SCIENCE OF CONTRACEPTION

 

          

         THE SCIENCE  Of CONTRACEPTION AND 

                                    BIRTH CONTROL

The growing population is destroying the environment by pollution. Further, it increases the need for natural resources and makes their value increase. This makes the nations poor. The graph between changes in population with the time is a “J"-shaped one. This reveals that the population is increasing yearly. The total human population of the world was doubled once. Now they hope that it will never be doubled again because of the contraceptive and birth control methods. 

Contraception is the prevention of conception. That prevents the fusion of the male with the female gamete (fertilization)

Birth control: This includes contraception, but it also includes any measures taken after fertilization that are designed to prevent birth.

Methods of contraception:

• Barrier method
• Hormonal methods
• Preventing implantation
• Natural methods
• Sterilization
• Termination

Barrier method: Block sperm from reaching the egg, either physically or chemically.

Physical methods: These are methods that use physical devices to prevent the fusion or implantation. Some of these devices are condoms, femidom, cap/diaphragm, and intrauterine devices.

Condom: A thin, strong rubber sheath, placed over the erect penis just before sexual intercourse. This prevents sperm from entering the vagina. The failure rate will be 3% in experience use.

Advantages: No medical advice needed, cheap, easy to obtain, and convenient to use. This gives some protection against sexually transmitted diseases.

Disadvantage: Relies on males. Sometimes it can burst. Some develop allergic reactions to rubber.

Femidom: Similar to a condom. Used by females. This is a thin rubber or polyurethane tube with a closed-end which fits inside the vagina. Open-end stays at the opening of the vagina, flat against the vulva. Insertion should be done before intercourse, and removal can be done at any time after intercourse.

When using condoms, please be careful about following things

• When buying, look for the expiration date and good condition of the sheath
• Store them in a dry place 
• Should wear throughout the process of intercourse.
• Destroying can be done by burying, burning, or putting into a latrine.

Cap/diaphragm: This is a flexible rubber dome that fits over the cervix and prevents the entry of sperm into the uterus. This is used with spermicidal (a chemical that kills sperm) cream. But this method is not in use in Sri- Lanka

Chemical barriers: these are not in use in Sri Lanka.

Hormonal method: These are very common in Sri Lanka, and all methods are used for females. As hormones, estrogen, and progesterone are used, and these are female sex hormones. These hormones are synthesized in laboratories for this purpose and prevent the development of eggs and ovulation. 

  Birth control Pill: Contains the female sex hormones estrogen and progesterone (the synthetic form is progestin) this prevents the development of eggs and ovulation. This is a very reliable method in family planning.

The first pill should be taken within the first 3 days of menstruation. From that instance, one pill should be taken daily for 28 days.

Depo-Provera injection: This is an injection with synthetic hormone progesterone. It should be injected into the muscles of a woman’s arm by a doctor or a nurse. It gives protection for 12 weeks. The first injection should be obtained on the first day after the menstruation. This required regular visits to the clinic.

Preventing implantation: IUD small device made of copper plastic or stainless steel. After menstruation, this should be inserted into the uterus by a doctor and left in place. Prevent implantation. Can remove again if want to have a child.

Natural methods:

There are 4 natural methods.

1. Coitus interruption.

2. Calendar method

3. Basal temperature method.

4. Billing method.

1. Coitus interruption: Penis is withdrawn from the vagina before ejaculation. This is required much self-discipline. The failure rate is 20%.

Disadvantages: Sometimes the liquid secreted before ejaculation may contain sperm. This method may interrupt sexual pleasure.

The other 3 methods are based on the following assumptions:

·         The maximum lifetime of an ovum is 48 hours.

·         The maximum lifetime of sperm is 72 hrs.

·    The period between menstruation and ovulation is constant and ovulation occurs 12-16 days before the next menstruation.

According to these assumptions, she can find her fertility period and can avoid sexual intercourse on these days. How to find a fertile period? To find the fertile period, one can use the following methods:.

