Tag: selenium

Eggs are rich in immune boosting nutrients , egg yolk kills fungus

Eggs have long been recognized as a source of high-quality protein. The World Health Organization (WHO) and other public health authorities actually use eggs as their reference standard for evaluating the protein quality in all other foods. Egg protein is usually referred to as “HBV” protein, meaning protein with High Biological Value. Since eggs are used as the reference standard for food protein, they score 100% on the HBV chart. The high quality of egg protein is based on the mixture of amino acids it contains. (Amino acids are the building blocks for making proteins.) Eggs provide a complete range of amino acids, including branched chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, valine), sulfur-containing amino acids (methionine, cysteine), lysine, tryptophan, and all other essential amino acids. Their protein is sometimes referred to as a “complete protein” for this reason.

Egg yolks contain at least seven essential minerals, including:
  • 22 mg calcium.
  • 0.46 mg iron.
  • 1 mg magnesium.
  • 66 mg phosphorus.
  • 19 mg potassium.
  • 8 mg sodium.
  • 0.39 mg zinc.
Boiled Eggs Sulfur Smell: Amino Acids

Most amino acids do not contain sulfur. However, two do contain sulfur in addition to nitrogen—methionine and cysteine.

Kale, cabbage, onions, garlic and broccoli are some of the most nutritious foods on earth.… Make sure your diet includes freshly crushed garlic, onions, broccoli, fish and other foods high in sulfur. … Onions, eggs, cruciferous vegetables and other foods high in sulfur are considered health promoting.

My grandma burned the egg yolk to apply on my the fungus on my feet which heals faster than boiled guava leaves.
keywords: Burn, Egg yolk, Wound, Silver sulfadiazine, Rat …. It kills a wide variety of bacteria.

 

All B vitamins are found in eggs, including vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, choline, biotin, and folic acid. Choline is a standout among these B vitamins. In fact, eggs rank higher in choline than any of our other WHFoods. In the U.S., an average diet provides about 300 milligrams of choline per day – less than the recommended amount for an adult woman (425 milligrams) or an adult man (550 milligrams). Since one egg provides over 100 milligrams of choline and only 75-80 calories, it provides far more choline for far less calories than most other choline-rich foods.

The mineral content of eggs also deserves special mention here–not because eggs are a rich source of most minerals but because they are a rich source of certain minerals that can sometimes be difficult to obtain from other foods. Eggs are a very good source of both selenium and iodine. While many fish, shellfish, and mushrooms can be rich sources of selenium, persons who avoid these foods may sometimes have difficulty getting an adequate amount of this important antioxidant mineral from food. For persons who do not use iodized salt in recipes or at the table and who do not consume either yogurt or cow’s milk, this mineral can also sometimes be challenging to obtain from food.

The nutrients found in an egg are distributed fairly evenly between the yolk and the white. This distribution of nutrients is a common characteristic of whole, natural foods and it is one of the reasons that we recommend consumption of whole eggs (except, of course, when only the yolk or the white is called for in a recipe). The chart below explains what approximate percent of the total nutrient amount is found in the yolk and the white of an egg. You will notice that the first four nutrient groupings are those that are found predominately in the egg white, while those that follow are found predominately in the egg yolk (all except for the last nutrient, selenium, which is divided fairly evenly between the egg white and yolk).

 

Nutrient Egg White Egg Yolk
Protein 60% 40%
Magnesium, Potassium, Sodium 10-25%
Vitamin B3 90% 10%
Vitamin B2 62% 38%
Total Fat 10% 90%
Omega-3 Fats 0% 100%
Vitamins A, D, E, K 0% 100%
Carotenoids 0% 100%
Vitamins B5, B6, B12, Folate, Choline 10% or less 90% or more
Calcium, Phosphorus, Zinc, Copper, Iron 10% or less 90% or more
Manganese 30% 70%
Vitamin B1 25% 75%
Biotin 20% 80%
Selenium 41% 59%

Omega-3 Support

In recent years, there has been a food marketplace trend of greater availability of eggs that are unusually rich in omega-3 fats. These eggs get their high levels of omega-3s through the addition of omega-3 oils to the hen’s feed. Oils added to the hen’s diet as a way of increasing omega-3s include menhaden oil, krill oil, flaxseed oil, and algae oil. The supplementation of the hen’s diet with these oils usually produces as much as 250 milligrams of omega-3s per egg yolk.

What many consumers do not know is that virtually all egg yolks contain omega-3 fats and that by providing hens with a natural, pasture-based diet their omega-3 levels can be naturally increased. Pasture feeding can provide the hen with clover and alfalfa, two examples of legumes that are rich in omega-3s; in fact, pasture feeding can double the amount of omega-3s in an egg yolk. Omega-3s are far too low in the average U.S. diet, and eggs from pasture-raised chickens can provide significant amounts of these anti-inflammatory fats.

Parasites and groin pain

What are parasites?

