Wednesday, June 3, 2009
PROTEINS
What exactly are proteins and what does it do to our body?
Proteins are complex organic compounds composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. A strand of amino acids makes up the structure of a protein. The body also breaks down proteins in order to recycle amino acids. Through reusing the body’s amino acid supply to build proteins, the body establishes a "reserve" of amino acids in case of protein or energy deprivation.
The proteins in the body are very flexible in function. First, protein builds new tissues in the body and replaces depleted cells in the internal organs (i.e. intestinal tract), skin, and muscles (i.e. the heart) which are also constantly breaking down their own proteins. The proteins in the body are also used to make hemoglobin in the red blood cells in order to carry oxygen to other areas of the body. These red blood cells are also constantly replaced by new cells from the bone marrow to get rid of worn-out cells.
Proteins are also responsible for building enzymes and maintaining hormones. An example of a hormone that is made of amino acids is the thyroid hormone and insulin. Hormones respond to the internal environmental changes in order to restore normal conditions and in the case of thyroid hormones, regulate the body’s metabolic processes.
Proteins also help maintain the fluid and electrolyte balance in the body. Through proteins, cells retain the fluid and keep the fluid volume and composition constant. It has to be noted, however, that too much fluid will cause edema.
Other functions of proteins, among many, are to protect the immune system, to act as the "buffer" to maintain acid-base balance, to provide for the body’s energy needs and aid in blood clotting.
The essential amino acids can only be obtained from food sources.
Therefore, in order to have adequate intake of protein, an individual must include protein in his regular balanced diet. Luckily, there are many different kinds of food that are excellent sources of protein. There are two groups of protein-containing foods. Eggs, fish, meat, poultry, and milk have all the nine essential amino acids and therefore are called complete proteins. On the other hand, food sources that are lacking at least one essential amino acid are vegetables (peas, beans, etc.), grains, and seeds and nuts are called incomplete proteins.
Dr. James E. Carlson B.S.,D.O.,M.B.A.,J.D.
Read the first ten chapters of my book for free at DrJamesCarlson.com!
Please go to Amazon.com to order my book or go to
DrJim@DrJamesCarlson.com and request a digital copy of my book for only $11.99!
Proteins are complex organic compounds composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. A strand of amino acids makes up the structure of a protein. The body also breaks down proteins in order to recycle amino acids. Through reusing the body’s amino acid supply to build proteins, the body establishes a "reserve" of amino acids in case of protein or energy deprivation.
The proteins in the body are very flexible in function. First, protein builds new tissues in the body and replaces depleted cells in the internal organs (i.e. intestinal tract), skin, and muscles (i.e. the heart) which are also constantly breaking down their own proteins. The proteins in the body are also used to make hemoglobin in the red blood cells in order to carry oxygen to other areas of the body. These red blood cells are also constantly replaced by new cells from the bone marrow to get rid of worn-out cells.
Proteins are also responsible for building enzymes and maintaining hormones. An example of a hormone that is made of amino acids is the thyroid hormone and insulin. Hormones respond to the internal environmental changes in order to restore normal conditions and in the case of thyroid hormones, regulate the body’s metabolic processes.
Proteins also help maintain the fluid and electrolyte balance in the body. Through proteins, cells retain the fluid and keep the fluid volume and composition constant. It has to be noted, however, that too much fluid will cause edema.
Other functions of proteins, among many, are to protect the immune system, to act as the "buffer" to maintain acid-base balance, to provide for the body’s energy needs and aid in blood clotting.
The essential amino acids can only be obtained from food sources.
Therefore, in order to have adequate intake of protein, an individual must include protein in his regular balanced diet. Luckily, there are many different kinds of food that are excellent sources of protein. There are two groups of protein-containing foods. Eggs, fish, meat, poultry, and milk have all the nine essential amino acids and therefore are called complete proteins. On the other hand, food sources that are lacking at least one essential amino acid are vegetables (peas, beans, etc.), grains, and seeds and nuts are called incomplete proteins.
