For those of you out in the real world the title of this post has no meaning what so ever. But for me and all the other students around the world - our Fall semester is coming to a close. What that means is we have what used to be called Christmas break, but what is now commonly called winter break.
There have not been any posts for quite some time. I guess I just got busy doing other things. I have learned quite a bit this first semester back. We were just learning about exercise prescription in my Exercise Physiology class - this is really interesting because it shows one how to get fit by breaking the science down into an understandable process. This class also had a great lab - we would put people (us) on treadmills and measure Heart Rate, Blood Pressure..., we did skin fold thickness tests, Under Water Weighing, Strength and Endurance testing, and such. Nutrition intervention for many of America's top disease killers was the focus of two of my classes. And for the purpose of research a statistics class rounds out my list of classes this semester. They (the Univesity) are letting me come back next semester so - Next semester will be similar to this one as I will be taking the second part of 3 of my classes. The two new classes for next semester include: 1)Advanced Metabolism and 2)Sports Nutrition for Collegiate and Professional Athletes <-- Now that is what I am talking about - I think that is going to be a great class.
Another up and coming goal is my life is to become a personal trainer. Over break I am going to study for and hopefully pass the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) exam. So any of you out there with your new year's resolutions waiting in the wings keep me in mind.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Nutritional Genomics
This might be the coolest thing ever. Today in my Medical Nutrition Therapy class we had a guess speaker come talk to us about nutritional genomics. What is that you are likely asking. A small part of it deals with how dietary components play a part in gene expressions and activation.
A simple way to think about it would be to compare it to getting a tan. Your skin does not tan unless it is exposed to sunlight. A protein is used to make melanin - the stuff that makes your skin darker when exposed to UV radiation, at a level of darkness determined by your genes. In much the same way genes in your DNA create proteins for other functions in your body... and many of them are affected by what you eat. Tochopherols (vitamin E) play a role in promoting cell death in cancer cells. It does this by activating genes to kill off cancer cells. The coolest thing about this is that it does it only to cancer cells... not healthy cells.
The speaker said that Zinc, when ingested, activates or accelerates the production of mRNA. That means that you can replicate DNA more redily. There are genes that affect obesity, diabetes, cancer, ... just about anything. And of course there are a ton of others. The neat thing is that many of the cofactors in our foods positively affect these genes expressions. I use the term food in the previous sentence in the context of real whole foods, not french fries and diet soda. The chemicals in these false foods actually play detrimental roles in gene expression. Isn't it amazing that God put food on earth that is exactly for us - to benefit us and make us thrive!
Of course there are many other factors other than nutrition that contribute to disease states. But hey, why not do what you can to help yourself - eat what you know you should.
Another thing about our chromosomes, there are 23 pair that hold all of our DNA. This DNA is 'supercoild'. And when they say supercoiled it is coiled up so closely that if one chromosome was stretched out it would extend millions of feet. And if the whole of DNA was strechted out it would extend trillions of feet. Wow, that is in every single cell of our body - in the nucleus. Amazing!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Glutathione
The short of it:
Glutathione is actually a tripeptide made up three amino acids. The primary biological function of glutathione is to act as a non-enzymatic reducing agent to help keep cysteine thiol side chains in a reduced state on the surface of proteins. Glutathione is also used to prevent oxidative stress in most cells and helps to trap free radicals that can damage DNA and RNA. There is a direct correlation with the speed of aging and the reduction of glutathione concentrations in intracellular fluids. As individuals grow older, glutathione levels drop, and the ability to detoxify free radicals decreases.
So if you could increase your glutathione levels... wouldn't you think you could reverse aging? ... to be continued.
Glutathione is actually a tripeptide made up three amino acids. The primary biological function of glutathione is to act as a non-enzymatic reducing agent to help keep cysteine thiol side chains in a reduced state on the surface of proteins. Glutathione is also used to prevent oxidative stress in most cells and helps to trap free radicals that can damage DNA and RNA. There is a direct correlation with the speed of aging and the reduction of glutathione concentrations in intracellular fluids. As individuals grow older, glutathione levels drop, and the ability to detoxify free radicals decreases.
So if you could increase your glutathione levels... wouldn't you think you could reverse aging? ... to be continued.
Monday, September 8, 2008
DM
Diabetes Mellitus is a diverse group of disorders that share the primary sympton of hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) resulting from defective insulin production, insulin action, or both.
Insulin is the primary hormone that regulates blood sugar. If the cells, known as beta cells (in the islets of Langerhans) of your pancrease, loose their ability to produce insulin then increased blood sugar will result. This occurs in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus as a result from cellular mediated auto-immune destruction of Beta cells.
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus results from insulin resistence by the receptor cells of the target tissue. The pancreas eventually looses its ability to produce insulin.
Increased blood sugar can result in numerous health issues. High blood glucose (sugar) can cause to nephropathy, neuropathy, and retinopathy - these are all known as microvascular complications. Cardiovascular disease, a macrovascular complication, is another long term complication from increased blood glucose.
Short term issues include polyuria, polydipsia, glycosuria.
Since the body is not able to use glucose as fuel it triggers hunger. This results in further increases in blood glucose due to increased food intake. Since the body is hungry it mobilizes fat stores and body protein as sources of fuel. The starving state also triggers glycogenolysis - which is a stored form of carbohydrates (sugar). All of these contribute to increased blood glucose levels. The ph of the blood drops due to the rise of ketones in circulation. Ketones come from protein breakdown to form glucose. With the increased blood glucose the body signals to rid itself of the glucose by excessive urination (polyuria) - glycosuria results (glucose in the urine), excessive thirst (polydipsia) results from dehydration - these are signs of blood glucose gone awry. As mentioned increased blood glucose levels damage tissue over time. That is why individuals suffering from DM regularly see complications with damaged nerves, vision problems, and kidney disease.