Parasites are animals or plants which must live on or in another plant or animal to survive (go on living). There are several parasites in the environment and when they get into a person’s body, his/her health can be affected. Some parasites enter the body by way of contaminated food or water and some live on the skin and the hair. Examples of parasites include:

  • stomach and gut worms (threadworm, hookworm)
  • skin mites (scabies)
  • hair and body lice (head lice and crab lice)
  • protozoa (Giardia)

Most of these parasites cannot be seen without the help of a magnifying glass. Like a microscope, this is another kind of special instrument which makes things look bigger than they really are. Some adult worms are big enough to see without the help of a magnifying glass.
It is often easy to see where parasites have been, such as when they cause rashes on the skin.

Protozoa

Protozoa are tiny single-celled animals which can move about on their own. Protozoa are so small they can only be seen with the help of a microscope and only some of them cause disease in humans. An example of one of these is Giardia lamblia.
Fig. 1.10: Giardia, a disease-causing protozoan
Fig. 1.10: Giardia, a disease-causing protozoan.

Worms

Parasitic worms are small animals which can live inside the body. Their eggs are taken into the body, usually by swallowing. The worms then hatch out of the eggs and live in the body. Some types of worm larvae (young worms) can also burrow their way into the body through the skin.
When the worms live in the body they can cause sickness. They may get into the stomach and gut and eat the food before the body has digested it. This means that the body does not get enough nourishment. Sometimes the worms will find their way into other parts of the body, such as the blood or liver. When this happens these parts of the body may not work properly.
Fig. 1.11: Worms
Fig. 1.11: Worms

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Mites and lice

These are small animals which affect the skin and hair of the body. They cause the skin, especially the scalp, to become very itchy.
Fig. 1.12: Lice
Fig. 1.12: Lice.

5.2 Diseases caused by parasites

Common diseases in Indigenous communities which are caused by parasites are described below.

Giardiasis

This is a parasitic infection caused by the protozoan Giardia lamblia getting into the small intestine. Giardia is a single celled animal which is so small it can only be seen with the help of a microscope.

This disease can occur anywhere in Australia and is very common in Indigenous communities. The symptoms (signs) of this disease are:

  • very severe or chronic (long-lasting) diarrhoea
  • stomach cramps and pain
  • fatigue (tiredness)
  • weakness
  • weight loss

There is special medicine which can be taken to get rid of Giardia from the body.

Hookworm infection

This is a widespread disease in warm, tropical and sub-tropical places, especially where sewage disposal is inadequate. It is common in the Kimberley and other parts of tropical northern Australia.

Hookworm is a parasitic worm. The adult worm is about 1 cm in length and is about the thickness of a pin.
The worms suck blood from the human host. The disease becomes serious when there are many worms in the intestine sucking blood from the host. When this happens, the host loses too much blood which contains the body’s important nutrients (nourishing food).

This can cause:

  • the body to become anaemic (pale and weak)
  • fever
  • diarrhoea or constipation

In extreme cases hookworm infestation can stop the person from thinking and moving properly. It can also slow down children’s growth.

To get rid of these worms from the body, the person must be treated with special medicine.

Threadworm (or pinworm) infection

This is a disease which can occur in any part of Australia. It is another disease which is caused by a parasitic worm which lives in large numbers in the human intestine.

Threadworm causes anal (bum hole) itching. This can lead to disturbed sleep and can cause people to become grumpy. Excessive scratching can lead to broken skin which may become infected (pus sores).

Threadworms are easily passed from one person to another and frequently whole families or groups become infected.

There is also special medicine to get rid of these worms from the body.

Dwarf tapeworm infection

Dwarf tapeworm is the most common human tapeworm in Australia. It is a parasitic infection of the stomach and intestine.
Infection with this tapeworm can cause:

  • diarrhoea
  • stomach pain
  • weight loss
  • weakness

There is special medicine which will get rid of these worms from the body.

Scabies infection

This is a skin disease caused by a tiny animal which is called a mite. It is usually about 0.3 mm long. The female burrows into the skin to lay her eggs and this irritates the skin and makes it very itchy. As a result, the person scratches the skin a lot.
If the skin breaks as a result of the scratching, germs can enter the break in the skin and cause an infection. When treating the infection it is important to also get rid of the mites or lice; otherwise the irritations will continue and cause more infections.
To get rid of scabies a specially medicated lotion is used.

Pediculosis (head lice infection)

These tiny bloodsucking animals live their whole life on a person’s head. The lice stab an opening through the skin and suck up blood from the host. This causes irritation. The resulting scratching can lead to broken skin which can become infected.
Special shampoos are used to get rid of head lice. The eggs which are stuck to the hair need to be removed with a special fine-toothed comb.

5.3 Methods on how some important parasites are spread

Giardia

Giardia occur in the intestines of humans. When Giardia are inside the body they can move about quite easily, but they often leave the body as tiny egg-like cysts in faeces.

Infection happens when these cysts are taken back into the body of someone who does not have Giardia in their intestines. Once inside the intestine they become mobile (able to move) again and start to reproduce themselves by dividing and redividing.