2. Calendar charting method: Women use past menstrual cycles as a guide to predict ovulation date. Over 8–12 months, she has to keep a record of the dates of her first day of menstruation. Using these records, she can calculate the number of days between every two cycles. From there she can calculate the average number of days in her menstrual cycle. Then she can estimate the day in her cycle when she is most likely to ovulate

3. Measuring body temperature (basal temperature method): Normally basal body temperature (our body temperature when we are at rest) decreases slightly just before ovulation, and on the day of ovulation it rises about one 1˚ and stays raised for several days. With this method, a woman has to measure her body temperature from the first day after menstruation for three months and should keep records. The temperature should be measured every morning before getting out of bed. After studying these records, she can determine the time in her cycle when she ovulates and can avoid sexual intercourse for 3 or 4 days before and after the ovulation. 

4. Billing method (cervical mucus method)

A woman requires monitoring of the consistency of the cervical mucus. Cervical mucus is sticky, wet, clear, and elastic when preceding ovulation. This secretion can be stretched like a thread using fingertips. A woman has to avoid sexual intercourse when the consistency of the secretions is like this. When it is dry, cloudy, and yellowish, it indicates that ovulation is not occurring.

All the above methods are temporary birth control methods. These are suitable for couples who are married early and if they want to delay their first baby’s birth. Further, if parents want to keep a gap between their children.

Permanent methods

Vasectomy: A surgical procedure to permanently block a male’s vas deferent (sperm duct) to prevent sperm from reaching eggs. This is irreversible. So it is suitable for males who have enough children.

Tubectomy: In this method, Fallopian tubes are permanently blocked and prevent the path of the ovum to the uterus. This should be done after one week from the menstruation.

Waste Management at home

                                         WASTE MANAGEMENT AT HOME

 “Ammi I’m going to burn all this rubbish”

“Oh! Such a lot of polythene bags”.

“Wait, I also have some broken plastic things to burn. Some old

 plastic basins and broken buckets, I wanted to get rid of these

 because I don’t have enough space to keep them”.

“Yes!  By burning, we can easily get rid of all these unwanted

 polythene and plastic things”.

Actually, almost all the housewives in our country face this problem

 and as a solution, they burn or bury these plastics and polythene.

 Though it harms the environment people think that burning is the

 easiest way of getting rid of synthetic things. So, people get used to

 burning these things. Polythene and plastics could not be decomposed

 by naturally found microbial decomposers like bacteria and fungi.

 So if we bury they will not decay and mix with the soil.

                              The burning of these things will lead to air

 pollution and may cause health problems to the living beings. The

 other way of getting rid of these plastics and polythene is by burying

 them. When polythene is buried it changes the texture and fertility of

 the soil. These polythene and plastics prevent the entering of water into

 the deeper layers of soil. Sometimes; pieces of polythene get stuck

 with the root system and prevent the absorption of water. Water is

 absorbed by the plants by root hairs. These are microscopic in size.

 Small pieces of polythene among soil particles will prevent the

 entering of water into the delicate root hairs because polythene is

 impermeable to the entry of water. Therefore polythene changes the

 quality of the soil. The texture of the soil is also greatly changed

 when mixed with polythene. When polythene is mixed with soil, the

 amount of soil air, soil water, and microbial content may be

 decreased. Vegetation will be greatly affected by these changes.

            Some people do not bury or burn polythene but throw them

 away here and there. With rainwater, they flow to the water streams and water bodies.

This polythene will block the drainage systems and it results in sudden 

floods in towns even when there are no heavy rains. Sometime

s water is collected on them and leaves breeding places for mosquitoes.

What are the unwanted things we daily throw away from our houses?

 Some of them are polythene bags, paper, polythene with the aluminium coating (milk powder packets), tin (canned foods), glass, etc.

 Almost all the housewives in Sri- Lanka follow 3 ways to get rid of these.

1. Buried in the ground.
2. Burn in the open air
3. Kept in a bag and hang at the gate to be taken by the trucks of the municipal council. 

The first and second ways will lead to land and air pollution. In Sri-

L,anka there is no proper way to collect and dispose of garbage so the

 third way also ultimately causes land pollution. We can prove it by

 showing lorry loads of rubbish which was dumped in famous places.

 In the year 2017, 300 ft. of garbage dump collapsed and killed about

 19 people and destroyed about 145 houses in Colombo.

                      Actually, like housewives, we have to think about the

 things which we can do with our household rubbish. First, we have

 to sort out the things which we have as rubbish. To do this sorting

 out we want to know the nature of the household rubbish.

Household rubbish can be categorized into two main groups.

