607 lines
44 KiB
HTML
607 lines
44 KiB
HTML
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<head><title>Gelatin, stress, longevity</title></head>
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<body>
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<h1>
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Gelatin, stress, longevity
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</h1>
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<p>
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<hr />
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<hr />
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</p>
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<p>
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<strong>The main bulk of an animal's body consists of water, protein, fat and bones. Fat tissue and bone are
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metabolically more quiescent than the protein-water systems. During stress or starvation, or even
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hibernation, animals lose lean mass faster than fat.</strong>
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</p>
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<p>
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<strong>The amino acids that constitute protein have many hormone-like functions in their free state. When
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our glucose (glycogen) stores have been depleted, we convert our own tissue into free amino acids, some
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of which are used to produce new glucose. The amino acids cysteine and tryptophan, released in large
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quantities during stress, have antimetabolic (thyroid-suppressing) and, eventually, toxic effects.
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Hypothyroidism itself increases the catabolic turnover of protein, even though general metabolism is
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slowed.</strong>
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</p>
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<p>
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<strong>Other amino acids act as nerve-modifiers ("transmitters"), causing, for example, excitation or
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inhibition.</strong>
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</p>
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<p>
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<strong>Some of these amino acids, such as glycine, have a very broad range of cell-protective
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actions.</strong>
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</p>
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<p>
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<strong>Their physical properties, rather than their use for production of energy or other metabolic
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function, are responsible for their important cytoprotective actions.</strong>
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</p>
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<p>
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<strong>Gelatin (the cooked form of collagen) makes up about 50% of the protein in an animal, but a much
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smaller percentage in the more active tissues, such as brain, muscle, and liver. 35% of the amino acids
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in gelatin are glycine, 11% alanine, and 21% proline and hydroxyproline.</strong>
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</p>
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<p>
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<strong>In the industrialized societies, the consumption of gelatin has decreased, relative to the foods
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that contain an inappropriately high proportion of the antimetabolic amino acids, especially tryptophan
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and cysteine.</strong>
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</p>
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<p>
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<strong>The degenerative and inflammatory diseases can often be corrected by the use of gelatin-rich foods.
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</strong>
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</p>
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<p>
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<hr />
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<hr />
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</p>
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<p>
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I usually think about something for a long time before I get around to integrating it into my life,
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sometimes because old habits have to be changed, but usually because our social organization is set up to do
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things in conventional ways. Our foods reflect our social organization, enforced by laws and rules. When I
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first went to Mexico to study, many traditional foods were still available even in the city--fried pig skin,
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served crisp or boiled with a sauce, blood tacos, cartilaginous parts of various animals, chicken-foot soup,
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crustaceans, insects, etc. Later, when I studied biochemistry, I realized that each part of an organism has
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a characteristic chemistry and special nutritional value. I knew of Weston Price's research on traditional
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diets, and his argument that the degenerative "diseases of civilization" were produced by the simplified
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diets that are characteristic of the highly industrialized societies.
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</p>
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<p>
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As I began to study endocrinology, I realized that there were some radical misconceptions behind the ideas
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of "scientific nutrition." I. P. Pavlov, who had studied nutritional physiology because it constituted the
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animal's closest interactions with its environment, was motivated by a desire to understand life in its
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totality, including consciousness. But western nutritionists were nearly all committed to an ideology that
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forced them to think in terms of "essential factors for growth," leading to ideas such as "minimum daily
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requirement" for each nutrient. Bodily bulk (especially body length) was the criterion, not the experienced
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quality of life. And there has been no scarcity of evidence showing that rapid bodily growth has its
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drawbacks (e.g., Miller, et al., 2002, "Big mice die young").
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</p>
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<p>
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One of the brightest of the genetically oriented nutritionists, Roger Williams, used the idea of genetic
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individuality to explain that the popular idea of a species-wide standard diet couldn't be applied to
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exceptional individuals, and that disease was often the result of the mismatch between special nutritional
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requirements and a "standard" diet. Linus Pauling's concept of orthomolecular medicine was a restatement of
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Williams' principle for the general scientific community.
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</p>
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<p>
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But still, the emphasis was on the match between a specific chemical and the <strong><em>genetic
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constitution</em></strong> of the organism. Pavlov's idea of the "trophic" actions of nerves was
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discarded, and the rest of his work was relegated to a crudely caricatured branch of psychology. His
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therapeutic recommendation of beef broth for many ailments was ignored as having nothing to do with the
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caricatured "Pavlovism."
