Ecology of food. What is sustainable nutrition? Finished works on a similar topic

Kuban State University

Physical culture, Sports and Tourism.

Department of Life Safety

and drug addiction prevention.

ABSTRACT on the topic:

"Modern problems

Ecology of nutrition"

Completed:

1st year student

Faculty of AOFC

Groups 07 OZ-1

Mamykin Yuri Vladimirovich

KRASNODAR 2008

Introduction.

It is known that since 1650 the population of our planet has doubled at regular intervals. In the 20th century it grows at a rate of 2.1% per year and doubles every 33 years.

The rate of increase in the number of malnourished and starving people is no less rapid. Their number is already approaching half a billion.

To compensate for the lack of food, a third of the planet's crops are grown using chemical fertilizers, 15% of the Earth's crops are genetically modified products. The volume of use of synthetic pesticides in the world has reached 5 million tons per year, i.e. almost 1 kg for every person on Earth. But, according to experts, five times more pesticides are required than are used, i.e. 20-25 million tons. However, such a scale of their use can give rise to a large-scale environmental disaster.

Nutrition and health.

The quality of nutrition is directly related to human health and immunity.

The nutritional factor plays an important role not only in the prevention, but also in the treatment of many diseases. For normal growth, development and maintenance of vital functions, the body needs proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and mineral salts in the quantities it needs.

Improper nutrition is one of the main causes of cardiovascular diseases, diseases of the digestive system, diseases associated with metabolic disorders, damage to the cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive and other systems, the ability to work and resistance to diseases sharply decrease, reducing life expectancy on average for 8-10 years.

In natural products, many biologically active substances are found in equal and sometimes higher concentrations than in the drugs used. That is why, since ancient times, many products, primarily vegetables, fruits, seeds, and herbs, have been used in the treatment of various diseases.

Many food products have bactericidal effects, inhibiting the growth and development of various microorganisms. Thus, apple juice delays the development of staphylococcus, pomegranate juice suppresses the growth of salmonella, cranberry juice is active against various intestinal, putrefactive and other microorganisms. Everyone knows the antimicrobial properties of onions, garlic and other products. Therefore, today in the world the issue of environmental purity of food has become acute.

Nitrates and nitrites.

Nitrates are salts of nitric acid, with which nitrogen is supplied to plants from the soil - a necessary element for the synthesis of proteins, amino acids, chlorophyll and other organic compounds.

Nitrogen is an integral part of compounds vital for plants, as well as for animal organisms, such as proteins. Nitrogen enters plants from the soil, and then enters the bodies of animals and humans through food and feed crops. Nowadays, agricultural crops almost completely obtain mineral nitrogen from chemical fertilizers, since some organic fertilizers are not enough for nitrogen-depleted soils. However, unlike organic fertilizers, chemical fertilizers do not freely release nutrients under natural conditions.

This means that there is no “harmonious” nutrition of agricultural crops that satisfies the requirements of their growth. As a result, excess nitrogen nutrition of plants occurs and, as a result, accumulation of nitrates in it

Excess nitrogen fertilizers leads to a decrease in the quality of plant products, a deterioration in their taste properties, and a decrease in plant tolerance to diseases and pests, which, in turn, forces the farmer to increase the use of pesticides. They also accumulate in plants.

Our experts note that, for example, in imported potatoes the nitrate content is almost 2 times higher than in domestic potatoes.

An increased content of nitrates leads to the formation of nitrites, which are harmful to human health. Consumption of such products can cause serious poisoning and even death in humans.

Genetically modified foods.

The main risks of industrial cultivation of GM crops include:

Management of gene transfer from GM crops to traditionally bred varieties;

Management of the practically uncontrolled spread of GM crops beyond the limits of the areas permitted for their cultivation;

Correct assessment and planning of GM crop rotation;

Control of biological usefulness and safety of GM crops;

Interterritorial and interstate flows of GM crop seeds

In varieties created by traditional methods, the resistance created is correlated with its other types and, accordingly, can be regulated. In the case of GM crops, this is impossible. This danger can be very great when creating varieties of GM crops that are highly resistant to one disease. If they dominate an agrocenosis, they will create strong selection pressure in favor of pathogen strains that overcome resistance.

With slow variety change, this will lead to severe epiphytoties and panphytoties, since all countries will have genetically homogeneous GM varieties of a certain crop.

Soils under GM crops can become an important factor favoring epiphytoties. It has been shown that the phyto-mass of Bt corn does significantly reduce the overall metabolic activity of the soil (Saxena and Stotzky, 2001). Consequently, this can negatively affect the suppressiveness of the soil against root rot pathogens. This issue requires serious study, since large areas can be occupied by Bt crops.

In general, we already have a situation with Bt crops where the resistance of target pests to them is rapidly increasing. Considering that they are already grown in 62 countries, then such a selection of resistant forms on a large scale is inevitable.

It should be taken into account that the introduction of only 5% of GM crops into agrocenoses can irreversibly disrupt the adapted complexes of agroecosystems that have developed during the cultivation of traditional varieties.

This pattern is true for all GM crops that are resistant to herbicides, pests and diseases.

