Monthly Archives: October 2012

More on Calcium and Vitamin D

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Robert Barrington

Calcium and vitamin D are commonly taken by women as dietary supplements, possibly because of research going back to the 1980’s regarding an association with skeletal health. However, more recently the roles for calcium and vitamin D have widened as … Continue reading →

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Red Meat and Diabetes

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Robert Barrington

A number have studies have investigated the association between red meat and type 2  diabetes, but the results have been inconsistent. This possibly relates to the presence of confounding variables that influence insulin sensitivity and thus modifies the association between … Continue reading →

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Vitamin D for Depression?

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Robert Barrington

Physiological functions for vitamin D have been hypothesised based on the presence of the vitamin D receptors on the cells of interest. One such group of cells are neurones and glial within the central nervous system which have been shown … Continue reading →

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Essential Fats and Ischaemic Heart Disease

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Robert Barrington

Ischaemic heart disease is characterised by a reduced blood flow to the heart caused by blockage of the coronary artery as seen in coronary artery disease. The long chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in fish oils, eicosapentanoic acid (EPA, … Continue reading →

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Cobalamins and Homocysteine

Posted on October 7, 2012 by Robert Barrington

The cobalamins are a group of cobalt containing B vitamins (cyanocobalamin, methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin) that are collectively called vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 is required as a cofactor for methionine synthase, an enzyme that converts homocysteine to methionine using tetrahydrofolate (THF) … Continue reading →

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Fat Mass And Plasma Biomarkers

Posted on October 6, 2012 by Robert Barrington

The amount of fat mass is known to affect the plasma levels of certain biomarkers, which should be taken into account when analysing physiological data. This is particularly relevant for fat soluble substances which are preferentially sequestered into fat tissue … Continue reading →

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Whole Grains Increase Plasma Alkylresorcinol Concentrations

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Robert Barrington

Whole grains have been shown to confer health benefits and may lower the risk of developing obesity and cardiovascular disease. Epidemiological studies showing inverse association between whole grain intakes and certain diseases have traditionally relied on the use of food … Continue reading →

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Folate and Colorectal Cancer

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Robert Barrington

Folate is a generic term for a group of water soluble vitamin B compound that are required as coenzymes in a number of important methylation reactions. Colorectal cancer has been shown to be inversely associated with folate intake in observational … Continue reading →

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Incretin Secretion

Posted on October 3, 2012 by Robert Barrington

Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) are incretin hormones secreted in response to food in the gut. These hormones are able to potentiate the glucose stimulated release of insulin in a response called the incretin effect. The … Continue reading →

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Is the Glycaemic Index Reliable for Combined Foods?

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Robert Barrington

The glycaemic index (GI) is a relative measure of the rise in blood glucose levels following ingestion of carbohydrate foods, compared to the same amount of a standard food. The standard food is usually white bread that is designated a … Continue reading →

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