The effect of chemical reactions and food is an interesting topic. A summary in Seal et al BJN 2008 vol 99, supplement 2 is usefulOXIDATION unsaturated acids Polyphenols and carotenoids VitaminsThe consequences may be loss in nutritional value and changes in biological potency, sometimes formation of toxicologically suspect compounds.MAILLARD REACTIONS . Reducing sugars, amino acids,…
Read moreIf ever there was work in progress it is on the topic of vitamin A supplementation in newborns and child survival. Vitamin A supplementation at 6-72 months of age has become a mainline intervention for improving survival in poverty stricken populations. Giving vitamin A supplements to newborns in the first days of life in Asian…
Read moreRay and colleagues raise an important point on folic acid fortification. This is a very contentious subject, with well developed battle grounds.Folic acid fortification is advocated to prevent or reduce the incidence of foetal neural tube defects in babies. A terrible blight for those afflicted.Folic acid fortification was universally introduced in Canada in 1998 ,…
Read moreThe transformation of a normal cell into one with malignant properties requires the cooperation of a few oncogenic mutations that change cell features and induce complex changes in gene expression patterns.McMurray and colleagues has shown ( in an article in Nature 2008 vol 453 pp 1112-1115 ) that cell transformation depends upon synergistic modulation of…
Read moreIn the Financial Times of June 21/ 22 p 6 there is an important article on the effect of rising food and fuel prices on social stability, wherein governments might fall as hungry and fuel deprived people take to the street. The share of family income spent on food in different countries USA 10% Brazil…
Read moreFoods are thermodynamically unstable and all manner of reactions may take place which may lead to profound changes in the food, sometimes adding to the desirability of the food or creating a hazard. ( British Journal of Nutrition vol 99, supplement 2 April 2008).The chemical compound acrylamide (acrylic amide) has the chemical formula C3H5NO. Its…
Read moreObesity may be difficult to overcome and in these situations the surgeons as always have explored surgical management of the problem.In the Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh Witherspoon and Galloway review surgical procedures useful for obesity control. Medical treatment for the grossly obese is not always effective in the long term.In…
Read moreNature reports that a scientist , Patricia Hunt has noted that mice in contact with two compounds used in cleaning homes offices and hospitals develop birth defects and reduced fertility. Two chemicals are quaternary ammonium compounds ADBAC (n-alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride) and DDAC (didecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride) . Similarly bisphenol A causes egg defects.Here…
Read moreThis is a review of the variable effect obesity has on insulin and skeletal muscle glucose transport. Acquired resistance to the action of insulin to stimulate glucose transport in skeletal muscle is associated with obesity and promotes the development of type 2 diabetes. In skeletal muscle, insulin resistance can result from high levels of circulating…
Read moreThe response of the body to starvation is a complex process. This paper is interesting, because if there is loss of ribosomes, then refeeding has to be a cautious process until the cellular synthetic processes are restored to full . Autophagy is a process in which cytoplasmic components are broken down to supply materials for…
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