In 1995, the US government allowed the commercial use of Bt-protected crops, subject to strict adherence to strategies to curb the development of pest resistance to Bt toxins. It should also be taken into account that the genes responsible for the synthesis of Bt toxins in GM crops can be integrated into the genomes of the bacteria E. coli and B. subtilis, which form the basis of the gastric microflora of humans, farm animals and birds.

As a result of this genetic transformation, these microorganisms can produce toxins that destroy the gastric mucosa.

GM crops with complex resistance to pests and herbicides have all the disadvantages of GM crops with one type of resistance and can become a source of pest races and strains of phytopathogens with cross resistance.

This is all the more likely since all types of GM crops are affected by diseases and pests (except for target crops), just like traditional varieties.

The range of resistance of GM crops to phytopathogens is no wider than that of traditional varieties. At the same time, if for the latter we can predict the long-term consequences of their resistance to certain types of phytopathogens and quickly respond to extreme situations, then for GM crops this is impossible.

In other words, the cultivation of transgenic crops does not exempt one from chemical control of pests and diseases, but this area is almost unexplored.

The phytopathological situation during the cultivation of GM crops and from the point of view of their genetics is unpredictable. It was revealed that transgenic soybean contains several DNA fragments, the origin and functions of which cannot be determined. Permission to use these fragments during the registration of GM soybeans was not obtained.

It can be assumed that other GM crops contain “extra” DNA fragments that can disrupt the processes responsible for the synthesis of normal, including protective proteins. Moreover, companies do not inform about such inserts and it is impossible to predict the behavior of these crops in the agrocenosis.

With the mass cultivation of GM crops, genetic contamination of historically grown crops will become irreversible.

Nuclear pollution.

The Russian State Medical and Dosimetric Agency has recorded almost half a million people exposed to radiation as a result of the Chernobyl disaster.

The number of cases of thyroid cancer among the population of contaminated areas is growing. The cause could be irradiation of the thyroid gland of children and adults due to iodine shock. Which was most intense in the Bryansk, Oryol, Kaluga and Tula regions. About 1000 people are exposed to additional radiation doses above 1 mSv/year.

After the accident in Russia, 2,955,000 hectares of agricultural land were exposed to radioactive contamination, including 171,000 hectares with a density of 15 Ci/km 2 and higher.

Reductions in the volume of special agricultural activities in 1993-1994 caused an increase in the content of radioactive cesium in crop products and feed.

In the Novozybkovsky district, for example, the level of contamination of hay and feed in 1994 compared to 1992 increased by an average of 1.5 times.

The most hygienically significant in the surveyed territories, as already noted, is radiocesium - a long-lived radioactive substance with a half-life of 30 years. Since the effective half-life of 137 Cs is on average 70 days, its content in the body is almost completely determined by dietary intake and, therefore, the accumulation of this isotope depends on the level of contamination of food products.

The regulator of biochemical processes is food. Due to disturbances in the quality of food, metabolism is disrupted. Functional disorders lead to morphological disorders, and the latter, entrenched in generations, become genetic, hereditary.

Many edible plants synthesize and continuously contain small amounts of toxic chemical compounds to protect them from insects and animals. Thus, a flavonoid such as kersetin, contained in onions, is a fairly strong mutagen. The body's detoxification system is capable of neutralizing not only natural, but also artificial chemicals that come from food, if they come in small doses. Paracelsus also said: “Everything is poison, and nothing is devoid of poisonousness; just the dose makes the poison invisible.” Doses will be small if the diet is varied. When consuming the same products, the administered dose of the same substances will increase and accumulate.

About the environmental purity of modern products. Chemicals can get into food products as a result of treating agricultural fields with mineral fertilizers, pesticides, during transportation, or when using chemical additives to improve the appearance, marketability and other properties of products. There are known cases of food contamination with metal compounds (lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium, tin), as well as petroleum products, pesticides, and nitro compounds. For example, studies have shown that in roach, which was caught in the Setunya River near Moscow, the lead content is three times higher than the maximum permissible concentrations, and in Yauza perch the content of petroleum products is even 250 times higher. And this applies not only to river fish, but also to sea fish: in Azov, sturgeon accumulate excess lead, flounder - copper, gobies - chromium, herring - cadmium, and tiny sprat - mercury.

Our country's dairy industry is not in the best position either. The audit showed that Moscow dairy processing enterprises receive dairy products in which the content of antibiotics and toxic elements (lead, zinc, arsenic) exceeds permissible levels by 2-3 times. These neotoxins are retained in the finished product.

It is known that many different substances are added to poultry and cattle feed to make the animals healthy and grow faster. Small amounts of additives may remain in meat and thus enter the human body. The consequences are varied. For example, the hormonal drug diethylstilbestrol was used as a growth stimulant in cattle. However, this drug has caused cancer in children born to women who took it during pregnancy. There is also evidence that it increased the risk of developing cancer in women themselves.

Another concern about drugs in feed is that animals can develop resistant strains of bacteria when antibiotics are routinely given to them. Animals raised in cramped feedlot conditions respond to antibiotics with greater weight gain. It has now been proven that such resistant bacteria can cause disease in humans. In England, there was a case where injections of large doses of antibiotics into dairy calves led to epidemics of antibiotic-resistant salmonellosis in humans.