Keeping blood glucose in check, reducing body weight, exercise, and consuming fruits and vegetables are a few ways to reduce the risks pathologies of DM and reduce the risk of associated diseases.
Insulin is the primary hormone that regulates blood sugar. If the cells, known as beta cells (in the islets of Langerhans) of your pancrease, loose their ability to produce insulin then increased blood sugar will result. This occurs in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus as a result from cellular mediated auto-immune destruction of Beta cells.
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus results from insulin resistence by the receptor cells of the target tissue. The pancreas eventually looses its ability to produce insulin.
Increased blood sugar can result in numerous health issues. High blood glucose (sugar) can cause to nephropathy, neuropathy, and retinopathy - these are all known as microvascular complications. Cardiovascular disease, a macrovascular complication, is another long term complication from increased blood glucose.
Short term issues include polyuria, polydipsia, glycosuria.
Since the body is not able to use glucose as fuel it triggers hunger. This results in further increases in blood glucose due to increased food intake. Since the body is hungry it mobilizes fat stores and body protein as sources of fuel. The starving state also triggers glycogenolysis - which is a stored form of carbohydrates (sugar). All of these contribute to increased blood glucose levels. The ph of the blood drops due to the rise of ketones in circulation. Ketones come from protein breakdown to form glucose. With the increased blood glucose the body signals to rid itself of the glucose by excessive urination (polyuria) - glycosuria results (glucose in the urine), excessive thirst (polydipsia) results from dehydration - these are signs of blood glucose gone awry. As mentioned increased blood glucose levels damage tissue over time. That is why individuals suffering from DM regularly see complications with damaged nerves, vision problems, and kidney disease.
Keeping blood glucose in check, reducing body weight, exercise, and consuming fruits and vegetables are a few ways to reduce the risks pathologies of DM and reduce the risk of associated diseases.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Energy Balance and Body Weight
Your 24-hour energy expenditure is the total amount of energy expended in a 24 hour period and is made up of 3 main components: resting energy expenditure, thermic effect of food, and physical activity energy expenditure.
REE - the energy expended at rest to keep vital organ systems functioning - and is about 65% of our total energy expenditure in a day.
Thermic effect of food - the energy expended by the body to digest, absorb, and metabolize food; it accounts for about 10% of your energy expenditure.
Physical activity - only accounts for about 25% of your daily energy expenditure.
This info is for most North Americans.
Of course if you increase your physical activity it would take up more of your total energy expenditure for the day. Also increase in lean body mass increases REE since lean body mass burns more calories than adipose tissue.
REE - the energy expended at rest to keep vital organ systems functioning - and is about 65% of our total energy expenditure in a day.
Thermic effect of food - the energy expended by the body to digest, absorb, and metabolize food; it accounts for about 10% of your energy expenditure.
Physical activity - only accounts for about 25% of your daily energy expenditure.
This info is for most North Americans.
Of course if you increase your physical activity it would take up more of your total energy expenditure for the day. Also increase in lean body mass increases REE since lean body mass burns more calories than adipose tissue.
Cellular and Physiologic Response to Injury
Pathophysiology is the disruption of normal physiologic processes. Disruption of the cellular function can be influenced by nutritional imbalances among a host of other causative agents, free radicles, physical agents, immunologic reactions, and genetic defects. Damage to the structure of the cell can be caused by physical and microbiological agents, immunologic reactions, genetic defects and nutritional imbalances.
How a cell responds to these interferences have an effect on health.
How a cell responds to these interferences have an effect on health.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Universal Rx for Health and Nutritional Fitness
Directly from the book:
*Adjust energy intake (calories) and exercise level to achieve and maintian appropriate weight.
*Eat a wide variety of foods to ensure nutrient adequacy.
*Increase total carbohydrate intake; increase comlex carbohydrate intake.
*Eat less total fat and less saturated fat
*Eat more fiber rich foods
*Eat fewer high cholesterol foods
*Eat fewer high sodium foods
*Reduce intake of concentrated sugars
*Drink alcohol in moderation or not at all.
*Meet the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for calcium, a recommendation especially important for adolescents and women.
*Meet the RDA for iron, and reommendation especially important for children, adolescents, and women of childbearing age.
*Limit protein to no more than twice the RDA.
*If using a daily multivitamin, choose dietary supplements that do not exceed the dietary reference intakes.
*Drink Flouridated water.
*Adjust energy intake (calories) and exercise level to achieve and maintian appropriate weight.
*Eat a wide variety of foods to ensure nutrient adequacy.
*Increase total carbohydrate intake; increase comlex carbohydrate intake.
*Eat less total fat and less saturated fat
*Eat more fiber rich foods
*Eat fewer high cholesterol foods
*Eat fewer high sodium foods
*Reduce intake of concentrated sugars
*Drink alcohol in moderation or not at all.
*Meet the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for calcium, a recommendation especially important for adolescents and women.
*Meet the RDA for iron, and reommendation especially important for children, adolescents, and women of childbearing age.
*Limit protein to no more than twice the RDA.
*If using a daily multivitamin, choose dietary supplements that do not exceed the dietary reference intakes.
*Drink Flouridated water.
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