Is Kool-Aid carcinogenic?

I am a grown-up and I like sweet, sugary drinks. Big whoop, wanna fight about it? I do get a bit bored of the standard response from other so-called adults though. They're not satisfied that the sugars will rot my teeth, they want to ruin my fun completely, which normally ends in the vague suggestion that they read an article somewhere, once, that said that product x was actually full of bad cancer-causing chemicals. *sigh* So, in order to claw back some dignity I thought I'd actually research this statement properly and have an answer ready for them. (I'm not up to much at the moment and I've got plenty of time on my hands, k?)

Its actually quite hard to find a proper answer. When you trawl the internet you come up with alot of hippy-dippy responses like that of Laura B:

"I cannot think of a single other food except maybe sugar cubes that would be worse for your health. Wait a minute, sugar cubes don't have all that red dye. If you want a better drink thats similer, try iced hibiscus tea (it's bright red and a little tangy) sweeten with splenda or whatever. Serve it just as you would Kool-aid and they might ask what flavor it is but I've never had kids turn it down or think it wasn't Kool Aid."

Oh Laura, yawn. Hibiscus tea? Your kids must be pretty thick if they are duped by that weak-ass trick. And, by the way, Laura B, you didn't actually answer the question. Listen up, Laura B, and prepare to get edu-ma-cated.

Lets put aside the sugar levels - obviously Kool-Aid has more sugar than water, FFS. Lets instead focus on the reported carcenogenic properties of certain ingredients.

First of all, anyone who suggests that any food substance contains lots of 'chemicals' and that this is a bad thing needs to learn* themselves some chemistry. Chemicals make up everything. Of course it contains chemicals. It IS chemicals. As are you.

Next: there are lots of naughty chemicals that are added to food stuffs to make them taste better/last longer etc. In some quantities these are bad, yes, and thank goodness we have a variety of organisations who test all our foodses and drinkses and legislate against the naughty companies who cut corners and kill off their customers in the process.

One of the beautiful things about America is personal freedom and choice. But with that comes responsibility, the idea being that you either listen to what the experts say, OR you research yourself and make an informed choice. The third option, of course, is to make stuff up and skip through life on your magical ignorance unicorn.

So, buckle up, chumps, here comes a bit of science. If you're not interested, here's a video of a kitten.

 

After a bit of research on the ol' internets I have discovered that, aside from the sugars, the ingredient with the biggest neon warning light is Sodium Benzoate. The issue is that Sodium Benzoate plus Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) can, in SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES combine to create a coarcinogenic substance, Benzene. So, the Consumers' Union decided to experiment by recreating these SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES to test how much Benzene would be present in some of the USA's favourite soft drinks. They stored at least three samples of each drink under fluorescent light in a 90°F chamber for three to four weeks and found levels between 7 and 30 ppb (parts per billion) in SOME samples of FOUR products (none of which were Kool Aid).

They also tested drinks bought in stores (around New York from March to May 2006) and the highest amount they found was 6 ppb. 

Now then, lets put all this in perspective:

In the USA bottled water is allowed a maximum of 5 ppb of Benzene, but weirdly there appears to be no equivalent maximum for soft drinks. The US EPA calculates this 'safe' amount by estimating that an individual will drink two litres of water, from the same source, every day for 70 years. In certain states this drops to 1 ppb, the same as the EU. The World Health Organisation apparently allows 10 ppb before they start to freak out, although they recommend that you avoid Benzene completely if at all possible.

So, its at this point that we leave the people who listen to the experts to decide whether to continue in to the corner store and buy a bottle of Fanta that might, in certain circumstances contain more or less Benzene than the WHO or Federal Law suggests is acceptable. Good luck to you, boys and girls, and thank you for joining us thus far.

Those of you who reckon yourselves capable of arguing with the 'experts' (no judgement here - each to their own) ponder on these additional figures. Lets look at some figures comparing the amounts of Benzene we experience on a daily basis from a variety of other sources (in μg):

Table 1. Estimated exposure to benzene through various sources
（European Commission Joint Research Centre, 2005）

Source of exposure	Estimated exposure （μg/day）
Food products	0.2-3.1
Air: Inhalation exposure	220
Cigarette smoking （20 cigarettes）	7900

Seems like quite alot of inhaled Benzene compared to ingested, huh? Apparently the UK FSA experts think that you would need to drink 20 litres of a drink with 10 μg of Benzene to equal the amount of Benzene you inhale in a day.

Some other lovely stats courtesy of a variety** of lovely sources:

• People breathe in 220 μg of pollution-flavoured Benzene every day 
• Wikipedia says that "a motorist refilling a fuel tank for three minutes would inhale a further 32 μg ... and ... driving for one hour is 40 μg.
• Passive smoking delivers between a 50 and 63 μg hit each day (depending on where you live)
• Water is between 0.2 and 3.1 μg a day. Yum.