Giardia cysts can be passed:

  • directly by the faecal/oral route from an infected person to one who is not infected
  • indirectly by taking in the cysts in contaminated water or food when eating or drinking

Hookworm

When hookworms get inside people, they lay their eggs inside the person’s intestines. These eggs get into the soil or water when infected human faeces has been left on the ground or from faulty or broken sewage systems.

Tiny larvae (young worms) will hatch out. If the soil is wet the larvae will develop to a stage where they can infect people. They can survive in wet soil for several weeks and are able to burrow through unbroken skin. This happens when people’s skin comes into contact with water, soil or faeces which is infected with hookworm larvae.

People can become infected with hookworm directly by the ingestion of larvae or by larvae burrowing through the skin.

People in the tropical parts of northern Australia who walk around in contaminated wet places without shoes are very likely to get infected.

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Inside the body the larvae travel through the blood stream to the lungs where they are coughed up and then swallowed. They finally reach the intestines where they develop into adult worms. Adult worms are able to attach themselves to the walls of the intestines. They have hooks around the mouth which allow them to do this. They live there and suck blood from the human host.
Fig. 1.14: How hookworm gets into the body and where it lives in the body
Fig. 1.14: How hookworm gets into the body and where it lives in the body.

Threadworm (or pinworm)

These worms look like tiny white threads and live in the intestine. The female worm will travel to the anal opening to lay its eggs on the skin around the anus. It is this activity which causes the itching. The eggs and the worms leave the body in faeces. The eggs hatch when they are taken into the same or another person’s intestine.

The worms or their eggs can be passed from one person to another:

  • directly through the faecal/oral route from an infected person to one who is not infected
  • indirectly through contact with contaminated clothing, bedding or food

Dwarf tapeworm

The dwarf tapeworm occurs in the stomach and intestines of humans. The adult tapeworm lays its eggs in the body. The eggs are passed out of the body in the faeces. If these eggs are ingested by other people indirectly or directly, the eggs will hatch in the intestine. The immature worm goes through two further stages of development before it becomes an adult.

Humans become infected with dwarf tapeworms:

  • directly by touching the mouth with fingers which are contaminated with faeces containing the egg
  • indirectly by ingesting eggs in contaminated food or water, or by swallowing an insect which has ingested eggs which have then hatched into larvae inside the insect

Roundworms

Roundworms are nematodes and are found in northern parts of Australia and in many tropical countries. Strongyloides stercoralis is a roundworm which causes a life threatening disease called Strongyloidiasis.

People can become infected through contact with soil contaminated by faeces containing the parasite.

People can often get sick where hygiene and sanitation are poor. Infection can be detected with a special blood test and people can be cured with special tablets.

Scabies

These small animals are a type of mite. The female burrows into the skin where it lays its eggs. When the mites hatch they climb out onto the surface of the skin and then enter hair follicles. These are the small openings in the skin which hold the hair roots. The young mites grow into adults in the hair follicles. They then climb out and mate and start the process all over again. It is the burrowing activity of the mites which causes the skin irritation associated with scabies.
Fig. 1.15: Scabies' life cycle
Fig. 1.15: Scabies’ life cycle.

Scabies prefer to live in certain places in the body. These are body creases such as the backs of the knee and elbow and in the armpit and groin.
Fig. 1.16: Scabies rash on the body
Fig. 1.16: Scabies rash on the body.

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Scabies can be passed from an infected person to an uninfected person by:

  • direct contact; or
  • indirect contact with contaminated clothing or bedding. Infection happens more frequently when people live in overcrowded conditions

 

Head lice

Adult lice live their whole lives in the hair of a person’s head. The lice stab openings in the skin to suck blood. The eggs of the head lice, which are also called nits, are glued to the hairs on the person’s head. The nits are about 1 mm in size and are whitish in colour. They take about a week to hatch.

The lice can be passed:

  • directly from person-to-person, such as when small children play or sleep together; or
  • indirectly through the sharing of infected combs, brushes and hats

While head lice can be killed with special shampoos, the nits are difficult to kill in this way. For this reason, nits must be removed with a special fine toothed comb.

Vitamin A and zinc

Scientists found that vitamin A and zinc supplementation was associated with distinct parasite-specific health outcomes. Vitamin A plus zinc reduces G. lamblia incidence, whereas zinc supplementation increases A. lumbricoides incidence but decreases E. histolytica-associated diarrhea.

Supplementation of B-complex vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E and selenium reduce the risk of infection by invasive diarrheal pathogens.

Supplementation of selenium and copper may help the control of H. contortus.

Selenium Protects a Specific Type of Interneuron in the Brain

Selenium Protects a Specific Type of Interneuron in the Brain

Summary: A new study reveals selenium is essential for the postnatal development of a specific type of interneuron.

Source: Helmholtz.

Exactly 200 years ago, the Swedish scientist Jöns Jacob Berzelius discovered the trace element selenium, which he named after the goddess of the moon, Selene. Besides its industrial applications (chemical industry, production of semiconductors and toners), selenium is an essential trace element and indispensable for humans, many animals and some bacteria. A team led by Dr. Marcus Conrad, research group leader at the Institute of Developmental Genetics (IDG) at Helmholtz Zentrum München, showed for the first time why selenium is a limiting factor for mammals.

