cultivated or harvested, that contain this substance, but today caffeine is added to many foods, more than you think. Despite the increase in caffeine use in recent times, many people have little knowledge of the overall effects it has on their bodies. So, let's start with this new "Discovery Central". The word Caffeine derives of course from the world coffee because coffee plants were one the first discovered ones which had a huge amount of it. Caffeine’s chemical name is 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine, based on its formula,  C 8 H 10 N 4 O 2 , and in its pure form caffeine is a very bitter white powde...

Here we are again, talking about curious things about stuff we all use every day. We've discussed about Coffee , Chocolate and Fruits  (click on links if you've missed these articles) … but now let’s find out some new facts about the compound in common with these three delicious products. I’m surely talking about Sugar… in case you haven’t noticed the title yet  J 1. Sugar is the only taste humans are born craving. In fact it is strongly addictive, releasing an opiate-like substance that activates the brain’s reward system. 2. Sugar was one of the first pharmaceutical ingredients used, as still is today, to mask the bitter taste of medicines. 3. Sugar hides in many everyday "non-sugar" foods.  While many people strive to avoid the "normal" sugary culprits (candy, cookies, cake, etc.), they often are duped when they discover some of their favorite foods also contain lots of sugar. Examples include tomato sauce, French fries, hot-dogs, hamburgers, p...

It is the most popular drink ( after water), a nd is consumed almost in every corner of the planet . But there are at least 10 things you (probably ) don't know . 1. Coffee comes from a fruit. This, in fact, it's similar to a cherry. 2. In 18th century, drinking too much coffee was considered a huge social issue. 3. Coffee is more than just a drink. It can be used as a fertilizer. 4. It doesn't contain only caffeine. There are at least 1000 of chemical compounds in coffee, and 20 of these could be carcinogenic. 5.  It would take around 100 cups of coffee for a lethal dose of caffeine. 6. The two most popular beverages on Earth, in order, are water and coffee (maybe this is not so surprising). 7. The word "coffee" comes from the Arabic "qahhwat al-bun," meaning "wine of the bean". 8. Coffee beans are combustible and scientists have suggested that coffee beans could replace fossil fuels as one of our main...