David Hoffman, FNIMH, AHG
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 Peptidases hydrolyze polypeptides to amino acids.
• Nucleases catalyze the hydrolysis of nucleic acids.
Lyases
Lyases catalyze the removal of groups by means other than hydrolysis, usually involving the formation of carbon-carbon double bonds.
• Fumarases catalyze the change of fumaric acid to l-malic acid in the Krebs cycle.
• Decarboxylases catalyze the removal of a molecule of carbon dioxide from a carboxylic group.
• Deaminases catalyze the removal of amino groups from compounds. |
James Braly M.D. and Ron Hoggan M.A.
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 Optimally, about 70 percent of digested proteins are absorbed as small peptides, while the remaining 30 percent are absorbed as free amino acids. Usually, the healthy digestive system wastes the undigested and partly digested proteins as fecal matter.
Some bonds between the amino acids that form gluten proteins are extremely resistant to intestinal digestion. While some individuals produce a liver enzyme capable of digesting gluten, many do not. It is not yet clear if the presence of these enzymes provides protection from gluten sensitivity, but it does seem probable. |
Bruce Fife and Jon J. Kabara
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 The absorption of calcium and magnesium and also amino acids has been found to increase when infants are fed a diet containing coconut oil.5'6 Coconut oil has been used for the purpose of enhancing absorption and retention of calcium and magnesium in people when a deficiency of these minerals exists. This is one of the reasons why hospitals give premature and sick infants formulas containing MCFA. It is also used to treat children suffering with rickets which involves a demineralization and softening of the bones similar to osteoporosis in adults. |
James A. Duke, Ph.D.
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 Meat is loaded with protein that your body breaks down into amino acids, which circulate in your blood. All those amino acids make your blood more acidic. When your blood becomes acidic, your body neutralizes it by adding calcium that's taken from your bones. So the more protein you eat, the more calcium your bones lose.
This is easy to show in human studies. The amount of calcium excreted in the urine increases with the amount of animal protein that people consume. |
Bradley J. Willcox, M.D., D. Craig Willcox, Ph.D., Makoto Suzuki, M.D.
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 Soybeans contain all the amino acids essential to human nutrition that cannot be synthesized by the body—the ones that must be supplied by our diet.17 Animal-based foods have complete proteins too, but, as we discussed, they also contain more fat, including harmful saturated fats. So we highly recommend replacing animal foods with soy protein products—at least some of the time. It's easy to do, even without any other major adjustments to your diet—and our recipes guarantee you'll thoroughly enjoy the process. |
F. Batmanghelidj
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 In effect, there are twelve essential amino acids that the body needs to import at various stages of its development if its normal functions are to be guaranteed. I will deal with only a few of them to explain some aspects of the metabolism disturbance in chronic dehydration and stress.
Tryptophan is an essential amino acid that is highly sensitive to heat. It spins at a much faster rate when the temperature of the body rises even a few degrees. It seems to respond to the heat of activation produced by water. |
Carlton Fredericks, Ph.D.
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| Add to the list Vitamin C, and finish it with the high-quality proteins that supply sulfur-containing amino acids, which I cited before as a virtual description of eggs. Add the Vitamin B Complex to aid liver function in control of estrogen. But you don't "eat" Vitamin B Complex or sulfur-containing amino acids: you assemble a diet adequate in these factors and you preserve the enjoyment of eating, for no compromise is necessary between fulfilling the pleasures of the palate and the needs of the organism. Which explains the menu-planning suggestions given in this book. |
Earl L. Mindell, RPh, PhD with Virginia Hopkins, MA
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| Vitamin K, copper, sodium, vitamins B6, and B,2, zinc, amino acids, calcium, folic acid, magnesium, and potassium may all be depleted by antibiotics.
What Else to Take If You Take These Drugs Take supplements of the above nutrients and be sure to use probiotics. See the natural alternatives at the end of the chapter.
Fluoroquinolones
Ciprofloxacin (Cipro) Enoxacin (Penetrex) Gatifloxacin (Tequin) Lomefloxacin (Maxaquin) Norfloxacin (Noroxin) Ofloxacin (Floxin) Sparfloxacin (Zagam)
What Do They Do in the Body? |
| Vitamin K, amino acids, calcium, folic acid, magnesium, potassium, vitamins B6 and B12 are all depleted.
