The Chemistry of Food

So today I had three interesting experiences with food.

1) I went to donate plasma today, and for the second time this week I was rejected due to a low hematocrit (iron) level. I'm anemic. The girl at the clinic said I should eat a tuna sandwich the day before every time I go to donate. I hate tuna. SO MUCH. So I will be researching other iron-rich foods.

2) This past Saturday an apartment in another girl's complex caught fire. They were making onion rings and some oil spilled on the burner. These girls clearly didn't learn about grease fires at girls' camp like I did. They used the fire extinguisher which made the fire instantly much bigger. Only their kitchen burned, but they can non longer live in their apartment. Today, my roommate was sauteing some onions and spilled some oil on the burner. Fortunately I write for the school newspaper and therefore actually read it, so I remembered the story of the other girls, and according to my availability heuristic, remembered what I learned at girls' camp: that you are supposed to toss baking soda on grease fires. So I did. And the fire instantly vanished.

3) I was reading in my social psych book tonight about self-control. Your brain uses glucose to exert self-control, and if your glucose store is depleted you will no longer be able to maintain control. This is why often if you are put in a stressful situation in which you must use self-control, later you find yourself losing control in another area, most likely eating junk food. So tonight I am supposed to go play soccer with my ward team...that my ex-boyfriend is on. Fortunately, my roommate just made orange cinnamon rolls. :)