Dr. James E. Carlson B.S.,D.O.,M.B.A.,J.D.
Read the first ten chapters of my book for free at DrJamesCarlson.com!
Please go to Amazon.com to order my book or go to
DrJim@DrJamesCarlson.com and request a digital copy of my book for only $11.99!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Fiber
FIBER
Fiber supports the structures of a plant- its leaves and stems. In the body, fiber functions as a facilitator in the digestive process and in elimination. Fibers in the digestive tract play an important role in the absorption of nutrients and cholesterol, excretion of bile, stimulation of bacterial fermentation in the colon and increasing the amount of stool. The actions of dietary fiber within the digestive tract provides overall health benefits such as reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke, lowering the risk for the development of diabetes, maintaining weight within healthy limits and promoting the health of the digestive system.
Fiber is classified into insoluble and soluble. Insoluble fibers are indigestible food components that do not dissolve in water. Soluble fibers are also indigestible but as food components, are readily dissolved in water. Soluble fibers cannot be digested by human enzymes but they may be broken down by the bacteria in the intestinal tract for absorption.
Soluble fibers reduces the absorption of LDL cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol), therefore lowering the risk for heart and artery disease as well as stroke. Fiber binds to the bile, which is cholesterol converted by the liver, and is excreted out of the body in feces. The binding of fiber and the bile results in the removal of most of the cholesterol (as bile) from the body. Soluble fibers also regulate the blood sugar in order to control diabetes. It neutralizes blood glucose by slowly absorbing the sugars that are released. Additionally, soluble fibers promote the feeling of fullness by slowing down the movement of food through the upper digestive tract. This helps maintain an ideal body weight by delaying hunger.
Excellent food sources for soluble fiber are low carbohydrate bread, legumes, psyllium husks, dried beans, flax seeds, and nuts.
Insoluble fibers promote regular bowel movements by moving the bulk through the intestines and maintaining an optimal pH balance in the intestines. It makes it easier to pass stool and increase stool bulk. Insoluble fibers help prevent constipation, hemorrhoids, appendicitis, weakening of the intestinal walls and development of cancerous substances that leads to colon cancer. Insoluble-fiber rich food sources are green vegetables, seeds and nuts, flax seeds, and psyllium husks.
There are no specific diseases that are due to fiber deficiency. However, low intake of fiber is associated with numerous health problems such as constipation, bowel irregularities, increased LDL cholesterol levels, obesity and possibly colon cancer. Those that are high-risk for fiber depletion are individuals who have high intake of junk foods and whole wheat products and low intake of fiber-rich foods. In a day, it is recommended to consume 25-30 grams/day.
Excess amounts of fiber in the body can result in displacement of other nutrients from the diet. Too much fiber from supplements can also cause malabsorption of other nutrients and minerals causing their deficiencies. Additionally, fiber carries water out of the body and high intake of fiber may cause fluid imbalances resulting in dehydration. Excessive intake of fiber can also result in obstruction of the intestines.
Dr. James E. Carlson B.S.,D.O.,M.B.A.,J.D.
Please go to Amazon.com to order my book or go to DrJim@DrJamesCarlson.com and request a digital copy of my book for only $11.99!
Fiber supports the structures of a plant- its leaves and stems. In the body, fiber functions as a facilitator in the digestive process and in elimination. Fibers in the digestive tract play an important role in the absorption of nutrients and cholesterol, excretion of bile, stimulation of bacterial fermentation in the colon and increasing the amount of stool. The actions of dietary fiber within the digestive tract provides overall health benefits such as reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke, lowering the risk for the development of diabetes, maintaining weight within healthy limits and promoting the health of the digestive system.
Fiber is classified into insoluble and soluble. Insoluble fibers are indigestible food components that do not dissolve in water. Soluble fibers are also indigestible but as food components, are readily dissolved in water. Soluble fibers cannot be digested by human enzymes but they may be broken down by the bacteria in the intestinal tract for absorption.