It is known that the main part of nitrates and nitrites enters the human body with water and food (with plant foods, especially when growing vegetables in conditions of increased amounts of nitrogen-containing fertilizers). In plants, nitrates are converted to nitrites by the enzyme nitrate reductase. This process occurs especially quickly when vegetables are stored at room temperature for a long time. The process of converting nitrates into nitrites in food products is sharply accelerated when they are contaminated with microorganisms. Boiling foods in a large volume of water reduces the content of nitrates and nitrites by 20-90%. On the other hand, cooking in aluminum cookware leads to the reduction of nitrates into nitrites.

The toxic effect of nitrates and nitrites is associated with their ability to form methemoglobin, as a result of which the reversible binding of oxygen to hemoglobin is disrupted and hypoxia develops (lack of oxygen in tissues). The greatest pathological changes are observed in the heart and lungs; the liver and brain tissue are also affected. High doses of nitrates and nitrites cause intrauterine fetal death and retardation in the development of offspring in experimental animals. It is believed that sodium nitrite causes the breakdown of vitamin A in the digestive tract.

Nitrites can form nitrosamines, carcinogenic compounds that contribute to the development of cancer. Nitrosamines are mainly formed during smoking, salting, pickling, canning with the use of nitrites, as well as during contact drying of products. Most often they are found in smoked fish and sausages. Among dairy products, the most dangerous are cheeses that have gone through the fermentation phase. From vegetable - salted and pickled products, and from drinks - beer. When taking high doses of nitrates with drinking water and food, nausea, shortness of breath, bluish skin, and diarrhea appear after 4-6 hours. All this is accompanied by weakness, dizziness, and loss of consciousness.

Tomatoes, onions, grapes and eggplants accumulate the least nitrates; most of all - carrots, watermelons, beets, cabbage.

Do not use aluminum cookware for cooking;

During heat treatment, some of the nitrates are destroyed, some go into the decoction, so it should not be used as food;

Start cooking beef in cold water, this will transfer more toxins into the broth; after a five-minute boil, do not hesitate to pour out the first broth, cook soups only in the second broth;

Peeled vegetables must be soaked in advance (at least an hour) in slightly salted boiled water to remove excess nitrates.

Nutritional supplements. There is another important source of “contamination” of food products - the addition to them (for the purpose of canning, to improve taste, color, etc.) of many synthetic chemical compounds, the negative effects of many of which on the body have not yet been fully studied. In particular, in the USA, 1000 food additives are allowed only in drinks like Coca-Cola.

We often see beautiful ripe fruits on the shelves of our stores. If you look closely, you will notice a mottled gray coating. These fruits are saturated with highly concentrated preservatives that kill not only putrefactive bacteria, but also the cells of the human body and the intestinal bactericidal environment. The consequence is loss of immunological protection, ulcerative and tumor processes. In addition to preservatives, apples, strawberries, grapes, and many other fruits are covered with an emulsion film for long-term storage. Not only fruits, but also pink sausages, sausages, salami, fish soufflés, shiny dried apricots and raisins in wrappers, vegetable oils that do not go bitter from long-term storage are stuffed with preservatives.

When purchasing imported products, first of all carefully study the symbols printed on the packaging. The letter E and a three-digit number indicate that the product was manufactured using food additives, many of which are hazardous to health. The manufacturer honestly warns the consumer: “You are free to decide whether to buy this product, which is cheaper, or prefer an impeccable one, but more expensive.”

Meat fried until brown and bread deeply toasted in a toaster also contain mutagenic and carcinogenic active substances. If there is a large amount of highly fried foods in food, a person consumes a daily amount of carcinogenic active substances equal to the daily intake of a smoker who smokes 2 packs of cigarettes per day.

One of the paradoxes of civilization is refining. “Our civilization methodically destroys natural food products in order to make them more attractive, although this is done to the detriment of health” (M. Goren). White flour of the highest grades, from which the bran has been completely removed, is devoid of ballast substances, salts, vitamins, and the amount of proteins in it is sharply reduced. Polished, refined rice does not contain dietary fiber or vitamin B1. Refined foods are called "empty calories."

Do not eat moldy foods! Remember that mold releases toxins (aflatoxin, ochratoxins, etc.), which pass into the thickness of the product; aflatoxins pass into processed vegetables and fruits. Do not use moldy products for making juices, wine, marmalade, etc. Peanuts, lentils, nuts, apricot kernels may contain aflatoxins without visible mold or a moldy smell;

Do not eat fruits and vegetables if they are grown near highways or factories;

When storing alcoholic tinctures on stone fruits for a long time, a strong poison - hydrocyanic acid - passes into the solution;

When storing potatoes in the light, as well as during their germination, solanine is formed. It gives potatoes their green color. Solanine poisoning is not fatal, but it is still better to avoid it. Green potatoes should be thoroughly peeled, removing the “eyes”;

Do not use newspaper to wrap food as it contains high levels of lead and

When using a cast iron frying pan, less iron is absorbed by food;

The degree of extraction of copper and lead by products depends on the degree of wear of the dishes. After a long period of use, the effectiveness of the protective layer of tin covering copper decreases;

Zinc, which contains some cadmium, is easily dissolved by dilute acids, and the dishes should not be used to store foods containing acid;

After opening the can and storing it at room temperature, the amount of tin that passes from the tin plate into the food increases; the transfer of tin into food from cans increases in the presence of nitrates, and the toxicity of tin in the presence of nitrates increases.

