Tag: Infectious proteins

While most forms of human prion disease occur spontaneously or are hereditary, one specific type, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), has been linked to eating meat contaminated with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). This connection first gained widespread attention during the 'mad cow disease' outbreak in the UK in the 1990s, raising serious food safety concerns. However, thanks to rigorous international regulations, the risk of contracting a prion disease from meat is now extremely low.

The human brain, weighing around 3 pounds, consists of about 60% fat, with the rest being protein, water, and carbohydrates. Although rich in certain nutrients, the critical question, "is the human brain nutritious?", is completely overshadowed by severe, life-threatening health risks, particularly from infectious misfolded proteins.