And if this isn't enough to calm your tits, you should also note that bananas, cheese, butter, eggs and avocados all contain more than 5ppb Benzene.

IN SUMMARY: OK, you can wake up again. Its the end of the lecture, and what have we learned? That Kool Aid is not as healthy as water, but the potentially carcinogenic chemical that sometimes occurs in it when it is stored incorrectly is also present in water, bananas and cheese.

Tits officially calmed.

* Yes, I'm fully fucking aware that this is not grammatically correct. Its called humour. If thats a bit much for you, you might want to start gently and work up to it. Perhaps with a Charlie Brown strip?
** New Zealand Food Safety Authority Benzene in flavoured drinks 
Food Standards Agency, March 2006, "Survey of Benzene in Soft Drinks"
European Commission Joint Research Centre, HEXPOC Human Exposure Characterization of chemical substances; quantification of exposure routes
Consumers Union article, http://consumersunion.org/news/benzene-in-soft-drinks-lawsuits-highlight-possible-presence-of-carcinogen-in-beverages/

They take recycling SUPER seriously...as do I, as do I! (Geez)

Stop judging me! I was washing my hair when the recycling van first arrived in the UK and when I came back out of the bathroom everyone already knew what to do, so I just pretended I did too.

And now I'm in the US, once again I was apparently painting my toenails when they gave out the recycling handbook. So I'm sussing this stuff out slowly, because if I ask I just KNOW someone will say "So, you've been mixing your cardboard and your glass ALL this time? For shame!".

Here is what I have sussed out so far (at my own expense) - plastic bags are no longer given out in supermarkets in California. If you want a bag it'll be a paper bag, and it'll cost you. Best to bring a few 'bags for life' wherever you go (noted.)

Secondly - you can get five cents for every bottle or can you take to the recycle place. So, my motivation for recycling is financially driven? Bloody genius! That's how you force the lazy gits like me! Well played, California, well played.

The social implications of getting the bird shit of me car

So after an amazing weekend in the Mountains the brand new car is now covered in so much debris that the man in the DMV actually asked me if I drove it all the way from the UK. This is the same guy who looked incredulously at my drivers license photo and asked if I'd lost weight in the last fortnight, which may have been a compliment, but the horror with which he looked at the photo diminished the pleasure of the compliment somewhat.

 
Anyhoo, noted. The car does need a wash, and I want to whip it through a lovely automated car wash with big rollers and lots of suds. But wait, all the car washes I see have got either space for me to wash it myself for about $5, or want me to pay a group of youths $20+ to wash it for me. Nope. And nope.

In the UK I had a bit of a 'thing' about taking my car to have it cleaned by someone else. It was normally someone from eastern Europe who was being paid less than minimum wage to wipe the shit off my car. And that just didn't feel right. I am sitting there watching some guys do a job that I am too 'busy' (lazy) to do myself and I am rich enough to get them to do it for me. "But he's in gainful employment and by automating his job you are taking money away from his family" - congratulations to him on the entrepreneurial spirit, I don't feel like having this debate right now.

So here in the US I feel exactly the same. I can't wash the car myself for free because its in a public lot, and I begrudge paying for the privilege to clean it myself for the same price as a basic automated wash in the UK. Also, I'm not MADE of money - paying a group of lads (or men, the same age as my dad) to wash my car is a heck of alot more expensive here, and I still have the same awkward social issues - watching some guys do something that I am effectively too lazy to do, but I am rich enough to make them do it for me. I don't have ridiculous social issues like this with any other service. Fast food? I can't make food that quickly or cheaply (or yummily), so I'm paying them to do something I can't do. Also, I've worked in fast food places, and been paid minimum wage, and its ok. Supermarket checkout? I use the self service. Gas? I pump it myself.

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And before you say 'automation deprives people of jobs', yeah, ok, I know. Lets not get into a debate about that because we'll end up falling out. Besides - I don't pretend that this is a rational feeling, I just feel very weird about sitting on my throne made of money, smoking my cigar watching the minions wash my car, while I throw my spare change at them.

Bottom line - I want the anonymity of an automated car wash where I don't have to deal with my own social prejudices and hang-ups, k?

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In the interests of 'fitting in' with the locals we've tried both self-wash and 'hand wash' (I don't really
want to try the automated car washes - Yelp reviews for all of them are horrendous and I am as yet unsure whether its because California residents don't understand how to use car washes, or because local business owners are unscrupulous and don't maintain their equipment properly).

My foray into a self-car wash was successful in that I found one with very good reviews, collected together enough quarters to feed the machine, headed over and sudded my car for a full 5 minutes for $4. If I was slightly quicker and the car was a bit less dirty that would have been ideal. Also, as everyone knows, playing with a power washer is actually way more fun than it should be. And time is one thing that I currently have plenty of.