Professor B. Rubenchik in the book “Nutrition, Carcinogens and Cancer” writes: “Among artificial additives that prevent spoilage or improve the quality and safety of products, carcinogenic activity has been found in some dyes, aromatic and flavoring substances, and antibiotics. Carcinogens can form in food products during smoking, frying, and drying. Therefore, eliminating carcinogenic substances from human food is one of the most important ways to prevent cancer...”

Food quality disorders and their impact on human health

Pollutants or toxic substances present in the food of modern people, who are under threatening environmental influences, can cause severe food intoxication and worsen the quality of life. This problem becomes more acute with the appearance of more and more imported food products on the food market, but above all with the deteriorating environmental situation. Ecologically clean food is what every person and society as a whole dreams of.

Unfortunately, food can often be a carrier of xenobiotics, or foreign substances that enter the body with food and have a high degree of toxicity, such as radionuclides, pesticides, nitrates and nitrites, mycotoxins - chemicals produced by some molds (fungi), biological pollutants .

Note 1

The main part of nitrates and nitrites enters the human body with water and food.

Poor quality food, a person’s diet, improperly balanced, with a deficiency or excess of substances necessary for the body’s functioning, can act as risk factors and cause a number of diseases, both acute and chronic. It is especially dangerous that disorders turn from functional to morphological, and then, over time, to genetic, affecting future generations.

Finished works on a similar topic

• Course work Ecology of food 400 rub.
• Essay Ecology of food 220 rub.
• Test Ecology of food 220 rub.

Poor quality food, malnutrition, overeating are factors in the development of diseases such as cardiovascular, cancer, diabetes, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver, kidneys and many others.

Contaminants (“foreign”) substances may appear in food accidentally in the form of contaminants - contaminating agents of food products, or specifically as food additives during canning, to improve taste, color, etc., while the negative impact of some synthetic chemical compounds on the body are still under study, and there is no consensus on others.

Classification of food contaminating compounds according to various dependencies

Food contaminants (often chemical contaminants) can enter food products in a variety of ways, for example as contaminants from raw materials, from food containers and packaging materials, or as a result of food production or processing.

There is a high probability of contamination from the environment through air, water and soil: this is radioactive and toxic waste from industry, transport and households.

A significant group of pollutants are residues of agricultural pesticides (fertilizers). These are pesticides and herbicides that penetrate into products after plant protection and pest control, or fertilizers that enter plants from the soil.

It should also be noted that pollution is directly related to the need to treat animals. Antibiotics and psychopharmacological drugs used in animal husbandry can adversely affect humans.

Depending on the chemical nature of the compounds, food contaminants can be classified into nine groups:

1. Radionuclides.
2. Heavy metals and other chemical elements. These include fluorine, arsenic, aluminum, chromium, cadmium, nickel, tin, copper, lead, zinc, antimony and mercury.
3. Mycotoxins.
4. Pesticides and herbicides.
5. Nitrates and nitrites.
6. Detergents (detergents) that will be contained in food products during poor rinsing of equipment in the dairy and canning industries, as well as when using detergents in everyday life.
7. Antibiotics, antimicrobial agents and sedatives.
8. Antioxidants and preservatives used to extend the shelf life of food products.
9. Compounds that are formed during long-term storage or during high-temperature processing of food products.

Substances contaminating food products are classified according to the nature of their effect on the human body, toxicity and degree of danger. By the nature of the action, these are either substances with a general effect (irritating, allergic, carcinogenic), or substances that have an effect on individual systems and organs of a person (nervous, hematopoietic systems, liver, stomach, intestines, etc.).

INTRODUCTION

We eat food every day and do not think that food is not only the maintenance of life, but also its quality. Quality of life is our well-being, health, joy of life or indifference to it, family, household and social activity and much more. Food is a source of energy, plastic substances and a complex pharmacological complex. From the chemical composition of food, three groups of substances - nutrients are distinguished: macronutrients, micronutrients, non-nutritive, or non-nutritive substances.

Food entering the body may contain foreign substances, sometimes even in high concentrations. Foreign chemicals (FCS) are compounds that are not inherent in natural food products. They can be added to food in order to improve the technology of its production, preservation, or improvement of the product, or they can be formed in the product as a result of technological processing (heating, frying, irradiation), as well as due to environmental pollution. Which of the products that we eat every day did not appear in the natural environment, but were created in laboratories and chemical plants? How can a buyer distinguish surrogate products masquerading as real ones? These and other issues discussed in the work are pressing issues of our time.

The use of genetically modified products transforms the problem of food ecology into the category of global environmental problems. This indicates the special relevance of the chosen topic.

Debatability of the topic: The growth of the planet's population, food problems in a number of countries, and the contamination of natural food products with fertilizers and pesticides pose the task of creating “artificial” food to scientists. How justified is the introduction of CCA into food products? Is there really no other way out? How to distinguish the state's concern for the health of citizens from commercial interests?