Soluble fibers reduces the absorption of LDL cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol), therefore lowering the risk for heart and artery disease as well as stroke. Fiber binds to the bile, which is cholesterol converted by the liver, and is excreted out of the body in feces. The binding of fiber and the bile results in the removal of most of the cholesterol (as bile) from the body. Soluble fibers also regulate the blood sugar in order to control diabetes. It neutralizes blood glucose by slowly absorbing the sugars that are released. Additionally, soluble fibers promote the feeling of fullness by slowing down the movement of food through the upper digestive tract. This helps maintain an ideal body weight by delaying hunger.
Excellent food sources for soluble fiber are low carbohydrate bread, legumes, psyllium husks, dried beans, flax seeds, and nuts.
Insoluble fibers promote regular bowel movements by moving the bulk through the intestines and maintaining an optimal pH balance in the intestines. It makes it easier to pass stool and increase stool bulk. Insoluble fibers help prevent constipation, hemorrhoids, appendicitis, weakening of the intestinal walls and development of cancerous substances that leads to colon cancer. Insoluble-fiber rich food sources are green vegetables, seeds and nuts, flax seeds, and psyllium husks.
There are no specific diseases that are due to fiber deficiency. However, low intake of fiber is associated with numerous health problems such as constipation, bowel irregularities, increased LDL cholesterol levels, obesity and possibly colon cancer. Those that are high-risk for fiber depletion are individuals who have high intake of junk foods and whole wheat products and low intake of fiber-rich foods. In a day, it is recommended to consume 25-30 grams/day.
Excess amounts of fiber in the body can result in displacement of other nutrients from the diet. Too much fiber from supplements can also cause malabsorption of other nutrients and minerals causing their deficiencies. Additionally, fiber carries water out of the body and high intake of fiber may cause fluid imbalances resulting in dehydration. Excessive intake of fiber can also result in obstruction of the intestines.
Dr. James E. Carlson B.S.,D.O.,M.B.A.,J.D.
Please go to Amazon.com to order my book or go to DrJim@DrJamesCarlson.com and request a digital copy of my book for only $11.99!
NUTRITIONAL ARTICLES
I am now going to publish my nutritional articles as found on my website DrJamesCarlson.com. Don't forget you can go to DrJamesCarlson.com and read the first ten chapters of my book for free as well as peruse all of my nutritional articles. Remember, I am adding content daily. Thanks again for visiting my blog!
Let's start with a discussion of fiber.
Dr. James E. Carlson B.S.,D.O.,M.B.A.,J.D.
Let's start with a discussion of fiber.
Dr. James E. Carlson B.S.,D.O.,M.B.A.,J.D.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Chapter 10 of Genocide:How Your Doctor's Dietary Ignorance Will Kill You
CHAPTER TEN-NON-NUTRITIVE SWEETENERS
Non-nutritive sweeteners need to be mentioned because when we eat low carbs we will come across these things. The most widely seen are Nutrisweet (also known as aspartame), Stevia (now being advertised heavily), Splenda (dextrose, maltodextrin, sucralose), Equal (dextrose, maltodextrin, aspartame), Sweet-n-Low and the like. They are referred to as non-nutritive because they provide a sweet, sugary taste to the foods we eat; yet they contain no nutrition such as carbs, protein, fat, vitamins or minerals. They may be placed in foods which have nutrients, but the sweetener itself is absent of any nutrition in and of itself. You will be bombarded with foods which contain most commonly the controversial aspartame. So what exactly is aspartame and why the controversy?
Aspartame is formed when we combine an amino acid, phenylalanine, with another amino acid called aspartic acid. (1) This new substance is about 100 times as sweet as table sugar. Since it does not contain any carbs it will not put weight on you and it cannot be used to make cholesterol or fat.
