Women’s Nutrition Considerations Over the Life-course
Estimated Reading Time = ~ 25-30 minutes Introduction In this Sigma Statement, we intend to provide a lifespan overview of nutritional considerations for females. It is not intended that every single condition affecting females will be covered, as the scope would be too broad. Rather, we intend to cover the most prevalent conditions, for example iron-deficiency anaemia, and PCOS, together with nutrition considerations for the peri-menopausal lifestage. It also includes discussion of certain relevant sex-dimorphic factors, namely that of adipose tissue distribution. There is a need for accurate, evidence-based information on this topic, given that women are unfortunately often provided with …
The “Calories In, Calories Out” Confusion: A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding Energy Balance
Estimated Reading Time = ~ 40 minutes What’s The Confusion? Unfortunately nutrition is a subject that gives rise to many emotive debates. One passionately debated concept is that of “calories-in, calories-out” (CICO). This is colloquial phrasing for how energy balance relates to bodily energy stores. And this gets translated as shorthand for indicating how energy balance influences gain/loss of body mass. Although one may suspect that CICO is something that seems simple, it is in fact a concept with a lot of nuance buried within it. Unfortunately this nuance is often overlooked, leading to misunderstandings and misleading characterizations being commonplace. …
Impact of Dairy on Disease Risk & Health
Estimated Reading Time = ~ 30 – 35 minutes Key Question: What is the impact of dairy on human health and risk of chronic disease? Context Recent years have seen an exponential increase in interest in exclusionary diets for ethical, moral, and/or environmental considerations. The dairy industry has come under particular scrutiny for both environmental reasons, and ethical/moral concerns related to industrialised or intensive farming practices. Within this important conversation, however, has been a tendency to conflate the the impact of dairy on health with these wider considerations. This results in a problematic discourse where the environmental and ethical considerations …
Nutrition & Immune Function
Estimated Reading Time = ~ 30 minutes Important: This article makes no claims about eating to prevent COVID-19 or to improve resistance to SARS-CoV-2. This article is for educational purposes to clarify the relationship between nutrition and immune function, so that the reader can more easily identify pseudoscientific claims that are circulating on this topic What is Immunity & Immune Function? Across the general population it is acknowledged that one’s immune system is important in order to keep us healthy, primarily by preventing or limiting infection. However, what is meant by immune function, and especially how that relates to diet …
The Impact of Diet on Blood Lipids
This is the second Sigma Statement in our ‘Diet and Cardiovascular Disease’ series. If you have not read the previous statement, it is recommended that you do so, at it sets the stage for why blood lipids are discussed in this statement. You can read that previous statement here: Cholesterol, Lipoproteins & Lipids: Understanding CVD Risk This Sigma Statement will focus on the influence of diet on blood lipids. The evidence for causality between blood lipids per se and cardiovascular disease (CVD), will be discussed in the next Sigma Statement. You can join the email list to be notified when …