Bio-Degradable things,

Non-Bio-degradable things

Bio-degradable things means the things which able to decompose

 in the natural environment by biological means in a moderate amount of

 time.  Organic wastes such as paper and food remains can be taken

 as Bio-degradable things. These things can be digested by

 decomposers such as bacteria and fungi and can convert into

 compost. Moisture and slightly increased temperature will increase

 the function of microbes hence the rate of decomposing. So if we

 provide the above factors to household organic rubbish we will be

 able to get compost. Therefore, we should separately collect our

 household rubbish. We can keep a separate bag to put daily food

 remains and other organic waste of the house. We can collect the

 garden rubbish dry leaves etc. at the corner of the garden. With these

 things, we can make compost which can be used to enrich the soil

l fertility.

                           We can make compost on a selected area of land or

 inside a vessel. First, we can discuss the method by which we can make compost on land.

First, we have to select a place for making compost. Then we have to

 collect household bio-degradable rubbish, such as food remains, 

rotten vegetables, unwanted parts of fish, etc. Then dry and raw

 leaves especially leave of leguminacea plants, early prepared

 compost, cow dung, and urea.

Method:

· Make a 5cm height layer of dried leaves on the ground of the selected place. The area can be decided as your wish.

· Make a layer of raw materials (degradable things) of a thickness of 15 cm. on the layer of dried leaves.

·Then make a solution of old compost, ash, cow dung, and urea by dissolving them in water and pouring them onto the layer of degradable things.

In this method, natural decomposers are activated and they will start

 the breakdown of organic matter. When they are activated heat

 energy is liberated and this heat is needed to increases their

 functions. Therefore the heap should be kept covered.

·  Then again put a layer of bio-degradable things.

 Likewise, add the two things (bio-degradable things and solutions)

 alternately. In the end, the height of the heap should be 1m. The 

sides of the heap should be slanted to avoid falling down. Then the

 the heap should be covered by a polythene cover. After some time, so

 many macro soil organisms like larvae of house flies, coconut 

beetles and earthworms can be found in the heap. These accelerate 

the decaying process so, you can have compost within a few months' time. 

Next, we can discuss the method of making compost in a vessel.

This method can be used by people who lived in highly urbanized areas and will not need much space. This type of vessel can be obtained from the market or can use an empty barrel.

 Special bacteria (methanogenic Bacteria) act on organic wastes such as throwing away vegetables, cow dung, remains of food and produce, Methane gas which can be drawn off and burned as fuels. Biogas generators can be used to obtain this gas and it can use as a fuel to cook food. These generators have been introduced by the Engineering Research and Development Center at Ekala. They will sell these at a rate of Rs.15, 000. Young Inventors Commission of Sri Lanka has introduced biogas generators to some of the government schools. But most of the schools do not use these because they were not able to find necessary organic wastes. If there is some procedure to collect organic wastes of households and vegetable markets and supply them to these schools these generators can be made function. As a bio-degradable waste, we can consider old newspapers. We can sell these to boutiques and they use these as wrapping papers and again these will collect in our houses.

        As a country, we should have a method to recycle these wastes. In recycling, paper is pulped and mixed with wood pulp. After removing the ink of the pulp, it can be converted into new white papers, or after adding colours we can make models of animals or other things with these pulps. Self-employment opportunities can be generated for school leavers. In paper mills, papers are made by using softwood pulps. To grow softwood plants deforestation of natural forests should be done. If we do recycling of papers it will help to save our forests. There is an internationally recognized symbol to identify recycled papers.

 Now we can consider non-Bio-degradable things. To get rid of these and to use them again and again we should do recycling. There are recycling plants in many developed countries. 

 This recycling process is very expensive but when we think about non-renewable resources recycling should be done by every country.

                 There are many household items made up with non-bio-

degradable substances. Some of them are glass, polythene, plastics

 , and metals such as aluminium, tin, stainless steel, cast iron, brass,

 lead, steel, iron, etc. We can sort out these things and keep them separately to be sold. Sometimes we can sell aluminium, brass, and iron-like 

things. There are metal factories in our country and we can sell these

 worn-out metallic things to those factories or there are places in

 towns which buy these things. It is important to recycle metals

 because resources will not last long. Aluminium and iron will run

 out in 2200 and 2160 respectively. Lead, tin, zinc, and mercury will be used up sooner.

