Chemistry For Your Life

Can cooking pasta, rice, or bread, and then cooling it down, actually make it healthier? Could yesterday’s leftovers affect your blood sugar differently than a freshly cooked meal, or is this just another nutrition “hack” invented by the internet? Melissa and Jam investigate starch, glucose, insulin, digestion, crystallization, and the surprising chemistry that happens while your food sits in the fridge. Plus, the whole thing somehow turns into a Lord of the Rings battle involving glucose, hobbits, and ents, because of course it does. Support this podcast on Patreon Buy Podcast Merch and Apparel Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com Watch our episodes on YouTube Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife Timestamps 00:00 — Can cooking and cooling starch make it healthier? 03:52 — Why bread, pasta, and rice get a bad reputation 04:36 — Starch: a polymer made from glucose 07:03 — How glucose, insulin, and blood sugar work 09:25 — The internet’s cook-cool-reheat claim 12:14 — What crystallization has to do with leftovers 14:43 — How starch changes as cooked food cools 15:48 — What is resistant starch? 17:20 — Studies on reheated bread, rice, pasta, and potatoes 19:51 — Resistant starch, fiber, and your gut bacteria 21:26 — Can repeated reheating make even more resistant starch? 23:14 — Jam explains resistant starch using Lord of the Rings 30:44 — A free food hack with actual science behind it 34:49 — Melissa and Jam’s favorite starchy meals References from the Episode: Thanks to our monthly supporters Sara Hull Dog Day Dan Bri . Summer Alden Amanda Raymond Kyle McCray Justine Ash Vince W Julie S. Heather Ragusa Autoclave Dorien VD Scott Beyer Jessie Reder J0HNTR0Y Cullyn R Erica Bee Elizabeth P Rachel Reina Letila Katrina Barnum-Huckins Suzanne Phillips Venus Rebholz Jacob Taber Brian Kimball Kristina Gotfredsen Timothy Parker Steven Boyles Chris Skupien Chelsea B Avishai Barnoy Hunter Reardon Support this podcast on Patreon Buy Podcast Merch and Apparel Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com Watch our episodes on YouTube Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What’s actually flowing through the “natural gas” pipes connected to your home—and did we get something wrong in our air-conditioning series? Which careers can an organic chemistry student pursue, how do topical pain-relief gels work, and what could make a successful HIV medication suddenly stop working? Melissa and Jam answer listener questions, revisit past episodes, correct the record, and stumble into a genuinely fascinating pharmaceutical mystery. Plus, could more chemistry history and chemistry-education stories be coming to the podcast? Support this podcast on Patreon Buy Podcast Merch and Apparel Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com Watch our episodes on YouTube Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife Timestamps 00:00 — Another round of listener chemistry questions 02:04 — Correction: methane, propane, and household natural gas 04:01 — How European AC systems handle propane safely 05:47 — Could more chemistry-education episodes be coming? 07:33 — The overlooked women and stories of chemistry 09:20 — What careers involve organic chemistry? 12:20 — A science teacher tackles the chemistry Praxis exam 13:38 — Do apples and human skin use the same protective pigment? 15:22 — Resources for learning organic chemistry 16:32 — How do topical pain-relief gels work? 19:35 — The HIV medication that suddenly stopped working 20:52 — How one crystal can transform an entire batch References from the Episode: Thanks to our monthly supporters Sara Hull Dog Day Dan Bri . Summer Alden Amanda Raymond Kyle McCray Justine Ash Vince W Julie S. Heather Ragusa Autoclave Dorien VD Scott Beyer Jessie Reder J0HNTR0Y Cullyn R Erica Bee Elizabeth P Rachel Reina Letila Katrina Barnum-Huckins Suzanne Phillips Venus Rebholz Jacob Taber Brian Kimball Kristina Gotfredsen Timothy Parker Steven Boyles Chris Skupien Chelsea B Avishai Barnoy Hunter Reardon Support this podcast on Patreon Buy Podcast Merch and Apparel Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com Watch our episodes on YouTube Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Can shining a red light on your face really improve acne, wrinkles, inflammation, or wound healing, or is red light therapy just an expensive skincare scam involving a slightly alarming mask? How could ordinary visible light affect cells beneath your skin, and should you trust the products filling your social media feed? Melissa and Jam investigate photobiomodulation, mitochondria, collagen, blue light, FDA clearance, and the research behind this increasingly popular wellness trend. The answer is more scientifically interesting, and more complicated, than either of them expected. Support this podcast on Patreon Buy Podcast Merch and Apparel Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com Watch our episodes on YouTube Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife Timestamps 00:00 — Is red light therapy real or a scam? 03:41 — How light transfers energy to molecules 06:24 — Is red light therapy actually infrared? 