All Things Natural

I read the health press every day. Some of it is very interesting, some of it old news, some of it makes me laugh, some of it just ridiculous.

This report made me laugh. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good news although there’s plenty more research to do into it.

It’s been reported that the compound Brilliant Blue G that turns M&M’s blue (and presumably Smarties too) can actually help mend spinal injuries by protecting the healthy spinal chord cells around the damaged area. Rats given BBG were found to be able to walk with a limp, with the lesion reduced and motor skills improved, whereas rats not given the compound never walked again. (Of course, this says to me that the rats were deliberately harmed and experiments on animals does not sit well with me).

However, the BBG compounds does stain the skin and left the rates with a blue hue, almost Smurf-like. Animal experiments aside, the site of a blue-pawed, blue-eared mouse did make me laugh. I guess also that if you eat too many blue Smarties then you might end up looking like Violet Beauregarde from Willy Wonka!

And how did they find this out? Why were they feeding rats with M&M’s in the first place?