                     Plastic is also a non-bio-degradable thing and can be

 recycled. Actually, plastic waste is not recycled it will reduce the

 space on the earth to live because they are large in size and are not

 decompose naturally. Today plastic items are very common. It can

 replace many substances such as wood, metal, ceramic, glass, brass

 , etc. So, we can have many plastic items like tables, chairs, doors,

 plates, cups, accessories of various fittings such as doors and

 windows, etc. Actually, in our country, there are no plastic recycling

 plants but we all, overuse them. If we burn them to get rid of them

 it may cause hazardous effects to the environment. Plastic items can

 be melted down to make new plastics but before doing that different kinds of plastic things have to be separated.

                      Old and wasted glassware also can be recycled. Housewives can sell them. Before recycling glassware, it has to be

 separated according to its colours which are green, amber, and clear.

 Then these can be crushed and melted separately to make new glass

 objects. In our country, there should be some way to collect

 household rubbish separately. This can be done by the municipal councils of each town.

Uses of recycled wastes:     

• Many newspapers around the world are made up of up to 50% recycled paper.
• Glass milk bottles are used again and again.
• Organic waste can be recycled into its basic components (compost) by decomposers and can use to enrich soil fertility.
• Organic wastes can be used to generate methane gas (a fuel)
• Scrap metal of huge machines can be melted and reused.

   

 

 

 

                                                

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What are cancer-causing agents (Carcinogens) around us

                                                     

  What are the cancer-causing agents (Carcinogens) around us?

Nowadays in Sri Lanka, yearly about 10,000 cancer patients are directed to get medicine from government hospitals. Actually, it is an apparent health problem in our country. Therefore it is better to know about cancer-causing agents (carcinogens) around us.

What is a carcinogen? A carcinogen is a substance that can cause cancer.

Now we will see how cancer is formed? According to Molecular Biological experiments it has proved that changes in genes (Mutations) may cause cancer. Our bodies are made up of trillions of cells. These cells can divide in a regular pattern. This is done under the control of the cell nucleus. Sometimes cell division cannot be controlled by the cell nucleus.  This leads to cancers. There are genes in the nucleus that control cell division. Sometimes these genes may activate abnormally due to some reasons. (Mutations) These genes are called oncogenes. The cell which has oncogenes is called a faulty cell. Most mutated cells are either destroyed by the body’s immune system or die with no ill effect in the body. This faulty cell may divide to form a clone of identical cells. Eventually, an irregular mass of relatively undifferentiated cells called a tumor is formed. 

Tumor cells can break away and spread to the other parts of the body, particularly in the bloodstream or lymphatic system, causing secondary tumors. Sometimes these tumors spread and cause ill health and death. These types of tumors are called malignant. (Malignant means out of control and likely to cause death) and may cause death) The majority of these tumors do not spread and are described as benign tumors.

Four types of cancers can be found in the human body.

• The cancers found in epithelial tissues of the body Carcinoma e.g. in the ski
• The cancers are found in glandular epithelial tissues. Adenocarcinoma e.g. breast cancer
• The cancers are found in muscles and bones  Sarcoma e.g. bone cancer
• The cancers are found in blood and lymph tissues.  Leukemia, lymphoma

 Among these, carcinoma and Adenocarcinoma are common in adults. Lymphoma and sarcoma are common in young people. Leukemia and brain cancers are common in small children.

 Now we can consider the causes of cancer diseases.

Up to 20% percent of cancer worldwide may be caused by 2 types of viruses.  When RNA viruses like retroviruses invade animal cells they can alter the host cell division genes and cause the cells to become malignant. Some DNA viruses contain their own oncogenes which can cause uncontrolled cell division of host cells. Viruses which are cause warts in the cervix and results in cervical cancer E.g. Papillomavirus, Sexual herpes virus.

Up to 5% of human cancers tend to run in families. (Hereditary predisposition) More than 40 types of cancer, including cancer of the breast, ovary, and colon come into this category.

Environmental factors also cause cancer in human

·         Ionizing radiation

·         Ultra Violet radiation

·         Chemical mutagen

Ionizing radiation: This includes X- rays, Gamma rays, and particles of decaying radioactive elements. The radiation causes the formation of chemically active ions inside cells which can break DNA strands (genes) or cause mutations. Types of cancer linked with ionizing radiation include skin cancer, bone marrow cancer, lung cancer, and breast cancer.  Medical and dental X-rays also expose patients to ionizing radiation. Electromagnetic waves around high tension wires may also cause mutations of cells of the people who live closer to high tension electric cables. So these people also maybe are at risk of developing cancers. Sometimes some types of gemstones also may contain radioactive elements and these also may emit ionizing radiation.