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</p>
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<p>
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If nerves are intimately involved in the processes of nutrition and development, the effects of nutrients on
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the nerves and their development should have a central place in nutritional research. Our appetites reflect
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our biochemical needs, and our "unconditional reflexes" are likely to be wiser than the theories that are
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based simply on the amount of weight a young animal gains on a particular diet.
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</p>
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<p>
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When I began teaching endocrinology, some of my students didn't want to hear about anything except "lock and
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key" endocrinology, in which "a hormone" signals certain cells that have a suitable receptor for that
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hormone. But the studies of Hans Selye and Albert Szent-Gyorgyi made it clear that Pavlov's global, holistic
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approach to the organism in its environment was the soundest scientific basis for physiology, including
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endocrinology. A cell's response to a hormone depended on the state of the cell. Nutrients and metabolites
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and hormones and neurotransmitters all modify the cell's sensitivity to its surroundings. The assumptions of
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"molecular biology," as generally understood, are fundamentally mistaken.
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</p>
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<p>
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The idea of fixed requirements for specific nutrients, and especially the idea that rapid physical growth
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was the way to determine the essentiality of a substance, led to a monstrous distortion of the official
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dietary recommendations. Business, industry, government, and the health professions collaborated in the
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propagation of an ideology about nutrition that misrepresented the nature of the living organism.
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</p>
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<p>
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Most studies of the nutritional requirements for protein have been done for the agricultural industries, and
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so have been designed to find the cheapest way to get the maximum growth in the shortest time. The industry
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isn't interested in the longevity, intelligence, or happiness of their pigs, chickens, and lambs. The
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industry has used chemical growth stimulants in combination with the foods that support rapid growth at
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least expense. Antibiotics and arsenic and polyunsaturated fatty acids have become part of our national food
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supply because they produce rapid weight gain in young animals.
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</p>
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<p>
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The amino acids in proteins have been defined as "essential" on the basis of their contribution to growth,
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ignoring their role in producing long life, good brain development, and good health. The amino acid and
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protein requirements during aging have hardly been studied, except in rats, whose short life-span makes such
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studies fairly easy. The few studies that have been done indicate that the requirements for tryptophan and
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cysteine become very low in adulthood.
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</p>
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<p>
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Although Clive McKay's studies of life extension through caloric restriction were done in the 1930s, only a
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few studies have been done to find out which nutrients' restriction contributes most to extending the life
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span. Restricting toxic heavy metals, without restricting calories, produces about the same life-extending
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effect as caloric restriction. <strong>
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Restricting only tryptophan, or only cysteine, produces a greater extension of the life span than
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achieved in most of the studies of caloric restriction.</strong>
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How great would be the life-span extension if both tryptophan and cysteine were restricted at the same time?
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</p>
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<p>
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Both tryptophan and cysteine inhibit thyroid function and mitochondrial energy production, and have other
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effects that decrease the ability to withstand stress. Tryptophan is the precursor to serotonin, which
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causes inflammation, immunodepression, and generally the same changes seen in aging. Histidine is another
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amino acid precursor to a mediator of inflammation, histamine<strong>; </strong>
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would the restriction of histidine in the diet have a longevity promoting effect, too?
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</p>
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<p>
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It happens that gelatin is a protein which contains no tryptophan, and only small amounts of cysteine,
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methionine, and histidine. Using gelatin as a major dietary protein is an easy way to restrict the amino
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acids that are associated with many of the problems of aging.
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</p>
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<p>
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The main amino acids in gelatin are glycine and proline<strong>; </strong>
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alanine is also present in significant quantity. Glycine and proline are responsible for the unusual fibrous
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property of collagen.
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</p>
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<p>
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An animal's body, apart from fat and water, is mostly protein, and about half of the protein in the body is
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collagen (which is the native, uncooked form of gelatin). Its name is derived from its traditional use as
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glue. It is responsible for the structural toughness of mature animal bodies.
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</p>
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<p>
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When cells are stressed, they form extra collagen, but they can also dissolve it, to allow for tissue
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remodeling and growth. Invasive cancers over-produce this kind of enzyme, destroying the extracellular
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matrix which is needed for normal cellular differentiation and function. When collagen is broken down, it
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releases factors that promote wound healing and suppress tumor invasiveness. (Pasco, et al., 2003) Glycine
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itself is one of the factors promoting wound healing and tumor inhibition.
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</p>
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<p>
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It has a wide range of antitumor actions, including the inhibition of new blood vessel formation
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(angiogenesis), and it has shown protective activity in liver cancer and melanoma. Since glycine is
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non-toxic (if the kidneys are working, since any amino acid will contribute to the production of ammonia),
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this kind of chemotherapy can be pleasant.