The controversy is the anecdotal reports of aspartame being associated with everything from multiple sclerosis to Gulf War Syndrome. I have read numerous internet reports sent by concerned people speaking of all the dangers inherent in aspartame. The only problem is that there is no factual scientific evidence that aspartame causes any problems, unless you are born with a deficiency in a certain enzyme (phenylalanine hydroxylase) and cannot break down the phenylalanine part of aspartame. Thing is, in the US, we check for a deficiency of that enzyme at birth so we should not be missing the absence of the enzyme unless the newborn is not checked.
But hold on, I told you that aspartame is a combination of both phenylalanine and aspartic acid; maybe it is the aspartic acid part causing the problems. Well, aspartic acid is also known as aspartate, which is simply an amino acid. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. Without amino acids proteins cannot be built. If proteins cannot be built in our bodies, we die. When we eat proteins our bodies break down the protein into what made up the protein in the first place, that is, the amino acids. So our bodies are used to seeing these amino acids and we need them to survive.
The Internet reports I read blamed the many diseases aspartame allegedly caused on the presence of formaldehyde. In other words, the concerned citizens were stating aspartame was somehow creating formaldehyde and it was the formaldehyde which caused all the diseases.
Now while aspartame does break apart in solution, which limits its shelf life, and it is troublesome to cook with for the same reason; it does not break apart in any way to create formaldehyde. I suppose someone who had a little bit of chemical knowledge may have looked at the structure of aspartame and compared it to what formaldehyde looks like. The two at first glance look nothing like one another. But somebody wanted to find something wrong with aspartame so they continued to look.
Trouble is, the body does not break down aspartame in any way to form formaldehyde. It would take extreme heating in an attempt to create formaldehyde from aspartame and the heat it would take would cause everything to collapse into a bunch of single elements. Mainly carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. So, yeah, you would get a lot of gas from the explosion you created to do this, but you would not make any formaldehyde.
So basically even though there are look alike areas on aspartame that closely resemble formaldehyde our bodies cannot and do not break down aspartame to create formaldehyde. Our bodies break up aspartame into phenylalanine and aspartate, two amino acids our body's can handle. I may have failed to mention that phenylalanine is also an amino acid, but it is, and it too, is safe.
Some who have read of the dangers relating to aspartame may remember the soda can scenario. It was argued that formaldehyde was produced in the soda cans in the Gulf War due to the extreme heat of the desert. This seems somewhat logical until one realizes that the amount of heat needed to possibly create formaldehyde from aspartame would be so high the cans would explode. Then of course, you would not be able to drink the soda.
When one finally understands aspartame one can see that it is safe to drink or eat. It is not a dangerous sweetener and I consume it on a daily basis and I have not had an issue with it; and I have been eating and drinking products with aspartame for as long as I can remember. Actually, if you stop and think about it aspartame is found in just about every diet product out there. Millions and millions of people ingest it every day. Why have we not seen a statistically significant rise in all the diseases aspartame is reported to cause? Until I see some evidenced-based scientific data showing aspartame is dangerous, I will continue to eat or drink it on a daily basis.
Aspartame is found in a sweetener known as Equal. We have already discussed aspartame, but now we need to discuss the other ingredients in Equal, that is, the dextrose and maltodextrin. I get a little anxious when I find dextrose and maltodextrin in an ingredient list. This is because dextrose is just a fancy way of saying glucose and maltodextrin is glucose molecules attached together, but not long enough to represent a true carbohydrate. In biochemistry speak, it is a short chain carbohydrate Yes, both dextrose and maltodextrin have the potential to make cholesterol and fat as well as elevate blood pressure and sugar numbers. I will tell my patients if they are having a hard time with lowering their cholesterols, losing weight, lowering blood pressure, or are still seeing elevated blood sugars to avoid Equal to see what effect that has. If things correct themselves then they are told to stay off equal. If nothing happens then they are told they can continue with this sweetener.
