Category Archives: Liver

L-Glutamine and Glycogen Synthesis

Glutamine is an non-essential amino acid produced in all tissues of the body. However the liver and skeletal muscles are the most important sites of synthesis quantitatively. The role of glutamine in physiological regulation of both skeletal muscle protein and … Continue reading

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Inositol: The Forgotten B Vitamin

Choline and inositol are members of the B vitamin group. Both get neglected in nutrition, inositol perhaps more than choline. Both choline and inositol function closely together in human metabolism because both form structural components of cell membranes. In this … Continue reading

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Milk Thistle For Liver Health

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Dandelion: Diuretic and Liver Tonic

The name dandelion comes from the French for lions tooth (dent de lion). This is in reference to the jagged tooth like leaves that characterise the dandelion plant (Taracum officinale). Generally, gardeners think of dandelion as a weed on account … Continue reading

Posted in Caffeic Acid, Chlorogenic Acid, Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), Digestion and Absorption, Liver, Potassium, Sterols and Stanols, Terpenes | Comments Off on Dandelion: Diuretic and Liver Tonic

Protect Your Liver: Milk Thistle

Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) is a three foot high thistle that grows in rocky parts of Western Europe. The reddish purple flowers and shiny prickly leaves give it an easily recognisable appearance. Milk thistle is interesting nutritionally because it contains … Continue reading

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Is Fructose a Liver Toxin?

The damage that excessive alcohol consumption can cause to the liver is well understood. The ectopic stenosis that drives the liver damage associated with excessive alcohol consumption is caused by aberrations to the metabolism of fats and also to the … Continue reading

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Sudden Infant Death And GLA

Sudden infant death syndrome SIDS is not fully understood. A number of theories have been presented to explain this unfortunate and devastating event, some of which involve nutritional mechanisms. In 1980, a theory was presented by Johnson and his coworkers … Continue reading

Posted in Abdominal Obesity, Arachidonic Acid, Breastfeeding, de Novo Lipogenesis, Delta 5-desaturase, Dihomo Gamma Linolenic Acid, Eicosanoids, Essential Fatty Acids, Gamma Linolenic Acid, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Linoleic Acid, Liver, Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Pregnancy | Comments Off on Sudden Infant Death And GLA

Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver: Fructose Again

Nonalcoholic fatty liver is a condition characterised by lipid deposits in and around hepatic tissue. In this respect it shows similarity to alcoholic fatty liver which is caused by excessive long term alcohol intake. Fructose overconsumption is implicated in the … Continue reading

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Increased Meal Frequency and the Liver

Research suggests that increased meal frequency may contribute towards improved body composition. For example, researchers1 used a ten year longitudinal study to investigate the meal frequency of girls aged 9 to 19 years, and determined the association with body mass … Continue reading

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Soft Drinks Cause Metabolic Syndrome: But What About Fruit Juice?

Evidence suggests that the increasing consumption of soft drinks is a major cause of the obesity epidemic in Western nations. Sugar sweetened soft drink are detrimental to health because they oversupply the liver with fructose, which has been shown in … Continue reading

Posted in Fructose, HDL, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Insulin Resistance, Liver, Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Sucrose, Triglycerides / Triacylglycerols, VLDL | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Soft Drinks Cause Metabolic Syndrome: But What About Fruit Juice?