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</p>
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<p>
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When we eat animal proteins in the traditional ways (for example, eating fish head soup, as well as the
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muscles, or "head-cheese" as well as pork chops, and chicken-foot soup as well as drumsticks), we assimilate
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a large amount of glycine and gelatin. This whole-animal balance of amino acids supports all sorts of
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biological process, including a balanced growth of children's tissues and organs.
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</p>
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<p>
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When only the muscle meats are eaten, the amino acid balance entering our blood stream is the same as that
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produced by extreme stress, when cortisol excess causes our muscles to be broken down to provide energy and
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material for repair. The formation of serotonin is increased by the excess tryptophan in muscle, and
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serotonin stimulates the formation of more cortisol, while the tryptophan itself, along with the excess
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muscle-derived cysteine, suppresses the thyroid function.
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</p>
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<p>
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A generous supply of glycine/gelatin, against a balanced background of amino acids, has a great variety of
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antistress actions. Glycine is recognized as an "inhibitory" neurotransmitter, and promotes natural sleep.
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Used as a supplement, it has helped to promote recovery from strokes and seizures, and to improve learning
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and memory. But in every type of cell, it apparently has the same kind of quieting, protective antistress
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action. The range of injuries produced by an excess of tryptophan and serotonin seems to be prevented or
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corrected by a generous supply of glycine. Fibrosis, free radical damage, inflammation, cell death from ATP
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depletion or calcium overload, mitochondrial damage, diabetes, etc., can be prevented or alleviated by
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glycine.
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</p>
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<p>
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Some types of cell damage are prevented almost as well by alanine and proline as by glycine, so the use of
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gelatin, rather than glycine, is preferable, especially when the gelatin is associated with its normal
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biochemicals. For example, skin is a rich source of steroid hormones, and cartilage contains "Mead acid,"
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which is itself antiinflammatory.
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</p>
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<p>
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The other well-studied inhibitory neurotransmitter is GABA, so it's significant that GABA (gamma amino
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butyric acid) is a close analog of glycine (alpha amino acetic acid). A synthetic molecule structurally
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similar to those natural inhibitory "transmitters," beta amino propanoic acid, has some of the protective
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effects of glycine and GABA. The other molecules in the series, at least up to epsilon amino caproic acid,
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have some of the same antiinvasive, antiinflammatory, anti-angiogenic, properties. Alanine and proline, with
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cell-protecting actions, have the same basic composition, carbon (CH2 or CH) atoms separating acid and amino
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groups. Even the amino acids in which the lipophilic carbon atoms extend out in a branched side-chain,
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valine, leucine, and isoleucine, have some of the antiseizure (inhibitory) action (Skeie, et al., 1992,
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1994) of GABA and glycine. Tests done with one, or a few, of the relatively lipophilic (aliphatic) amino
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acids prevent seizures, while the "balanced" mixtures of amino acids permit seizures<strong>;</strong>
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unfortunately, results of this sort haven't led researchers to question the idea of "balance" that developed
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within the setting of agricultural research.
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</p>
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<p>
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The similarity between the structures and actions of glycine and GABA suggest that their "receptors" are
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similar, if not identical. For years, it has been known that progesterone and pregnenolone act on the GABA
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receptor, to reinforce the protective, inhibitory effects of GABA. Estrogen has the opposite effect,
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inhibiting GABA's action. Since GABA opposes estrogen and inhibits the growth of breast cancer, it wouldn't
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be surprising if glycine, alanine, etc., did the same.
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</p>
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<p>
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Recent research shows that progesterone and its metabolites also act on the "glycine receptor," increasing
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inhibition, and that the "phytoestrogen," genistein, antagonizes the inhibitory effect of glycine.
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</p>
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<p>
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The inhibitory systems are opposed by excitatory systems, especially by the excitatory amino acid system,
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activated by glutamic and aspartic acid. Progesterone and estrogen act on that system, too, decreasing and
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increasing excitation, respectively.
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</p>
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<p>
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I have previously discussed the arguments for viewing progesterone as a "cardinal adsorbent" (as in Ling and
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Fu, 1987, 1988, Ling, et al., 1984, a steroid alters glycine's influence on the cell's electrical behavior)
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which increases the lipophilic, fat-loving property of the cytoplasm, and estrogen as having the opposite
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action, increasing the water-loving hydrophilic quality of the cytoplasm. If we think of the proteins known
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as the GABA and glycine receptors as having some regions in which the basic amine of lysine associates with
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the acidic group of aspartic or glutamic acid, then the action of glycine, or other amino acids would be to
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introduce additional lipophilic carbon atoms into those regions (with the amino acids' polar ends pairing
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with their opposites on the protein), where the cardinal adsorbents exert their influence.
