A wide range of fun facts on food and nutrition

Is it true that cooked vegetables can be more nutritious than raw ones? These questions and much more others will be fully answered in the article which is a wide range of interesting and fun facts on foodand nutrition. Enjoy!

1. Each parts of the world have their own local cuisine. The diets and general food habits of various cultures depend on social, religious, economic and safety factors as well as the availability of various foods.

2. Ortharexia Nervosa is an eating disorder where the sufferer is obsessed with eating healthy food.

3. Ketchup was used as a medicine in the 1800s to treat diarrhea, among other things.

4. Apples, pears, cherries and strawberries are all members of the rose family.

5. To make jelly beans shiny, shellac is used, which is made from Kerria lacca insect excretions.

6. Cutting onions releases a gas which causes a stinging sensation when it comes into contact with your eyes. Your body produces tears to dilute the irritant and remove it from your eyes.

7. If you want to speed up the ripening of a pineapple, so that you can eat it faster, then you can do it by standing it upside down (on the leafy end).

8. In the United States, lettuce is the second most popular fresh vegetable.

9. One fast food hamburger may contain meat from 100 different cows.

10. Around 8% of children and 2% of adults have some kind of food allergy, this occurs when the body’s immune system incorrectly assumes a certain food protein is harmful and attacks it. Common examples of food allergies include reactions to peanuts, gluten and shellfish.

11. The most expensive fruit in the world is the Japanese Yubari cantaloupe, and two melons once sold at auction for $23,500.

12. To add nutrition, a lot of milk, juice, and yogurts enrich the food with EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids. In other words, your OJ contains fish oil.

13. The world’s oldest chocolates are 106 years old. A tin of chocolates from the coronation of King Edward VII from 1902.

14. Sugar is the only taste that humans are born craving.

15. Drying fruit causes massive nutrient loss, depleting 30-80% of its vitamin and antioxidant content.

16. Some studies showed that imported produce from the supermarket can have higher nutrient levels than local produce from a farmers’ market.

17. Cooked vegetables can be more nutritious than raw ones. It depends on the vegetable, the nutrient and the cooking method.

18. There is a factoflife fact that if you were to eat an apple a day, it would take you over 27 years to try them all.

19. Apples float in water, because 25% of their volume is made of air.

20. The largest item on any menu in the world is the roast camel.

21. Pearls melt in vinegar.

22. If you boil beetroot in water, and then massage the water into your scalp each night, it works as an effective cure for dandruff.

23. One of the most hydrating foods to eat is the cucumber, which is 96% water. It may seem to be as both food and drink.

24. An average American will eat the equivalent of 28 pigs in their lifetime.

25. Eating vegetables along with fat can help the body better absorb their nutrients. So using a dressing with fat may make a salad with tomatoes and carrots, which are high in fat-soluble carotenoids, more nutritious than using a fat-free one or skipping the dressing altogether.

Check for more other facts, amazing science facts, animals facts and much more

What Do Mammals Eat?

Mammals eat pretty much everything, apart from leaf detritus and mature tree wood. We’re looking at the four main types of mammalian diets; carnivore (eat meat), herbivore(eat plants), frugivore (eat fruits) and omnivore (a bit of everything). Carnivores will eat the odd fruit and vegetable, as well as the occasional insect, and herbivores might scoff the odd insect or small vertebrate.

Two giraffes fighting (Giraffa camelopardalis). Photo by Luca Galuzzi 

Wild animals are generally opportunists

Most wild animals are opportunists and will try anything, especially if times are hard, due to bad weather or pregnancy. The diet of a particular species might change throughout its lifetime and this is most noticeable in the omnivorous groups.

Picky eaters

Animals change their diets because they have to be ready for seasonal changes in availability. There are a few animals that have a very narrow diet, like three-toed sloths which only eat the leaves of two types of trees, and the koala, which eats only a few types of eucalyptus leaf. Anteaters are also a good example. These foods are plentiful enough to be reliable.

