Duelo, cuidados emocionales y alimentarios en la post pandemia

The COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico has caused the death of more than 326,000 people in official data and an excess mortality of almost 645,020. This means people who were not expected to die according to INEGI during the period 2020- 2022. From the total of the excess deaths, 61% correspond to men who many of them were heads of the family, therefore they left orphans and widows who had to assume responsibility for the family´s economy. In  addition, these deaths left families with very complicated mourning processes, due to the unexpected, painful circumstances, and the loneliness in which the death from COVID-19 occurred.  These complicated mournings promoted processes of anxiety and depression, which have been reflected in an increase of search for emotional support in public and private institutions. Along with the excessive deaths, the partial or total confinement during the pandemic encouraged the rise in rates of obesity and chronic degenerative diseases in the population. Hence the importance of forming emotional and feeding networks, since an important part of Mexican families the management of emotional and health crisis rests on women.La pandemia de COVID-19 en México ha provocado la muerte de más de 326,000 personas en cifras oficiales y un exceso de mortalidad de casi 645,020, es decir, de personas que no se esperaba que murieran de acuerdo al INEGI durante el periodo del 2020-2022. Del total de  muertes en exceso el 61 % corresponde a varones y muchos de ellos eran cabeza de familia por lo tanto dejaron huérfanos y viudas que tuvieron que asumir la responsabilidad de la economía familiar. Además, estas muertes dejaron procesos de duelo muy complicados en las familias, debido a las circunstancias inesperadas, dolorosas y la soledad en que ocurrió la muerte por COVID-19. Estos duelos complicados promovieron procesos de ansiedad y depresión, que se han reflejado en un aumento en la búsqueda de apoyo emocional en instituciones públicas y privadas. Junto con el exceso de muertes, el confinamiento parcial o total durante la pandemia fomentó que se elevaran lo índices de obesidad y enfermedades crónicas degenerativas en la población. De ahí la importancia de formar redes de apoyo emocional y alimentario, ya que en una parte importante de las familias mexicanas el manejo de crisis emocionales y de salud recae en las mujeres

Betalain, Acid Ascorbic, Phenolic Contents and Antioxidant Properties of Purple, Red, Yellow and White Cactus Pears

Commercialization of cactus pears based on their antioxidant properties can generate competitive advantages, and these can turn into business opportunities and the development of new products and a high-value ingredient for the food industry. This work evaluated the antioxidant activities (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical-scavenging, protection against oxidation of a β-carotene-linoleic acid emulsion, and iron (II) chelation), the content of total phenolic compounds, ascorbic acid, betacyanin, betaxanthin and the stability of betacyanin pigments in presence of Cu (II)-dependent hydroxyl radicals (OH•), in 18 cultivars of purple, red, yellow and white cactus pear from six Mexican states. Our results indicated that the antiradical activities from yellow and white cactus pear cultivars were not significantly different (p < 0.05) and were lower than the average antiradical activities in red and purple cultivars. The red cactus pear from the state of Zacatecas showed the highest antioxidant activity. The free radical scavenging activity for red cactus pears was significantly correlated (p < 0.05) to the concentration of total phenolic compounds (R2 = 0.90) and ascorbic acid (R2 = 0.86). All 18 cultivars of cactus pears studied showed significant chelating activity of ferrous ions. The red and purple cactus pears showed a great stability when exposed to OH•

Lead, Cadmium and Cobalt (Pb, Cd, and Co) Leaching of Glass-Clay Containers by pH Effect of Food

Recent studies have shown that handcrafted glass-clay containers are a health risk because they can be contaminated by heavy metals, which can be transferred to food, thus reaching the human body to potentially cause illness. Therefore, in the present work, we evaluate the leaching of lead, cadmium, and cobalt from glass-clay containers into two types of food: tomato sauce (salsa), and chickpea puree. The containers were obtained from four regions in the Mexican state of Hidalgo. Repetitive extractions from the containers were carried out to quantify the leaching of the heavy metals into the salsa, the chickpea puree, and acetic acid using the technique proposed by the USFDA. The results show that greater use of the containers leads to more leaching of heavy metals into both types of food and into the acetic acid, with the greatest metal extraction recorded for the Ixmiquilpan vessels. These results indicate that the metals present in the glass-clay containers leach into the food and that increased reuse increases the risk to the people who use them in food preparation

Efecto de extractos naturales sobre la estabilidad oxidativa de hamburguesas de carne de cerdo durante el almacenamiento refrigerado

The effect of three natural extracts made from culinary spices with antioxidant activity on the oxidative stability of lipids and proteins, color changes, and sensory quality of cooked pork during 12 days of refrigerated storage was evaluated. Hamburger-type model systems were made with the Longissimus thoracis et lomborum muscle, dorsal fat, salt, water and the corresponding extract. The antioxidant activity of the extracts was determined by the DPPH and ABTS+ methods, while the oxidation of lipids and proteins by TBA-RS and DNPH, respectively. For the color evaluation, the parameters of luminosity (L*) and Hue angle (°h) were used. The sensory analysis was carried out with an untrained panel, which evaluated the attributes of taste, color, smell and texture. The statistical processing of the data obtained on antioxidant activity, lipid and protein oxidation, as well as color, was performed by an analysis of variance. The sensory evaluation was processed with nonparametric statistics. Extract two had the highest antioxidant activity (P≤0.05); the three extracts managed to inhibit (P≤0.05) lipid oxidation in the hamburgers (P≤0.05); however, none of the three extracts managed to inhibit protein oxidation. There were also no differences (P≥0.05) with respect to the L* parameter, while the values of °h showed that the three extracts managed to preserve the color of the cooked hamburgers during refrigerated storage. Finally, the sensory evaluation showed that none of the three extracts altered the organoleptic quality of the hamburgers.Se evaluó el efecto de tres extractos naturales elaborados a base de especias culinarias con actividad antioxidante, sobre la estabilidad oxidativa de lípidos y proteínas, cambios de color, y calidad sensorial de carne de cerdo cocinada durante 12 días de almacenamiento refrigerado. Se elaboraron sistemas modelo tipo hamburguesa con el músculo Longissimus thoracis et lomborum, grasa dorsal, sal, agua y el extracto correspondiente. La actividad antioxidante de los extractos se determinó mediante los métodos DPPH y ABTS+, mientras que la oxidación de lípidos y proteínas por TBA-RS y DNPH respectivamente. Para la evaluación de color se utilizaron los parámetros de luminosidad (L*) y ángulo Hue (°h). El análisis sensorial se realizó con un panel no entrenado, el cual evaluó los atributos de sabor, color, olor y textura. El procesamiento estadístico de los datos obtenidos de actividad antioxidante, oxidación lipídica y proteica, así como de color se realizaron mediante un análisis de varianza. La evaluación sensorial fue procesada con estadística no paramétrica. El extracto dos presentó la mayor actividad antioxidante (P≤0.05); los tres extractos lograron inhibir (P≤0.05) la oxidación de lípidos en las hamburguesas (P≤0.05); sin embargo, ninguno de los tres extractos logró inhibir la oxidación proteica. Tampoco hubo diferencias (P≥0.05) respecto al parámetro de L*, mientras que los valores de °h mostraron que los tres extractos lograron conservar el color de las hamburguesas cocinadas durante el almacenamiento refrigerado. Finalmente, la evaluación sensorial evidenció que ninguno de los tres extractos alteró la calidad organoléptica de las hamburguesas