| What do vitamin E, selenium, and sulfur amino acids have in common? Their chemical structures differ, but together they function as a team to protect the PUFAs from destruction, and to maintain the integrity of the membranes in which the PUFAs reside. Selenium works with the enzyme glutathione peroxidase, whose principal job is to neutralize the harmful substances called peroxides into neutral water and alcohol compounds. Thus, the vitality of the cellular membranes is safeguarded because the formation of free radicals is blocked. |
| But the process may be speeded up: amino acids in your cells may be replaced at a faster rate than normal. There is some evidence that this may make you age faster than otherwise. Some excess protein may also be burned as energy or eliminated as waste. In any event, if you eat more protein than you need, your body will have to dispose of extra urea—the nitrogen-containing waste product of protein metabolism. Urea is formed in the liver and excreted via the kidneys. |
| Vitamin A, selenium, and the sulfur amino acids are indispensable helpers in keeping vitamin E at the peak of its antioxidant efficiency.
While we're on the subject of other vitamins and minerals, let's talk about iron. Iron is an important element in the diet and therapeutically invaluable in the treatment of anemia, as is vitamin E. But vitamin E and iron should never be taken simultaneously, as iron can interfere with your absorption of vitamin E. So be sure to let eight to twelve hours elapse between the time you take vitamin E and iron. |
| Magnesium is a coenzyme in the protein-production process,19 and it is also glutamine's coworker in dispersing the proteins from the food you eat into amino acids.22
Magnesium is at work in several different locations at the protein construction site. In addition to the ones we just mentioned, it is also a key worker in synthesizing the genetic "brains" of the process, RNA and DNA. DNA functions as the architect of the cells, holding the genetic information that enables them to construct the right products, and RNA carries DNA's instructions to the work site. |
John Robbins
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 Since more than 70 percent of a typical Zone diet's protein comes from animal sources, Sears' books and his theories about protein have reinforced the widespread misconceptions that only animal proteins can provide sufficient levels of essential and nonessential amino acids, and that vegetarians must carefully combine their proteins. He states, "About one-third of Americans are . . . suffering from protein malnutrition. |
Michael Lerner
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 The most surprising of this new revelation concerns the permeability of sugar, free amino acids, and salt, which at high strength cause sustained cell shrinkage. . . .
If the cell membrane is permeable to a particular solute, one expects that over a long period of time, this solute would reach and be maintained in the cell wall at the same concentration as that in the external medium. |
Donald R. Yance, j r.,C.N., M.H., A.H.G., with Arlene Valentine
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 Beans, because they do not contain all eight essential amino acids, are not considered a complete protein by themselves; however, by combining any dried bean with any whole grain, you will have a complete protein. This natural combination is found in many traditional diets throughout the world— tofu with rice in Asia, tempeh and rice in Indonesia, black beans and corn in South America, lentils and rice in India.
Use sparingly throughout the week—make sure they are fresh and not rancid. |
Michael Lerner
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| To this end, we may use any combination of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, amino acids, endocrine balancing, immune enhancement, gastrointestinal detoxification, alkaline diet, herbs, oxidative therapies, and even antibiotics, chemotherapy, surgery or low-grade radiation or synthetic hormones." American Biologies-Mexico also offers "live-cell" therapies.
American Biologies-Mexico S.A. Medical Center and Hospital describes itself as a fully accredited and licensed general hospital and teaching facility. |
Nelson Foster and Linda S. Cordell
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 Quinoa seed contains a nearly perfect balance of essential amino acids, including lysine, which runs short in the grassy grains. Its protein level ranges as high as 22 percent and averages about 16 percent, compared to wheat's 12 percent. Quinoa also supplies substantial amounts of iron, calcium, and vitamins B and E. The grain has little vitamin A, but the edible leaf has it in abundance. In short, the quinoa plant can satisfy all of a person's basic nutritional needs. |
Committee on Comparative Toxicity of Naturally Occurring Carcinogens
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 Vitamin A), sterols, and rubber
• Protein synthesis, which combines amino acids to produce the primary gene products, proteins, including enzymes
Still further complexity is found in products such as alkaloids that arise from combinations of these pathways.
Complexity and Variability
The identity of the specific constituents in the minor and major components of food—the qualitative composition—is in large part determined genetically. Environmental factors also affect qualitative composition and influence quantitative composition. |
Patrick Quillin, PhD,RD,CNS
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 Vitamin E prevents the formation of one of the more common carcinogenic agents in humans; nitrosamines, which are formed by the combination of nitrates in the diet and amino acids in the stomach. Vitamin E prevents the damage to the skin from ultraviolet radiation.72 According to researchers from Bulgaria, vitamin E protects us against the harmful effects of too much iron-generating free radicals and damage to our detoxification system, cytochrome P-450. |
Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D.
