Category Archives: Pregnancy

Manganese: Congenital defects

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Robert Barrington

  Minerals present in the soil and are taken up by plants through their roots with water. Animals eat the plants and absorb the minerals to their plasma. A number of minerals are classed as essential in human nutrition, which … Continue reading →

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Vitamin B6 Supplements in Pregnancy

Posted on January 20, 2014 by Robert Barrington

  We are told by medical experts that vitamin supplements are not necessary and we acquire all the nutrients we need from food. In fact the more cynical amongst us may claim that there is even the possibility of a … Continue reading →

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Folic Acid: More Deficiencies

Posted on November 29, 2013 by Robert Barrington

Folic acid (here) is one of the B complex of vitamins, found in foods such as green leafy vegetables. Recent research based on work by Kilmer McCully in the 1960’s (here) has uncovered a role for folic acid in the … Continue reading →

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Selenium: Maternal Intake Dictates Infant Nutrition

Posted on November 28, 2013 by Robert Barrington

Selenium is an important trace mineral required as a cofactor for the cellular enzyme glutathione peroxidase. This enzyme is pivotal to cellular health because it inhibits the free radical chain reactions that damage cell components. Increasingly, the Western diet is … Continue reading →

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Artificially Sweetened Drinks

Posted on September 17, 2013 by Robert Barrington

Artificially sweetened soft drink have become popular because of concerns over the association between sugar sweetened soft drinks and obesity. In response to these concerns, manufacturers have created a range of diet drinks that contain a number of artificial sweeteners, … Continue reading →

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Salmon and Breast Milk

Posted on August 15, 2013 by Robert Barrington

he quality of maternal nutrition during pregnancy is increasingly being found to influence the risk of disease in adult life for the offspring. Nutrition during the time following birth has also been indemnified as being pivotal to future disease outcomes, … Continue reading →

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Low Birth Weight: Future Health Problems?

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Robert Barrington

The growing foetus is extremely sensitive to external stimuli, particularly the health and nutrition of the mother. Recent evidence suggests that the future health outcomes of an individual may be determined during this sensitive foetal period. While the traditional viewpoint … Continue reading →

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Breastfeeding and Cardiovascular Health

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Robert Barrington

The health of the cardiovascular system is associated with the fitness level of the cardiorespiratory system. In other words, for a given age both children and adults are considered to have improved cardiovascular health with increase cardiorespiratory fitness, although the … Continue reading →

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Omega 3 Fatty Acids and Allergy

Posted on February 9, 2013 by Robert Barrington

The n-6 to n-3 dietary fatty acid ratio has become unbalanced in large part due to increased intakes of n-6 fatty acid rich oils such as corn, sunflower and rape. This increase in n-6 fatty acids may be contributing to … Continue reading →

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Homocysteine and Birth Size

Posted on January 27, 2013 by Robert Barrington

That high levels of plasma homocysteine could cause an increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease was first hypothesised by Kilmer McKully in the late 1960’s. Since that time, a large body of research has supported the view that homocysteine … Continue reading →

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