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| Fresh vegetables are important components of a healthy diet. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
We have always been told that fruits and vegetables are good for our health and as we all get health conscious by the day, we do make a conscious effort to eat them, except the ones that we do not like!
Take bitter gourd for instance. Sold as a health drink in the mornings, this supreme vegetable makes for an excellent candidate for lunch or even as a crisp accompaniment with dinner. But we use every excuse in the book to avoid eating it. However, we will not be able to fool ourselves any longer, because our physician will soon know whether we have actually been eating a proper diet or skipping the greens.
When did this happen?
This new development is thanks to the research conducted at the School of Public Health and Medicine at Yale University where researchers Susan Mayne and her colleagues have developed a simple blue laser which when held against the palm of your hand can (almost) instantly tell the levels of carotenoid in your skin. Just like monitoring your blood glucose or cholesterol, your physician will now be able to keep records of levels of carotenoids as well and know if you have been following your recommended diet or not!
The device works on the principle of Resonance Raman Spectroscopy, where the frequency of the laser incident is matched to the object to be studied so that it resonates with it and leads to Raman spectra which can be detected using a receiver and further studied.
How long does it take?
The total time to test is hardly a minute with the laser taking a reading of about 30 seconds and the software taking an equal amount of time to analyse the result. In the future, the device could be expected to read and analyse faster, probably in a natter of a few seconds.
So, it is high time to start incorporating all elements in your diet cause if you are not, your doctor will know!
