Monthly Archives: October 2011

Meal Regularity

The development of obesity is not fully understood, but it is generally considered to be multifactorial in aetiology. In Western nations cases of obesity are rising and evidence suggests that lifestyle and dietary habits are contributing to this epidemic. The … Continue reading

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Magnesium Absorption

Magnesium is an important macromineral needed by humans in gram amounts for optimal health. Magnesium is involved in all enzymes utilising ATP and is therefore vitally important in energy production. Magnesium is also needed for proper muscle contraction and relaxation … Continue reading

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de Novo Lipogenesis and Carbohydrates

Metabolic syndrome (syndrome X) is characterised by insulin resistance and can lead to obesity. The cause of the insulin resistance in metabolic syndrome is not completely understood, but fructose is thought to play a part in its development. Fructose is … Continue reading

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Diet and Exercise Lowers Leptin Levels

Leptin is a 16 kDa peptide that is secreted from white adipose tissue in proportion to the size of the fat mass in humans and other mammals. Leptin binds to receptors in the hypothalamus and decreases food intake and increases … Continue reading

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Acid Base Balance and Protein Sources

Protein derived from animal or vegetable sources can have quite different effects on bone metabolism because of the way the protein affects the acid base balance of the plasma. Sulphur containing amino acids in protein can be metabolised to sulphuric … Continue reading

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Cafestol Increases VLDL

Plasma lipoproteins levels are important because alteration in the ratios of the various fractions can alter the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. In particular, raised levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL) and very low density liporprotein (VLDL) are often cited … Continue reading

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The Safety of Vitamin D

Nearly all tissues in humans contains the vitamin D receptor and are able to synthesise 1, 25-(OH)2D from 25(OH)D because they contain the correct hydroxylase enzyme. This suggests that vitamin D has a role in human biology beyond its traditional … Continue reading

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Premeal Whey Consumption

Evidence suggests that dairy product consumption has beneficial long-term implications for the management of weight. Several mechanisms have been described that may explain the inverse relationship between dairy consumption and body weight, including the presence of both calcium and conjugated … Continue reading

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Insulinotropic Properties of Amino Acids

Research has shown that milk has an insulinotropic effect that cannot be explained by the presence of lactose. Evidence suggests that milk is able to stimulate the release of insulin because of the amino acids it contains. In particular, the … Continue reading

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More on Oestrogen and DHA

Oestrogen may have a beneficial affect on the production of docosahexanoic acid (DHA, C22:6 (n-3)) in women. Research has shown that DHA levels in women are 14.6 % higher than in men, but only 10.2% higher when those women taking … Continue reading

Posted in Alpha Linolenic Acid, Cardiovascular Disease, Docosahexaenoic Acid, Eicosapentaenoic Acid, Essential Fatty Acids, Oestrogen, Omega 3, Omega 6 | Comments Off on More on Oestrogen and DHA