Monthly Archives: July 2011

Satiety and Fibre

When ingested, carbohydrate (starch) is passed to the small intestine, where enzymes hydrolyse the glycosidic bonds to produce glucose unit, and these are then absorbed and appear in the circulation as blood sugar. However, some carbohydrate in the diet is … Continue reading

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Selenium Bioavailability

Selenium is an important trace mineral incorporated into a number of important selenoproteins. These selenoproteins have important biological functions and include glutathione peroxidase, thioredoxin reductase, iodothyronine deiodinase and selenoprotein-P.  In order for selenium compounds to be of use to the … Continue reading

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Magnesium Intakes in the American Population

Magnesium is an important macro-mineral needed for a number of biological functions in humans. Magnesium is required for the construction of healthy bone tissue, is incorporated into cell membranes bound to phospholipids, stabilises the ATP molecule and is a co‑enzyme … Continue reading

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Fibre and Magnesium Absorption

Dietary fibre is composed mainly of the indigestible components of plant cell walls (e.g. cellulose, pectin and lignin); but also includes the oligosaccharides (e.g. oligofructose), resistant starches (RS1, RS2, RS3 and RS4), hydrocolloids and alcohol sugars. These various forms of … Continue reading

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The Phenolic Content of Red Wine

Wine is a complex mixture of phenolic compounds which have not yet been fully characterised. Plant phenolics are good in vivo antioxidants and also though to be able to modulate gene expression. These effects confer health benefits to those who … Continue reading

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Inverse Association between Selenium and Cancer?

Research indicates that low plasma and cellular levels of selenium may increase the risk of developing many types of cancer (here). Research also indicates that supplementing with 200 µg per day of selenium as yeast, may reduce the overall cancer … Continue reading

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Training and Protein Requirements

Athletes are known to experiment with dietary supplements and often they discover performance enhancing effects of foods and nutrients only for research to catch up some years later and confirm the anecdotes. Strength athletes have known for a long time … Continue reading

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Food: Pleasure or Fuel?

Food is needed for survival as it provides the chemical energy required for movement and metabolism. However, some foods are sought particularly for their pleasurable sensation and highly palatable tastes. Researchers split the two contrasting regulatory mechanism of feeding into … Continue reading

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Linoleic Acid and Adipogenesis

Conjugated linoleic acid is a popular supplement because some studies have shown that it may be able to regulate obesity. Animal models have shown conjugated linoleic acid to be effective at decreasing body weight of obese animals, perhaps by regulation … Continue reading

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Soy Protein and Isoflavones

Soy is a traditional food of many countries from the Asian continent, where it is made into a number of foods including tofu, miso, soy sauce and tempeh. Soy has recently become more popular in the West because of reports … Continue reading

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