Category Archives: Bile Salts

The Role of Nutrition In Acid Base Balance

Posted on June 16, 2016 by Robert Barrington

Mammals have complex regulatory mechanism that maintain the pH of tissues, including the blood, within a narrow range of limits. This is required because the enzymes that are contained within these tissues are only able to function within narrow ranges … Continue reading →

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Dietary Fibre: Effective Fat Blocker?

Posted on October 29, 2015 by Robert Barrington

Dietary fibres are a heterogeneous group of plant polysaccharides. Unlike starches, fibres possess glycosidic bonds that are not hydrolysable by human enzymes. As a result the sugars within the polysaccharides are not digestible and are not absorbed in the small … Continue reading →

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Sucrose Polyesters and Cholesterol Absorption

Posted on October 28, 2015 by Robert Barrington

Sucrose polyesters (SPE) are a synthetic non-absorbable mixture of hexa-, hepta- and octa-fatty acids that were developed as a weight loss product. Sucrose polyesters have an appearance much like other dietary lipids, but are not absorbed in the small intestine. … Continue reading →

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More on Vitamin C and Cardiovascular Disease

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Robert Barrington

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is an important water soluble antioxidant in humans. In this role, vitamin C interacts primarily with glutathione and vitamin E to protect the cell from oxidative stress. Vitamin C can by synthesised in most mammals, but … Continue reading →

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Short Chain Fatty Acids Lower Blood Cholesterol?

Posted on September 25, 2015 by Robert Barrington

Epidemiological studies suggest that fibre consumption is associated with lower plasma cholesterol concentrations. It has been suggested that the plasma cholesterol lowering effects of high fibre diets may be responsible for their cardioprotective effects. For example, it is estimated from … Continue reading →

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Pectin Fibre: Digestive Effects on Steroid Excretion

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Robert Barrington

Pectin is a fibre found mainly in the cell walls of fruits. Pectin is a soluble form of fibre, which means that in the aqueous environment of the gut, it absorbs water and forms a viscous gel-like substance. This transformation … Continue reading →

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Dietary Fibre Lowers Cholesterol: The Elephant in the Room

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Robert Barrington

The lipid theory of cardiovascular disease states that dietary cholesterol and saturated fat are the cause of elevated levels of blood cholesterol. Proponents claim further that these increases in blood cholesterol then cause atherosclerosis, which drives cardiovascular disease. Many studies … Continue reading →

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Cholesterol, Bile Acids And Carbohydrates

Posted on May 1, 2014 by Robert Barrington

The theory that cholesterol and saturated fat are the cause of cardiovascular disease because they detrimentally alter lipoprotein metabolism has been a disaster for health. That this is still a widely held belief is surprising given the weight of evidence … Continue reading →

Posted in Amylopectin, Amylose, Bile Salts, Carbohydrate, Starch, VLDL | Comments Off on Cholesterol, Bile Acids And Carbohydrates

Bile Salts, Cholesterol and Fibre

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Robert Barrington

Dietary fat absorption relies on the presence of the primary bile salts cholate and chenodeoxycholate. Both primary bile salts are synthesised in the liver with cholate making up around 80% of the total. Conjugation of bile salts to glycine or … Continue reading →

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