Our school has been working on the issue of food ecology for many years. We studied the literature on this issue, analyzed the composition of products, held exhibitions of “harmful products,” and created volunteer teams to promote healthy eating. Students from our school met with the author of the book “Blow to Health,” Father Anatoly Berestov. At an open lesson for teachers in our city, the children spoke against advertising of food products contaminated with CCPs.

Goal of the work: Research of food products for the content of chemical substances, assessment of compliance of food product parameters with GOST.

Tasks:

1. Study the literature on this issue.
2. Research food products from the school canteen and shops in the city of Kotelniki using nutritional supplement labels.
3. Compare different types of butter and evaluate the compliance of these products with GOST.
4. Develop recommendations for environmentally safe nutrition.
5. Outline further prospects for research

Product label research

Currently, soy products have become more widespread. Soybean is a plant susceptible to disease, so it is treated with pesticides to obtain a high yield. In our city's stores there are many products with soy additives: pates, sausages, confectionery. Not only is genetically modified soy a cause for concern, but also the excessive consumption of regular soy. We examined many labels and found that soy supplements are often disguised as protein, plant protein, and others. Soy products contain antitrypsins, which can interfere with the natural digestion process of food. It has been established that estrogen-like substances present in soy reduce the ability to bear children. Increased amounts of aluminum and copper are especially dangerous for infants. Our recommendations: Adults can use soy products, which are a good source of vegetable protein, in moderation.

Simple school arithmetic may suggest that such a quantity of fresh fruit is certainly not enough to produce such a mass of cheap natural yoghurts. Today, the entire year's strawberry harvest is not enough to satisfy 20% of US strawberry appetites. Yogurts with “pieces” of fruit are best avoided. To sterilize fruits and vegetables, they are irradiated with a “peaceful atom”. We compared the labels of various yoghurts based on their shelf life. We made recommendations: When buying yogurt, you should remember that among them there are “live” ones (those in which there are live microbial cultures of the starter) and those in which these cultures are killed. The latter are distinguished by an unusually long shelf life, achieved through heat treatment of the product, during which the starter cultures die. This is no longer yogurt, but a useless or even unsafe yogurt product. Real “live” yogurt has a shelf life of no more than a week and should only be stored in the refrigerator at a temperature not exceeding 8 C.

We bought yoghurts in stores in our city and analyzed their composition for the content of food additives. (see Appendix 1)

1. “Fruit Rainbow”. Analysis of the composition according to the label showed: the content of citric acid, dyes E - 104, E - 110 (the most dangerous dyes).
2. Milk-vegetable yoghurt drink contains citric acid, dyes E – 104, E – 110, carotene.

Analysis of the composition of stew made according to specifications (according to the label)

Textured soy protein

E-621, fortified with monosodium glutamate

Color stabilizer E-316 – to create a meat illusion.

Trisodium diphosphate E-450

All this, coupled with preservatives, antioxidants, emulsifiers, constitutes, according to manufacturers, a useful and valuable product.

Research of products sold in the school cafeteria (by labels)

We monitored students' nutrition in the school cafeteria. Most of the school canteen products are made according to specifications. For example: Milky Way, Manifesto, Nuts, Picnic, Straws, Pizza, Sandwich, Chupa Chups, Airy Chocolate, etc.

According to GOST, only “Simply Miracle” and “Slavushka” were manufactured.

School cafeteria display

Popularity rating of school buffet products.

1. Chupa Chups candies contain dyes E-124 - ponceau 4R, E-142 - green S, E - 110 (Can provoke the formation of malignant tumors).
2. Picnic contains E – 471, E – 476, E – 422
3. M&M`s: E – 104 yellow quinoline (the most dangerous factor), E – 110 (dangerous factor), E – 122, E – 124 (the most dangerous factor), E –129 , E – 133, E –171 – titanium dioxide (suspicious p.d.).
4. Nuts E–476, vegetable fat, cocoa butter equivalent, glucose syrup, soy lecithin, flavorings (hazelnut, vanillin).
5. Airy chocolate contains emulsifiers (soy lecithin) E – 476.
6. “Slavushka” GOST 45–70, “Simply Miracle” GOST 45–70

Detection of sweeteners in products by label analysis.

There is no substitute for sugar. Sugar is the most accessible and relatively harmless tranquilizer, which is especially important for some people. If you are in a terrible mood and are overcome by all the fears of the world, just eat something sweet and the world will smile and the fear will recede. You can encounter sweeteners not only in sweet tablets, but also in confectionery, toothpaste and many other products. To spot them, read labels carefully. Sweeteners: E-950, E-951, E-952, E-967, E-420. If the product does not contain a special European designation, remember: surrogates do not and cannot have any GOST. Therefore, when buying a food product, look at the “TU” or you are taking the wrong food. Natural sugar: GOST 21–78. A natural product is not designated as “luxuries”, “pluses” and “extras”. Its name does not use the associative part of the word “natur”.

* In the stores of our city we found: Crab sticks, “Bird's milk”, Bon - bet - contain sorbitol.