Scientific ‘by-catch’ solves decades-old mystery

The scientists have been investigating for years the processes of a novel type of cell death, known as ferroptosis. In this context, the enzyme GPX4, which normally contains selenium in the form of the amino acid selenocysteine, plays an important role.

In order to better understand the role of GPX4 in this death process, we established and studied mouse models in which the enzyme was modified,” said study leader Conrad. “In one of these models, we observed that mice with a replacement of selenium to sulfur in GPX4 did not survive for longer than three weeks due to neurological complications.”

In their search for the underlying reasons, the researchers identified a distinct subpopulation of specialized neurons in the brain, which were absent when selenium-containing GPX4 was lacking. “In further studies, we were able to show that these neurons were lost during postnatal development, when sulfur- instead of selenium-containing GPX4 was present,” stated first author of the study, Irina Ingold.

half moons

Furthermore, the scientists were able to show that ferroptosis is triggered by oxidative stress, which is known to occur for instance during high metabolic activity of cells and high neuronal activity. “Our study demonstrates for the first time that selenium is an essential factor for the postnatal development of a specific type of interneurons,” said Dr. José Pedro Friedmann Angeli, a scientist at the IDG, describing the results. “Selenium-containing GPX4 protects these specialized neurons from oxidative stress and from ferroptotic cell death.”

Thus, the study explains why certain selenoenzymes are essential in some organisms, including mammals, whereas they are dispensable in other organisms, such as fungi and higher plants. In future investigations, study leader Marcus Conrad and his team aim to investigate how ferroptosis is triggered in cells. As a long-term goal, he wants to elucidate the role of ferroptosis in various disease conditions in order to be able to alleviate diseases, such as cancer or neurodegeneration, which are currently difficult to tackle.

ABOUT THIS NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH ARTICLE

GPX4 stands for the enzyme glutathione peroxidase 4, one of 25 selenoproteins in humans. In the enzyme, selenium is an integral part of the 21st amino acid selenocysteine. The enzyme plays a decisive role in ferroptosis. The word ferroptosis, which means a type of programmed cell death dependent on iron, is derived from the Greek ptosis: fall and Latin ferrum: iron. Ferroptosis has not yet been completely elucidated, but the importance of cellular suicide has already been impressively confirmed, for example, by apoptosis, which has been more extensively studied.

Source: Marcus Conrad – Helmholtz
Publisher: Organized by NeuroscienceNews.com.
Image Source: NeuroscienceNews.com image is credited to Ingold et al., Cell.
Original Research: Abstract for “Selenium Utilization by GPX4 Is Required to Prevent Hydroperoxide-Induced Ferroptosis” by Irina Ingold, Carsten Berndt, Sabine Schmitt, Sebastian Doll, Gereon Poschmann, Katalin Buday, Antonella Roveri, Xiaoxiao Peng, Florencio Porto Freitas, Tobias Seibt, Lisa Mehr, Michaela Aichler, Axel Walch, Daniel Lamp, Martin Jastroch, Sayuri Miyamoto, Wolfgang Wurst, Fulvio Ursini, Elias S.J. Arnér, Noelia Fradejas-Villar, Ulrich Schweizer, Hans Zischka, José Pedro Friedmann Angeli, and Marcus Conrad in Cell. Published online December 28 2017 doi:10.1016/j.cell.2017.11.048

CITE THIS NEUROSCIENCENEWS.COM ARTICLE
Helmholtz “Selenium Protects a Specific Type of Interneurons in the Brain.” NeuroscienceNews. NeuroscienceNews, 29 December 2017.
<http://neurosciencenews.com/selenium-interneurons-8242/&gt;.

Abstract

Selenium Utilization by GPX4 Is Required to Prevent Hydroperoxide-Induced Ferroptosis

Highlights
•Selenium-containing GPX4 is necessary for full viability of mice
•The GPX4-Cys variant is highly susceptible to hydroperoxide-induced inactivation
•Hydroperoxide induces ferroptosis in Gpx4cys/cys cells
•GPX4-Cys bypasses the requirement of selenoproteins for cell viability

Summary
Selenoproteins are rare proteins among all kingdoms of life containing the 21st amino acid, selenocysteine. Selenocysteine resembles cysteine, differing only by the substitution of selenium for sulfur. Yet the actual advantage of selenolate- versus thiolate-based catalysis has remained enigmatic, as most of the known selenoproteins also exist as cysteine-containing homologs. Here, we demonstrate that selenolate-based catalysis of the essential mammalian selenoprotein GPX4 is unexpectedly dispensable for normal embryogenesis. Yet the survival of a specific type of interneurons emerges to exclusively depend on selenocysteine-containing GPX4, thereby preventing fatal epileptic seizures. Mechanistically, selenocysteine utilization by GPX4 confers exquisite resistance to irreversible overoxidation as cells expressing a cysteine variant are highly sensitive toward peroxide-induced ferroptosis. Remarkably, concomitant deletion of all selenoproteins in Gpx4cys/cys cells revealed that selenoproteins are dispensable for cell viability provided partial GPX4 activity is retained. Conclusively, 200 years after its discovery, a specific and indispensable role for selenium is provided.

