Adipose Tissue: (also
see Body Fat)
Aging: (see Sugar
or Carbohydrates)
Allergies: (also see
Enzymes)
Alpha-amylase: (see Enzymes)
Amino Acids: (also
see Protein)
Anachidonic Acid: (see Essential
Fatty Acids)
Antioxidants
Aspartame: (see Food
Additives)
Adipose Tissue: (also see Body Fat)
Adipose (fat) cells need glucose (sugar) for the synthesis
of triglycerols (excess body-fat). Adipose tissue [fat] is stored ONLY
when eating carbohydrates. Reference: Basic Medical Biochemistry:
A Clinical Approach, pg. 510. Dawn B. Marks, Allan D. Marks, Colleen
M. Smith, Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, August, 1996, ISBN: 068305595X
Aging: (also see Sugar
or Carbohydrates)
Low Insulin Not Calorie Restriction Lengthens
Your Life (A Study)
A lean body devoid of (excess) fat may be more significant in determining
life span than a calorie-restricted diet, according to a new study of
genetically altered mice. The mice in the study were able to eat whatever
they wanted and still stay slim because their fat tissue had been altered
so it could not respond to the hormone insulin. Insulin helps to move
sugar from the blood into the body’s cells and also helps fat
cells to store fat. Researchers altered the insulin receptor gene in
the fat cells of lab mice, and since insulin is needed to help cells
store fat the mice had less fat and were protected against obesity.
The altered mice ate 55 percent more food per gram of body weight than
normal mice, yet had 70 percent less body fat by the time they reached
3 months of age. Moreover, the altered mice lived 18 percent longer
than normal mice, and after three years all of the normal mice had died,
but one-quarter of the altered mice were still alive. Reference:
Science, Bluher M, Kahn BB, Kahn CR., January 24, 2003;299:572-574
Allergies:
Allergies are the result of a hyper-alert immune system. As babies our
immune system is developing. The more we are exposed to during this
developmental stage, the more our body learns how to protect us later.
If we don’t get exposed to certain allergens, our bodies don’t
recognize them later and our immune system reacts incorrectly, which
causes an allergic reaction.
The Allergy Process:
1. The body starts to produce a specific type of antibody called IgE
to fight the allergen.
2. The antibodies attach to a form of blood cell called a mast cell.
Mast cells are plentiful in the airways, and in the GI tract where allergens
tend to enter the body.
3. The mast cells explode releasing a variety of chemicals including
histamine, which causes most of the symptoms of an allergy including
itchiness or a runny nose.
Reference: Body Story, Allergies, Body Invaders, Discovery Channel.
http://health.discovery.com/stories/bodyinvaders/allergies.html
Essential Fatty Acids and the cleansing process of some herbs like Sheep
Sorrel, Burdock Root, Slippery Elm Bark, Cat's Claw and Turkish Rhubarb
Root have been known to significantly reduce the symptoms of allergies.
Alpha-amylase: (see Enzymes)
Alpha-amylase initiates starch digestion by breaking down
starch (complex carbohydrates) into sugars. This release of sugar alters
the taste of food. Reference: Brock, T.D. and Madigan, M.T. (1988)
Biology of Microorganisms (Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey)
pp 383, 396-399.
Reference: Human Physiology: Foundations and Frontiers, Schauf, C.,
Moffett, D. and Moffett, S., ed. Allen, D., Times Mirror/Mosby College
Publishing, St. Louis, 1990, Chapters 21 and 22.
Amino Acids:
There are 20 amino acids. The human body can produce only 11 of them.
Nine are essential, which means we must get them in our food. Amino
acids are the building blocks of protein, and along with EFAs, are the
basis of life. Amino acids are best obtained from first class Protein:
The essential amino acids:
Hittidine Isoleucine
Leucine
Lysine Methionine Phenylalinine
Theronine Tryptophan Valine
Anachidonic Acid: (see Essential
Fatty Acids) The third fatty acid once thought to be (but not) essential.
Antioxidants:
Antioxidants are reputed to reduce the number of free-radicals, but
there is little research showing how effectively antioxidant supplements
actually work in the body. Many times the intended “solution”
creates unexpected problems. We constantly burn fuel in our bodies by
oxidation. “All cells regardless of their specified function oxidize
fuels.” (Reference: The Essentials of Biochemistry (Essentials),
Jay M. Templin, Research & Education Assn, 1998, ISBN: 0878910735)
Oxidation produces free-radical by-products these are formed by a completely
natural process. Free-radicals are critical to life itself. They are
among the most important components in our immune system – they
keep us from getting sick. They are also required for important hormone
production.
Antioxidant supplements are also ineffective because the process of
digestion nullifies them before they can get into the cells they are
meant to protect. Reference: Ageless Body, Timeless Mind, Deepak
Chopra, MD, pg. 122., November, 1993, ISBN: 0712656731
Aspartame: (see Food Additives)
Aspartame is essentially Methanol, or wood alcohol, and
is very harmful to the body. (See further information under the Sweeteners
section.)