08:03 — How deeply can visible light penetrate your skin? 09:34 — What red light may do inside your mitochondria 12:00 — Oxygen transport and other possible mechanisms 13:39 — Could red light trigger collagen production and healing? 16:26 — What scientists know—and still don’t understand 20:45 — Red light, blue light, inflammation, and acne 30:03 — The major problems with current red light research 33:20 — What FDA clearance does—and doesn’t—mean 35:20 — How to evaluate a red light therapy device 40:04 — So, should you buy a red light mask? 44:06 — A new series idea: Is it a scam or is it chemistry? References from the Episode: Thanks to our monthly supporters Sara Hull Dog Day Dan Bri . Summer Alden Amanda Raymond Kyle McCray Justine Ash Vince W Julie S. Heather Ragusa Autoclave Dorien VD Scott Beyer Jessie Reder J0HNTR0Y Cullyn R Erica Bee Elizabeth P Rachel Reina Letila Katrina Barnum-Huckins Suzanne Phillips Venus Rebholz Jacob Taber Brian Kimball Kristina Gotfredsen Timothy Parker Steven Boyles Chris Skupien Chelsea B Avishai Barnoy Hunter Reardon Support this podcast on Patreon Buy Podcast Merch and Apparel Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com Watch our episodes on YouTube Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

#007 Rebroadcast Melissa finally explains to Jam how microwaves work after making him wait for an entire week. What the heck is going on inside microwaves? How does it do it's thing and make our food tasty? Is it magic? Support this podcast on Patreon Buy Podcast Merch and Apparel Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com Watch our episodes on YouTube Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife Thanks to our monthly supporters Sara Hull Dog Day Dan Bri . Summer Alden Amanda Raymond Kyle McCray Justine Ash Vince W Julie S. Heather Ragusa Autoclave Dorien VD Scott Beyer Jessie Reder J0HNTR0Y Cullyn R Erica Bee Elizabeth P Rachel Reina Letila Katrina Barnum-Huckins Suzanne Phillips Venus Rebholz Jacob Taber Brian Kimball Kristina Gotfredsen Timothy Parker Steven Boyles Chris Skupien Chelsea B Avishai Barnoy Hunter Reardon Support this podcast on Patreon Buy Podcast Merch and Apparel Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com Watch our episodes on YouTube Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What happens when a chemist and a non-chemist make a podcast together for seven years? Which chemistry lessons stuck, which episode ideas spectacularly refused to cooperate, and does Jam still count as a layperson after all this time? Joined by returning guest Claire, Melissa and Jam celebrate the seventh anniversary of Chemistry For Your Life with listener questions, behind-the-scenes stories, friendship reflections, favorite science facts, and one very large chemistry cookie cake. Come for the chemiversary; stay for the long-running argument about reality TV. Support this podcast on Patreon Buy Podcast Merch and Apparel Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com Watch our episodes on YouTube Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife Timestamps 00:00 — Celebrating seven years of Chemistry For Your Life 01:01 — Special guest Claire—and a chemistry cookie cake 03:04 — Nearly two million downloads and meeting listeners in real life 06:05 — What has the podcast done that Melissa and Jam never expected? 10:34 — The biggest surprises about making a podcast 16:35 — What has changed most over the past seven years? 18:30 — How the podcast changed Melissa and Jam’s friendship 25:24 — What would their past selves think of the show today? 27:24 — Episodes and guest collaborations that never panned out 35:02 — How has Jam used seven years of chemistry in everyday life? 39:09 — Is Jam still a chemistry layperson? 47:40 — Which chemistry concepts are hardest for Jam to understand? 52:12 — Their favorite things they’ve learned from the podcast 01:04:06 — Where do they hope to take the show next? References from the Episode: Thanks to our monthly supporters Sara Hull Dog Day Dan Bri . Summer Alden Amanda Raymond Kyle McCray Justine Ash Vince W Julie S. Heather Ragusa Autoclave Dorien VD Scott Beyer Jessie Reder J0HNTR0Y Cullyn R Erica Bee Elizabeth P Rachel Reina Letila Katrina Barnum-Huckins Suzanne Phillips Venus Rebholz Jacob Taber Brian Kimball Kristina Gotfredsen Timothy Parker Steven Boyles Chris Skupien Chelsea B Avishai Barnoy Hunter Reardon Support this podcast on Patreon Buy Podcast Merch and Apparel Check out our website at chemforyourlife.com Watch our episodes on YouTube Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @ChemForYourLife Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.