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</p>
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<p>
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Generally, biologists seem puzzled by such facts, because they don't fit into the "lock and key" model of
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molecular biology. But I think they make the organism easier to understand, since these constellations of
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facts illustrate simple and general physical principles. They suggest the idea that estrogen and
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progesterone and glycine, GABA, etc., will be active in any functioning cell, at a suitable concentration.
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It was this kind of thinking in terms of general physical principles that led Szent-Gyorgyi to investigate
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the effects of estrogen and progesterone on heart physiology. The old characterization of estrogen and
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progesterone as "sex" and "pregnancy" hormones acting on a few tissues through specific receptors never had
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a good basis in evidence, but the accumulated evidence has now made those ideas impossible for an informed
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person to accept. (Progesterone increases the heart's pumping efficiency, and estrogen is antagonistic, and
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can produce cardiac arrhythmia.)
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</p>
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<p>
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In the context of the excitatory actions of estrogen, and the inhibitory action of glycine, it would be
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reasonable to think of glycine as one of the antiestrogenic substances. Another type of amino acid, taurine,
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is structurally similar to glycine (and to beta amino propanoic acid, and to GABA), and it can be thought of
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as antiestrogenic in this context. The specific kinds of excitation produced by estrogen that relate to
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reproduction occur against a background of very generalized cellular excitation, that includes increased
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sensitivity of sensory nerves, increased activity of motor nerves, changes in the EEG, and, if the estrogen
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effect is very high, epilepsy, tetany, or psychosis.
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</p>
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<p>
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Glycine's inhibitory effects appear to oppose estrogen's actions generally, in sensory and motor nerves, in
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regulating angiogenesis, and in modulating the cytokines and "chemokines" that are involved in so many
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inflammatory and degenerative diseases, especially tumor necrosis factor (TNF), nitric oxide (NO), and
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prostaglandins. Exposure to estrogen early in life can affect the health in adulthood, and so can an early
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deficiency of glycine. The degenerative diseases can begin in the earliest years of life, but because aging,
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like growth, is a developmental process, it's never too late to start the corrective process.
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</p>
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<p>
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One of estrogen's "excitatory" effects is to cause lipolysis, the release of fatty acids from storage
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fat<strong>; </strong>
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it directs the conversion of glucose into fat in the liver, so that the free fatty acids in the circulation
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remain chronically high under its influence. The free fatty acids inhibit the oxidation of glucose for
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energy, creating insulin resistance, the condition that normally increases with aging, and that can lead to
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hyperglycemia and "diabetes."
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</p>
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<p>
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Gelatin and glycine have recently been reported to facilitate the action of insulin in lowering blood sugar
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and alleviating diabetes. Gelatin has been used successfully to treat diabetes for over 100 years (A.
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Guerard, Ann Hygiene 36, 5, 1871; H. Brat, Deut. Med. Wochenschrift 28 (No. 2), 21, 1902). Glycine inhibits
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lipolysis (another antiexcitatory, "antiestrogenic" effect), and this in itself will make insulin more
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effective, and help to prevent hyperglycemia. (A gelatin-rich diet can also lower the serum triglycerides.)
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Since persistent lipolysis and insulin resistance, along with a generalized inflammatory state, are involved
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in a great variety of diseases, especially in the degenerative diseases, it's reasonable to consider using
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glycine/gelatin for almost any chronic problem. (Chicken foot soup has been used in several cultures for a
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variety of ailments; chicken foot powder has been advocated as a stimulant for spinal cord
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regeneration--Harry Robertson's method was stopped by the FDA).
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</p>
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<p>
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Although Hans Selye observed as early as the 1930s that stress causes internal bleeding (in lungs, adrenals,
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thymus, intestine, salivary and tear glands, etc.), the medical establishment, which has the opportunity to
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see it after surgery, burns or other trauma, and following strokes and head injuries, prefers to explain it
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by "stomach hyperacidity," as if it were limited to the stomach and duodenum. And the spontaneous bruising,
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and easy bruising, that is experienced by millions of women, especially with the premenstrual syndrome, and
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nose bleeds, and scleral bleeding, purpura senilis, urinary bleeding, bleeding gums, and many other kinds of
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"spontaneous" or stress related bleeding, are treated by main-line medicine as if they had no particular
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physiological significance.
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</p>
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<p>
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Stress is an energy problem, that leads to the series of hormonal and metabolic reactions that I have often
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written about--lipolysis, glycolysis, increased serotonin, cortisol, estrogen, prolactin, leaky capillaries,
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protein catabolism, etc. The capillaries are among the first tissues to be damaged by stress.