* Drinks: Peach (sweeteners: Aspartame E –951, Saccharin E – 954, etc.)

Pinocchio (contains saccharin)

Raspberry jam from Premier

We compared the composition of raspberry jam from different manufacturing companies.

Methodology: test purchase in the “Sweet House” store in Kotelniki, label analysis, tasting.

Observations and conclusions:

1. Firm “Premier”.

The label says “raspberry”. The product contains berries. Visually and taste - red currant with a small amount of raspberries.

2. Firm “Veres”. The label says “raspberry”, contains: raspberries, in reality – raspberry jam.

Read food labels and you will learn a lot of interesting things!

Determination of the content of polyhydric alcohols in chewing gum.

Chewing gum, popular among schoolchildren, contains food additives and chemical substances.

The presence of polyhydric alcohols in Orbit chewing gum can be determined by the interaction of aqueous solutions of chewing gum with copper hydroxide CuSO 4.

Take a piece of gum weighing 1.4 g, add 5 ml of water. Leave for 10–15 minutes, then drain the aqueous solution and add freshly prepared copper hydroxide precipitate to it. (Obtain the remaining copper hydroxide in advance by adding 0.5 ml of a 5% copper sulfate solution to 1 ml of a 5% sodium hydroxide solution).

A dark blue color is observed in the aqueous extract of chewing gum, indicating the presence of polyhydric alcohols in “Orbit”.

Butter research

We examined different types of butter using test purchasing techniques, label analysis, and reaction to fluorescent lamp light.

Only a product obtained from cream and meeting the requirements of GOST 37–91 “Cow butter”, with a fat content of at least 82.5%, can be called butter. If the product is made from cream without the addition of hydrogenated fats, then it is butter. ANY AMOUNT of added hydrogenated vegetable or animal fats instantly transforms the oil into the category of margarines or spreads.

Many reseller companies, passing off margarine as cow butter, like to resort to optical illusion. When packing or repacking, they often stylize the design on the packaging to resemble familiar brands of butter. For example, we came across “Vologda” oil from the Ivanovo region. There are few traditional varieties of cow butter: “Krestyanskoe”, “Lyubitelskoe”, “Buterbrodnoe”. But product counterfeiters like to use clarifications like “special” and “extra”. If the packaging does not contain the word “creamy”, and the ingredients of the product include vegetable fats, mixtures of fats, or any additives, emulsifiers and preservatives, you have a surrogate product – margarine, spread, or cooking oil. You cannot trust the word “oil” on imported packaging. In English, one word means both butter and paste. The Polish word “mazlo” refers to anything that can be spread. Formally, according to Russian laws, the reseller has the right to translate the name of the resulting margarine as “butter.” We came across packaging on which the Russian word is reproduced in Latin letters, for example Maslo, and in this case it is difficult to find fault with the inaccurate name of the product, because it is not known in what language it is given. The image of cows on the wrappers puts natural and falsified food products on the same page. We became interested in the problem of stylizing various types of oil to resemble the popular Vologda oil. Vologda oil is recognized as natural in our country and by the world community. We conducted a raid on the Auchan store. We observed for 2 hours which oil sold out better.

In first place is “Vologda” at a price of 57 rubles.

In second place is “Peasant from Vologda” at a price of 27 rubles.

“Natural Vologda” at a price of 27 rubles was not successful.

We examined samples of “natural Vologda” and “Peasant from Vologda” under a Biomed-4 microscope. “Krestyanskoe” has a yellowish tint, that is, it is more natural than natural Vologda.

Vologda oil from Ivanovo (blue tint) and peasant oil from Vologda (yellow tint) under a Biomed-4 microscope.

They put forward a hypothesis: since Vologda oil is in demand among buyers, manufacturers use the principle of mimicry.

To test the hypothesis, a simple experiment was carried out.

Equipment: beakers, acidified solution of potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate), various types of butter.

Methodology:

1. Prepare an acidified solution of potassium permanganate.
2. Pour into 20 ml. into beakers.
3. Place one teaspoon of different types of butter into these glasses.
4. See the result after 8 hours.

Observations: After 8 hours, the potassium permanganate solution became discolored in the following sequence (from maximum to minimum):

1. Margarine “Mistress”

2. Oil “natural Vologda” from Ivanovo

3. Butter “Peasant” from the Moscow region

4. Oil “Vologda” from the Moscow region

5. “Peasant” from Vologda

6. “Vologda” from Vologda

7. “Anchor”

Conclusion: Oil produced in Vologda is of better quality than “Vologda” oil from the Ivanovo region or from the Moscow region.

Discoloration of potassium permanganate by various types of butter

Research on labels and experimentally the composition and quality of butter.

Margarine can be distinguished from butter by the presence of starch.

Detection of starch in margarine:

Methodology:

1. Melt margarine in a water bath or over low heat.
2. Use a pipette to remove the bottom layer of liquid.
3. Dilute with water 2 times.
4. Add 2 drops of iodine.

Blue coloration indicates the presence of starch. Thus, you can distinguish margarine from butter.

Result: In the samples we studied, we found starch in “Krestyanskoye” oil from Vologda.