Ultra Violet light: 

The most common form of carcinogenic radiation is non-ionizing

 colorings. DNA absorbs U.V light and that energy is used

 in converting the bases of DNA into more reactive forms which

 react with surrounding molecules. Sunlight contains U.V rays

 and prolonged exposure to it can result in skin cancers including

 melanoma. Brown skin pigment melanin offers some protection. 

Depletion of the ozone layer results in a higher proportion of U.V

 light reaching the surface of the Earth. Some gases like

 chlorofluorocarbon may cause the depletion of the ozone layer.

Chemical mutagens: 

Many chemicals are now recognized as causing

 cancer. Soot, coal

 tar, mineral oil, asbestos products synthetic dye,

 some food

 additives (flavors, colorings, and stabilizers) are

 possible

 carcinogens because they cause cancer

 in experimental animals. The

 chemicals found in beetle and tobacco also may

 cause cancers in the

 mouth, pharynx, and esophagus. Tobacco smoke

 may cause mouth, pharynx, and lung cancer. Many

 common foods contain carcinogenic compounds

 but levels are mostly low.

                        Controlling of cancer:

Control can be done in 3 ways

  1. Prevention: Protection against carcinogens

  2.  Early diagnosis- including screening programs

  3. Treatment- urgent action once the diagnosis is mad

 Now we can discuss some common cancers found in Sri Lanka.

Breast cancer: Commonest cancer among women in Sri Lanka. In the early stages, this will not cause any pain and could not be identified. At this stage, the size of the cancer is similar to a size of a marble. If it is diagnosed and treated at this stage it could be easily and completely curable. But when it comes to later stages it could not be cured. The screening test for breast cancer is mammography and involves X- raying the breast. But women can examine their breasts for early symptoms of cancer by themselves after following “breast awareness programs”. Government should arrange these programs for women

How to examine the breasts for cancer?

Every woman should examine her breasts for cancer on the same day of the month.  Women who have a menstruation cycle should do this at the end of each menstruation. First, they have to look for the abnormalities of the appearance of the breasts. These are some of the abnormalities which indicate a possibility of cancer.

•     Dipped nipples
•    Change in the size and the shape of the       breasts            
•    Wrinkling of the skin of the breasts
•    A secretion of nipples other than milk with blood or without blood
•     A thickened area or a lump that can be felt when touched.
•  Any protrusion of the skin or any depression of the skin

 How to look for the above signs?

 You can look for these signs by standing in front of a mirror with the naked bust.

1. First stand in front of a mirror keeping hands by side and looking for the above signs.

2. Then raise your hands and look.

3. Then keep your hands on your waist and press them to allow chest muscles to press and look for the above signs

4. Finally keep hands pressed on the waist and bend forward and look for the signs

Steps in examining the breasts for lumps

1. Lie down upwardly after keeping a pillow under the right shoulder. By using the three middle fingers of the left hand examine the right breast. To do so press and move the fingers upward and downward in a circular manner. Specially feel the places under the armpit.
2.  Examine the left breasts with the right hand.

  3. While you are bathing examine with soapy fingers.

Treatment for breast cancer:

• Surgery to remove breasts
• Radiotherapy of the breast using X-rays to kill tumor cells.
• Chemotherapy of the whole body using chemicals that kill dividing cells both normal and tumor cells.
• Using tamoxifen and anti-estrogen hormones.
• Treatment can be used in combination.

Cancers in the female reproductive system:

 Cervical cancer, uterine carcinoma, ovarian carcinoma, vaginal carcinoma, carcinoma of the Fallopian tubes

Cervical cancer: Cancers in the cervix are the second commonest cancer in women. The main cause for this is the human papillomavirus. Mostly found in sexually active women above thirty years. The disease is common in women who have many partners. The women who married early and have more children are also susceptible to the disease. Symptoms are can be seen only after the later stages of the disease. Later cancer may spread to the womb, vagina, bladder, and to the rectum. This cancer develops on the upper surface of the cervix. This can be identified by a cervical smear test. This is the screening test for cervical cancer and is called as “PAP test”. This is done by observing the scraped cells from the cervix through the microscope for the signs of abnormality which can lead to malignancy. PAP test should be done every five years.