As far as Splenda is concerned, it too, contains dextrose and maltodextrin so the same cautionary advice holds, but its last ingredient is a substance known as sucralose. Sucralose is claimed to be about 600 times as sweet as sucrose. (Ibid) Sucrose is commonly known as table sugar and contains both glucose and fructose combined together. Sucralose is an artificial sweetener, will not cause tooth decay, and can be used in baking. (Ibid) Our bodies do not treat sucralose as it does sucrose. That is, sucralose will not be broken down into glucose and fructose, therefore no cholesterol, fat, blood pressure or sugar elevations should be seen with sucralose. Of course, if one sees elevations to the above then one must stop their consumption of any foods which contain sucralose.
Now a word about saccharin. Yes, an experiment many years ago suggested saccharin caused cancer in lab rats. Problem is, they were giving these poor rats what would be equivalent to a few tons of the stuff for us over a short period of time. Heck, even water can kill us if we drink too much of it. And then the scientists found out that a mite, which infected the rats, was creating the cancer. I do consume saccharin, not so much on a daily basis, but I am certainly not convinced it causes cancer.
How many of you know about the mite, saccharin, and cancer link? I am thinking not many. Well, let us see, why did this not make it in the paper? Got me. All I can say is until you know the facts, you just do not know. Since I know the facts I am not afraid to consume foods containing these sweeteners.
Hope everyone enjoyed the first ten chapters of my book GENOCIDE:How Your Doctor's Dietary Ignorance Will Kill You!
Feel free to visit my website DrJamesCarlson.com for more nutritonal information!
Please go to Amazon.com to order my book or go to DrJamesCarlson.com and request a digital copy of my book for only $11.99!
Non-nutritive sweeteners need to be mentioned because when we eat low carbs we will come across these things. The most widely seen are Nutrisweet (also known as aspartame), Stevia (now being advertised heavily), Splenda (dextrose, maltodextrin, sucralose), Equal (dextrose, maltodextrin, aspartame), Sweet-n-Low and the like. They are referred to as non-nutritive because they provide a sweet, sugary taste to the foods we eat; yet they contain no nutrition such as carbs, protein, fat, vitamins or minerals. They may be placed in foods which have nutrients, but the sweetener itself is absent of any nutrition in and of itself. You will be bombarded with foods which contain most commonly the controversial aspartame. So what exactly is aspartame and why the controversy?
Aspartame is formed when we combine an amino acid, phenylalanine, with another amino acid called aspartic acid. (1) This new substance is about 100 times as sweet as table sugar. Since it does not contain any carbs it will not put weight on you and it cannot be used to make cholesterol or fat.
The controversy is the anecdotal reports of aspartame being associated with everything from multiple sclerosis to Gulf War Syndrome. I have read numerous internet reports sent by concerned people speaking of all the dangers inherent in aspartame. The only problem is that there is no factual scientific evidence that aspartame causes any problems, unless you are born with a deficiency in a certain enzyme (phenylalanine hydroxylase) and cannot break down the phenylalanine part of aspartame. Thing is, in the US, we check for a deficiency of that enzyme at birth so we should not be missing the absence of the enzyme unless the newborn is not checked.
But hold on, I told you that aspartame is a combination of both phenylalanine and aspartic acid; maybe it is the aspartic acid part causing the problems. Well, aspartic acid is also known as aspartate, which is simply an amino acid. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. Without amino acids proteins cannot be built. If proteins cannot be built in our bodies, we die. When we eat proteins our bodies break down the protein into what made up the protein in the first place, that is, the amino acids. So our bodies are used to seeing these amino acids and we need them to survive.
The Internet reports I read blamed the many diseases aspartame allegedly caused on the presence of formaldehyde. In other words, the concerned citizens were stating aspartame was somehow creating formaldehyde and it was the formaldehyde which caused all the diseases.
Now while aspartame does break apart in solution, which limits its shelf life, and it is troublesome to cook with for the same reason; it does not break apart in any way to create formaldehyde. I suppose someone who had a little bit of chemical knowledge may have looked at the structure of aspartame and compared it to what formaldehyde looks like. The two at first glance look nothing like one another. But somebody wanted to find something wrong with aspartame so they continued to look.
