Foodie Pharmacology Podcast Folgen

What does the Manhattan project and your sandwich wrapper have in common? PFAS! These per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are man-made chemicals invented nearly 80 years ago that are used in non-stick cookware, raincoats, water-proof boots, sandwich wrappers, take-out food boxes, microwave popcorn bags and more! Despite being linked to several cancers and other health hazards, they are ubiquitous in our modern food system. As “forever chemicals”, they enter the body and stay. I speak with Dr. Erin Baker, a chemist and expert in tracking down PFAS in the environment. She’s developing new untargeted mass spectrometry-based tools to hunt for these toxins in places like pine trees, alligators, water, and human blood. Read more about her research at her laboratory website or follow Dr. Baker and her lab team on Twitter at: @ErinBakerNCSU and @BakerlabNCSU #PFAS #ErinBaker #ForeverChemicals #FoodiePharmacology

Spirulina is a blue-green algae that has been growing in popularity on the food scene as either a dry product or fresh ingredient. Could this biomass of microbes help offset carbon footprints and serve as a key part of a sustainable food system? I speak with Jonas Guenther about this and more. Jonas is an entrepreneur, food activist, and writer who launched We Are The New Farmers to bring nutrient-dense fresh frozen spirulina to consumers. You can follow them on Instagram @wearethenewfarmers and try their products with this special discount code to get 15% off any order: FP15 #spirulina #protein #sustainability #foodsystems

This week on the show we’re going to learn about plant medicines from the beautiful islands of French Polynesia. Our guest is Dr. Francois Chassagne; he’s a research group leader at the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development. He works on developing ethnobotanical and pharmacological tools to validate the use of traditional remedies in developing countries and French Overseas territories. We discuss some of his latest research on medicinal plants for treating diarrhea and a form of toxic fish food poisoning, known as ciguatera. Learn more about Dr. Chassagne’s work by following him on Twitter at @chassagne_f  #islands #ethnobotany #ciguatera #FrenchPolynesia #PacificIslanders #diarrhea #MedicinalPlantsa #FoodiePharmacology #Quave