Monthly Archives: August 2011

Trans Fatty Acids

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Robert Barrington

Fatty acids are unsaturated if they possess a double bond in their carbon chain, and can be classified as monounsaturated (one double bond) or poly unsaturated (many double bonds). Unsaturated fatty acids were historically grouped together in one category, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA), Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Trans Fatty Acids | Comments Off on Trans Fatty Acids

L-Carnitine and Lipoproteins

Posted on August 30, 2011 by Robert Barrington

The oxidation of fatty acids occurs in the mitochondria, but fatty acids are unable to cross the inner mitochondrial membrane unaided. L-carnitine is involved in the shuttle system that allows fatty acids to cross this inner membrane which allows β-oxidation … Continue reading →

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Ancestral Versus Modern Western Diet

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Robert Barrington

The diets of populations change over time as factors such as the environment, geographical location and traditions show variation with time. The advent of agriculture and the creation of urban centre heralded advances in food technology that culminated in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Acid / Base Balance, Docosahexaenoic Acid, Eicosapentaenoic Acid, Essential Fatty Acids, Micronutrients, Palaeolithic Diet, Vitamin D | Comments Off on Ancestral Versus Modern Western Diet

Bad Science?

Posted on August 28, 2011 by Robert Barrington

If you search through online journals looking at the vast number of research articles, it becomes apparent that many papers show no effects for the nutrients they test. These studies are chalked up as negative findings, and often we see … Continue reading →

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Whey Protein and Immunity

Posted on August 27, 2011 by Robert Barrington

Whey protein is available as a powdered supplement, and is often consumed by athletes as a source of easily digestible protein. As well as the ability to facilitate increased protein needs of athletes, whey protein has some interesting modulatory effects … Continue reading →

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Dietary Fibre and Diabetes

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Robert Barrington

Dietary fibre is composed of the non-digestible part of plant and can be classified as soluble or non-soluble. Within these broad categories of fibre are a number of sub groupings including cellulose, pectin, lignin, oligosaccharides, resistant starches, hydrocolloids and alcohol … Continue reading →

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Diet Quality and Disease

Posted on August 25, 2011 by Robert Barrington

The link between poor diet and disease has been well established over decades of nutritional research. Despite advances in our understanding of the link between nutrient deficiencies, poor diet and the development of degeneration, large proportions of the global population … Continue reading →

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More Evidence for Mixed Tocopherols

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Robert Barrington

Vitamin E is a name given to eight isomer compounds that have the same activity as α-tocopherol. These are α, β, γ, and δ-tocopherol and α , β, γ, and δ-tocotrienol. The vitamin E isomers are known to be in … Continue reading →

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Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Posted on August 23, 2011 by Robert Barrington

Olive oil contains virtually no alpha linolenic acid (ALA) and only small quantities of linoleic acid (LA), but is instead composed of mainly monounsaturated oil. Despite this, research suggests that olive oil has a preventative effect against cardiovascular disease. Extra-virgin … Continue reading →

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Decreasing Arachidonic Acid Levels

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Robert Barrington

Arachidonic acid is a polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) (AA, 20: 4 (n-6)) that is enzymatically converted to a number of pro-inflammatory eicosanoids. In particular, AA is converted via COX (cyclooxygenase) enzymes to the series 2 prostanoids (prostaglandins and thromboxanes) and … Continue reading →

Posted in Alpha Linolenic Acid, Arachidonic Acid, Docosahexaenoic Acid, Eicosapentaenoic Acid, Fish Oils, Flax Oil, Inflammation | Comments Off on Decreasing Arachidonic Acid Levels