All of that said, I actually did a pretty average job - I was too excited by the pressure washer and full of adrenaline from the 5 minute countdown, so we decided to try one of the 'hand wash' places. It was busy (a good sign) and the chaps were friendly enough. We had a mince around the nearby shopping centre and 20 minutes/$17.99 later our car was pretty flipping clean inside and out. Add the $5 tip and its still not bad value.

As a Brit I still prefer to bimble through life anonymously, not having to engage with too many people, so I love the self-service stuff, but if I'm living here I should really embrace the culture. If you need me I'll be in my pickup, wearing a cowboy hat, telling a small Latin American boy that he's missed a spot. Rest assured, I will be FEELING VERY VERY AWKWARD.

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Travel winge 7

Its been a while since I had a travel winge, but today - delayed luggage

I am fortunate enough not to have experienced this in all the long haul flights I've done so far, but the hubby had this dubious pleasure only last week and it appeared that no-one gave a crap!

I'm sure this happens all the time - a short stopover, someone forgets to put the traveler's bag on the new flight in time, and traveler arrives at destination sans pants/socks etc. That is annoying enough. Especially when you have to sleep in your contact lenses. Buuuut when the airline promises to put it on the next flight, then doesn't, then promises it'll be with you the next day, then it isn't, then promises you'll have it by Wednesday, then you don't, then promises to get it to you as soon as it arrives in the country, then lets it sit from 4:30pm until 11am the next day in the airport offices I would call it unacceptable.

I have since read some horrendous stories of people stranded abroad for two weeks without their luggage and a succession of feeble excuses from their airline.

Airlines; what do you want me to do? You don't want me to carry much hand luggage because I'll fill up the overhead lockers (and, fuck me, some people's carry-on luggage is bigger than my car. One large wheelie suitcase, one holdall and a massive bucket of a handbag is NOT 'one piece of hand luggage'), but if I put everything in my checked luggage you might decide to lose it halfway to my destination. Next time, no check-in luggage, and you'll just have to find some space for my u-haul in the overhead lockers, yeh.

Becoming a part-time gynecologist...

So, I have a friend who used to joke that he was training to be a part-time gynecologist (a Brit, obvs - that little joke would cross a serious line for most Californians I've met). It cracked me up, but, now I'm trying to understand the US medical insurance system I'm seriously tempted to give him a call. At least I would understand his motivations (see more vadge) and I could probably get some 'medical' attention for free.


You see, I thought I understood this medical insurance malarkey - pay through the arse each month to ensure any trips to the doctor, prescriptions and treatment is mostly paid for. All I need to remember is to bring a crisp $10 note with me to pay for the first $10 of the doctor's time (this is what they call 'co-pay') and the insurance pays for the rest. Apparently I was wrong. Different medications appear to be covered to different extents, and some not at all. I was informed that my acne cream (yeah, yeah - 32 year old with acne, sucks to be me) isn't actually covered because of my age, so I would have to pay the full $71 price tag. Exsqueeze me? Baking powder?

Dafuq, guys? Firstly, you want to discriminate against me based on my age? (I'm going to go ahead and assume that its because I'm too young. Shut up.) Secondly - why the hell am I hemorrhaging money out of my butt every month if the first prescription I get isn't covered? And how the fuckety-fuck am I supposed to discern which of my biological disasters are covered and which aren't??

I'm sure there will be plenty of Americans who are surprised (not to say angered) by my stupidity/incredulity/unrealistic demands. But I come from a country where, if I get a prescription from the doctor then it is heavily subsidised by my taxes (and I mean HEAVILY. I worked in a pharmacy for a number of years and we are VERY lucky in the UK. You have no idea how much some of these drugs cost, and we all winge when the price goes up from £6 to £7. Have a word with yerself, Brits). And I was just starting to trust the medical insurance system.

The biggest issue is that America is about choice, so I can choose whether to get insured or not. I can then choose which insurance to get based upon my circumstances. I can then choose the doctor I want to see based on their specialities and where they graduated. I then choose the drug I want, based on a shiny TV advert where the lady runs around with her dogs, smiling, and the voiceover tells me that side-effects could include my legs dropping off, or me developing a belgian accent. The only issue with all of that is that I'm British. Too much choice freaks us out. I am neither doctor, nor lawyer, nor drugs company executive, so I do not pretend to be an expert in any of these fields. I know my place!

I therefore look to these experts and ask them, in their well-informed opinion, what should I do? My suspicion is that all this is bound up with our class system, the 'I know my place' thing from the olden days when you used to go and beg your Bank Manager for a loan. Yes, its archaic, but the alternative is pretty fucking arrogant. Or maybe, I should just become a part-time gynecologist myself?...