Trouble is, the body does not break down aspartame in any way to form formaldehyde. It would take extreme heating in an attempt to create formaldehyde from aspartame and the heat it would take would cause everything to collapse into a bunch of single elements. Mainly carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. So, yeah, you would get a lot of gas from the explosion you created to do this, but you would not make any formaldehyde.
So basically even though there are look alike areas on aspartame that closely resemble formaldehyde our bodies cannot and do not break down aspartame to create formaldehyde. Our bodies break up aspartame into phenylalanine and aspartate, two amino acids our body's can handle. I may have failed to mention that phenylalanine is also an amino acid, but it is, and it too, is safe.
Some who have read of the dangers relating to aspartame may remember the soda can scenario. It was argued that formaldehyde was produced in the soda cans in the Gulf War due to the extreme heat of the desert. This seems somewhat logical until one realizes that the amount of heat needed to possibly create formaldehyde from aspartame would be so high the cans would explode. Then of course, you would not be able to drink the soda.
When one finally understands aspartame one can see that it is safe to drink or eat. It is not a dangerous sweetener and I consume it on a daily basis and I have not had an issue with it; and I have been eating and drinking products with aspartame for as long as I can remember. Actually, if you stop and think about it aspartame is found in just about every diet product out there. Millions and millions of people ingest it every day. Why have we not seen a statistically significant rise in all the diseases aspartame is reported to cause? Until I see some evidenced-based scientific data showing aspartame is dangerous, I will continue to eat or drink it on a daily basis.
Aspartame is found in a sweetener known as Equal. We have already discussed aspartame, but now we need to discuss the other ingredients in Equal, that is, the dextrose and maltodextrin. I get a little anxious when I find dextrose and maltodextrin in an ingredient list. This is because dextrose is just a fancy way of saying glucose and maltodextrin is glucose molecules attached together, but not long enough to represent a true carbohydrate. In biochemistry speak, it is a short chain carbohydrate Yes, both dextrose and maltodextrin have the potential to make cholesterol and fat as well as elevate blood pressure and sugar numbers. I will tell my patients if they are having a hard time with lowering their cholesterols, losing weight, lowering blood pressure, or are still seeing elevated blood sugars to avoid Equal to see what effect that has. If things correct themselves then they are told to stay off equal. If nothing happens then they are told they can continue with this sweetener.
As far as Splenda is concerned, it too, contains dextrose and maltodextrin so the same cautionary advice holds, but its last ingredient is a substance known as sucralose. Sucralose is claimed to be about 600 times as sweet as sucrose. (Ibid) Sucrose is commonly known as table sugar and contains both glucose and fructose combined together. Sucralose is an artificial sweetener, will not cause tooth decay, and can be used in baking. (Ibid) Our bodies do not treat sucralose as it does sucrose. That is, sucralose will not be broken down into glucose and fructose, therefore no cholesterol, fat, blood pressure or sugar elevations should be seen with sucralose. Of course, if one sees elevations to the above then one must stop their consumption of any foods which contain sucralose.
Now a word about saccharin. Yes, an experiment many years ago suggested saccharin caused cancer in lab rats. Problem is, they were giving these poor rats what would be equivalent to a few tons of the stuff for us over a short period of time. Heck, even water can kill us if we drink too much of it. And then the scientists found out that a mite, which infected the rats, was creating the cancer. I do consume saccharin, not so much on a daily basis, but I am certainly not convinced it causes cancer.
How many of you know about the mite, saccharin, and cancer link? I am thinking not many. Well, let us see, why did this not make it in the paper? Got me. All I can say is until you know the facts, you just do not know. Since I know the facts I am not afraid to consume foods containing these sweeteners.
Hope everyone enjoyed the first ten chapters of my book GENOCIDE:How Your Doctor's Dietary Ignorance Will Kill You!
Feel free to visit my website DrJamesCarlson.com for more nutritonal information!
Please go to Amazon.com to order my book or go to DrJamesCarlson.com and request a digital copy of my book for only $11.99!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