The symptoms of cervical cancer:

• A smelly vaginal discharge mixed with blood
• Bleeding after having intercourse
• Irregular bleeding and could not identify the menstrual cycle
• Passing blood with urine and feaces
• Pain in back and lower abdomen

Treatment: No vaccination is found so far. Removing cancerous tissues by surgeries, using gamma radiation

Oral cancer: 

This is also common cancer among adult males in Sri Lanka. There are symptoms to identify oral cancer. Some of them are as follows:  Red or white patch in the lining of the mouth cavity, a fleshy growth in the mouth cavity, A wound inside the mouth cavity which is not healing for a long time. In later stages following symptoms can be seen.

Difficult to open the mouth

Difficult to swallow

Pain in swallowing

Causes for oral cancer:

 1. Chewing beetles with tobacco and lime (calcium hydroxide)

2. Keeping the chewed beetle in the mouth for a long time

3. Taking liquor

4. Smoking

5. A wound due to constant touching of a tooth in the lining of the mouth cavity.

 Lung cancer: The main cause of lung cancer is smoking. More than three million deaths annually occur in the world due to cancer in the lungs. Various types of smoking such as smoking cigarettes with or without filters, tobacco pipes, and cigars are had equally contributed to the disease. Inactive smoking (the people who stay near smokers are called inactive smokers) also may have the ability in leading to lung cancer. The tar in tobacco smoke will deposit in lung tissues and that part will be black in colour and airless.

Symptoms of lung cancer:

1.  Long-lasting cough    2. Loss of weight

3.  Cough and appearance of blood with sputum. 

4.  pain in the chest

Leukemia: Blood cells are produced by bone marrow cells.

 Sometimes abnormal bone marrow cells may produce a large

 number of white blood cells. (Uncontrollable cell division) In a healthy person, the average number of white blood cells in a

cubic millimeter is about 11, 000. But in a leukemia patient, this number is much higher than the above value. The other thing is most of these cells are immature and they can’t function well. In leukemia patients matured white blood cell count and red blood cell counts are lower than the normal range. Due to the loss of red blood cells, the patient will be anemic.

Causes for leukemia:  The causes are inconclusive so far.  But radiations like X- rays may be the cause. Most of the leukemia patients are children but adults also may have the disease

Symptoms of leukemia:

1. Susceptible to various infectious diseases
2.  Loss of body weight without any reason
3.  Loss of appetite
4.  Fever and sweating
5.  Breathing difficulties
6.  Swelling of lymph nodes
7.  Flowing of blood even from a small wound

                             Colon cancer

The colon is a part of the large intestine. This is the third most common cancer in Sri Lanka. In its early stages, symptoms could not be seen.

 The tumour causes bleeding of the gut wall, leading to anemia and traces of blood in the feaces. Affect the bowel movement causing diarrhea or constipation.  The presence of cancer can be revealed using a barium meal.

Treatment: The diseased section of the bowel is removed and the two ends of the gut are sewn together again. 80% chances of a complete cure if diagnosed early.

Cancer causes Growing evidence that diets relatively high in fat and meat may be associated with a higher occurrence of colon cancer, as well as some other forms of cancer. Reducing consumption of fatty foods and meat and frequently eating fresh fruit and vegetables and cereals with high fiber content can help to reduce the risk.

Are cancers preventable?

Should avoid known carcinogenic compounds, some viruses, and radiation. More vegetables and fruits rich in vitamins (A, B, and C) will reduce the susceptibility to the disease.

Are cancers curable?

If the cancers are diagnosed at the first stages they can be completely cured. If someone has the following symptoms should immediately consult a doctor.

  1. An incurable long-lasting wound in the mouth or any other place of the body

   2.  A lump or an abnormality found in breasts

  3. An unusual flowing of blood through the vagina or appearance of blood in feces or urine.

  4.  A change in the normal way of passing urine and feces.

  5.  A long-lasting incurable cough or change in voice

  6. Difficulties in swallowing and loss of appetite.  

  7. Sudden loss of weight 

These are the most probable carcinogens and cancers found among people worldwide.

  

 

          

 

Adulterated food

What is food adulteration?

Natural ingredients used to make curry powder

  What is food adulteration?

