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Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The
variety produced by honey bees (the genus Apis) is the one most
commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers
and consumed by humans. Honey produced by other bees and insects has
distinctly different properties.
PROPERTIES
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Honey bees transform nectar into honey by a process of regurgitation, and store
it as a primary food source in wax honeycombs inside the beehive. Beekeeping
practices encourage overproduction of honey so the excess can be taken from the
colony.
Honey gets its sweetness from the monosaccharides fructose and glucose, and
has approximately the same relative sweetness as that of granulated sugar.12 It has
attractive chemical properties for baking, and a distinctive flavor that leads some
people to prefer it over sugar and other sweeteners.1 Most microorganisms do not
grow in honey because of its low water activity of 0.6.3 However, honey sometimes
contains dormant endospores of the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, which can be
dangerous to infants, as the endospores can transform into toxin-producing bacter
in the infant's immature intestinal tract, leading to illness and even death
BENEFITS
The fact is, honey is far better than what most people perceive. Researchers are
turning up more and more new evidence of honey's medical benefits in all
directions. The benefits of honey don't just stop at satisfying the palate; honey also
offers incredible antiseptic, antioxidant and cleansing properties for our body and
health, hot beauty and skin care tips for ladies, and amazing healing properties as a
head-to-toe remedy, from eye conjunctivitis to athlete foot. Its powerful healing
attributes have long been used thousands of years ago and known to promote
healing for cuts, cure ailments and diseases, and correct health disorders for
generations after generations.
This honey not only fights infection and aids tissue healing but also helps reduce
inflammation and scarring. In addition, it is often used for treating digestive
problems such as diarrhea, indigestion, stomach ulcers and gastroenteritis.
DANGERS
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Heavy metals
The Food Standards Agency in the UK routinely measures and monitors the levels
of heavy metals found in foods, and discovered varying amounts of aluminum,
arsenic, cadmium, copper, iron, lead, manganese and zinc in honey and other food
samples. The agency has established limits for how much heavy metal is allowed to
be in honey before it is considered unsafe, and an FSA report, published in 2007,
established that the levels of heavy metals found in honey did not exceed what is
allowed by law, and so the honey is still considered safe to eat.
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Pesticides
Bees collect pollen from flowers to make honey, and many flowers are
treated with fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides, whose chemicals can be
found in the pollen
INFANT BOTULISM
Infant botulism is a very dangerous condition. Botulinum spores are bacteria that can be
found in dust and mold, and sometimes on unwashed fruit and vegetables. They can also be
found in honey. Infants are particularly susceptible to the dangerous properties of these
bacteria, and if they get some into their systems, the results can be deadly.
The intestinal tracts of babies are immature. Once botulinum spores enter their systems, they
can produce a substance called botulinus toxin. After release, this toxin is absorbed into the
blood stream through the intestinal tract.
Babies are at risk for the first year of their lives, but seem to be particularly susceptible
between 2 and 4 months. If adults ingest these spores, once in the intestinal tract, the normally
existing bacterium that is present can take care of the spores and not allow them to proliferate.
Maria Laura Novembre
Francesca Calabre
IV C a.s. 2011/2012
PON di SCIENZE in INGLESE