Monthly Archives: March 2014

Cholesterol Propaganda: Exposing The ‘Scientists’

The cholesterol theory of cardiovascular disease is a clever confidence trick. The theory states that dietary cholesterol and saturated fat cause detrimental changes to lipoproteins which result in the development of atherosclerosis, and that atherosclerotic plaques in turn are the … Continue reading

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Milk Versus Yoghurt: Lactose Intolerance and Calcium Absorption

The vast majority of the adult population of the World is lactose intolerant. Humans tend to lose their ability to digest lactose as they are weaned onto solid food and as a result cannot digest cow’s milk. Interestingly, it is … Continue reading

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More on Starch Digestion Rates: Not All Fibre

While the traditional diets from different geographical regions may be quite different, they all have no sugar or refined starches as their defining factor. The nutritional sciences has investigated the Mediterranean diet with regard its health effects, and generally the … Continue reading

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Appetite Regulation: Opioids and Interleukin

Investigations into the control of appetite are hampered by the difficulties in studying the internal milieu of the brain. In this regard animal experiments have been useful because unlike humans, animals can be sacrificed to allow access to brain tissue. … Continue reading

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Digestion: It’s All In the Mind (Or At Least Some Of It Is)

The cephalic phase of digestion refers to the reflexes that occur in response to the thought, smell or taste of food. In general these reflexes are elicited largely by receptors in the oropharynx or head and mediated by neuronal pathways … Continue reading

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More On Exercise and Energy Balance

Animal experiments are useful tools to help elucidate complex physiological systems. For example, forcing animals to exercise can cause changes in energy balance. Animals are useful in this regard because their diets can be controlled and they can be forced … Continue reading

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Selenium Supplements During Breast Feeding

Evidence from the nutritional literature suggests that mineral intakes in Western populations are below those recommended for optimal health. This likely results from the poor quality diets eaten in Westernised countries. Selenium is one mineral that has been consistently identified … Continue reading

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Aerobic Exercise: No Post-Exercise Thermogenic Effects

It is claimed that aerobic exercise is beneficial at causing weight loss. This claim is based largely on the ‘eat-too-much, do-too-little’ theory of obesity that explains weight gain in terms of an energy surplus caused by too much food and … Continue reading

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Western Food Advertising: Polishing The Turd

George Orwell described advertising as the rattling of a stick in a swill bucket. This metaphor is even more pertinent to food advertising because often the product is little more than sugar laden swill. However, food advertising clearly works because … Continue reading

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Zinc Absorption in Alcoholics

The dangers of alcohol have been exaggerated by mainstream medicine and this fear has been fanned by the mainstream media. Many populations around the world drink large amounts of alcohol and have few social problems and do not suffer from … Continue reading

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