I’ve now had this bloody cold for a week. Just can’t seem to shake it.
Whilst in a discount price supermarket during the summer, I bought a 10-pack of pocket-sized paper tissues, thinking that they may come in handy one day. This only goes to prove that it pays to speculate.
Seven days of non-stop blockage clearance and I’m down to the last of the packets. So, as my both my patience and head were being drained, I started to think: where does all this snot come from and why on earth it it green?
Apparently, the green colour is due to immune cells called neutrophils. These cells are the first to appear when bacteria start infecting the nasopharynx. Neutrophils will engulf the bacteria (phagocytosis) and begin to destroy them within themselves using potent digestive enzymes. One of these is lactoferrin and other enzymes are dependent on iron for their activity. The iron, within, gives the colour – ferrous iron compounds are green. However, some think that its down to another powerful anti-microbial agent peroxidase. This just happens to be the same enzyme that gives wasabi its green colour.
Nice.
Bon apetit.
