Tagged Questions
1
vote
0answers
34 views
How do omega-3 fatty acids reduce cholesterol at the molecular level?
I have heard that omega-3 fatty acids found in fish are a good way to prevent/reduce cholesterol problems.
My question is how do omega-3 fatty acids do that: what are they doing on a chemical level ...
-2
votes
1answer
33 views
Good place to ask health based questions? [closed]
I like the development of biology.stackexchange.com, but it is still in an early stage and far from perfection. While we develop it further, could you guys help me finding places to ask questions ...
10
votes
3answers
255 views
Where does the 'C' in exhaled CO2 mostly come from?
When a human being exhales $CO_2$, what is, by the numbers, the main source of carbon atoms exiting the body in this way? I mean what class of cells, or which tissues are the biggest on a pie chart of ...
2
votes
0answers
34 views
Do humans have chemosensors for nutrients or chemicals?
I'm reading about chemoreceptors on Wikipedia, and see that the typical ones are mentioned: taste, smell, co2. I would like to learn more about the other kinds of chemoreceptors that humans may ...
2
votes
0answers
63 views
Virucides - Herbal and otherwise, for HHV6 type virus or any inner-cell virus
Does anyone know where I can find a reliable list of virucides (not anti-virus) that can be used by humans? This virucide must be able to affect viruses that are already inside the cells. St John's ...
3
votes
1answer
88 views
What is the molecular basis of hangovers?
Well, most of us have experienced the wonderful feeling of the dreaded hangover. How does it work exactly? I imagine it has something to do with dehydration but what are the underlying mechanisms?
...
3
votes
1answer
729 views
Does mixing alcoholic drinks really make you more drunk?
There is plenty of anecdotal evidence ("beer after wine and you'll feel fine, wine after beer will make you feel queer") that mixing alcoholic drink types leads to a stronger effect, but I can't find ...
7
votes
3answers
162 views
What alternatives are there to the amyloid hypothesis?
Given the recent failure of the Bapi clinical trial, there is a lot of questions that have arised from he amyloid hypothesis. However, I can't really think of many other mechanisms that don't involved ...
8
votes
1answer
180 views
Why does hair turn grey or white, and why does it happen later for some?
The question is pretty simple: what is happening molecularly when hair turns grey or white? I would imagine that it is due to the lack of a particular compound. I'm also interested in why some ...
1
vote
2answers
226 views
How are proteins formed?
Somewhere, I have read that we need to consume proteins to make amino acids to make new proteins. What does it suggest? How do we make proteins from proteins?
7
votes
1answer
92 views
How Antioxidants affects Human Metabolism?
I'd like to know how antioxidants affects the human metabolism and which ones are essential for metabolism processes.
17
votes
4answers
2k views
Death because of distilled water consumption
One of my friends said that I would die if I drank distilled water (we were using it in a chemistry experiment) I gave it a go and surprisingly did not die.
I did a bit of Googling and found this
...
11
votes
3answers
409 views
What happens to dextrorotatory amino acids in humans?
As indicated by this question, most of the amino acids in the human body have the L-chirality. As enzymes also have handedness, what happens to the D-amino acids that end up within the human body? Are ...
7
votes
2answers
115 views
During famine, does the human body do anything to prioritize which organs receive nutrients?
When food is scarce, the body slows its metabolism. Are there any other systems or processes that encourage prioritization of organs?
8
votes
2answers
260 views
Why do people say that trans fatty acids are bad for your health?
I've heard from several sources that trans FAs are bad for you and their consumption will lead to cardiac problems, and that they are indigestible.
But I also learned from biochemistry that they are ...
6
votes
1answer
1k views
Does consuming sodium benzoate (preservative E211) cause problems during pregnancy?
There seems to be strong evidence to support the claim that sodium benzoate (E211) causes hyperactivity in young children, e.g. Bateman et al. (2004) and McCann et al. (2007). This leads me to ...
7
votes
1answer
129 views
Does cooking ginger reduce its anti-nausea effect?
There seems to be strong evidence to support the hypothesis that eating ginger helps reduce nausea e.g. during pregnancy (e.g. Vutyavanich et al.). It seems that gingerol is the active ingredient in ...
24
votes
4answers
593 views
Human perception of time depending on age
From what I can tell and what thus far all people with whom I discussed this subject confirmed is that time appears to "accelerate" as we age.
Digging a little, most explanations I found basically ...
15
votes
2answers
1k views
What is the mechanism behind “acquired” alcohol tolerance?
I can understand natural variation in alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) in a population leading to variation in rate of inebriation (after controlling for other variables -- e.g., mass, food consumption, ...