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</p>
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<p>
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Although Selye showed that estrogen treatment mimics shock and stress, and that progesterone prevents the
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stress reaction, the effects of these hormones on the circulatory system have never been treated
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systematically. Katherina Dalton observed that progesterone treatment prevented the spontaneous bruising of
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the premenstrual syndrome<strong>;</strong> Soderwall observed that estrogen caused enlargement of the
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adrenals, sometimes with hemorrhage and necrosis<strong>;</strong> old female animals often have bleeding in
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the adrenals (Dhom, et al., 1981). Strangely, estrogen's induction of uterine bleeding has been
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compartmentalized, as if the endometrial blood vessels didn't follow the same rules as vessels elsewhere in
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the body. Both estrogen and cortisol are known to cause clotting disorders and to increase capillary
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fragility, but these steroids have been elevated to the realm of billion dollar drug products, beyond the
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reach of ordinary physiological thinking. Other stress-released substances that are entangled in the drug
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market (tryptophan, serotonin, nitric oxide, and unsaturated fats, for example) are similarly exempt from
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consideration as factors in circulatory, neoplastic, and degenerative diseases.
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</p>
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<p>
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At the time Selye was observing stress-induced bleeding, standard medicine was putting gelatin to
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use--orally, subcutaneously, and intravenously--to control bleeding. Since ancient times, it had been used
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to stop bleeding by applying it to wounds, and this had finally been incorporated into medical practice.
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</p>
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<p>
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The 1936 Cyclopedia of Medicine (G.M. Piersol, editor, volume 6) mentions the use of gelatin solution to
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quickly control nosebleeds, excessive menstrual bleeding, bleeding ulcers (using three doses of 18 grams as
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a 10% solution during one day), and bleeding from hemorrhoids and the lower bowel, and hemorrhage from the
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bladder. But since Selye's work relating the thrombohemorrhagic syndromes to stress wasn't known at that
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time, gelatin was thought of as a useful drug, rather than as having potentially far-reaching physiological
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effects, antagonizing some of the agents of stress-induced tissue damage.
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</p>
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<p>
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Skin cells and nerve cells and many other cells are "electrically" stabilized by glycine, and this effect is
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currently being described in terms of a "chloride current." A variety of mechanisms have been proposed for
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the protective effects of some of the amino acids, based on their use as energy or for other metabolic
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purpose, but there is evidence that glycine and alanine act protectively without being metabolized, simply
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by their physical properties.
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</p>
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<p>
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A small dose of glycine taken shortly after suffering a stroke was found to accelerate recovery, preventing
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the spreading of injury through its inhibitory and antiinflammatory actions. Its nerve-stabilizing action,
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increasing the amount of stimulation required to activate nerves, is protective in epilepsy, too. This
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effect is important in the regulation of sleep, breathing, and heart rhythm.
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</p>
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<p>
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Glycine's antispastic activity has been used to alleviate the muscle spasms of multiple sclerosis. It is
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thought to moderate some of the symptoms of schizophrenia.
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</p>
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<p>
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A recent publication shows that glycine alleviates colitis; but the use of gelatin, especially in the form
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of a concentrated gelatinous beef broth, for colitis, dysentery, ulcers, celiac disease, and other diseases
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of the digestive system, goes far back in medical history. Pavlov's observation of its effectiveness in
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stimulating the secretion of digestive juices occurred because the stimulating value of broth was already
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recognized.
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</p>
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<p>
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Although I pointed out a long time ago the antithyroid effects of excessive cysteine and tryptophan from
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eating only the muscle meats, and have been recommending gelatinous broth at bedtime to stop nocturnal
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stress, it took me many years to begin to experiment with large amounts of gelatin in my diet. Focusing on
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the various toxic effects of tryptophan and cysteine, I decided that using commercial gelatin, instead of
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broth, would be helpful for the experiment. For years I hadn't slept through a whole night without waking,
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and I was in the habit of having some juice or a little thyroid to help me go back to sleep. The first time
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I had several grams of gelatin just before bedtime, I slept without interruption for about 9 hours. I
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mentioned this effect to some friends, and later they told me that friends and relatives of theirs had
|
|
recovered from long-standing pain problems (arthritic and rheumatic and possibly neurological) in just a few
|
|
days after taking 10 or 15 grams of gelatin each day.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
For a long time, gelatin's therapeutic effect in arthritis was assumed to result from its use in repairing
|
|
the cartilage or other connective tissues around joints, simply because those tissues contain so much
|
|
collagen. (Marketers suggest that eating cartilage or gelatin will build cartilage or other collagenous
|
|
tissue.) Some of the consumed gelatin does get incorporated into the joint cartilage, but that is a slow
|
|
process, and the relief of pain and inflammation is likely to be almost immediate, resembling the
|
|
antiinflammatory effect of cortisol or aspirin.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Inflammation produces fibrosis, because stress, hypoxia, and inadequate supply of glucose stimulate the
|
|
fibroblasts to produce increased amounts of collagen. In lungs, kidneys, liver, and other tissues, glycine
|
|
protects against fibrosis, the opposite of what the traditional view would suggest.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Since excess tryptophan is known to produce muscle pain, myositis, even muscular dystrophy, gelatin is an
|
|
appropriate food for helping to correct those problems, simply because of its lack of tryptophan. (Again,
|
|
the popular nutritional idea of amino acids as simply building blocks for tissues is exactly wrong--muscle
|
|
protein can exacerbate muscle disease.) All of the conditions involving excess prolactin, serotonin, and
|
|
cortisol (autism, postpartum and premenstrual problems, Cushing's disease, "diabetes," impotence, etc.)
