Energy Enhancing Research Article #1 | Energy Enhancing Research Article #2
Energy Enhancing Research Article #1:
Fluidity And Your Cells
Our bodies make neurotransmitters and polypeptides, etc.
These neurotransmitters and polypeptides, etc. exert their effects upon the cell physiology, including neurotransmission, by attaching to receptor sites on the cell membrane.
The receptors are made of protein.
The protein receptor is imbedded in a lipo-protein membrane.
The membrane bound receptor protein will couple with a specific shaped neurotransmitter or polypeptide, like a key (neurotransmitter) into a lock (membrane bound receptor protein).
The membrane receptor protein function is dependent upon its shape.
The shape of the receptor membrane protein is dependent upon the fat of the membrane.
Consequently, fat controls the sensitivity of the neurotransmitter-membrane bound receptor protein interaction, and consequently the physiological function of the cell.
The more FLUID the membrane fat, the better the neurotransmitter-membrane bound receptor protein interaction.
Stiffer membrane fats results in dysfunctional neurotransmitter-membrane bound receptor protein interaction and impaired cellular physiological responses.
The most FLUID fats have the most double bonds (C=C).
Docosahexaneoic acid (DHA) has 6double bonds; 22:6n-36
These are called: Long Chain Polyunsaturated Essential Fatty Acids (LCPUEFAs).
Unsaturated fats with double bonds are liquid (FLUID) at room tempeture.
*These are unsaturated fats and are essential, and must come from the diet.
*Saturated fats are not essential (because our body can synthesize them), and we consume them in meat and dairy products.
Saturated fats have no double bonds, are much stiffer, and are solids at room temperature.
The most stiff fats are trans-fatty acids.
Trans-Fatty Acids are made by hydregenating polyunsaturated fatty acids.
However, normal or natural polyyunsaturated fatty acids have their double bonds on the same side, which allows them to be very FLUID.
Trans-Fatty Acids have their double bonds on opposite sides which makes thes fats extreemly stiff.
Unfortunately, Omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids are the cheapest, and therefore most trans-fatty acids are made from the omega-6 family.
Trans-fatty acids are the most resistant to oxidative stress and free radical attack, therefore they are the fats found in most products that are not refrigerated (it gives them a long shelf life) and in many products that are refrigerated as well.
Basic Summary:
Trans Fatty Acids - from Omega 6s contribute to a stiff cell membrane
Unsaturated Fatty Acids - From Omega 3s contribute to a FLUID cell membrane
A FLUID cell membrane can allow for a better FLOW of nutrients into and out of your body's cells
Solid Advice:
Lower the amount of Omega 6 Trans Fatty Acids
+
Increase the amount of Omega 3 Unsaturated Fatty Acids
Article #2:
Cheaper Is Not Better... For Your Health
"The FDA provides the following advice about eating fish: Do not eat shark, swordfish, king mackerel, or tilefish because they contain high levels of mercury."
The 5 most commonly eaten fish that are low in mercury are shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish.
"Like mercury, PCBs are also dangerous to adults as well as unborn and very young children."
"Fish are the main sources of concentrated PCB exposure. The highest dietary levels of PCBs are found in farmed salmon."
"Flame retardants, electrical equipment, pesticides, paints, varnishes, and inks were made with PCBs until the manufacture of the organochlorine compounds was banned in 1979. Materials containing PCBs that were in service at the time of the ban, however, were not removed from use, and some are still used today. In addition, although the ban led to a dramatic drop in levels of PCBs in the environment, they persist as a common pollutant because of their low solubility in water and low volatility.
PCBs affect the central nervous system, and elevated levels of PCBs from eating fish causes significantly poorer performance on measures of memory and learning compared with controls.
PCB exposure is also associated with liver and breast cancer, neurologic and endocrine problems, and possibly even increased risk for heart disease.
"In children, PCB exposure in utero and from breast milk consumption has been linked with neurodevelopmental delays, impaired cognition, immune problems, and alterations in male reproductive organs."
Testing with PCB levels costs more than $1000.
"Because of PCBs, people are advised not to eat white bass, carp, or sturgeon caught in Wisconsin's Green Bay, for instance, or largemouth bass caught in various Florida waterways, or any fish at all caught in New York's Nassau Lake."
"Generally, freshwater fish that live in inland lakes, such as bluefish, lake trout, and smelt, are more likely to be contaminated."
"Commercially farmed fish are now receiving a lot of attention as a source of PCBs."
The highest levels of dietary PCBs occurred in farmed salmon sold in the United States and Canada.
"Any more than a single 8-ounce portion of farmed salmon a month posed an 'unacceptable cancer risk' to consumers."
"More than 90% of the salmon consumed in the United States is farm-raised; it is available year-round and is less costly than wild salmon."
"As with mercury, the only treatment for PCB poisoning is removal of the source. However, it is almost impossible to completely eliminate exposure since PCBs occur in many foods besides fish."
"Lean ocean fish such as cod, flounder, and haddock are the least likely to be contaminated with PCBs."
"Passage out of the human body takes 3 months to a year for mercury and up to 8 years for PCBs," but the contaminants have a different half-life in different organs."
