Facts about Junk Food

Facts about Junk Food

An estimate suggests that Frito Lay sells one billion bags of Cheetos per year

Consumption of junk food provides little or no nutrition due to unhealthy ingredients. Junk food is often considered unhealthy especially when eaten regularly. Credit for the phrase ‘junk food’ is given to Michael Jacobson who coined it in 1972 to describe food that provides no nutritional value. Junk food is usually food that can be obtained conveniently in ready-to-eat form such as a bag of chips or food from a ‘fast food’ restaurant.

Facts about Junk Food:

• Paul Johnson and Paul Kenny of Scripps Research Center performed a study which concluded that junk food has similar addictive qualities as that of heroin.
• The glue on envelopes and postage stamps, corn dextrin, is also commonly used to as a thickener in junk food.
• There is an increase in obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, certain cancers, tooth decay, and other diseases by consuming junk food.
• Pregnant or breast feeding mothers who eat junk food are more likely to raise children who will have a higher risk obesity, diabetes, raised cholesterol, and high blood fat.
• Hostess produces 500 million Twinkies per year.
• The creamy center of a Twinkie isn’t really cream at all but rather its made of mostly Crisco.
• More than two billion dollars is generated through sales of candy for Halloween.

So the next time you are considering a snack for yourself or for your children, consider something a little (alot) more healthy.

The human body loses an average of 2.3 liters of water everyday

The human body loses an average of 2.3 liters of water everyday

Here are 5 reasons why:

1.) Evaporation from the lungs - 350ml
This is because the air that enters it becomes moisturized before it is expelled. Can increase especially in cold weather.

2.) Diffusion through the skin - 350ml
Independent of sweating. Both reasons 1 and 2 are what we call insensible water loss because we are not consciously aware of it.

3.) Sweating - 100ml
May increase depending on the level of physical activity and the temperature of the environment.

4.) Feces - 100ml
Can increase in cases of severe diarrhea.

5.) Urine - 1.4 liters
The amount is highly variable depending on the person's hydration status.  It can be as low as 500ml/day in a dehydrated individual or as high as 20 liters in a person drinking large amounts of water

One side of the nose is bigger than the other

One side of the nose is bigger than the other

I noticed that some people have irregular sides of the nose (or maybe mine also haha). After I took up respiratory system, I learned from my readings that the nasal septum rarely lies in the middle, increasing the size of one half of the nasal cavity and decreasing the other.

What is a nasal septum?

- it is made up of the vomer, septal cartilage, and the vertical plate of ethmoid

- it divides the nasal cavity into right and left

L-Carnitine is not a fat burner

L-Carnitine is not a fat burner

Fat is also an important source of energy. Since fat can't freely cross the mitochondria (a structure in a cell where fat can be converted into energy), it needs a carrier/medium for transport.

This is the function of Carnitine, by binding with fat and transporting it across the mitochondrial membrane.

How to effectively eliminate "excess" fat?

1. Diet (Low/No fat & Low carbohydrate)

- lowers down fat buildup in the body at the same time, shifts the body's major source of energy (from carbohydrate to fat)

2. Exercise

Drinking seawater can cause severe dehydration

Drinking seawater can cause severe dehydration

Normally the kidneys excrete a minimum volume of 600 milliosmoles of solutes in 1 liter of urine everyday. Drinking 1 liter of seawater increases the body's NaCl concentration to 1200mOsm.

That means, to be able to excrete the minimum vol. of solutes plus the large amounts of NaCl from the seawater, 2 liters of urine volume must be taken out. This amount already contributes to dehydration which is very common in shipwreck survivors and can be very fatal to the health.

31 Tips on how to defend your research paper

31 Tips on how to defend your research paper

Here is a checklist of common questions and reminders in defending your research paper.
Adopted from Cebu Doctors' University College of Medicine.


1. What are your Inclusion and Exclusion criteria?

2. Include only what's in your objective

3. Explain how you selected your samples/respondents

4. What is your sampling method?

5. Calculation for sample size determination

6. If there are disproportions in your demographic data, why? 

     - For example, why are there more females or males in your study? etc.

7. Limitations encountered in your study

8. What are the Dependent and Independent variables. Their categories? roles?

9. Are there any factors affecting your results?

10. Be familiar with the pages of your research paper

     - especially the Results page

11. What is the role of the Demographic Profile in your study? Their importance?

12. What will you do with the information/results you've gathered?

13. What is the main reason why you conduct this study?

14. Why did you choose these respondents?

15. What are your recommendations for future researchers?

16. Make sure you are able to correlate your results with your objectives and Review of Related Literature

17. Know the terms used in your study and make sure you can define them

18. How did you come to your conclusion?

19. How were you able to track/find your respondents? Any adjustments?

20. If you are doing correlation, why do you want to correlate?

21. If you are utilizing a research questionnaire, how did you score them?

22. When did you conduct your study? Duration?

23. Do you think your study is credible with your presented results? Explain

24. How did you measure your variables?

25. What are your Categorical and Numerical Data?

26. Why did you choose "place" as your locale?

27. What did you do to minimize or combat the limitations in your study?

28. What are the objectives of your study?

29. Did you have a Pre-testing? Who are the subjects? What was the result? What were the changes?

30. What scaling did you use for your study?

31. What was your analysis with your variables?

Note: Most of the panelists' questions are taken from your paper, so be sure you are familiar with every page.

Studying Tips For Medical Students - The Study Room [ FENG SHUI ]

Studying Tips For Medical Students - The Study Room [ FENG SHUI ]

TIP # 1: Room should be kept neat and clean and should be clutter free. Look ways to keep the study desk itself as bare as you can, because that will help with focus.

TIP # 2: Use a chair that's comfortable and should have a high back. Place the chair where there are no shelves present.

TIP # 3: Desk should be positioned in such a way that the window is on the left of the person sitting at the desk.

TIP # 4: The door should be visible to the person sitting at the desk.

TIP # 5: Buy shelves and folders to keep your desk organized.

TIP # 6: Place a picture that is symbolic of water behind the chair or a picture that associates you with positive emotions concerning study to help the flow of creative energy.

TIP # 7: Place a bamboo or cactus in this room because they symbolize good fortune.

TIP # 8: Place sharp leaved plants in this room, as they will ward off harmful influences. Placing a wind chime or a plant can prevent threat that can enter through the window.

TIP # 9: Place things that make you feel good about yourself around your desk (i.e. ribbons or certificates you have been given). This way you can look around you when you are feeling down about the paper you are writing or the exam you are studying for and know that you are a good medical student.

TIP # 10: Make a list of things you want to accomplish while you are in medical school, or just a list of future plans. Keep them in view while you are at your desk. This way you will know that you always have something to work forward too.

TIP # 11: Make a definite line between your studying area and your personal area. You can use a mat to make this difference. People will feel the need to stop before the mat, before they "enter" your study area.

TIP # 12: Before going to sleep, clean up your study area, turn off your computer and prepare your school books for the next day. When you wake up the next morning, you will have less to do and ready to start your day.