Conclusions: Only a product obtained from cream and meeting the requirements of GOST 37–91 “Cow butter”, with a fat content of at least 82.5%, can be called butter. If the product is made from cream without adding hydrogenated fats, then it is butter.

ANY AMOUNT of added hydrogenated vegetable or animal fats instantly transforms the oil into the category of margarines or spreads.

A study of the butter composition according to the labels showed insufficient fat content of butter, even with GOST 37–91. Cheaper butter has a longer shelf life, which makes it possible to suspect the presence of preservatives.

“Vologda” oil must be made in Vologda!

1. Read labels carefully before purchasing a product. Identify food additives using the table (see Appendix 1).

2. Buy products according to GOST, and not according to TU.

3. Eat natural foods! Unrefined, natural foods that have undergone minimal heat and chemical processing provide the best support for human health, provided, of course, that people digest them within reasonable limits. A diet rich in vegetables and fruits protects against cancer of almost all organs.

4. Vitamins and microelements are necessary for the body. But it should be remembered that the need for them is satisfied by food. There is NO NEED, with the exception of winter and spring, to specifically take vitamins, especially without a doctor’s prescription.

5. Avoid refined foods! Dietary fiber has a radioprotective effect. They develop beneficial microflora that absorb toxins, neutralize nitrates, produce vitamins, protect against dysbacteriosis, and improve immunity.

6. What about the environment? Since in a number of regions of Russia the ecology is disturbed and products purchased in stores and markets may be contaminated with heavy metal salts, pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, nitrates, radionuclides (especially a lot of them in the core and peel of apples), measures must be taken to reduce the danger their effects on the body. Already just washing the food in water, soaking, and cooking allows you to do this. Vegetables and plants for salads should be soaked for 10–15 minutes in cold water, then boiled in fresh water. As a result, the nitrate content is reduced by 60–80%. When fermenting or pickling vegetables, the amount of nitrates decreases due to their transfer into brine.

If there is a suspicion of radioactive contamination, you need to peel 3–5 mm from vegetables, at least 3 leaves from cabbage, and soak the meat for two hours in salt water. Potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes, and cabbage accumulate very little radionuclides. Egg shells are reliable protection against radiation. Seafood can remove radionuclides from the body or reduce their levels. These are squid, seaweed, high-protein foods - cottage cheese, cheeses, eggs, fish. Increases resistance to radiation by consuming foods containing calcium - milk, eggs; potassium - beets, dried apricots, nuts.

7. When eating fish you need to know:

There are more fungicides in old fish and in predatory fish. Know the rules of the “commodity neighborhood” - fish and eggs are not sold. River fish may contain DDT.

CONCLUSION

Caring for the health of citizens is one of the priority areas for the development of our state. This indicates the particular relevance of studying some problems of nutritional ecology. Today, our diet includes more and more unnatural, synthetic products, some of which are hazardous to health. A civilized person, a competent buyer, should be able to distinguish between them and deprive unscrupulous food producers of the opportunity to make money on their health. I believe that the problem of food pollution is currently no less, and perhaps even more acute, than the problem of water and air pollution. No amount of population growth can justify the creation of “artificial food.” In this work, along with a special study (Biotox-10M device, chemical experiments), simple household methods are presented that allow you to distinguish a surrogate from a natural product. For example, if you shine a fluorescent lamp on margarine, you will get a bluish tint, and if you shine it on butter, you will get a yellow tint.

The ability to read labels does not require special laboratory equipment. “Our little brothers” can be used as ideal bioindicators. Margarine can lie outside the refrigerator for almost years, and this will not interest flies, rodents or even cockroaches. Dogs and cats prefer tap water to filtered water.

Just as food affects our organs and their functions, it also affects our thinking. A brain fed with toxin-laden blood is unlikely to do its job well. Our thinking and our health are directly dependent on what we eat.

Eat right and be healthy!

Appendix 1. “Food additives”

Scientific adviser: Nesterova Vera Nikolaevna, Romanova Oksana Vladimirovna

Place of work: Moscow region,
g.o. Kotelniki, Municipal Educational Institution KSOSH No. 3

Introduction

According to the approximate calculations of modern science, the age of the Earth is 4.54 billion years. Our planet is a unique ecosystem - consistent, interconnected and subject to laws. Life on earth began 3.6-4.1 billion years ago. Throughout this huge period of time, the Earth existed harmoniously with all living organisms, developed them, nourished and healed them. The theory of evolution involves the adaptation of one's body to changes in the environment. Such an existence is otherwise called being in harmony with Nature. Its laws cannot be circumvented, nature cannot be deceived, it has everything for the comfortable and painless existence of humanity. Modern humanity in many parts of the world has ceased to exist harmoniously. Many ecosystems are being disrupted, forests are being cut down, lakes are drying up, mountains are being destroyed, new deserts are appearing, ice is melting and giant patches of garbage are migrating across the oceans. And as a consequence of all this, the living organism becomes painful. Life expectancy is shortened, health disappears. We live in a new world. Such a world was not seen even a hundred years ago. The world of consumers. We have become so far from nature that it has begun to forget about us. Everything has become artificial: food, water, medicine, values, feelings. And it is quite obvious that all this did not bring health, longevity, or, especially, a happy life. Human health is deteriorating at an accelerating rate. It is already difficult to find a healthy newborn. What existed in harmony for billions of years dies within a century. The average life expectancy of people on earth is 60 years, although the potential of our body is almost limitless. Natural coexistence with Nature is the only method of fighting for our health, the health of future generations and the longevity of the planet.