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 It is said that, when using an amino acid as a medicine, one should take it on an empty stomach, to avoid competing with other amino acids for absorption. Jo Mar Laboratories, 251 East Hacienda Avenue, Campbell, CA 95008, sells 150 grams of L-arginine powder for $9.50. Phone: 800-538-4545.
Aspirin: "Enteric coated" aspirins aid in protecting the stomach against injuries that can occur as a result of ingesting aspirin. Two over-the-counter brands are: Ecotrin Enteric Coated Aspirin®and Therapy Bayer Enteric Aspirin Caplets®. |
Ruth Winter, M.S.
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 GLYCYL GLYCINE • A combination of amides and amino acids (see both) used in hair conditioners and skin conditioners.
GLYCYRRHETINIC ACID • Used as a flavoring, to soothe skin, and as a vehicle for other chemicals. Prepared from licorice root, it is soluble in chloroform, alcohol, and acetic acid (see). It has been used medicinally to treat a disease of the adrenal gland. No known toxicity when used in cosmetics. GLYCYRRHETINYL STEARATE • The stearic acid ester of glycyrrhetinic acid (see).
GLYCYRRHIZIC ACID • Used as a flavoring and coloring, and to soothe the skin in cosmetics. |
Patrick Quillin, PhD,RD,CNS
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| Additional vitamins, minerals, amino acids, food extracts (i.e. bovine cartilage), conditionally essential nutrients (i.e. fish, flax, and borage oil; Coenzyme Q-10), and botanicals (i.e. echinecea, golden seal, astragalus) can enhance the patient's recuperative powers. ImmunoPower is the most clinically-tested, cost-effective and convenient way to take nutritional supplements.
3) Total parenteral nutrition (TPN) There are many cancer patients who are so malnourished (weight loss of 10% below usual body weight within 1 month period and/or serum albumin below 2. |
John Boik
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 Nutrient assays: These include assays for amino acids, minerals, antioxidants, vitamins, fatty acids, and organic acids. Wherever possible, a program of nutritional supplementation should be based upon assay results and should be monitored periodically to evaluate the effectiveness of therapy.
• Immune function assays: These include natural killer cell function and population, macrophage function, and secretory IgA levels.
• Other assays to direct treatment: This book discusses numerous plasma factors which may affect the progression of cancer. |
| Administration of the constituent amino acids did not increase plasma glutathione levels (Hagen et al, 1990). Note that the dose producing an antitumor effect in rats was 330 mg/kg—nearly the optimum dose for glutathione absorption.
The narrow optimal dose window does not explain why administration of one gram increased plasma glutathione levels in humans, but administration of three grams did not. The human dose equivalent to 375 mg/kg, the optimal dose in rats, is approximately 6.1 grams. |
| These amino acids are discussed in more detail later in this chapter.
Inhibition of Cachexia by EPA
EPA effectively reverses cachexia induced by MAC 16 colon adenocarcinoma in mice (Tisdale, 1993). Other omega-3 or omega-6 fatty acids were not effective. Cachexia appeared to be blocked at the level of the adipocyte and was associated with reductions in cAMP production. The anticachexic effect was observed at doses of 1.2 to 5.0 grams/kg (Beck et al., 1991; Tisdale and Beck, 1991). When extrapolated on a surface area basis to humans, this corresponds to a dose of approximately 6.4 to 25. |
Committee on Comparative Toxicity of Naturally Occurring Carcinogens
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| When foods
(or more properly food juices) are subjected to high temperatures, the amino acids, sugars, and other constituents are degraded and recombined to yield a bewildering array of compounds responsible for the aromas and flavors of cooked foods. Many of these compounds (e.g., the pyrazines) constitute the desirable flavor components that we associate with cooking, yet many others, particularly the more complex polycyclic heterocyclic amines, have been shown to be carcinogenic. |
John Boik
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| In contrast, other investigators reported that oral administration does increase plasma levels in humans, and that administration of the seperate amino acids is not effective (Jones et al., 1989; reviewed by Jones et al., 1992). An oral dose of approximately 1 gram increased plasma glutathione levels by 1.5 to 10-fold over baseline levels in 4 out of 5 healthy subjects. Maximum plasma concentrations occurred after one hour. Oral administration produced a prolonged increase in plasma glutathione levels in rats, in large part due to absorption of intact glutathione molecules. |
Committee on Comparative Toxicity of Naturally Occurring Carcinogens
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| Most of these fall under the following classes: flavonoids, phenolic acids, phenylpropanoids, coumarins, depsides, cyclitols, isothiocyanates, catechins, simple phenols, monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, amino acids, and anthraquinones (Farnsworth 1994).