|
|
should benefit from reduced consumption of tryptophan. But the specifically antiinflammatory amino acids in
|
|
gelatin also antagonize the excitatory effects of the tryptophan-serotonin-estrogen- prolactin system.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
In some of the older studies, therapeutic results improved when the daily gelatin was increased. Since 30
|
|
grams of glycine was commonly used for treating muscular dystrophy and myasthenia gravis, a daily intake of
|
|
100 grams of gelatin wouldn't seem unreasonable, and some people find that quantities in that range help to
|
|
decrease fatigue. For a growing child, though, such a large amount of refined gelatin would tend to displace
|
|
other important foods. The National Academy of Sciences recently reviewed the requirements for working
|
|
adults (male and female soldiers, in particular), and suggested that 100 grams of balanced protein was
|
|
needed for efficient work. For adults, a large part of that could be in the form of gelatin.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
If a person eats a large serving of meat, it's probably helpful to have 5 or 10 grams of gelatin at
|
|
approximately the same time, so that the amino acids enter the blood stream in balance.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Asian grocery stores are likely to sell some of the traditional gelatin-rich foods, such as prepared pig
|
|
skin and ears and tails, and chicken feet.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Although the prepared powdered gelatin doesn't require any cooking, dissolving it in hot water makes it
|
|
digest a little more quickly. It can be incorporated into custards, mousses, ice cream, soups, sauces,
|
|
cheese cake, pies, etc., or mixed with fruit juices to make desserts or (with juice concentrate) candies.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Although pure glycine has its place as a useful and remarkably safe drug, it shouldn't be thought of as a
|
|
food, because manufactured products are always likely to contain peculiar contaminants.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<p><strong> </strong></p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<strong><h3>REFERENCES</h3></strong>
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Am J Physiol. 1990 Jul;259(1 Pt 2):F80-7. <strong>Mechanisms of perfused kidney cytoprotection by alanine
|
|
and glycine.</strong> Baines AD, Shaikh N, Ho P.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Neurol. 1974; 24:392. <strong>Preliminary study of glycine administration in patients with
|
|
spasticity.</strong> Barbeau A.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Virchows Arch B Cell Pathol Incl Mol Pathol. 1981;36(2-3):195-206. <strong>Peliosis of the female adrenal
|
|
cortex of the aging rat.</strong> Dhom G, Hohbach C, Mausle E, Scherr O, Uebergerg H. Foci of apparent
|
|
peliosis are regularly observed in the mid-zone of the adrenal cortex in female rats older than 600 days.
|
|
The changes present range from ectasis of the sinusoids to extensive cystic change of the whole organ.
|
|
<strong>This lesion occurs almost exclusively in female animals and was seen in only one of 50 male animals
|
|
older than 600 days examined.</strong> Experimental stimulation or inhibition did not influence adrenal
|
|
peliosis. Electron microscopically, there was marked pericapillary edema with collapse of the capillaries,
|
|
and erythrocytes and thrombocytes were seen infiltrating the edema. Fibrin accumulated in the larger foci.
