Category Archives: Diabetes

Refined Carbohydrates: Bad Choice

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Robert Barrington

Refine carbohydrates are the staple starch source in the Western diet. While traditional diets contain carbohydrates sources as whole grains, Westerners have developed a taste for refined carbohydrates. This is problematic because refined carbohydrates are strongly implicated in the aetiology … Continue reading →

Posted in Carbohydrate, Diabetes, Fibre, Glycaemia, Micronutrients, Nuts, Pulses / Legumes, Western Diet, Whole Grains | Comments Off on Refined Carbohydrates: Bad Choice

Bush Tucker Challenge

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Robert Barrington

A number of traditional diets have been studied regarding beneficial effects on postprandial glycaemia, including those of the Mediterranean, Pacific Island (Okinawan) and Australian bush regions. Evidence suggests that traditional diets are beneficial to the health because they contain few … Continue reading →

Posted in Cholecystokinin, Diabetes, Fibre, Glycaemic Index, Glycaemic load, Potato, Protein, Pulses / Legumes, Traditional Diets, Whole Grains | Tagged , | Comments Off on Bush Tucker Challenge

Fruit: Mostly Sugars, Some Starch

Posted on October 29, 2013 by Robert Barrington

The glycaemic effects of food are of interest to nutritional scientists because excessive postprandial rises in blood sugar are thought to contribute to the disease process. The fibre to carbohydrate ratio is an important determinant of the glycaemic effect of … Continue reading →

Posted in Carbohydrate, Diabetes, Fruit, Glycaemic Index, Glycaemic load | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Fruit: Mostly Sugars, Some Starch

Sugar Sugar Everywhere

Posted on October 23, 2013 by Robert Barrington

raditional diets are devoid of meaningful levels of refined carbohydrates, particularly sugar. However, changes to the composition of the typical human diet have occurred over the last 100 years in Western nations. The increasing intakes of sugar and other fructose … Continue reading →

Posted in Abdominal Obesity, Body Fat, Caffeine, Cardiovascular Disease, Coffee, Diabetes, Insulin Resistance, Metabolic Syndrome, Obesity, Sucrose, Sugar, Tea | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Sugar Sugar Everywhere

The Decline of the Traditional Diet

Posted on October 17, 2013 by Robert Barrington

vidence suggests that traditional eating plans such as the Mediterranean, Inuit and Okinawan diets are protective of disease. Despite obvious differences in composition, common characteristics of such traditional diets exist. In particular, traditional diets are low in sugar and refined … Continue reading →

Posted in Abdominal Obesity, Cancer, Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, Eskimo Diet, Insulin Resistance, Mediterranean Diet, Okinawan Diet | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on The Decline of the Traditional Diet

White Bread: The Devil’s Food

Posted on September 14, 2013 by Robert Barrington

ating refined cereal grains such as in white bread significantly increase the chance of developing cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. White bread is particularly problematic amongst the refined grains because it has a high glycaemic index (GI) that is similar … Continue reading →

Posted in Cancer, Carbohydrate, Diabetes, Glycaemic Index, Glycaemic load, Whole Grains | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on White Bread: The Devil’s Food

More on the Benefits of Fibre: Pectin

Posted on August 31, 2013 by Robert Barrington

Plants contain a variety of carbohydrates, some of which contain glycosidic bonds that are not able to be digested by humans. Such carbohydrates are classified as dietary fibre, and were once thought to be nutritionally significant only because they provided … Continue reading →

Posted in Diabetes, Fibre, Glucose | Tagged , | Comments Off on More on the Benefits of Fibre: Pectin

Vitamin D: Dark Skin Increases Requirement

Posted on August 21, 2013 by Robert Barrington

he adult recommended intake for vitamin D is based on obsolete studies performed on children using cod liver oil supplements to prevent rickets. As a result the recommended intake of vitamin D does not provide enough of the vitamin for … Continue reading →

Posted in Cancer, Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, Vitamin D | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Vitamin D: Dark Skin Increases Requirement

Fibre Improves Health: More Evidence

Posted on July 30, 2013 by Robert Barrington

Evidence overwhelmingly supports a role for dietary fibre in human health. Originally fibre what thought to provide roughage and improve the transit of food in the gut, but more recent evidence suggests that fibre is essential to optimal human health. … Continue reading →

Posted in Diabetes, Fibre, HDL, LDL, Triglycerides / Triacylglycerols, VLDL | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Fibre Improves Health: More Evidence

Conjugated Linoleic Acid and Diabetes

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Robert Barrington

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a group of positional and geometric isomers of the essential fatty acid linoleic acid (LA, C18:2 (n-6)). Evidence suggests that conjugated linoleic acid may be beneficial in obesity because it causes weight loss. However, this … Continue reading →

Posted in Abdominal Obesity, Adipose Tissue, Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA), Diabetes, Insulin, Insulin Resistance, Obesity, Weight Loss | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Conjugated Linoleic Acid and Diabetes