Monthly Archives: November 2013

In Vitro Caveat Emptor: Flavone X and the Dan Duchaine Debacle

Posted on November 30, 2013 by Robert Barrington

In vitro studies are those performed in tubes or dishes with cultures of cells or their components. As in vitro techniques have improved, the volume of cell culture experiments in the literature has expanded rapidly. In vitro studies are useful … 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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Ill Health Lowers Vitamin Status

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Robert Barrington

Studies show that hospital patients have poorer vitamin status that non-hospitalised controls. From this is it tempting to assume that poor vitamin status can cause ill health. And it can. However, the poor vitamin status may be an effect of … Continue reading →

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Vitamin D and Testosterone: Misunderstandings

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Robert Barrington

Vitamin D insufficiency is increasingly being reported to be prevalent amongst those living in northern latitudes. This is because for six months of the year the angle of incidence is too low to allow effective penetration of the skin by … Continue reading →

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Didj You Get Your Fibre Mate?

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Robert Barrington

Traditional diets may be beneficial to the health because they contain a high fibre to starch ratios. One of the main problems with adoption of the Western diet is that the fibre to starch ratio is low, which deleteriously affects … Continue reading →

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Vitamin B6 Supplements: How Much?

Posted on November 24, 2013 by Robert Barrington

Vitamin B6 (here) is a group of vitamers made up of pyridoxine, pyridoxal and pyridoxamine, which are required in human metabolism for amino acid metabolism. Food sources of vitamin B6 include meat and whole grain foods, but supplements containing the … Continue reading →

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Gums: Something to Get Your Teeth Into

Posted on November 23, 2013 by Robert Barrington

Refined carbohydrates cause Western disease because they are stripped of their fibre and micronutrients during processing. In particular, fructose is particularly damaging when removed from the whole fruit and consumed as fruit juice or its crystalline form in processed foods. … Continue reading →

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Obesity: Are There Sex Differences?

Posted on November 22, 2013 by Robert Barrington

The mainstream solution to obesity is a one size fits all regimen of vigorous exercise and energy restriction. this one size fits all solution to obesity is not helpful considering the fact that metabolic syndrome, the probably cause of abdominal … Continue reading →

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Eggsellent

Posted on November 21, 2013 by Robert Barrington

Proponents of the cholesterol theory of cardiovascular disease generally regard eggs as particularly damaging to cardiovascular health. This flawed and illogical premise is based on the fact that eggs contain high levels of cholesterol in their yolks. However, it is … Continue reading →

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