 If food or drink is adulterated, someone has made its quality worse by adding water or cheaper things similar to it.

There are many food items in our markets, especially in village boutiques which are adulterated. 

Some food items are very expensive and cannot be found easily. So to increase the quantity of those foods and to get more profit manufacturers or sellers add some cheaper things. Now we can make a list of food items that can be easily adulterated by adding cheaper things.

Natural food item	Added cheaper things	Effect of the adulteration
Chili powder  Turmeric powder, Curry powder	Wheat flour	will not give the expected quality, required to add more to get the necessary taste
Kurakkan, Ulundu,	Wheat flour	will not give the expected taste, Sometimes, forced to eat unhealthy food
Bee’s honey, Kitul treacle, Jaggery	Cane sugar	decrease the natural flavour, lower the expected value when use as a medicine
Coconut oil	Palm oil	Will not give the expected quality and tasty when frying
Ghee	Coconut oil, yellow dye	Change the taste, odour and quality

 

                Table 2 Some food items which can be adulterated

How can we identify adulterated food?

 Before buying food items, we should observe a sample of them. For most of the food items, we can smell, taste, and can have a close look at them. Smelling is the best way of identifying the real natural quality of a food item. Some food items such as tea leaves, treacle, bees honey, gee have a special characteristic smell. When this foodstuff is adulterated that natural smell will not be there. Adulteration will destroy the identity; lower the value or effectiveness of the food. For example, when we eat curd with real kitul (Caryota urens) treacle it is tastier than the curd with adulterated treacle. On the other hand, if we buy kurahan flour adulterated with wheat flour we are eating wheat flour (sometimes which is advised not to be taken by diabetic patients) without being aware of it. When we had chili powder adulterated with wheat flour we have to add more to get the needed tasty. Then we do not get the real value of our money.

                         When we buy canned or packeted food we could not do any of the above observations, so it is better to depend on the emblem of SLS which is the emblem given by the Standard Bureau of Sri Lanka after analyzing the quality of the products. Prestigious trade names and previous experience also will help in choosing food items.

         Some sellers of bees’ honey put bees’ wax on top of the bottles of honey so; people could not taste or smell it to get aware of the quality. Adulterated foodstuffs like chili powder, turmeric powder, curry powder, etc. also come in packets. We could not find their quality as good or bad so the best thing is to prepare them at home.

            If we had bought chili, turmeric, or curry powder which is adulterated by wheat flour (starch) we can do a simple experiment to see the presence of starch. We can get a solution of the relevant food item and can add iodine solution (Iodine in potassium iodide) to it. The solution will become black-blue in colour if there is starch in the food.

  Sometimes sellers add brown dye to once-used tea leaves to give a dark colour to the drink. Sometimes they add yellow dye to the turmeric powder when they add flour to it.  The presence of the dye in tea leaves can be identified by adding a small amount of tea leaves into a glass of cold water. If the water in the glass where the tea leaves are added becomes brown in colour we can say that the tea leaves are mixed with a dye.

                  If we happened to buy coconut oil mixed with palm oil we can see in cold weather two layers in one bottle. One is the liquid layer (on top) and the other is the solid layer (bottom). If that oil had the same origin it would not show two layers. The same thing can see if we buy gee mixed with coconut oil.

                   In our country (Sri Lanka) packeted salt could not be sold without adding iodine. It is a rule given by the consumer protection act. If someone wants to sell packeted salt, iodine must be added to it. Iodine is an essential mineral that should be included in our diet to prevent goiters. Although it is compulsory to add iodine to packeted salt,   in some packets iodine cannot be found. Actually, this also can be considered as food adulteration. We can do a simple experiment to find whether the iodide salt contained iodine or not. To do this we can dissolve 1 teaspoon of salt in water in a glass and can add the starch solution to it. If iodine is there the solution will become black-blue in colour. The other thing is the cover of the packet. When it is a polythene cover the polythene should be not transparent because the sunlight that goes inside through the transparent cover will destroy iodine in the salt. 

                             If we buy a food item and find that it is adulterated or we know people who manufacture adulterated food we can complain about them to the following institutes.

• Consumer Protection Authority
• Sri-Lanka Standard Bureau
• Municipal Council of your area
• Public Health Inspector of your area

 These institutes will take action according to the rules and regulations of the consumer protection act.