African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana). Photo by Brian Snelson.

Herbivores

Most mammals are herbivores, in fact pound for pound, most of the mammals on the planet eat only plants. Plant matter is mainly cellulose and water, with some soluble carbohydrates, but not much protein or fat. Cellulose is hard to digest, so mammals store microbes in their guts which have the right enzymes to break down cellulose into smaller sugars and carbohydrates. These bacteria also produce fatty acids and vitamins. Many mammals, like cows for example, have compartmentalized stomachs in which the bacteria break down the cellulose.

Manatee. Photo by Ramos Keith, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

But not all mammals have them

A lot of herbivores don’t have compartmentalized stomachs, so all the bacterial activity happens in an enlarged colon. These animals, likehorses or kangaroos, have very long digestive systems compared to most other mammals of their size. These animals eat leaves, shoots or grass, whereas other herbivores eat seeds and fruits, which are much more nutritious than leaves, containing more fats, proteins and sugars. More than 1,750 types of rodent exist and most of them eat seeds. Fruits are also popular among many groups, like tropical bats and monkeys.

Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris). Photo by Marc Averette.

They eat a variety of foods

Many of these mammals will also eat flowers and bark if they need to. Many mammals will also eat fungi. There are also several types of tropical bats that eat only pollen and nectar, using highly evolved tongues.

Ruminants

Ruminants, like cows, chew their food twice or more. The once-chewed and partly fermented food is brought up from the rumen into the mouth and chewed again. It is then passed straight to the second stomach and through the rest of the gut. Ruminants are 25% more efficient at using cellulose than non-ruminants.

A pod of sperm whales. Photo byGabriel Barathieu.

Carnivores

Carnivorous animals are also common, and some carnivores, like bears and badgers, are omnivorous. Some smaller carnivores are also insectivores, while the big baleen whales feed exclusively on crustaceans. Larger land carnivores eat other mammals and birds, as well as lizards, fish and so on. Many, like hyenas are also scavengers, eating dead or dying animals. Aquatic or marine mammals, like seals, otters anddolphins, go mainly for fish.

Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) at Wager Bay (Ukkusiksalik National Park, Nunavut, Canada). Photo by Ansgar Walk.

Insectivores

Insectivores, like shrews, aardvarks and smaller bats go for insects, as you’d imagine. Foxes, badgers andskunks will also crunch these critters if need be. Other insectivores, like hedgehogs, moles and so forth, have a very varied diet – earthworms, beetles, flies, butterflies and even bees! It depends mainly on season and availability.

Omnivores

Omnivores are the most flexible group, and are able to live in the widest range of habitats. Mongooses, foxes and rats are omnivores, as are humans! Smaller apes and primates eat seeds, leaves, fruit and insects, as well as birds and their eggs. Some of the larger primates, like the gorilla, are herbivorous, but chimps and humans like to hunt prey animals in packs.

How about diets for other types of mammals?

The list below describes the specific diets for each group of mammals. Some are categorized according to their family order and others are not.

Even-toed ungulate

Ungulate basically means grazers, eats plants like cows. Even-toed is just one group while the other is odd-toed. Even-toed ungulates are very successful and some of them are listed below:

Camels

Deer

Giraffes

Goats

Hippos

Pigs

The cat family (Felidae)

The cat family are animals that falls under the Felidae family with the domestic cat being the most familiar. Others are called big cats and some fall under the Panthera genus. Members in the Felidae family are call Felid. Mammals in the Felidae family includes:

Bobcats

Cats

Cheetahs

Jaguars

Leopards

Lions

Tigers

The dog family (Canidae)

Canidae is a family of dogs or dog-like mammals. Members of this family is call Canid and they include the following mammals:

Chihuahuas

Coyotes

Wolves

Pit Bulls

Large mammals

The list below describes what are known as large mammals for obvious reasons, they are big and they are mammals.