What Else to Take If You Take These Drugs Supplements of the above. Take them two hours after a meal. Also be sure to take probiotics during and after a course of antibiotics. See natural alternatives at the end of the chapter. |
| Digestive enzymes are built from amino acids and vitamin or mineral cofactors, or coenzymes. Zinc and magnesium are two of the most common digestive enzyme cofactors. The B vitamins thiamine, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, and biotin, as well as the minerals molybdenum, manganese, copper, iron, and selenium, play the role of coenzymes as well. Each time the enzyme does its job, it uses up its coenzyme, which then needs to be replaced. Eating foods rich in vitamins and minerals will insure that your digestive enzymes will be able to quickly reactivate. |
| If you, your physician, or health care professional wants to know about amino acids in detail, read the book The Healing Nutrients Within: Your Guide to the Best-Stocked Drugstore of All: The Human Body by Eric R. Braverman, M.D. (Basic Health Publications, 2003). Your doctor may want to check out the 120-page-plus reference section. Very few prescription drugs have been so thoroughly tested.
Tyrosine
The amino acid tyrosine is fairly well established through research and the experience of hundreds of alternative health care practitioners as a safe and effective remedy for depression. |
Heather Boon, BScPhm, PhD and Michael Smith, BPharm, MRPharmS, ND
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 Relevant Research
Preventative and Therapeutic Effects
CONSTITUENTS48
þ amino acids: canavanine.
þ saponins with the aglycone medicagenic acid.
þ isoflavone flavonoids: genistein, daidzein, formononetin.
þ coumarins: coumestans, medicagol.
þ alkaloids.
þ miscellaneous: carbohydrates, peptides, pigments, acids, vitamins (esp. vitamins A, Bl, B6, B12, C, E, K). |
F. Batmanghelidj
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| The protein content of eggs is composed of a balanced range of amino acids. Eggs are rich in vitamins such as biotin and minerals such as manganese, selenium, phosphorus, and copper. The yolk is a rich source of sulfur, a natural antioxidant that is now recognized as vital for health and well-being.
About 10 percent of an egg is its lipid or fat content. The lipid composition of the egg yolk is unique. It is rich in both lecithin, which is the precursor of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). DHA is an essential fat for maintaining brain function. |
Leonard G. Horowitz, D.M.D., M.A., M.P.H.
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 This is indicated DNA synthesis in cancerous cells and a build-up of heavy we the assemply station for building amino acids into protein? leukemic cells. (The amino acids are delivered by tRNA t< the ribosomal 'assembly station.') In this report, Gallo questic* acute lymphocytic leukemia was associated with a specify tyrosyl-tRNA, and whether lymphosarcoma was related t change in seryl-tRNA."Similar to the results with RNA virus-1 cells, the tumor derived from the polyoma (mouse parotid showed higher tRNA methylase activity.
Gallo RC. |
F. Batmanghelidj
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| The union of calcium with vitamin D and its membrane receptor acts as a sort of magnetic rod, and whole chains of other essential elements and amino acids stick to the exposed calcium and are drawn into the cell.
In this way, the energy of sunlight, and its conversion of cholesterol to vitamin D, has a direct physiological impact on the feeding mechanism of the cells of the body. When calcium reenters the cell, it takes other essential elements with it. In this way, the cell receives raw materials for repair and energy metabolism. |
| During exercise and movement of the large muscle mass, these three amino acids are used up for their energy content. They also compete with tryptophan for passage across the blood-brain barrier and entry to the brain. Unless tryptophan enters into the brain tissue, a state of calm and peace will not prevail. The importance of exercise—walking at least one hour a day—cannot be stressed enough. It is as a result of burning these competitors of tryptophan by the muscle tissue that a well-regulated physiology in the body can be established. |
the Editors of FC&A Medical Publishing
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 Foods from animal sources provide complete protein, which means they contain all the essential amino acids.
Next to meat, legumes — _.______ beans, peas, and peanuts — have the most protein. But they are called incomplete proteins because they are lacking some essential amino acids. You can get complete protein if you combine them with plant foods from one of these categories — grains, seeds and nuts, and vegetables. Eat any two or more of these plant foods, with or without beans, and you get complete protein.
You don't have to eat these foods in the same dish, or even in the same meal. |
Dr. John Yiamouyiannis
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 Vesicles
Collagen i ne /\g ing r acLor
Like other proteins, collagen is composed of amino acids linked together in a chain. However, collagen contains two additional amino acids, hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine, not found in other proteins. Thus when collagen synthesis is interfered with or when collagen breaks down, the hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine levels in the blood and urine increase.
