Nutritional Therapist

• How are free radicals formed in the body?

  First of all, let's talk about oxidation. Oxidation happens in inert matter (e.g. think of a rusty car) and also in living things, all the time. What is oxidation exactly? Okay, it will get complex from now on, so take your time to read this and absorb the new information! A freshly-cut apple turns brown (like the apple image in your module), a bicycle fender becomes rusty, and a copper penny turns green. What do all of these events have in common? They are all examples of a process called oFew readers

• Can foods contain both soluble and insoluble fibre?

  The answer is yes. ALL fruits, vegetables, legumes (beans, lentils), sprouts, nuts, seeds and grains contain BOTH soluble and insoluble fibre. However, some of them contain more soluble fibre, whereas others contain predominantly insoluble fibre. Fresh carrots are a rich source of both soluble and insoluble fibre, reason why you can see it listed in both columns in your course materials. Bear in mind that the amount of soluble and insoluble fibre in each food item will vary depending on the gFew readers

• Are physical traits entirely determined by your DNA?

  No, not entirely! Traits like hair colour, height, nose size, eye colour, etc. aren't "entirely" determined by your DNA code… they are influenced epigenetically as well - for example, the mother's diet and stress levels during pregnancy are a huge factor. Also identical twins with the same genetic code start looking different as they grow up, which shows that diet and environment also influence the expression of your DNA. It's also worth noting that things like your body weight, how healthy yFew readers

• Can food compounds negatively affect your DNA?

  Unfortunately, some of them can. Food mutagens (which are non-nutritive toxic contaminants in foods) can affect your DNA not only indirectly (epigenetically, e.g. by causing faulty methylation, silencing cancer-fighting genes, etc.), but also directly (e.g. by causing DNA damage, nucleotide alterations, gross chromosomal aberrations, etc.). An example of food mutagens includes a group of toxic chemicals called heterocyclic amines (HCAs), which can be formed in the process of high-temperatureFew readers

• Are we really more bacterial than human?

  Let’s answer this important question… Is it true that bacterial cells outnumber our human cells in the body? As you know, science is constantly evolving, and we are learning more and more about the human body and how it functions. And that includes all the cells which live in the human body! In 1977, a paper was published which stated that there were about 10 trillion human cells in the human body… but about 100 trillion bacterial cells iFew readers