Author Archives: daryl

Baked potato chips: Are they actually healthier than fried chips?

Posted on March 7, 2016 | 5 comments

Fried potato chips are one of the most common and popular snack around the globe.  Often classified as junk food because of it’s high fat and sodium content, food manufactures have been offering a seemingly “healthier” alternative: baked potato chips.

Baked potato chips manufactured by Lay's Source: Flickr Commons

Baked potato chips manufactured by Lay’s (source: Flickr)

Baked potato chips must be healthy, correct?  They have been prepared without the deep frying process, therefore contain much less fat than the conventional potato chips. For comparison, one cup of conventional potato chips contains about 10 grams of fat while baked chips contain about 6 grams. In addition, baked chips contain much less saturated fat. According to the American Heart Association, saturated fats increases the level of cholesterol therefore the risk of heart diseases.

Since the fat content is lower, baked potato chips may seem like a healthy alternative, but is this really the case?  Studies show that the sodium content of baked potato chips is higher than normal potato chips. Is it suspected that to compensate for less flavour than fried chips, manufactures add more artificial flavouring to baked chips thus increasing sodium content.  Research shows high sodium intake leads to higher blood pressure, which is a leading cause for cardiovascular diseases.

The process of making baked potato chips is very different from fried chips.  Prior to baking potato chips, the potatoes are dried prior to the baking process.  During this drying process, potatoes are heated to high temperatures and releases the chemical compound acrylamide. Acrylamide is a cancer-causing chemical and according to a study by U.S. Food and Drug Administration, baked potato chips contain up to three times the amount of acrylamide compared to fried potato chips. To get an idea of how potato chips are made, have a look at the clip below by NFB:

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Along with the addition of extra flavouring for baked chips, we may even find additional ingredients used such as corn oil. While we are removing the frying process with vegetable oil, the corn oil in baked potato fries are just as unhealthy!

Baked potato chips has its benefits of being low in fat content.  However, consider the other components you are putting into your mouth before you indulge yourself into a bag of baked chips. They may not be so “healthy” after all.

 

Daryl Kwok

 

 

5 Comments

Posted in Science Communication, Uncategorized

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Eccentric training – big muscles without lifting big weights?

Posted on February 8, 2016 | 3 comments

Body-builders achieve their muscles through lifting heavy weights, right?  Although that is partially true, there is a type of training that takes advantage of a contraction that does not physically lift up weights – eccentric contraction.

As opposed to conventional concentric contractions where muscles shorten to lift up weight, eccentric contraction is the lengthening of a muscle under tension. This can be visualized by lifting a dumbbell in your hand with your arms fully contracted, then slowly allow the dumbbell to lower while maintaining tension in your arm.  Your arm muscles will still be contracting and generating force, yet it is lengthening as the force is not enough to overcome the weight of a dumbbell.

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It is shown that eccentric training causes more muscle damage than concentric training.  In terms of weight training, a workout is designed to create muscle damage in order for a muscle to repair and grow larger.  Eccentric training allows us to focus on muscle damage as opposed to just the amount of weight and the speed we are able to lift at. Eccentric contractions also allows us to generate more force with lower energy demand.  This allows  for greater strength developments for those who are more interested in lifting more weight.

How do we engage the body into eccentric training?  We can do so by emphasizing by slowing or braking opposing forces, such as weights or gravity.  An example of this would be chin-ups.  Instead of emphasizing how many chin-ups you can do, focus on the downward movement where you are lowering your body after a chin-up.  Maintain tension throughout your arms and back, and work

Pushup, example of eccentric training. Image: Wikimedia Commons by U.S. Air Force

Pushup, example of eccentric training. Image: Wikimedia Commons by U.S. Air Force

against gravity to lower your body slowly.  Another example would be push-ups. To engage eccentric training on push-ups, focus on slowing down the downward movement where you lower your body towards the ground.

 

 

Eccentric training is used not only for weight training, but also for physiotherapy.  The natural braking movement of the muscle is naturally used to protect joints. We are able minimizing the amount of force upon joints and

knee

Knee tendon, eccentric training is used for rehabilitation. Image: Wikimedia Commons by Tooshikafs

tendons by slowing down movements.  This is especially useful for rehabilitation, and in some studies, eccentric training programs proved better results than standard rehabilitation programs.

 

 

For those who are interested, consider adding eccentric training into your workout program.  Sometimes it’s not about how much weight you are able to lift, or how many push-ups you are able to do.  Eccentric training is an important and effective component of weightlifting.

 

Daryl

 

 

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Self-Driving Cars: The future of transportation?

Posted on January 18, 2016 | 3 comments

Vehicles, trains, ferries, planes – just examples of the wide range of transportation methods available in the modern day.  All of these methods require a human operator, however, we are soon to be introduced to a method seldom heard of: self-driving cars.  In 2009, Google launched the Self-Driving Car Project and began development of a vehicle that drives itself from point A to point B without the need of a driver.

Google_self_driving_car

Image: Wikimedia (by Michael Shick);  Google Self-Driving Car in Mountain View, CA, USA.

An operating software works alongside the sensor seen visibly on top of the vehicle. The sensor consists of lasers and cameras, and it is able to differentiate surrounding objects by a combination of size, speed and shape. With this information, the software is able to anticipate what happens next (for example, if a cyclist passes by).  In the current prototype, the car has no pedals nor steering wheel – the only way humans can control the driving is a red button for emergencies. Google’s prototypes have been released in California and are expected to be released to the public by 2020.

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Other examples of  self-driving vehicles include Tesla models, which have been on the roads of Canada.  Compared to Google’s project, Tesla’s models are not entirely automatic, as they still require a driver to command lane changes and they require a driver to be present and touching the steering wheel periodically.  Nonetheless,  it still contains functions such as cruise control, automatic parking,

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Image: Wikimedia (by Niels de Wit);  Tesla Model S, first Tesla to have autopilot software.

hand-free lane changes, and top speed limit.

Apart from not needing a driver, what else does a self-driving car offer?  Google’s prototype is environmentally friendly because it is completely battery powered. The computer of the vehicle is also programmed to drive safely, although Google has the ability to set the aggressiveness of the drive.  Consultancy firm KPMC predicts self-driving cars can reduce accidents by 80% and an estimated 2500 fewer deaths due to car accidents between 2014 to 2040.

The self-driving car still has it’s limitations though.   The software in all models are still to be perfected and we are still seeing accidents in prototypes. Questions have also been raised about common driving circumstances,  such us backing up a few feet for convenience, or deciding if someone should be let into your lane. If every car on the road was programmed, perhaps we could little to no car accidents.  However both the hardware and software is fairly expensive, such as Tesla’s software requiring a $3000 add on.  In addition there are various legal issues. Ontario still requires a driver  to be in the driver’s seat at all times. Responsibility of accidents are still to be decided between the user and manufacture.

With many factors still unknown, the popularity of the self-driving car in the future is still debatable. However, we can continue to expect steps in development and new self-driving models to appear.

Daryl

 

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