Prometheus the Light Bearer

Do you love spicy food? I do! But sometimes, I end up eating something that is way too hot for me and my eyes start watering like crazy. Have you ever wondered why that happens? Well, let me tell you! It's all because of a nerve called the trigeminal nerve . This nerve is responsible for sensing things on our tongue, our face and our eyes. It helps us feel pain, temperature, touch and pressure . Schematic illustration of the trigeminal nerve and the organs (or structures) it  supplies. When we eat spicy food, we are actually eating chemicals called capsaicinoids . These chemicals irritate the nerve endings on our tongue and send a signal to the brain that something is wrong. The brain then thinks that there is a problem in all the areas that the trigeminal nerve covers , not just the tongue. Capsaicin So, the brain activates a reflex to protect us from the irritation. This reflex makes us produce more tears in our eyes, more saliva in our mouth and more sweat on our face . These ...

 If you love tea with milk, you might wonder how this delicious drink affects the nutritional value of milk. Milk is a rich source of many vitamins and minerals, especially calcium, but does heating it up for tea destroy these nutrients? Let's find out! Milk undergoes a process called pasteurization at the dairy, which kills any harmful bacteria without affecting its quality. Pasteurization involves heating the milk to a temperature of about 72°C for 15 seconds and then cooling it rapidly . This is different from boiling the milk at home, which involves reaching a temperature of 100°C and keeping it there for a longer time. Pasteurization Process Boiling the milk can cause some changes in its constituents, especially the water-soluble vitamins like vitamin C and some of the B vitamins. These vitamins are sensitive to heat and can be destroyed by prolonged exposure to high temperatures. Milk is not a major source of vitamin C, but it does contain some vitamin B12 and folic acid, w...