Category Archives: Pregnancy

Minerals: More Deficiencies, More Evidence Supplements Are Needed

Posted on July 8, 2015 by Robert Barrington

Many experts, particularly medical doctors, claim that dietary supplements of micronutrients are not necessary. It is often claimed by such experts that we ‘get all the vitamins in we need in foods and any additional nutrients simply give us expensive … Continue reading →

Posted in Chromium, Diabetes, Micronutrients, Pregnancy, Trace Minerals | Comments Off on Minerals: More Deficiencies, More Evidence Supplements Are Needed

DHA, Choline And Phosphatidylcholine

Posted on March 19, 2015 by Robert Barrington

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, C22:6 (n-3)) is a long chain fatty acid required for eicosanoid synthesis, and in this capacity can inhibit inflammation and platelet aggregation. In addition DHA is preferentially incorporated into the brain tissue, where it may function to … Continue reading →

Posted in Brain, Choline, Docosahexaenoic Acid, Essential Fatty Acids, Fish, Fish Oils, Pregnancy | Comments Off on DHA, Choline And Phosphatidylcholine

More On The Benefits of The Big ‘D’

Posted on September 12, 2014 by Robert Barrington

Vitamin D insufficiency is increasingly being shown to lead to a raft of detrimental metabolic changes. In particular to date, insulin resistance and immune dysfunction have been identified as arising from an insufficient plasma level of vitamin D. The wide … Continue reading →

Posted in Inflammation, Insulin Resistance, Oxidative Stress, Pregnancy, Vitamin D | Comments Off on More On The Benefits of The Big ‘D’

Sodium Restriction Diets

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Robert Barrington

Sodium restriction is recommended as a treatment for cardiovascular disease. This is based largely on the belief that high sodium diets cause water retention in the extracellular space, and this water retention increases blood volume and with it blood pressure. … Continue reading →

Posted in Pregnancy, Sodium | Comments Off on Sodium Restriction Diets

Vitamin D: When Is A Vitamin Not A Vitamin?

Posted on August 11, 2014 by Robert Barrington

Vitamin D is produced in the skin when ultraviolet B light catalyses the conversion of 7-dehydrocholesterol to previtamin D3, which is spontaneously converted to vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) through the action of heat. Once formed vitamin D binds to the vitamin … Continue reading →

Posted in Cardiovascular Disease, Pregnancy, Vitamin D | Comments Off on Vitamin D: When Is A Vitamin Not A Vitamin?

Babies Need Essential Fatty Acids Too

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Robert Barrington

Essential dietary components are those required by the body to maintain health, but which cannot be synthesised endogenously. Vitamins and minerals are the most well known essential elements, but there are also a number of amino acids and fatty acids … Continue reading →

Posted in Alpha Linolenic Acid, Docosahexaenoic Acid, Eicosanoids, Eicosapentaenoic Acid, Essential Fatty Acids, Fish, Fish Oils, Pregnancy | Comments Off on Babies Need Essential Fatty Acids Too

More On DHA And Pregnancy

Posted on April 12, 2014 by Robert Barrington

Higher intakes of omega-3 fatty acids are associated with improved health and protection from disease. Clinical studies show that this protection is based primarily on the intake of the long chain marine fatty acids eicosapentaenoic (EPA, C20:5 (n-3)) and docosahexaenoic … Continue reading →

Posted in Brain, Docosahexaenoic Acid, Eicosapentaenoic Acid, Fish, Fish Oils, Pregnancy | Comments Off on More On DHA And Pregnancy

Sudden Infant Death And GLA

Posted on April 6, 2014 by Robert Barrington

Sudden infant death syndrome SIDS is not fully understood. A number of theories have been presented to explain this unfortunate and devastating event, some of which involve nutritional mechanisms. In 1980, a theory was presented by Johnson and his coworkers … Continue reading →

Posted in Abdominal Obesity, Arachidonic Acid, Breastfeeding, de Novo Lipogenesis, Delta 5-desaturase, Dihomo Gamma Linolenic Acid, Eicosanoids, Essential Fatty Acids, Gamma Linolenic Acid, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Linoleic Acid, Liver, Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Pregnancy | Comments Off on Sudden Infant Death And GLA

Zinc Insufficiency

Posted on April 2, 2014 by Robert Barrington

Chronic low intakes of micronutrients cause classic vitamin and mineral deficiencies. These micronutrient deficiencies are well characterised for most micronutrients and include scurvy for vitamin C, beriberi for thiamine, pellagra for niacin and anaemia for iron. Historically, deficiencies of micronutrients … Continue reading →

Posted in Micronutrients, Pregnancy, Zinc | Comments Off on Zinc Insufficiency

Can Your Mother’s Diet Make You Fat?

Posted on March 26, 2014 by Robert Barrington

The health effects of fatty acids and other lipids in the diet has played an important role in shaping nutritional research over the last 50 years. Saturated fat and cholesterol have been portrayed by mainstream ‘authorities’ as demons run amok … Continue reading →

Posted in Fatty Acids, Genes, Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids, Pregnancy | Comments Off on Can Your Mother’s Diet Make You Fat?