Monthly Archives: February 2012

Artificial Sweetener and Pregnancy

There is a lot of controversy surrounding the increasing consumption of artificial sweeteners in the diets of Western populations. In particular, consumption of artificial sweetener in soft drinks is popular because of the association between weight gain and sugar sweetened … Continue reading

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Vitamin D Supplements

Evidence suggests that the vitamin D requirements of humans have been vastly underestimated. Current recommended intakes are based largely on invalid science, and increasingly diseases other than the traditional bone deformities of osteomalacia and rickets are being associated with intakes … Continue reading

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Omega 3 Fatty Acids Decrease Plasma Triglycerides

Elevated plasma triglycerides are a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and it is estimated that around a third of the population of the United states have hypertriglyceridaemia. Plasma triglycerides can be derived from the diet, because when fatty acids are … Continue reading

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Omega 3 Fatty Acids increase Protein Synthesis

Omega 3 (n-3) fatty acids have been shown to improve anabolic signalling pathways in muscle and prevent loss of muscle mass following severe burns in animal studies. Increased inflammation is thought to decrease the anabolic signal cascade in muscle by … Continue reading

Posted in Branched Chain Amino Acids, Docosahexaenoic Acid, Eicosapentaenoic Acid, Essential Fatty Acids, Fish Oils, Insulin, Protein | Comments Off on Omega 3 Fatty Acids increase Protein Synthesis

Diet and Arterial Stiffness

The benefits of diet to the cardiovascular system are widely reported in the literature and evidence is accumulating that individuals who consume high quality diets rich in certain nutrients are protected from cardiovascular disease via a number of mechanisms. With … Continue reading

Posted in Caffeine, Cardiovascular Disease, Docosahexaenoic Acid, Eicosapentaenoic Acid, Fish Oils, Sodium, Soy | Comments Off on Diet and Arterial Stiffness

An Interesting Study on Galactose

Evidence suggests that high carbohydrate diets are associated with weight gain when the majority of that carbohydrate is refined in nature. Whole grains protect against obesity, but refining cereals and other carbohydrates alters their digestion and absorption rates and this … Continue reading

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Does Salt Cause High Blood Pressure?

High blood pressure is a major cause of cardiovascular disease and accounts for around half of all cases of stroke and around half of all cases of ischaemic heart disease. The current mainstream medical opinion is that high sodium diets … Continue reading

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Computer Games and Food Intake

The link between sedentary behaviour and obesity is not straight forward because many research papers have demonstrated that increasing the energy expenditure of obese individuals with exercise does not cause long-term weight loss. Comparisons between developing and Western countries show … Continue reading

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Obesity and Colorectal Inflammation

In both clinical and epidemiological research, obesity and weight gain is increasingly being linked to systemic inflammation. This inflammatory condition is caused by the accumulation of white adipose tissue, that subsequently attracts macrophages which infiltrate the tissue and cause the … Continue reading

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Sudden Death and Magnesium

Around 50% of all cardiac fatalities are accounted for by sudden death caused by cardiac arrest. Most of the people who have a sudden cardiac arrest are not at risk of cardiovascular disease based on the traditional risk criteria, and … Continue reading

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