“Selenium Utilization by GPX4 Is Required to Prevent Hydroperoxide-Induced Ferroptosis” by Irina Ingold, Carsten Berndt, Sabine Schmitt, Sebastian Doll, Gereon Poschmann, Katalin Buday, Antonella Roveri, Xiaoxiao Peng, Florencio Porto Freitas, Tobias Seibt, Lisa Mehr, Michaela Aichler, Axel Walch, Daniel Lamp, Martin Jastroch, Sayuri Miyamoto, Wolfgang Wurst, Fulvio Ursini, Elias S.J. Arnér, Noelia Fradejas-Villar, Ulrich Schweizer, Hans Zischka, José Pedro Friedmann Angeli, and Marcus Conrad in Cell. Published online December 28 2017 doi:10.1016/j.cell.2017.11.048

Metabolic pathway provides cues for cancer, aging and health care

metabolic path.JPGIn biochemistry, a metabolic pathway is a linked series of chemical reactions occurring within a cell. The reactants, products, and intermediates of an enzymatic reaction are known as metabolites, which are modified by a sequence of chemical reactions catalyzed by enzymes.[1] In a metabolic pathway, the product of one enzyme acts as the substrate for the next. These enzymes often require dietary minerals, vitamins, and other cofactors to function.

Different metabolic pathways function based on the position within a eukaryotic cell and the significance of the pathway in the given compartment of the cell.[2] For instance, the citric acid cycle, electron transport chain, and oxidative phosphorylation all take place in the mitochondrial membrane. In contrast, glycolysis, pentose phosphate pathway, and fatty acid biosynthesis all occur in the cytosolof a cell.[3]

There are two types of metabolic pathways that are characterized by their ability to either synthesize molecules with the utilization of energy (anabolic pathway) or break down of complex molecules by releasing energy in the process (catabolic pathway).[4] The two pathways complement each other in that the energy released from one is used up by the other. The degradative process of a catabolic pathway provides the energy required to conduct a biosynthesis of an anabolic pathway.[4] In addition to the two distinct metabolic pathways is the amphibolic pathway, which can be either catabolic or anabolic based on the need for or the availability of energy.[5]

Pathways are required for the maintenance of homeostasis within an organism and the flux of metabolites through a pathway is regulated depending on the needs of the cell and the availability of the substrate. The end product of a pathway may be used immediately, initiate another metabolic pathway or be stored for later use. The metabolism of a cell consists of an elaborate network of interconnected pathways that enable the synthesis and breakdown of molecules (anabolism and catabolism)

Glycolysis, Oxidative Decarboxylation of Pyruvate, and Tricarboxylic Acid (TCA) Cycle

Net reactions of common metabolic pathways

Each metabolic pathway consists of a series of biochemical reactions that are connected by their intermediates: the products of one reaction are the substrates for subsequent reactions, and so on. Metabolic pathways are often considered to flow in one direction. Although all chemical reactions are technically reversible, conditions in the cell are often such that it is thermodynamically more favorable for flux to flow in one direction of a reaction. For example, one pathway may be responsible for the synthesis of a particular amino acid, but the breakdown of that amino acid may occur via a separate and distinct pathway. One example of an exception to this “rule” is the metabolism of glucose. Glycolysis results in the breakdown of glucose, but several reactions in the glycolysis pathway are reversible and participate in the re-synthesis of glucose (gluconeogenesis).

  • Glycolysis was the first metabolic pathway discovered:

  1. As glucose enters a cell, it is immediately phosphorylated by ATP to glucose 6-phosphate in the irreversible first step.

  2. In times of excess lipid or protein energy sources, certain reactions in the glycolysis pathway may run in reverse in order to produce glucose 6-phosphate which is then used for storage as glycogen or starch.

  • Metabolic pathways are often regulated by feedback inhibition.
  • Some metabolic pathways flow in a ‘cycle’ wherein each component of the cycle is a substrate for the subsequent reaction in the cycle, such as in the Krebs Cycle (see below).
  • Anabolic and catabolic pathways in eukaryotes often occur independently of each other, separated either physically by compartmentalization within organelles or separated biochemically by the requirement of different enzymes and co-factors.

