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  • Is there a way to speed up your metabolism? There are lots of ways to speed up your metabolism--exercise seems the simplest. Some people are simply going to have a faster metabolism than others, and your body will adjust based on circumstances. Children and teenagers will have higher metabolism than adults. Your cells will use more energy when you spend a lot of time in the cold. If you decide to go on a diet, your cells may actually slow their metabolism, in order to conserve the energy reserves that your cells have worked hard to build (although you may want to get rid of them). On the one hand, speeding metabolism can be useful for weight loss; on the other hand, a slower metabolism will probably correlate with slower aging.

  • This question is about the refractory period from last week's discussion. Theoretically, is it possible for one person's refractory period to be faster than another's? So, if I knew a crazy Irish dancer that danced in River dance, who can move their foot super fast, is their refractory period shorter than mine, or is it just a matter of motor control? Likewise, if a person was sick or in shock, thus having a lower concentration of K and Na in their body, will their refractory period be longer, thus delaying nerve impulses? Thanks!! Very interesting question. Certainly some people have faster response times than others, but I don't know if it is related to refractory periods or to neural pathways, or to some other explanation. I'll keep looking for information on whether there are things that influence the refractory period.

  • Yet another question...(sorry, I can't find the bullet points...where did they go!?): If you go to the Mouse Party, and look at Ecstasy, (the mouse doing the funky-looking jig), this is what I understood from it: The drug actually causes the Seratonin transmitters to be confused, and therefore do their job in reverse. This causes seratonin to remain in the synaptic cleft longer, overstimulating the cell. From my understanding of SSRIs from last week's discussion, these anti-depressants do a similar thing; they cause the seratonin to remain in the synapse for longer, allowing them more time to react. Other than utilizing a different pathway to get the relatively-same objective, would this provide a similar psychological outcome Do selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) cause physiological effects at the synapses? Yes, certainly! I am concerned about the long-term use of SSRIs, and I am concerned about prescribing SSRIs to children and pregnant women. Research indicates thatSSRIs can permanently alter infant brains, resulting in a greater risk of depression and anxiety in adulthood. When SSRIs inactivate the serotonin transporter in normal, mature mice, they ease depression symptoms, as they do in people. Research suggests that the serotonin transporter plays a pivotal role in normal brain formation. Consequently, if SSRIs block the transporter's function while the brain is still developing, they could permanently disrupt mechanisms that control mood.

    Post your own questions!

    • In the book it states that "...the net gain of 2 ATP and 2 NADH....represents and energy profit..." Could you say that there is a net of 4 overall then? NADH is also a type of energy such as ATP? This is on page 109 of our book regarding Glycolosis. Any feedback would be great.
    • Great question. ATP is the form of energy that drives all cellular reactions. ATP is generated in our cells through aerobic respiration, which involves glycolysis, Krebs cycle, and the Electron Transport Chain. If a cell has extra energy demands or is deficient in oxygen it can carry out glycolysis even without the other two parts. However, glycolysis does not yield much energy (only 2 ATP per glucose). The 2 NADH that are produced are not a usable source of energy. NAD is a coenzyme that acts as an electron transporter. Basically it is picking up hydrogen atoms and dumping them into the electron transport chain. So, NADH is involved in making ATP, but is not itself a form of energy. You would not say that glycolysis has "a net of 4 overall" but rather a net of 2 ATP, plus 2 NADH that will be sent to the electron transport chain for use there.
      • By the way, if NADH cannot dump electrons into the electron transport chain, then it has to give them to pyruvic acid, which converts it into lactic acid. Hence, a cell cannot carry out just glycolysis for very long due to the buildup of lactic acid.


    • Question posted 4 Oct 2007: What effect will there be, on a cellular level, from taking pyruvate supplements?
    Answer: So far I don't know. . . if anyone else knows, jump right in. Just a guess, would the diabetic take it since it is already a breakdown of glucose?

