Local entrepreneurs tout the benefits of eating gold

Описание: Gold is highly valued and in ancient times was even considered a type of Chinese medicine. Nowadays, people are experimenting with the nutritional benefits of gold, but what are the effects on the human body? From desserts to pharmaceuticals, we look at how gold plays in a role in the foods, beverages and medicines we consume. Opening the Compendium of Materia Medica, written by Ming dynasty Chinese medicine master Li Shizhen, you can find a detailed description of the use of gold to treat ailments. Wu Ming-chuChinese Medicine DoctorRaw gold has toxins that are removed through processing. Gold processed into gold leaf or foil can then be used as medicine. It can aid the spirit, harden bone marrow, and remove pathogens from the five internal organs.In ancient times, Chinese medicine doctors used gold as an expensive type of medicine. Nowadays, however, people are using gold as a food ingredient. Some fine dining restaurants feature gold leaf to lure in customers. “It’s so unusual because I have never had anything with gold leaf on top. It dissolves as it enters the mouth. The feeling was quite exciting.”Yu Jian-chungRestaurant OperatorWe use it to highlight the ingredients and make the dish more presentable.In recent years, some businesses have been putting gold into alcohol.Hsu Rui-chiDistillerThis is our gold brewing equipment. The clear liquid is the alcohol, and the fine pieces inside are the gold foil. This system allows us to mix the gold in quickly.Taking a closer look, we see the gold foil floating inside. Few people know the hard work behind production.Shih Hui-minBrewery StaffEach type of alcohol is a little different, so it has a different type of interaction with gold. We need to carefully control the gold volume, fermentation period, temperature and pressure.Many businesses use gold as a selling point, but few actually explain what effect gold has on the body. The Food and Drug Administration says regulations existed long ago governing the use of edible gold leaf.Wang Hui-yingFood and Drug AdministrationGold is often used for its decorative color and can be used for cakes, candy and chocolate in suitable amounts. We ask that gold for food use have a purity of over 90 percent, with a silver content below 7 percent and copper content below 4 percent.Yen Tzung-haiChang Gung Memorial HospitalIf you look at the chemical structure of pure gold, you will see that it has no toxins. What we fear most is that businesses aren’t clear and use gold compounds or gold chloride, which can cause skin inflammation, gastroenteritis or acute renal failure.The Ministry of Health and Welfare doesn’t have a limit on the use of gold as a pigment.Wang Hui-yingFood and Drug AdministrationFor decoration, you just need a little layer to cover the top, meaning it shouldn’t exceed proscribed volumes. For gold used as a food product, we will have to make another assessment. Most edible gold takes the form of gold leaf. Traditional gold leaf is made by hand.Tang Shang-wenNanogold ResearcherTraditional gold leaf can be pounded to 100 nanometers, but it’s difficult to control the thickness. It may be 110 or 150 nanometers, and there won’t be any uniformity.Tang Shang-wen has been researching gold for 30 years. He entered a printing company as one of his first jobs and became interested in gold after seeing a technique for stamping business cards with gold. He would later stumble into nanotechnology.Tang Shang-wenNanogold ResearcherFirst we take out the nanogold foil so we can hold it in our hands and lightly rotate it. Can you see the gold seem to disappear? Now we take a look at traditional gold foil. If we rub it, flecks start to come out. Because it was hammered to this thickness, it doesn’t have a molecular structure.Nanogold foil has 100 percent absorption and can be accurately measured. Its use in medicine could help increase Taiwan''s competitiveness in biotechnology.Chen Chia-nanNanogold ResearcherIt’s not labor-intensive and doesn’t require a large plant, but you need trained experts and a small team which can assist in the development of medicine and patent applications. If we are able to make these drugs, the technology can be transferred to international pharmaceutical companies.From medicinal uses in ancient times to nanotechnology today, the uses of gold are diverse and likely to increase in the future.