Once eaten and digested, dietary protein is broken down into individual amino acids, which are then absorbed into the blood stream and transported around the body.  Amino acids are small molecules that combine to make the various proteins that the cells in the body need.   Twenty different naturally occurring amino acids are required by the body for these processes, consisting of non-essential amino acids which the body produces, and essential amino acids that must come from food.  Glycine is one of these 20 individual amino acids that the body needs to function properly, and these amino acids combine in different ways to make proteins, the building blocks of the body.  The basic structure of a single protein is a chain

Excess body fat elevates the risk for a number of health issues, such as insulin resistance, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.  Obesity has been linked to several cancers, including esophageal, kidney, pancreatic, post-menopausal breast cancer, colorectal, and uterine cancers.  Weight loss interventions largely focus on reducing dietary energy intake and increasing energy expenditure through increased physical activity.  However, a complex array of factors, beyond diet and exercise, can affect energy balance in the body and contribute to obesity. An emerging field of research, known as chrono-nutrition, has found that timing of meals can have wide implications on your health.  In terms of weight loss, when you eat has been shown to be just as important as what you eat.    Background

The earliest evidence of dairy milk consumption by humans’ dates back almost 9 000 years to modern-day Turkey, near the sea of Marmara, where Richard Evershed, a biogeochemist and his team from the University of Bristol, UK, found milk-fat residues on ancient potsherds, which dates from the dawn of animal domestication.  Theory has it that the early cows, sheep, and goats were domesticated around 10 000 to 12 000 years ago, mainly for meat and that milk consumption followed millennia later. Interestingly, ancient genomic studies showed that these early animal farmers were lactose intolerant and that tolerance for milk only became common in Europe after the Bronze Age, 5,000 to 4,000 years ago.  These days shopping for milk offers a

Zinc has been known for its medicinal qualities over the ages, as ancient Greek medical texts mentioned that zinc oxide was used in ointments to heal wounds.  Zinc oxide is still today a common over-the-counter skin treatment.  Historically, it was reported in 1869 that zinc was essential for the growth of microorganisms, in 1926 zinc was recognized as a growth factor for plants, and in 1958 zinc was shown to be essential for the growth of poultry.  It was only in 1963 that human studies established for the first time that dietary zinc is essential for human health. Zinc is one of the trace minerals that forms part of the micronutrients that our bodies need from our food to stay

“Life is like an onion.  You peel it off one layer at a time.  And sometimes you weep.” This piece of wisdom comes from the American poet Carl Sandburg.  There is however much more to an onion than having layers and bringing tears to your eyes.  Apart from adding abundant flavor to a wide variety of food and being low in calories with no fat or cholesterol, onions contain important nutrients and claimed to provide many health benefits. Characteristics of onions: Onions have been around since ancient times and are not often in the spotlight as a trendy “superfood”, due to its pungent odour and taste, not to mention the after effect of “onion breath”.  (Eating parsley helps to get

The idea of showing food groups in the form of a pyramid paints a clear picture – eat more of the foods listed at the widest part at the bottom of the pyramid and eat less of the foods listed at the narrow top apex. The food pyramid is a visual guide that represents dietary recommendations.  It originated in the USA in 1992 as a helpful guide by the Department of Agriculture to be used by parents, teachers, and dietitians to ensure that the illustrated six food groups result in proper and balanced diets, as viewed at the time.  When the original food pyramid was published, the dietary thinking then was low fat and high carbohydrates.  Foods such as bread,