|
|
Degenerative alterations were not observed either in the epithelial cells of the cortex or in mesenchymal
|
|
cells. The pathogenesis is unknown, but the possible role of <strong>constant estrus in aging female rats
|
|
will be discussed.</strong>
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Riv Neurol. 1976 Mar-Jun;46(3):254-61.<strong>
|
|
[Antagonism between focal epilepsy and taurine administered by cortical Perfusion]</strong> Durelli L,
|
|
Quattrocolo G, Buffa C, Valentini C, Mutani R. The therapeutic action of taurine cortical perfusion was
|
|
tested in cats affected with Premarin and cobalt cortical epileptogenic foci. In all animals taurine
|
|
provoked the disappearance of EEG epileptic abnormalities. In the case of Premarin focus the effect appeared
|
|
more quickly than in the cobalt one. This different time-course, according to previous reports on the
|
|
antiepileptic action of the parenteral administration of the amino acid, <strong>suggests the hypothesis of
|
|
a taurine direct inhibitory action against Premarin focus</strong> and, on the contrary, a mediated
|
|
action towards the cobalt's. The latter might be related to the metabolic production of some taurine
|
|
derivative.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Ann Neurol. 1998; 44:261-265. <strong>Beneficial effects of L-serine and glycine in the management of
|
|
seizures in 3-phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase deficiency.</strong> de Kooning JT, Duran M, Dorling L, et
|
|
al.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1999; 56:29-36.<strong>
|
|
Efficacy of high-dose glycine in the treatment of enduring negative symptoms of schizophrenia.</strong>
|
|
Heresco-Levy U, Javitt DC, Ermilov M, et al.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Free Radic Biol Med. 2001 Nov 15;31(10):1236-44. <strong>Dietary glycine inhibits activation of nuclear
|
|
factor kappa B and prevents liver injury in hemorrhagic shock in the rat.</strong> Mauriz JL, Matilla B,
|
|
Culebras JM, Gonzalez P, Gonzalez-Gallego J. "Feeding the rats glycine significantly reduced mortality, the
|
|
elevation of plasma<strong> </strong>
|
|
|
|
transaminase levels and hepatic necrosis. <strong>The increase in plasma TNFalpha and nitric oxide (NO) was
|
|
also blunted by glycine feeding."</strong>
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Am Fam Phys 1979 May;19(5):77-86. <strong>
|
|
'Not Cushing's syndrome'.</strong> Rincon J, Greenblatt RB, Schwartz RP Cushing's syndrome is
|
|
characterized by protein wasting secondary to hypergluconeogenesis, which produces thin skin, poor muscle
|
|
tone, osteoporosis and <strong>capillary fragility.</strong> These features distinguish patients with true
|
|
Cushing's syndrome from those who have some of the clinical findings often associated with the syndrome,
|
|
such as obesity, hypertension, striae and hirsutism. The dexamethasone suppression test helps identify
|
|
patients with pseudo-Cushing's syndrome.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Carcinogenesis. 1999; 20:2075-2081. <strong>Dietary glycine prevents the development of liver tumors caused
|
|
by the peroxisome proliferator WY-14, 643</strong>. Rose ML, Cattley RC, Dunn C, et al.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Carcinogenesis, Vol. 20, No. 5, 793-798, May 1999.<strong>
|
|
Dietary glycine inhibits the growth of B16 melanoma tumors in mice.</strong>
|
|
<hr />
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Carcinogenesis, Vol. 20, No. 11, 2075-2081, November 1999. <strong>Dietary glycine prevents the development
|
|
of liver tumors caused by the peroxisome proliferator WY-14,643.</strong> M.L.Rose, R.C.Cattley1,
|
|
C.Dunn, V.Wong, Xiang Li and R.G.Thurman. Simpson RK Jr, Gondo M, Robertson CS, Goodman JC. <strong>The
|
|
influence of glycine and related compounds on spinal cord injury-related spasticity.</strong>
|
|
|
|
Neurochem Res. 1995; 20:1203-1210.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Neurochem Res. 1995 Oct;20(10):1203-10. <strong>
|
|
The influence of glycine and related compounds on spinal cord injury-induced spasticity.</strong>
|
|
Simpson RK Jr, Gondo M, Robertson CS, Goodman JC.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Neurochem Res. 1996 Oct;21(10):1221-6. <strong>Reduction in the mechanonociceptive response by intrathecal
|
|
administration of glycine and related compounds.</strong>
|
|
Simpson RK Jr, Gondo M, Robertson CS, Goodman JC.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Neurol Res. 1998 Mar;20(2):161-8. <strong>Glycine receptor reduction within segmental gray matter in a rat
|
|
model in neuropathic pain.</strong> Simpson RK Jr, Huang W.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Neurol Res. 2000 Mar;22(2):160-4. <strong>Long-term intrathecal administration of glycine prevents
|
|
mechanical hyperalgesia in a rat model of neuropathic pain.