Catabolic pathway (catabolism)

A catabolic pathway is a series of reactions that bring about a net release of energy in the form of a high energy phosphate bond formed with the energy carriers Adenosine Diphosphate (ADP) and Guanosine Diphosphate (GDP) to produce Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) and Guanosine Triphosphate (GTP), respectively. The net reaction is, therefore, thermodynamically favorable, for it results in a lower free energy for the final products.[6] A catabolic pathway is an exergonic system that produces chemical energy in the form of ATP, GTP, NADH, NADPH, FADH2, etc. from energy containing sources such as carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. The end products are often carbon dioxide, water, and ammonia. Coupled with an endergonic reaction of anabolism, the cell can synthesize new macromolecules using the original precursors of the anabolic pathway.[7] An example of a coupled reaction is the phosphorylation of fructose-6-phosphate to form the intermediate fructose-1,6-bisphosphate by the enzyme phsophofructokinase accompanied by the hydrolysis of ATP in the pathway of glycolysis. The resulting chemical reaction within the metabolic pathway is highly thermodynamically favorable and, as a result, irreversible in the cell.[8]

{\displaystyle Fructose-6-Phosphate+ATP\longrightarrow Fructose-1,6-Bisphosphate+ADP}{\displaystyle Fructose-6-Phosphate+ATP\longrightarrow Fructose-1,6-Bisphosphate+ADP}

Cellular respiration

Main article: Cellular respiration

A core set of energy-producing catabolic pathways occur within all living organisms in some form. These pathways transfer the energy released by breakdown of nutrients into ATP and other small molecules used for energy (e.g. GTP, NADPH, FADH). All cells can perform anaerobic respirationby glycolysis. Additionally, most organisms can perform more efficient aerobic respiration through the citric acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation. Additionally plants, algae and cyanobacteria are able to use sunlight to anabolically synthesize compounds from non-living matter by photosynthesis.

Gluconeogenesis Mechanism

Anabolic pathway (anabolism)

In contrast to catabolic pathways, are the anabolic pathways that require an input of energy in order to conduct the construction of macromolecules such as polypeptides, nucleic acids, proteins, polysaccharides, and lipids. The isolated reaction of anabolism is unfavorable in a cell due to a positive Gibbs Free Energy (+ΔG); thus, an input of chemical energy through a coupling with an exergonic reaction is necessary.[9] The coupled reaction of the catabolic pathway affects the thermodynamics of the reaction by lowering the overall activation energy of an anabolic pathway and allowing the reaction to take place.[10] Otherwise, an endergonic reaction is non-spontaneous.

An anabolic pathway is a biosynthetic pathway, meaning that it combines smaller molecules to form larger and more complex ones.[11] An example is the reversed pathway of glycolysis, otherwise known as gluconeogenesis, which occurs in the liver and sometimes in the kidney in order to maintain proper glucose concentration in the blood and to be able to supply the brain and muscle tissues with adequate amount of glucose. Although gluconeogenesis is similar to the reverse pathway of glycolysis, it contains three distinct enzymes from glycolysis that allow the pathway to occur spontaneously.[12] An example of the pathway for gluconeogenesis is illustrated in the image titled “Gluconeogenesis Mechanism“.

 

Macular degeneration dietary supplementation

By Dr Mercola

The human retina is about the size of a postage stamp andthe macula only about the size of a pencil tip. Yet hundreds of millions of light-receptor cellsare employed. Cone cells produce color vision and are located in the macula.Rod cells produce black and white for night vision. The cone cells arelocated in the center of the retina and are used for reading and finecentral vision. The rods are in the periphery of the retina and are usedfor night and side vision. Degeneration of the rods results in night blindness(retinitis pigmentosa). Degeneration of the cones results in macular degeneration.

From back to front, the maculais nourished by the choroid or blood layer of the retina. Poor circulationwould then affect vision. The choroid has extensions into the retina.If the capillaries (connectors) become leaky, then the chorio-capillaruswill ooze some blood serum behind the retina, called subretinal swelling.If the capillaries become even more leaky, then red blood cells will oozebehind the retina and become a sub-retinal hemorrhage.

VitaminC and bioflavonoids (bilberry, cranberry, blueberry, others) help to keep strong capillaries.

Furthermore, the back of theretina is protected from sunlight damage by brown melanin pigment. Asmelanin pigment dissipates with age, macular degeneration accelerates.Plant pigments like bilberry mimic the light-absorption of melanin.

The blood and its nutrients(oxygen, vitamins, lutein) must pass a membrane, called Bruch’s membrane,which may become calcified over time, blocking nutrient entry and theexit of cellular debris. This can be remedied by taking magnesium, a calcium-antogonist(natural calcium blocker).

Once nutrients have passedBruch’s membrane, they go thru a single-cell layer of cells called theretinal pigment epithelium (RPE). The RPE are garbage-cleaning cells.They digest used-up portions of vitamin A shed from the rod cells everymorning. The RPE accomplishes this by producing an antioxidant calledglutathione peroxidase, which is generated from vitamin E and selenium.

Without Vitamin E and selenium, the RPE will build up cellular garbage deposits.

If nutrients pass through thechoroid, Bruch’s membrane, and the RPE, then they finally reach the retinallight-receptor cells, the rod and cones. These cells are lined with fat– – omega-3 fat called DHA. Studies show that people who consume morefish, which is rich in DHA-fish fat, are less likely to develop maculardegeneration. Vitamin B12 is the glue that keeps the DHA in place. VitaminE protects the DHA-fat from turning rancid.

