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Biomedical subjects

D H Buss

Publications and source records attributed to D H Buss.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Trace nutrients. 2. Manganese in British food.

1. The amount of manganese in nationally-representative samples of prepared and cooked groups of foods, and in a wide variety of individual foods, was determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy. 2. The average British diet was calculated to provide 4.6 mg Mn/d of which half was derived from tea and other beverages, 30% from cereals, and 15% from vegetables and fruit. Animal products provided little Mn. 3. Individual foods other than tea which were particularly rich in Mn in Britain were unrefined and partially-refined cereals, and some spices and herbs. Some vegetables and fruit, coffee, wine, chocolate and brown sugar also contained significant amounts of Mn.

Diet↗

Trace nutrients. 3 Magnesium, copper, zinc, vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and folic acid in the British household food supply.

1. Intakes of magnesium, copper, zinc, vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and folic acid in Britain were calculated by applying the values selected for the 4th edition of McCance and Widdowson's The Composition of Foods (Paul & Southgate, 1978) to the amounts of food recorded in the National Food Survey made during 1976 (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, 1977). 2. National average intakes were (/person per d): Mg 249 mg, Cu 1.51 mg, Zn 9.1 mg, vitamin B6 1.36 mg, vitamin B12 6.6 micrograms free folic acid 105 microgram and total folic acid 190 micrograms. Corresponding intakes (/person) in families with four or more children were 10-20% lower. 3. A comparison of intakes with those recommended in Canada (Department of National Health and Welfare, 1976) and the USA (National Research Council, 1974) or by WHO (1973) indicated that for folic acid average values were particularly low, and only for vitamin B12 were the recommendations significantly exceeded. 4. Contributions from alcoholic drinks and confectionery were also calculated and found, on average, to be significant for cu, vitamin B12 and folic acid. 5. The losses of B-vitamins which might occur on cooking are discussed.

Alcoholic Beverages↗

The resilience of British household diets during the 1970s.

The 1979s saw rapid increases in prices, including food prices, but incomes also increased rapidly. Many other factors, such as the growth in home-freezer ownership, could also have affected dietary habits. Yet the National Food Survey shows that although less food is now bought for use in the home (9.5 MJ/person/day compared with 10.7 MJ in 1970), the overall distribution of the diet between meat, fish, dairy products, cereals, sugar, fats, fruit and vegetables remained comparatively steady. Greater changes in consumption of foods within the same broad groups had little effect on overall nutrient intakes, so that the nutritional quality of the diet (measured as nutrients/MJ) actually increased.

Economics↗

Some consequences of the new UK 'recommended daily amounts of food energy and nutrients' for evaluating food consumption surveys.

The amounts of energy and nutrients which have been recommended by the Department of Health and Social Security in 1969 and 1979 are compared. For the nation as a whole, the recommendations for energy and protein have decreased by 6 per cent; thus, the adequacy of an otherwise unchanged diet will appear 6 per cent higher than before. The changes for iron, calcium and the three main B-vitamins are smaller, while vitamin C and vitamin A are virtually unaffected. Nevertheless, as the method of calculating retinol equivalents in the diet should now conform to worldwide practice, the amount of vitamin A in the average diet will appear to be about 6 per cent less than before. It will be no longer practical to evaluate dietary intakes of vitamin D, but there are now official recommendations for folic acid.

Ascorbic Acid↗

Trace nutrients. Selenium in British food.

1. The amount of selenium in nationally representative samples of prepared and cooked groups of foods, and in a variety of raw individual foods, was determined fluorimetrically. 2. The average British diet was calculated to provide approximately 60 microgram Se/d, of which half was derived from cereals and cereal products and another 40% from meat and fish. Milk, table fats, fruit and vegetables provided little or no Se. 3. Individual foods which were particularly rich in Se (greater than 0.2 mg/kg) included 'bread-making' and wholemeal flours, kidney, fatty fish, brazil nuts (Bertholletia excelsa) and several other varieties of nut. In contrast, breast milk and other foods for babies (except some cereal products) contained little Se. 4. The total intake, and the amounts of Se in major foods, were lower than in most other studies. This is probably the result of the comparatively low levels of this element in British soil.

Food Analysis↗

Three centuries of alcohol in the British diet.

Alcoholic drinks were consumed in larger quantities in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries than in the twentieth century, although there has been a recent increase from the historical low of 1930-60. Beer, spirits and wines once provided at least 2 MJ (nearly 500 kcal) per person per day compared with 0.67 MJ (160 kcal) in 1975, towards an average energy requirement of the total population little different from that needed now. Beer has always contributed most to the alcohol, energy and nutrient content of the diet, although its importance relative to spirits and wine has declined.

Alcohol Drinking↗

The B-vitamin content of baboon (Papio cynocephalus) milk.

1. The B-vitamins in milk from baboons (Papio cynocephalus) at various stages of lactation were measured microbiologically. 2. Mature milk contained, on average (microgram/ml): thiamin 0.18 riboflavin 0.74, nicotinic acid 3.2, folate 0.03, vitamin B6 0.70 vitamin B12 0.002, pantothenic acid 2.63, biotin 0.0065. 3. Colostrum contained much less vitamin B6 and pantothenic acid than mature milk; otherwise, there were only slight changes in composition as lactation progressed. Neither these changes, nor the absolute values, resembled those for human or cow's milk. 4. The average daily secretion of B-vitamins in milk represented less than 10% of the mother's dietary intake; that of folate was less than 0.5% of the mother's dietary intake. 5. Baboon milk was calculated to provide infants with approximately the following quantities of B-vitamins (/d): thiamin 0.06 mg, riboflavin 0.25 mg, nicotinic acid 1.1 mg, folate 10 microgram, vitamin B6 0.25 mg, vitamin B12 0.7 microgram, pantothenic acid 0.9 mg, biotin 2.2 microgram.

Animals↗

The amino acid pattern of the british diet.

The amounts of the essential amino acids in the average British household food supply have been calculated and compared with those recommended by FAO/WHO. There were large excesses of all essential amino acids, with threonine being the most limiting. When similar calculations were made ten years ago, the sulphur-containing amino acids were the most limiting. The change results not so much from the greater amounts of animal protein which are now eaten as from changes in the reference pattern of amino acids.

Amino Acids↗

Wastage of edible food in the home: a preliminary study.

The potentially edible food which was wasted in 52 well-motivated households in and around London was collected and analysed. It contained 5 per cent of the food (and rather more of the fat) estimated to have been used during the week, although wide variations were found. Significant amounts of food were also given to animals and birds in some homes, but, when averaged over the whole sample, this only increased the wastage to 6 per cent. Wastage appeared to be related to household size with each person contributing, in effect, about 400 kJ (95 kcal) per day.

Food↗