|
|
</strong>Huang W, Simpson RK.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 1992 Nov;43(3):669-71. <strong>Branched-chain amino acids increase the seizure
|
|
threshold to picrotoxin in rats.</strong> Skeie B, Petersen AJ, Manner T, Askanazi J, Jellum E, Steen
|
|
PA.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Thromb Diath Haemorrh Suppl 1968;30:165-9<strong> [Purpura of the premenstrum and climacteric]. </strong>
|
|
[Article in German]<strong> </strong>Stamm H.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Toth E, Lajtha A. <strong>Glycine potentiates the action of some anticonvulsant drugs in some seizure
|
|
models.</strong> Neurochem Res. 1984; 9:1711-1718.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Sheng Li Ke Xue Jin Zhan. 2000 Jul;31(3):231-3. <strong>
|
|
[The roles of estrogen and progestin in epileptogenesis and their mechanisms of action]</strong>
|
|
[Article in Chinese] Wang Q.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
FASEB J. 2000; 14:476-484.<strong>
|
|
Glycine-gated channels in neutrophils attenuate calcium influx and superoxide production.</strong>
|
|
Wheeler M, Stachlewitz RT, Yamashina S, et al.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Cell Mol Life Sci.1999; 56:843-856. <strong>Glycine: a new anti-inflammatory immunonutrient.</strong>
|
|
Wheeler MD, Ikejema K, Mol Life Sci. Enomoto N, et al.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Nutr Cancer. 2001;40(2):197-204. <strong>Endothelial cells contain a glycine-gated chloride channel.</strong
|
|
> Yamashina S, Konno A, Wheeler MD, Rusyn I, Rusyn EV, Cox AD, Thurman RG. "<strong>Glycine inhibited growth
|
|
of B16 melanoma tumors in vivo most likely because of the inhibition of angiogenesis. Here, the
|
|
hypothesis that the anticancer effect of glycine in vivo is due to expression of a glycine-gated Cl-
|
|
channel in endothelial cells was tested.</strong>
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Biull Eksp Biol Med. 1981 Nov;92(11):599-601. <strong>[Repair processes in wound tissues of experimental
|
|
animals following administration of glycine]
|
|
</strong>
|
|
[Article in Russian] Zaidenberg MA, Pisarzhevskii SA, Nosova IM, Kerova AN, Dudnikova GN. A study was made
|
|
of the effect of glycine given in doses approximating the physiological ones on the repair of processes in
|
|
rat wound tissues. It was disclosed that in the early periods of wound healing, glycine administration leads
|
|
to the increased content of cAMP and cAMP/cGMP ratio in the wound muscle and then in the granulation tissue,
|
|
which appears to promote the intensification of the repair processes manifesting in the changes in tissue
|
|
metabolism (DNA, collagen), in anti-inflammatory action, as well as in a more rapid maturation of the
|
|
granulation tissue and wound reduction.. It was also found that the doses of glycine tested do not affect
|
|
the content of insulin and hydrocortisone in the blood of experimental animals.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<strong>"In recent years, evidence has mounted in favor of the antiinflammatory, immunomodulatory and
|
|
cytoprotective effects of the simplest amino acid L-glycine." "Glycine protects against shock caused by
|
|
hemorrhage, endotoxin and sepsis, prevents ischemia/reperfusion and cold storage/reperfusion injury to a
|
|
variety of tissues and organs including liver, kidney, heart, intestine and skeletal muscle, and
|
|
diminishes liver and renal injury caused by hepatic and renal toxicants and drugs. Glycine also protects
|
|
against peptidoglycan polysaccharide-induced arthritis..." and inhibits gastric secretion "....and
|
|
protects the gastric mucosa against chemically and stress-induced ulcers. Glycine appears to exert
|
|
several protective effects, including antiinflammatory, immunomodulatory and direct cytoprotective
|
|
actions. Glycine acts on inflammatory cells such as macrophages to suppress activation of transcription
|
|
factors and the formation of free radicals and inflammatory cytokines. In the plasma membrane, glycine
|
|
appears to activate a chloride channel that stabilizes or hyperpolarizes the plasma membrane potential.
|
|
As a consequence, .... opening of ... calcium channels and the resulting increases in intracellular
|
|
calcium ions are suppressed, which may account for the immunomodulatory and antiinflammatory effects of
|
|
glycine. Lastly, glycine blocks the opening of relatively non-specific pores in the plasma membrane that
|
|
occurs as the penultimate event leading to necrotic cell death."
|
|
</strong>
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<strong> </strong>
|
|
Zhong Z, Wheeler MD, Li X, Froh M, Schemmer P, Yin M, Bunzendaul H, Bradford B, Lemasters JJ.<strong>,
|
|
</strong>"L-Glycine: a novel antiinflammatory, immunomodulatory, and cytoprotective agent." Curr Opin Clin
|
|
Nutr Metab Care. 2003 Mar;6(2):229-40. © Ray Peat Ph.D. 2009. All Rights Reserved. www.RayPeat.com
|
|
</p>
|
|
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|
|
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