In front of the photoreceptorsis the nerve layer of the retina. These nerve cells transmit visual signalsvia the optic nerve to the brain. It is in this nerve layer thay luteinand zeaxanthin reside. These are two yellow dietary pigments that worklike sunglass filters to protect the underlying macula from solar radiation.Blue-eyed adults have far less lutein and zeaxanthin in their retinas.

A recent study shows that 60-yearolds who had adequate retinal levels of lutein and zeaxanthin retainedthe ability to see faint light as well as 20-year old adults!! How’s thatfor anti-aging. Lutein and zeaxanthin are acquired from spinachand kale, and from food supplements as extracts of marigoldflower petals. At least 6 milligramsof lutein and zeaxanthin should be consumed daily. (Centrum multivitaminonly provide 1/4th of one milligram!.)

A nutritional regimen for macular degeneration should include:

1. Habitual wearing of UV-blueblocking sunglasses when outdoors in daylight.

2. Consumption of spinach andkale

3. A daily food supplementregimen that include lutein (6-12 mg), vitamin E (200-400 IU), selenium (organic, nor selenate or selenite) 200 mcg; vitamin B12, 300 mcg; magnesium 400 mg; vitamin C 500-2000 mg; bilberry 120-240 mg; DHA-rich fish oil providing 1000 mg of DHA; sulfur-bearing nutrients (glutathione, lipoicacid, N-acetyl cysteine or taurine).

4. Avoid high-dose calcium supplements without balancing magnesium (60:40 ratio).

5. Avoid hydrogenated fats that interfere with the omega-3 fats.

6. Avoid very low-fat diets, that rob the retina of omega-3 fats.

7. Eat sulfur-rich foods, such as garlic, eggs, asparagus, onions.

 

Prostate cancer, Dr Mercola

A Saner, Safer Approach to Treating Prostate Cancer

The New York Times article did not mention the option of doing what makes sense while you watch and wait, and it is hard to understand why.

There are natural nutritional agents that can help you prevent and treat prostate cancer, including getting lots of sun exposure to drive up your vitamin D levels. This approach costs virtually nothing.

A study conducted at the University of Illinois has found an interesting relationship between prostate cancer and daily consumption of broccoli and tomatoes. Both these vegetables have been known to contain compounds that can fight cancer. These compounds seem to work better in combination.

Iodine is also a key component because reduced iodine levels in the breasts, ovaries, thyroid and prostate glands predispose you to higher cancer risk.

Iodine and Cancer

Supersaturated potassium iodide works well. Typically one to three drops per drops.

Though it costs a bit more, Nascent Iodine is more palatable (less caustic) for oral usage and is the preferred treatment for children.

Even at maximum dosage, we are talking about treatment costs of approximately $70 a month. This means you can do iodine for more than a thousand months before you spend what you would to have protons warped into your gland.

This is a treatment you should consider, as is sodium bicarbonate, which we will talk about in depth below.

Selenium Can Protect Your Prostate

A 1996 study by Dr. Larry Clark of the University of Arizona showed just how effective selenium can be in protecting against cancer.

In the study of 1,300 older people, the occurrence of cancer among those who took 200 micrograms of selenium daily for about seven years was reduced by 42 percent compared to those given a placebo.

Cancer deaths for those taking the selenium were cut almost in half, according to the study, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on December 25, 1996.

In addition, the men who took selenium had 63 percent fewer prostate cancers, 58 percent fewer colorectal cancers, 46 percent fewer lung cancers and overall 37 percent fewer cancers.

Selenium was found to reduce the risk of lung cancer to a greater degree than stopping smoking. [4]

Decrease Calcium, Increase Magnesium to Reduce Your Prostate Cancer Risk

Calcium and magnesium are opposites in their effects on your body structure. As a general rule, the more rigid and inflexible your body structure, the less calcium and the more magnesium you need.

“There is reasonable evidence to suggest that calcium may play an important role in the development of prostate cancer,” says Dr. Carmen Rodriguez, senior epidemiologist in the epidemiology and surveillance research department of the American Cancer Society (ACS).

Rodriguez cites a 1998 Harvard School of Public Health study of 47,781 men that found those consuming between 1,500 and 1,999 mg of calcium per day had about double the risk of being diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer (cancer that has spread to other parts of the body) as those getting 500 mg per day or less. Men taking in 2,000 mg or more had over four times the risk of developing metastatic prostate cancer as those taking in less than 500 mg.

Another Harvard study conducted in October 2001 looked at dairy product intake among 20,885 men. Researchers found men consuming the most dairy products had about 32 percent higher risk of developing prostate cancer than those consuming the least.

High calcium levels interfere with Vitamin D and subsequently inhibit the vitamin’s cancer protective effect unless extra amounts of Vitamin D are supplemented.[5]

High magnesium chloride intake, known as magnesium oil, can reverse calcification damages and inflammation when used intensely.

Inexpensive, Revolutionary Treatments for Cancer

The remainder of this article will be a discussion of two ground-breaking treatments for cancer at the opposite end of the spectrum from high-tech, expensive proton therapy:

  1. Sodium bicarbonate therapy, which is a kind of natural chemotherapy that can be done easily and safely by anyone for less than $5.00
  2. Prostate massage, which can be self administered for free or done by medical doctors.

