Amino Acids in medical research - eat protein

[RightNOW]

Over time, I keep coming across white papers that talk about the benefits of supplementing with this or that amino acid, for a seemingly endless list of reasons.

Maybe this is just a sign that – as Ted Naiman suggests – we should eat enough protein.

Supplementing diet with amino acid successfully staves off signs of ALS in...

[amwassil]

When all you’ve got is a hammer everything looks like a nail.

The specialization of science was inevitable and overall probably a useful thing. It did bring with it some problems, however, amoung them the necessity to stay focused on your own little special area of knowledge to the exclusion of everything else. The result is that there are few generalists left who can put all the little special pieces together into a greater whole. So people report their ‘remarkable discovery’ without knowing how it fits into everyone esle’s ‘remarkable discoveries’.

Maybe dietary L-serine does delay the onset of ALS. Maybe it doesn’t. Who knows until more RCTs are done to test/confirm this one. On the other hand, ketones and especially β-hydroxybutyrate, protect the brain from degenerating, help reverse existing degeneratoin and provide clean and efficient fuel not only to the brain but throughout the body.

Everything you want to know about β-hydroxybutyrate - and more

For those of you who just want to skip to the conclusion: Concluding Remarks and Future Perspectives Ketone bodies are emerging as crucial regulators of metabolic health. More than just a metabolite, the ketone body βOHB can regulate cellular processes directly via HDAC inhibition and binding to cell surface receptors, and indirectly by altering the levels of other regulatory metabolites including acetyl-CoA, succinyl-CoA, and NAD+. The ability of βOHB to regulate HDAC activity and thereby ep…

[RightNOW]

I hadn’t seen that beta-hydroxybutyrate stuff before.

So would that make it worthwhile for people who are not ketogenic to supplement with ketones? Not for weight loss but just to get them into the blood stream?

[amwassil]

I’m at work so can’t search for pertinent refs. But I’m fairly sure that very question is being investigated as a possible way to prevent and/or reverse mental deterioration in the elderly. I’ll have time to investigate tomorrow.

[atomicspacebunny]

image link

Resources:

[1] “…In addition to the well known role of D-serine in the brain, L-serine has recently been implicated in breast cancer and other tumors due in part to the genomic copy number gain for 3-phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase, the enzyme that controls the entry of glycolytic intermediates into the pathway of serine synthesis. …” …More

image link See also: Phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase deficiency

[2] Cancer’s sweet tooth for serine

[3] ”…Our rationale is based on four basic and well-established principles:

1. Meals contain an assortment of nutrients, not a single nutrient.
2. Each meal or food item has a different assortment (ratio) of nutrients.
3. Most of the nutrients function in various tissues and are not tissue specific [2].
4. Nutrients are not limited to one specific metabolic pathway [2]. …” Source: Utilizing Dietary Nutrient Ratios in Nutritional Research: Expanding the Concept of Nutrient Ratios to Macronutrients

[atomicspacebunny]

I hadn’t seen that beta-hydroxybutyrate stuff before.

So would that make it worthwhile for people who are not ketogenic to supplement with ketones? Not for weight loss but just to get them into the blood stream?

If only people ate a little resistant starch periodically every now and then they would not need coconut oil.

Don’t need to be on a keto diet to reverse or prevent Alzheimer’s if the gut microbiome are constantly making BHB (resistant starch is their only food, you don’t feed them you will lose your mind; literally)?

My grandmother died of Alzheimer’s co-morbid with sepsis.

Resistant starch is cheap, no Alzheimer’s patients no money to be made?

References:

[1] “…It can be concluded that there is now strong evidence showing that the glyoxalase pathway differs significantly between astrocytes and neurons in a way that renders neurons more vulnerable to MG and AGE accumulation. These observations pinpoint the notion that a metabolic specialization is taking place in brain cells, i.e., astrocytes being more glycolytic than neurons, which may help protecting neurons from MG toxicity. Moreover, more than being a dead-end pathway the glyoxalase system may be important in the regulation of cerebral functions. Undoubtedly, future studies will help to shed light of the importance of this system in brain physiology and pathophysiology. …” …More

[2] Dietary resistant starch improves selected brain and behavioral functions in adult and aged rodents

[3] “…Small amount of resistant starch may help MCT tolerance. …” …More

[4] Why You Should be Eating Resistant Starch

[RightNOW]

Hmmn. I have a tub of MCT oil-powder which is RS (acacia fiber) as a substrate. I haven’t tried any of it but have been considering doing so. How much RS would you recommend?

[amwassil]

I hadn’t seen that beta-hydroxybutyrate stuff before.

So would that make it worthwhile for people who are not ketogenic to supplement with ketones? Not for weight loss but just to get them into the blood stream?

I’m at work so can’t search for pertinent refs. But I’m fairly sure that very question is being investigated as a possible way to prevent and/or reverse mental deterioration in the elderly. I’ll have time to investigate tomorrow.

Potential Synergies of β-Hydroxybutyrate and Butyrate on the Modulation of...

[RightNOW]

Very interesting, the BHB salts and Butyrate as supps.

…and that’s just a little piece of a lot more. Wow.