Elephants

Moose

Reindeer

Marine mammals

Marine mammals are aquatic version of terrestrial mammals. They hunt, eat and breed underwater. These includes the following animals:

Killer Whales

Manatees

The bear family (Ursidae)

The bear family is classified under the family Ursidae and they are genetically closer to pinnipeds (seals) than the dog family. They all have shaggy hair, long snouts and stocky legs. Members in the Ursidae family includes the following animals:

Grizzly Bears

Pandas

Polar Bears

The rodent family (Rodentia)

Animals in the Rodentia family are call rodents. They all have one thing in common, a continuously growing pair of incisors on their upper and lower jaws. So, these rodents must keep on eating to keep their teeth short. Members in the rodent family includes:

Beavers

Chinchillas

Chipmunks

Groundhogs

Guinea Pigs

Hamsters

Porcupines

Prairie Dogs

Squirrels

Mice

Miscellaneous mammals

The following animals don’t fit in other family or groups of animals. So, I might as well call them miscellaneous mammals.

1. Armadillos

2. Ferrets 

3. Meerkats 

4.Orangutans

5. Platypuses

6. Possums

7. Rabbits

8. Raccoons

9. Sugar Glider

10. Weasels

11. Zebras

What Do Tigers Eat?

Many people need to remember that the tigers that come in orange and black and also white and black are predatory animals. They may look pretty, but they will possibly attack you. Tigers are the largest in the big cat family, and they are usually located in places like Asia. The specific places are throughout Southeast Asia, China, Korea, and Russia. Tigers usually like to live around grassy areas, rainforests and swamps. Tigers are very sensitive to the heat and love water. They will even take a dip in the water usually after they have eaten. These ferocious carnivores can eat up to 40 pounds of meat a day.

What wild tigers eat?

Tigers are carnivores. The majority of their diet is meat and some fat. They are excellent hunters but attacking a pack of animals could result in the tiger getting ambushed, so they prefer that their prey is isolated from the rest of the pack or all alone. They don’t care whether the prey is young or old; all they care about is getting their meal. They primarily feed on wild boar, deer, monkeys, buffalo, antelope, baby elephants, and livestock. They also have a tendency to eat fish, crabs, lizards, frogs, and even berries. It is rare for a tiger to eat a human, but underneath the circumstances of them being sick, old or their own prey is scarce, then this has happened especially with Siberian and Indian tigers.

A tiger with a recently killed antelope. Photo by Rhaessner.

A tiger’s diet based on where they are found

1. Bengal or Indian tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) will prey on chital, sambar deer, barasingha, gaur, wild boar, buffalo and nilgai.
2. Siberian tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) will eat moose, roe deer, sika deer, and musk deer. However, their favorite is definitely wild boar and Manchurian wapiti.
3. Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae) may consume muntjac deer, sambar deer, malayan tapir and wild boar.
4. Caspian tigers (Panthera tigris virgata, critically endangered) have been known to eat camels, saiga antelope, yak, wild horses, and Caucasian wisent.

A South China Tiger with its kill, blesbok which is an antelope. Picture by Save China’s Tiger.

Taking care of tigers in captivity

In places like zoos where animal professionals who know how to take care of predatory animals also can make sure that the tiger gets the food that it needs; it is wise to stock up on high protein that is primarily meat and some fat. The tiger also needs vitamins such as niacin, vitamins A, B and calcium. You can also buy horse meat or frozen beef from canned food or get them from your preferred slaughterhouse. It is a wise idea for you to feed them meat bones for their oral health. You want to make sure that your tiger is being fed two or three times a day so that they can get enough to eat.

Be careful with tigers

Tigers are carnivores that need to eat in order for them to survive. If you come in contact with a tiger they usually won’t want to eat you, but they definitely can devour you with no problem. Some people believe that they can train a tiger to not rely on their predatory instincts, but if you are not a professional, then you need to make sure that you take the precautions that are necessary. If a tiger is hungry and can’t find or hunt the prey that they usually hunt, then they will eat whatever they can in order for them to be able to get the nutrients that they need.