    I found this on the iron magazine website.Does it answer the question?
    Stooph
    Thanks Stooph--looks good to me. ~K
    Pyruvate
    Description:
    Pyruvate is a "salt" form of pyruvic acid - a 3-carbon molecule derived from the breakdown of glucose. The form of pyruvic acid found in dietary supplements is combined with various minerals such as sodium, calcium, magnesium or potassium to improve stability. In the body, glucose (6 carbons) is split into 2 pyruvic acid molecules (3 carbons each) in the end stages of cellular glycolysis. When enough oxygen is present, pyruvic acid can be converted into acetyl CoA in the mitochondrion of the cell to produce energy. Under anaerobic conditions, however, pyruvic acid becomes lactic acid, which can build up and lead to muscle fatigue.

    Claims:
  • Enhances weight loss and reduces weight regain
  • Decreases appetite
  • Elevated energy levels
  • Increased endurance levels
  • Increases muscle glycogen
  • Reduces fatigue

    Theory:
    Because glucose (the chief sugar used by cells for energy) is broken down body into pyruvic acid, an increased level of pyruvic acid in the body is theorized to enhance a cell’s ability to generate energy.

    Scientific Support:
    In general, the scientific support for pyruvate as either a weight loss aid or a way to boost energy levels is somewhat controversial. At least a couple of human studies, however, have shown that daily consumption of 25 grams of pyruvate plus 75 grams of DHA (another 3-carbon sugar derived from glucose) over one week can help improve endurance performance. For weight loss, subjects consuming pyruvate tend to lose somewhat more fat and weight (about 2-6 extra pounds) compared to control groups given a placebo. The problem, of course, is that these interesting results have really been blown out of proportion by wildly enthusiastic marketers at a number of companies.


  • Question: If you're running in a marathon and you didn't eat enough carbs before hand, when your body starts to run on just fat stores isn't that called "hitting the wall"? Doesn't that hurt?
  • It's not just a matter of using fat stores--you are using some fat right from the start. But you are right--when you run out of glycogen in your muscles is when you hit "the wall." Since I am no runner, I'll refer you to this article on Marathon and Beyond which gives a really good explanation of the physiology involved, plus some advice on how to avoid hitting the wall. ~K

    Question:     Is there a physiological reasoning for hiccups and if so what causes them?
    Hiccups come when your diaphram becomes irritated. That can happen by eating too fast or too much, an irritation in the stomach or the throat, or feeling nervous or excited.
    The diaphragm almost always works perfectly. When you inhale, it pulls down to help pull air into the lungs. When you exhale, it pushes up to help push air out of the lungs. But sometimes the diaphragm becomes irritated. When this happens, it pulls down in a jerky way, which makes you suck air into your throat suddenly. When the air rushing in hits your voice box, you're left with a big hiccup.
    what causes hiccups
    Here's a more scientific view.
    -Drama7-
    Thanks Drama7! I don't know if the diaphragm itself gets irritated, or the phrenic nerve, which irritates the diaphragm. Perhaps there is a close association between the phrenic nerve and some nerve in the esophagus, so that when you get an irritation in the throat you end up with the hiccups. ~K

  • Do you know what food has the most antioxidants?
    There is a method for comparting antioxidant levels. The measurement is called ORAC (Oxygen Radical Aborbance Capacity). You may have heard of berries (especially blueberries) as having lots of antioxidants, which corresponds with a high ORAC value. Surprisingly (to me at least), dried beans (such as kidney beans and pinto beans) also have very high ORAC levels. The very highest values I have seen reported are actually for spices--cinnamon and cloves, and the Acai palm berry from Brazil. Antioxidants are believed to be involved in aging, so you would think the     Caboclo tribe of the Amazon would live forever--Acai forms 42% of their diet!
  • also unprocessed dark chocolate has the most antioxidents. the aztec indians eat and drink lots of chocolate and they don't have cancer or any harmful diseases. so eat some healthy chocolate.


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