Protein

Life is a way of existence of protein bodies, we know from the pages of the textbook. Protein is the basis of all living organisms, it is the building block of any tissue in our body, and the building blocks of protein itself are amino acids. The uniqueness of each type of protein depends on the sequence of amino acids, which, in turn, depends on the information contained in its gene, or more precisely, on a specific sequence of nucleotides. The structure of protein molecules is the sequence of amino acids, divided into four levels. Primary structure is the linear sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide chain. Secondary structure is the helical ordering of the polypeptide chain by hydrogen bonds. Tertiary structure is the spatial ordering of spiral (secondary) structures. Quaternary structure is several polypeptide chains within one protein molecule. And each living creature has individual protein molecules, they are determined by the individuality of our genes.

To break down protein molecules into individual amino acids, a special type of protein is produced in our stomach - pepsin, which can destroy central peptide bonds in protein molecules. 20-35 mg per hour is produced in the stomach of an adult man and 25-30% less in women. Pepsin is active only in an acidic environment at pH >6, reaching its maximum at pH = 1.5-2.0. Only the stomach has such an environment in our body, with a pH of 1.8-3.0. But it is capable of destroying protein molecules into peptides and albumin. Peptides are residues of secondary structure, and Albumins are simpler proteins.

Approximately 60% of the protein that enters it dissolves in the stomach; the remaining 40%, leaving the acidic environment, enters the duodenum and continues its journey as an antigen. In the duodenum, the environment is already alkaline pH 5.6-7.9 and parts of the protein molecules that get there must be broken down by Trypsin secreted by the pancreas. But this is not enough for the complete breakdown and absorption of protein molecules. Due to the constant processes of fermentation and putrefaction, substances such as putrescine, cadaverine and other monoamines are synthesized in our intestines - these are products of the putrefactive breakdown of proteins left over from animal food. They spread throughout the body, and due to the constant replenishment of antigens, an autoimmune process begins to occur in the body - this is the process of growth of antibodies. Our own cells become hostile to healthy cells. The body begins to produce additional leukocytes, lymphocytes and others, and all systems of the entire body are disrupted. Any protein formed outside our body, not according to a specific nucleotide sequence or, more simply, not according to our genes, carries foreign information and is a foreign protein. They poison our body every day! Immunity is impaired.

Food energy

But by giving up animal protein and becoming a vegetarian, we will not receive more energy, although it will noticeably increase, but our own resources will no longer be spent on fighting food.

How so? We are used to thinking that it is food that gives us energy. And we're right. Food must give energy, but in order to give it it must have it. Food that does not have hydrogen bonds has no energy potential; we cannot get a boost of energy by eating 200 g of fried meat with boiled potatoes. Energy will be spent trying to break down animal protein, the immune system will spend energy fighting antigens, and starch - with protein residues - will clog the intestinal walls. The large intestine is an organ into which not only digested food is released, but also lymphatic channels that remove toxins from the body. If the intestinal walls are clogged with food debris and feces that have been lying around for years, then the organs do not have the ability to remove toxins. Toxins accumulate, strength becomes less, and we continue to believe that we cannot live without meat and that it is what gives us strength.

Energy in a living organism is ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) - a nucleotide involved in the exchange of energy and substances in cells. Instead of one bond in ATP, there are two, and during the hydrolysis of high-energy bonds of the ATP molecule, 1 or 2 phosphoric acid residues are eliminated, which leads to the release of 40 to 60 kJ/mol. ATP is given to us by nature; its bulk is formed on the membranes of mitochondria, which is typical for most eukaryotic cells, like autotrophs (photosynthetic plants), or, more simply, in fruits. When we eat fresh, raw fruits and berries, glucose is broken down, and as a result of its breakdown we get animal ATP, which is suitable for us, the most universal source of energy. Any heat treatment deprives food of hydrogen bonds, and its energy potential is lost. During intoxication with poisons such as putrescine and cadaverine, the process of oxidative phosphorylation, one of the most important components of cellular respiration, and the production of ATP are disconnected.

A living plant is a unique battery that converts the energy of the sun (photosynthesis) into energy that is given to molecules of Hydrogen, Oxygen and Carbon. Taking inorganic Carbon from the soil, Carbon dioxide and Oxygen from the air, and Hydrogen from water, they synthesize fats and proteins into carbohydrates.

Conclusion

Nature is perfect, it has created everything for our well-being.

Raw plant food contains all the microelements, enough energy and contains information about growth, flowering and development, and not the last memory of the executioner over the unfortunate cow. We are part of this world. We need to return to our usual way of life, to be in harmony with nature. Ecologically eat, live and think.

For reference: pH - power Hidrogen is translated as the power of hydrogen and shows the number of hydrogen atoms in a given liquid medium.

pH = 7 neutral environment

pH = 6.9-0 acidic environment

pH = 7.1-14 alkaline environment