Friday, June 12, 2009

Childbirth Class III: Addenda

DHA. Apparently they put this stuff in everything, especially formula but also dietary supplements for pregnant and nursing women, and I'm sure it will eventually show up in all multivitamin supplements much like other omega-3 fatty acids and lycopene. It was mentioned as a supplement last night and I asked in whisper why--it's a direct product (OK, intermediary) of glycolysis! What purpose could it serve that adding sugar couldn't?

Oh. The DHA we're talking about here is all-cis-docosa-4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19-hexaenoic acid, as it turns out, and not the much simpler dihydroxyacetone. But of course, putting that name on a bottle is just asking for sales to plummet. Presumably acronyms with three letters are automatically OK? Well, except for BPA. And BHT. And PVC. SDS? It's the reason you're not supposed to swallow toothpaste, and possibly the main ingredient in your shampoo (after water). But DHA and ARA are A-OK.

See? This is why we have IUPAC nomenclature! TLA is officially a four-letter word!

Meantime, apparently placental abruptions are correlated with nicotine use and cocaine use. So we're going to be laying off the crack from here on out.

Also, stock in the producers of Nubain seems to be off the table, as the patent has long since run out. Probably the original company has been purchased several times by now.

OK, enough about chemicals for now.

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