As intimidating as it sounds, microencapsulation may seem like some crazy aeronautic operation in sci-fi movies, but it is actually an innovative tool used in the food industry. When designing food products for their flavor, nutritional value, and shelf-life, it is important to consider how the chemical composition of a product influences is success in distribution, especially when its ingredients may be susceptible to degradation from the surrounding environment. To prevent

Known as the ‘second brain’, the gut plays many roles in the body from controlling functions like swallowing to impacting mood. A huge part of it is the gut microbiome. Thought of as a virtual organ because of its importance, the gut microbiome is a complex system of over a 100 trillion living microorganisms. These microscopic organisms can reflect not just the stomach’s health, but the health of the entire body ( Feed Your Gut , 2021) . Figure 1. A diagram of the various phy

In the early 20th century, America was plagued. Not with disease but with nutritional deficiency, specifically iron deficiency. The population, at the time, had been suffering from widespread cases of iron deficiency anemia (Mitchell, 2024) , which is a condition where one's body cannot produce enough hemoglobin because of the lack of iron, leading to reduced oxygen delivery throughout the bloodstream and symptoms of dizziness, fatigue, and shortness or breath. With high rat