PERSPECTIVES WITH DR ALAN BARCLAY
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES: A GOOD SERVANT BUT A CRUEL MASTER People have been drinking alcoholic beverages for thousands of years – partly due to their intoxicating effects and partly due to the fact that they once provided a safer means of hydration when clean water was scarce. For many people around the world today, an alcoholic …
PERSPECTIVES WITH DR ALAN BARCLAY
FOOD SAFETY: A VITAL INGREDIENT FOR LONGEVITY While we tend to focus on the importance of eating healthy foods, meals and diets for longevity, and for the prevention of lifestyle-related diseases like certain kinds of cancer (e.g., bowel), diabetes (type 2), heart disease and stroke, food safety is an extremely important issue that is often …
PERSPECTIVES WITH DR ALAN BARCLAY
REDUCE GLYCEMIC LOAD AND REDUCE TYPE 2 DIABETES RISK The glycemic index, or GI, is an inherent property of carbohydrate-containing foods and beverages. It is a relative ranking from 0–100, describing the rate and extent to which available carbohydrate (total carbohydrate minus dietary fibre) is digested, absorbed and metabolised into glucose and released into the …
PERSPECTIVES WITH DR ALAN BARCLAY
LOW CARB? Low carb diets are still very popular in many parts of the world. The problem is, many people do not seem to really understand what “carbs” actually are. Consumer research in Europe, for example, has found that only 51% of consumers can correctly identify a carbohydrate. This is not really surprising, because carbohydrates …
PERSPECTIVES WITH DR ALAN BARCLAY
FEEDING THE PROTEIN FAD WITH ULTRA-PROCESSED FOODS Ultra-processed foods have been in the media a lot lately, with new research suggesting that they cause weight gain and may increase the risk of heart attack, stroke and ultimately death. They can be described as “formulations mostly of cheap industrial sources of dietary energy and nutrients plus …
PERSPECTIVES WITH DR ALAN BARCLAY
B12: THE COMPLEX VITAMIN Vitamin B12, or cobalamin, is the largest and most structurally complex of all of the vitamins. It’s essential for the development of red blood cells, normal growth, and nervous system maintenance. Our primary sources are animal products (meats, dairy, poultry, eggs and seafood) because it is only synthesized by microorganisms (bacteria …
PERSPECTIVES WITH DR ALAN BARCLAY
FATS AND BLOOD CHOLESTEROL As well as being a highly concentrated source of energy and a carrier for fat-soluble vitamins, fats provide food with a pleasant mouth feel and carry many of the flavours that make certain dishes taste delicious. Current dietary guidelines advise people to eat less saturated fat to help improve blood cholesterol …
PERSPECTIVES WITH DR ALAN BARCLAY
SWEET NOTHINGS? Consumer demand for reduced sugar, no-added-sugar and sugar free foods and beverages has increased, as people look to cut back on processed foods with added sugars without cutting sweet treats out of their lives. Sugar alcohols or polyols are increasingly replacing them in foods and beverages, often along with intense sweeteners, as they …
PERSPECTIVES WITH DR ALAN BARCLAY
HOT POTATOES While they are a pariah in many parts of the developed world, due to the current popularity of low carbohydrate diets, potatoes have been eaten and enjoyed all over the world for centuries. Even today, roots and tubers are the third largest carbohydrate-containing food source in the world, with potatoes representing nearly half …
PERSPECTIVES WITH DR ALAN BARCLAY
DOES THE MICROBIOME AFFECT THE RISK OF DEVELOPING TYPE 1 DIABETES? The number of people developing type 1 diabetes has increased significantly all around the world since World War II, but incidence rates (number of new cases in a year) vary amongst regions. It is most common in Northern Europe, with Finland having the highest …
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