Cooking is the translation of nutrition into an appetising treat. The art of cooking involves many skills which were developed intuitively and by trial and error.Two books of interest in the field of applied food science are1. On food and cooking: the science and lore of the Kitchen, 2004, 2nd edition author Harold McGeePublished by…
Read moreFractures due to with falls is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in elderly people. Some 30% of active old people aged over 65 years and 50% of those cared for in institutions fall each year. Ninety percent of hip fractures in the elderly happen during falls and about 5% of the elderly population…
Read moreHoney, yoghurt and Runniness When one of my children was young he would lean back after eating delicious honey laden yoghurt and say “ I love the way that trickles down my tummy” Very satisfying.What happens and the mechanism is not one that is highlighted in NutritionEven the simplest ingredients can give rise to complex…
Read moreFrailty in the ElderlyThe Japanese Centenarian Study has identified nine factors important in living to be 100-years and independent.-that is preserved activities for daily living, and good cognitive and social status)These are good visual acuity; regular exercise; spontaneous awakening in the morning; preserved mastication; no history of drinking alcohol; no severe falls after age 95…
Read moreThere is a constancy in protein structure throughout biology and also small MW molecules influence their biological activity. A major protein , small molecular weight interaction occurs at receptors.I have long felt that the hormones that are active in the other Kingdoms e.g. plants may well have import in man. Obvious, so obvious examples are…
Read moreGenes and the aetiology of colonic cancer.Sansom O J et al 2007, Nature April 5th , vol 446, 676-679The APC gene encodes the adenomatous polyposis coli tumour suppressor protein. Mutation of the germline characterizes familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), an autosomal intestinal cancer syndrome. Inactivation of APC is also recognized as the key early event in…
Read moreEvidence for wavelike energy transfer through quantum coherence in photosynthetic systemsEngel and colleaguesNature vol 446, 12th April 2007This summary is taken from Nature. Whilst the detailed chemistry is unlikely to appeal to most Nutritionists this is a fundamentally important process for life . It is therefore worth having a look at and even 10% uptake…
Read moreGlobal warming is constantly in the aware persons mind. As the spring comes with unusual warmth there will be many for whom the warmth means no rain, no water and all the consequences. The rich will for a while get richer and the poor well. let them get on with it.The immediately recent conference in…
Read moreThe low glycaemic index diet Ludwig: Lancet 2007, vol 369, March 17, 890-892 David Ludwig has written a thought provoking article on the glycaemic index(GI) This concept has been around for more than 20 years. The argument for this measure is that it is a guide allowing the classification of health providing properties of carbohydrate…
Read moreZinc and child mortality. Pneumonia, diarrhoea, and malaria account for 45% of the 10-6 million yearly deaths of children younger than 5 years despite some success with preventive and therapeutic interventions. 2-6 million of these deaths take place in Africa, including 90% of the 0-8 million worldwide childhood malaria deaths every year. Finding cheap methods…
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