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Posts tagged ‘amino acids’

New Year’s Resolutions

Here we go again making new year’s resolutions. Among the
most common resolutions include losing weight, stopping unhealthy
habits such as smoking or drinking, and starting an exercise
program. Whatever a person’s new year’s resolution is, it is
important to be patient and give ourselves a break when things
don’t go as planned. Anyway, I’d like to discuss the issue of
addictions, whether it’s smoking, drinking, gambling, you name it.
Oftentimes, these addictions are brought about by nutritional
imbalances. To put it simply, people oftentimes crave certain
things because they lack nutrients such as vitamins, minerals,
amino acids, essential fatty acids, and trace elements.
Fortunately, there are tests available that could tell us exactly
what we’re lacking. These tests could be done through the blood,
hair, and the urine. Of course, these tests are not mainstream yet,
so your conventionally-trained doctor may not be aware of these
tests. However, a simple CBC and serum chemistry can tell us what’s
going on with a person nutritionally, although indirectly. A CBC
for instance, can tell if there’s iron, B12 or folic acid
deficiency. High blood sugar could be due to lack of vitamin B1 or
thiamine. Low creatinine could be due to protein insufficiency or
impaired digestion. Low uric acid could be due to copper or
molybdenum deficiencies. Low CO2 can also be due to a lack of
vitamin B1 or thiamine deficiency. Low albumin could be due to a
need for more vitamin C. Low AST/SGOT and low ALT/SGPT could be due
to vitamin B6 deficiency. Low GGTP could be due to B6 or Magnesium
deficiency. High total/free T-3 could be due to iodine deficiency
while low total /free T-3 could be due to selenium deficiency. Low
total/free T-4 could be due to iodine deficiency. In summary,
“normal” tests don’t really mean anything because it’s mostly based
on statistics. Low normal or high normal mean something, especially
if a person is symptomatic. It goes back to individualizing
treatment or a more personalized medicine.

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I Hate Radicals!

The lipid peroxidation mechanism shows a singl...

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Free radicals, that is! Free radicals are highly unstable atoms or molecules that have unpaired electrons. In order to maintain stability, they steal electrons from other molecules such as our cells thereby causing cell damage. A good analogy would be a codependent/clingy person. He or she always has to be with someone to thrive or even survive. That ain’t fun! Anyhow, excessive free radical formation leads to premature aging and nobody wants that. To fight against free radicals, we need to take antioxidants. Antioxidants are molecules that basically donates electrons to free radicals which then neutralize them and prevent them from damaging other cells. Antioxidants come in the form of vitamins (Vitamins A, C and E), minerals (zinc, selenium), amino acids (glutathione), herbs (ginkgo), essential oils (clove essential oil) and other nutrients (resveratrol). Antioxidants typically turn into free radicals once they donate their electrons. That’s why it’s always a good idea to take a good mix of antioxidants rather than just taking an isolated one. Among the antioxidants by the way, glutathione is the only one that doesn’t turn into a free radical. Neat, huh?

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HGH for Optimal Health

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One of the hormones that decline as we age is HGH (human growth hormone). This hormone is responsible for growth and development in children and teens and for regeneration and repair in adults. It has been used traditionally for dwarfism but it is now being recommended for adult growth hormone deficiency. There are a lot of signs and symptoms associated with low HGH levels in adults. Among the physical signs of HGH deficiency are sparse/thin hair, sagging cheeks, droopy eyelids, loose skin under the chin, prematurely aged or obese body, droopy abdomen, and generalized muscular atrophy. Mental symptoms of low HGH include a poor quality of life, chronic anxiety, low self-esteem or self-confidence, lack of concentration and self-control and a tendency to social isolation. Physical complaints include decline in physical appearance, poor health, exhaustion, cold intolerance, erectile dysfunction in men, light or poor sleep and a low appetite for protein. There are different ways to boost HGH production. Exercise of course, does that. Sleep and certain amino acids also trigger the release of HGH from the pituitary. There are certain peptides such as Sermorelin, GHRP-2 and GHRP-6 that also stimulate the release of HGH but this is given in an injectable form. Last but not least is the use of actual HGH. This is now made by recombinant DNA technology, unlike previously, when it was sourced from cadavers. There are various ways to check for HGH deficiency and they include checking your blood for IGF-1, IGF-BP-3, basal GH and stimulated GH (using HGHRH, insulin, arginine, clonidine, glucagon, propanolol) or doing a 24 hour urine collection for HGH. It’s important to work with your doctor to minimize side effects and optimize results. Common side effects are carpal tunnel syndrome and hyperglycemia, which can easily be reversed by fine tuning the dosage of the hormone.

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