These two therapies, with a full spectrum natural chemo protocol behind them, are cost effective for individuals and society, and by all indications are also effective and safe.

Even if you are considering or undergoing more traditional cancer treatments, both sodium bicarbonate and prostate massage should be adjunct therapies. They can reduce and buffer the toxicity and harm of aggressive chemical and radiation treatments, and improve your overall results.

Actually, both of these treatments and all the concentrated nutritional medicinals discussed earlier offer you nothing to lose and everything to gain in your fight against prostate cancer.

Do You Know your pH Level?

Studies have shown how manipulation of tumor pH with sodium bicarbonate enhances chemotherapy.[6]

If your pancreas is healthy, it secretes sodium bicarbonate to neutralize stomach acid and create an optimal pH environment for pancreatic enzymes. Some of these enzymes circulate in your blood to destroy cancers that occur. Too much iron interferes with the ability of your pancreas to generate sodium bicarbonate and can lead to insulin resistance. Diabetes and cancer are linked because an unhealthy pancreas advances both diseases.

What is not generally understood is how basic to health your pH and bicarbonate levels are and how easily you can become acidic, which is an open invitation to cancer.

Cancer is actually a four-letter word, acid, especially lactic acid as a waste product due to the low oxygen level and waste products of yeast and fungus.

Cancer cells look like yeast and fungi, and many of them are. Even mainstream oncology practitioners admit it. But whatever the definition and concept of cancer, it does not change the fact that cancer does not like what bicarbonate brings to your body.

Destroying Tumors with Sodium Bicarbonate

You might be surprised to learn there is an oncologist in Rome Italy, Dr. Tullio Simoncini, destroying cancer tumors with sodium bicarbonate.

Sodium bicarbonate is safe, extremely inexpensive and unstoppably effective when it comes to cancer tissues. It’s an irresistible chemical, cyanide to cancer cells, for it hits the cancer cells with a shock wave of alkalinity, which allows much more oxygen into the cancer cells than they can tolerate. Cancer cells cannot survive in the presence of high levels of oxygen.

Sodium bicarbonate is, for all intent and purposes, a killer of tumors. At a pH slightly above 7.4, cancer cells become dormant. At pH 8.5, cancer cells will die while healthy cells will live.

Sodium bicarbonate possesses the property of absorbing heavy metals, dioxins and furans. A comparison of cancer tissue with healthy tissue from the same person shows the cancer tissue has a much higher concentration of toxic chemicals and pesticides.

This has given rise to a variety of treatments based on increasing the alkalinity of the tissues, such as vegetarian diets, consuming fresh fruit and vegetable juices, and dietary supplementation with alkaline minerals such as calcium, potassium, magnesium, cesium and rubidium. But nothing can compare to the instant alkalinizing and oxygenating power of sodium bicarbonate for safe and effective treatment of cancer.

Oral and Transdermal (Through the Skin) Dosing

Transdermal iodine therapy can be traced all the way back to the American Civil War when iodine was used as a universal medicine. However, most practitioners are new to natural transdermal medicine and how its power and safety can be brought to bear on glands like the prostate.

Treating prostate cancer demands we systemically take pH up over 8. This can be done orally and the improved pH level will register in all the tissues of your body.

We can also put a high concentration of bicarbonate in an enema and combat not only intestinal cancer and strong yeast overgrowth, but the prostate area as well.

Iodine can also be applied directly to the prostate tissue areas transdermally using a long swab, or applying it liberally to genital areas and the perineal region as an adjunct to oral dosing.

Dr. Simoncini uses bicarbonate targeted more directly to the prostate thru the artery providing its blood supply.

Cancer and Fungus

Tumors are not distinguishable from the infections that inhabit them. Naturopath Dr. Marijah McCain identified the primary cause of death in cancer patients to be not the cancer itself, but fungal overgrowth.

Dr. Simoncini says, “At the moment, against fungi there is no useful remedy other than, in my opinion, sodium bicarbonate.”

Bicarbonate is a chemo agent and in fact is used in oncology with its horrid list of chemo agents, but it is used to buffer the effects of the dangerous chemo chemicals. Traditional chemo is just much too dangerous to undergo without sodium bicarbonate, meaning the side effects would escalate beyond acceptable limits if not used. In fact, so dangerous and toxic are most chemo chemicals that many people would die on the spot without softening the blow with bicarbonate.

There’s no need to fear bicarbonate intake. In fact, people who live in areas of the world with high amounts of bicarbonate in their drinking water have a strikingly decreased mortality rate and a decreased prevalence of disease.

Sodium bicarbonate, though often used as a medicine, is unlike pharmaceutical compounds. It is a natural non-toxic substance that does not require clinical trials for an assessment of toxicity. Spring waters contain bicarbonate ions which are coupled mainly with sodium, potassium, calcium or magnesium ions. A deficiency of bicarbonate ions in your body contributes to a range of diseases and medical conditions.