Breakdown of the collagen protein "chain" into its amino acid "links". |
| Proteins (enzymes) are large molecules composed of from about 100 to 1000 small molecular building blocks called amino acids (e.g. lysine, glutamic acid, tryptophan, etc.). The amino acids can be viewed as chain links, with each type of amino acid having its own characteristic structure. When these amino acid links are put together in a chain to form a protein, amides are formed by the junction of the links. |
Mary G. Enig
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 The way the normal body deals with excess amino acids is to remove the nitrogen from each amino acid molecule to form a fragment that is going to be further processed. (The nitrogen is put into a form that is secreted b)' the normal kidneys. Diseased kidneys cannot handle extra nitrogen, and this is the reason low-protein diets are advocated for some people.)
The fragments from the amino acids are then sent to be used for making glycogen if the body needs glycogen and doesn't have readily available glucose, or they are sent into the part of the body's organs where fatty acids are made. |
F. Batmanghelidj
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| The most significant and major complication of dehydration is the loss of a number of essential amino acids that are used to manufacture neurotransmitters.
A major hidden advantage to adequate hydration seems to be the increased efficiency of the many thousands of proteins and enzymes whose physiological responsibilities are not yet recognized. They, too, will be more efficiently integrated due to the fact that they are obedient to the influence of free water in their environment. |
David Heber, M.D., Ph.D.
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 The ideal mixture of amino acids for human protein needs is found in egg whites, and this food earns a score of 100. It contains all of the essential amino acids, and is easily digested and processed in the body. Casein, a protein from milk, is nearly as good, with a score of 99. Soy protein has almost as good an amino-acid profile as animal foods, and earns a high score of nearly 100. Red meat, chicken, and fish are scored at 80, while corn and beans each score only 20 to 40 when eaten alone. |
Bryan Hanson, PhD
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 Proteins have a variety of functions in the human body. They constitute the structural material of the muscular system (for example, actin in muscles, collagen in skin and ligaments). They serve to transport small molecules (for instance, hemoglobin carries oxygen in the blood). Proteins called enzymes carry out all of the reactions in the body, ranging from the digestion of food to copying DNA, and they serve similar functions in plants. |
Mark Hyman, M.D.
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 So if we discover problems in this area, we recommend several remedies: the sulfur-containing amino acids, found in foods such as broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, bok choy, garlic, and onion; vitamins, such as vitamin A, vitamins B6 and B12, and folic acid; and/or trace minerals such as magnesium, selenium, zinc, copper, and manganese. Many plant compounds, or phytonutrients, are also powerful detoxifiers, such as those found in silymarin, derived from a milk thistle plant. |
| These naysayers' major argument is that food can't possibly affect your health because your system breaks down food in the same way: All fats are broken down into fatty acids, all proteins are broken down into amino acids, all carbohydrates are broken down into sugar. If all food turns into the same basic components, it can have no effects.
We say food is not just for energy and supplying the body with building blocks for growth and repair (the process of which is still not completely understood). |
| They do this by taking the sugar, fatty acids, or amino acids from what you eat, and the oxygen you breathe, and burn it, releasing energy, heat, and some waste.
Mitochondria burn fuel either well or badly, a little like a car that's fuel-efficient, or not. (If you have ever been behind a car that's not fuel-efficient, you can tell by the gassy smell.)
Mitochondria are present in proportion to the cell's energy needs: Those cells that need the most energy contain the greatest number of mitochondria. For example, each of your muscle cells has thousands and thousands of mitochondria in it. |
| Betaine is a derivative of amino acids that is essential for proper homocysteine metabolism. It can be supplemented in doses ranging from 500 to 3,000 mg a day.
• There are several good sources of betaine, including legumes, broccoli, spinach, beets, and fish.
Minerals
Because the body needs many, many minerals, as with vitamins it would take more space than we have here to include the importance of each one. Instead, we will highlight only three: magnesium and zinc, because of their pervasive deficiencies in our diets, and calcium, because it is so critical for our muscle and bone health. |
| The blood becomes clogged with excessive amounts of food, including fats, cholesterol, sugar, and amino acids (the building blocks of protein). These sources of energy remain in the bloodstream and can't enter the cells, which, now starved for energy, start to malfunction.
This condition is known as insulin resistance; it occurs when the body loses its responsiveness to insulin and our cells are unable to derive energy from the food we eat. Even though we may have eaten an ample amount, our cells cry out for more food, which is translated by the brain into hunger. |
| A blood test can also be revealing; if you have low levels of building blocks like amino acids, then you're probably not absorbing or digesting well. Symptoms are another clue—if you suffer from digestive problems like constant diarrhea, or abdominal pain, or constipation, you could be suffering malnutrition.
If you can locate such a problem, you can also find a solution. For example, if weak stomach acid is an issue, we recommend stomach acid supplements. |
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