Effect of Dietary Macronutrients on Carcinogenesis
In this and the following section, we discuss the effects of dietary nutrients (macro- and micro-) separately from non-nutrients, because the data available on these two categories are considerably different. |
Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D.
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| Although it can be manufactured internally from two amino acids and various vitamins, and is present in most foods, supplements are probably justified in some of the above situations, just to make sure that adequate amounts are available. Some doctors prescribe between 30 and 80 milligrams per day to increase aerobic endurance and improve disease resistance. ar^T^s The most important use of CoQIO in cancer is IK^jSSm*! to counteract the highly toxic action on the heart of conventional anticancer drugs. |
| Bestatin is a simple peptide, just two amino acids which inhibit a pair of enzymes that are normally found in the membranes of cells. Bestatin, given orally, has shown anticancer effects against colon cancer and leukemia in rodents. Mice with colon cancer who received bestatin along with standard chemotherapy, such as 5-FU, lived longer than those that just received toxic drugs. |
| It is found in meat but also can be manufactured by the liver from two amino acids (lysine and methionine), provided that adequate amounts of other co-factors such as vitamin C, iron, nicotinic acid and vitamin B6 are present. There has been a long debate over whether carnitine is truly a vitamin. A recent review concluded that it is indeed an essential nutrient, especially in infancy, fasting, pregnancy and breast feeding, even though technically carnitine can be manufactured by the human body (1). |
| In mice fed a diet deficient in these two amino acids, the combination of vitamin C and levodopa "retarded tumor growth and increased survival dramatically by 123 percent." This could "become an important strategy for treating malignant melanoma," NCI scientists suggested (16).
In 1990, Pauling teamed up with Abram Hoffer, MD, PhD, a well-known Canadian biochemist and psychiatrist, who had been treating schizophrenic patients with megadoses of vitamin B3 for decades. Together, they published a study of women with cancer who received high dose vitamin C (17). |
| These are Galled the essential amino acids and arginine is one of these. It is available in meat, milk and eggs, as well as nuts such as pistachios and almonds.
A lack of this amino acid causes a rare disease called argininemia, which is characterized by retardation, seizures and spasticity. Arginine also helps detoxify the liver; assists in the release of growth hormones; maintains a healthy immune system; detoxifies poisonous ammonia; increases the sperm count and muscle mass; and helps the body produce the intercellular cement, collagen. |
Patrick Quillin, PhD,RD,CNS
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| Our body makes digestive enzymes to break down large food particles into usable molecules:
-proteins are digested into amino acids by the action of proteases, including trypsin and chymotrypsin
-starches are digested into simple sugars by the action of amylase
-fats are digested into fatty acids and glycerol by the action of lipase.
Our ancestors ate a diet high in uncooked foods. Cooking food denatures enzymes, like changing the white on an egg from waxey to white when it is cooked. |
John Boik
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| Insulin is involved in a variety of other biochemical processes, including glucose uptake; metabolism of carbohydrates, amino acids, and lipids; and amino acid transport. Insulin also activates phos-pholipase A2, the enzyme that frees arachidonic acid from cell membranes for PGE2 synthesis. Yam (1992) reported that cancer-promoting effects of insulin have been observed in animal cell lines and in human breast cancer cells. He suggests that elevated insulin may activate dormant cancer cells, initiate the development of preneoplastic lesions, or stimulate the growth of existing tumors. |
Gary Null
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 We often find that the essential amino acids are not being received by the child. It could be because the diet is so poor, or it could be that the child's digestion and absorption are inadequate, so that the child, while eating well, isn't achieving the amino-acid levels that he needs. We address that issue with supplements to correct either the inadequate input of food or the digestive, malabsorption problem.
"We use herbs in the detoxification process initially. Many of these children are toxic—their bodies react adversely to other elements to which they're exposed. |
Stanley W. Jacob, M.D., Ronald M. Lawrence, M.D., Ph.D.
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 Basically, anything we eat with protein in it is going to have sulfur amino acids, primarily methionine and cysteine."
Asked about sulfur deficiency in the population, a spokeswoman at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Nutrient Data Laboratory simply said, "Sulfur isn't something we compile data on. We don't list the sulfur content of foods. It's not on our radar screen." Another government nutrition official said she doesn't remember "ever" seeing a study on sulfur. "We look at a lot of minerals, including tin and even arsenic," she said. "But sulfur isn't even among them. |
| Muddled Methionine
The food choices that many of us make—nutrient-poor diets heavy in processed, devitalized foods—contribute to self-inflicted deficiencies and imbalances of many different vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. Nutritional surveys continually show vast numbers of Americans with low or suboptimal intakes of essential nutrients, levels that experts such as Harvard nutritional researchers Meir Stampfer and Walter Willett say are "strongly . . . associated with serious health consequences. |
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