Health Topics
A-Z
Click on any underlined subject to go to definition

A
Adipose Tissue: (also see Body Fat)
Aging: (see Sugar or Carbohydrates)
Agriculture
Allergies: (also see Enzymes)
Alpha-amylase: (see Enzymes)
Amino Acids: (also see Protein)
Anachidonic Acid: (see Essential Fatty Acids)
Antioxidants
Aspartame: (see Food Additives)
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD):
 
B
Behavior and Nutrition
Blood
Blood Pressure
Blood Vessel
Body Fat: (also see Toxins or Fat )
Bones : (see Osteoporosis )
Brain: (also see Essential Fatty Acids)
Butter
 
C
Caffeine: (also see Diabetes)
Calcium: (also see Vitamins or Osteoporosis)
Calorie: (also see Sugar, Carbohydrates or Fat)
Cancer
Carbohydrates: (also see Glucogenesis, Pancreas or Sugar)
Celiac Disease
Cells: (also see Disease or Essential Fatty Acids)
Cellulite: (also see Essential Fatty Acids)
Child & Infant Health:
Cholesterol
Colloidal Minerals: (also see Minerals)
 
D
Deficiency: (also see Nerves or Essential Fatty Acids)
Diabetes: (also see Pancreas)
Diets
Digestion
Disease: (also see Heart Disease)
Drugs
 
E
Eisonanoids: (see Prostaglandins)
EFAs:(see Essential Fatty Acids)
Endocrine system:(see Pancreas)
Energy: (also see Essential Fatty Acids)
Enzymes: (also see Milk or Lactose)
Essential Fatty Acids: (also also see Energy or EFAs)
Essiac®
Exercise: (also see Metabolism)
 
F
Fat (Dietary): (also see Body Fat and Adipose Tissue)
Fiber
Fish Oil: (also see Essential Fatty Acids)
Folic Acid:(also see Vitamins)
Food Additives
Free-radicals:(see Antioxidants)
Fructose (fruit sugar): (see Sugar or Carbohydrates)
 
G
Genetic Modification
Glucogenesis: (also see Carbohydrates)
Glucose
Gluten
Glycemic Index
Gout
Grains: (also see Food Additives)
Growing Methods
 
H
Heart Disease
Herbs
Homogenization:(see Milk)
Hydrogenation:(also see Trans fats)
 
I
Innuit
Insulin: (see Pancreas)
Irradiated Food
 
J      
 
K
Ketones
Kidneys
 
L
Lactose: (also see Milk or Enzymes)
 
M
Margarine
Metabolism
Milk: (also see Lactose or Enzymes)
Minerals
Monosaccharides
Muscle
 
N
Nerves: (see Deficiency or Essential Fatty Acids)
Nitric Oxide
 
O
Obesity
Okinawans: (see Innuit)
Osteoporosis
 
P
Pancreas: (also see Diabetes)
Prions:(see Disease)
Polycystic Ovary Disorder
Pregnancy/Infant Development
Protein
Prostaglandins: (also see Essential Fatty Acids)
 
Q

R

S
Salt
Serotonin
Silver Supplements
Skin
Soy
Soy and Infants
Soy and Sex
Sugar: (also see Carbohydrates)
Sweeteners
Syndrome X
 
T
Toxins: (also see Body Fat)
Trans fats: (also see Hydrogenation)
 
U

V
Vaccinations
Vegetarian/Vegan Diets: (also see Soy & Protein)
Vitamins: (also see Minerals and Soy)

W
Water
Weight Loss

X
Xanthine Oxidase: (also see Milk)

Y

Z
Zinc: (also see Vitamins and Minerals)

An excess of Carbohydrates: in the diet not only acts as a fat-sparer, but also increases the Fat: in the fat stores. Click Here For Reference

Eisonanoids: (see Prostaglandins)
EFAs (defined):(see Essential Fatty Acids)
Endocrine system:(see Pancreas)
Energy: (also see Essential Fatty Acids)
Enzymes: (also see Milk or Lactose)
Essential Fatty Acids: (also also see Energy or EFAs)
Essiac®
Exercise: (also see Metabolism)
 

Energy:
 
High-energy fuel: 1 gram of fat produces 2.5-times as much energy as 1 gram of carbs.
 
Carbohydrates stop you from using the best fuel available, the fat stored in your own body. Reference: Textbook of Medical Physiology Arthur C. Guyton, John E. Hall, W B Saunders Co., January 15, 1996, ISBN: 0721659446..

 
Enzymes: (see Milk or Lactose)
 
Enzymes and digestion (protein/carbs):
Carbs are largely broken down when chewed (please see Man-Wolf-Sheep: A Comparison). Protein digestion takes place in the system. If not enough protein is consumed in the diet this causes the enzymes needed for its digestion to be depleted. This is why a vegetarian has trouble digesting protein. Slowly introducing meat back into their diet will replenish the enzymes needed for healthy digestion.
 
An enzyme called alpha-amylase initiates starch digestion by breaking down starch (complex carbohydrates) into sugars. This release of sugar alters the taste of food.

Digestive enzymes:
• Lactase ·digests lactose (milk sugar) into glucose and galactose
• Maltase ·digests maltose to glucose
• Amylase* ·digests starch (complex carbohydrates) to glucose
• Invertase ·digests sucrose (table sugar) to glucose and fructose
• Proteases ·digest protein into free amino acids
• Lipases ·digest dietary fat to a variety of end products

References: Biology of Microorganisms, Brock, T.D. and Madigan, M.T., Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1988.pp 383, 396-399.

References: Schauf, C., Moffett, D. and Moffett, S. (1990) Human Physiology: Foundations and Frontiers (ed. Allen, D., Times Mirror/Mosby College Publishing, St. Louis) Chapters 21 and 22.

Essential Fatty Acids: (also see Deficiency, Fish Oil or Nerves)
Click here for "The Scientific Calculation of the Optimum Parent Omega 6/3 Ratio"
Click here for EFA Deficiency Statistics

WARNING: Popular health writers and nutritionists do NOT understand the difference between "parent" and derivative EFAs! They also don't take into consideration that most if not all foods contain damaged omega 6 EFAs, which are NOT used by the body!

There are numerous articles on EFAs everywhere with some good information, but nearly all of these articles lack a basic understanding of the difference between "parent" and derivative EFAs (Parent omega 3 = LNA & Parent omega 6 = LA - all others are derivatives*). You'll find Fish Oil is talked up constantly. The more you read at this website, the better you'll understand why taking fish oil is NOT the best way to get your EFAs. You may also read that you already get tons of omega 6 EFAs in your diet and that you only need to take omega 3. The problem is the omega 6 EFAs in foods are mostly damaged and you need pure, undamaged "Parent" omega 6 EFAs in your diet! This knowledge will help you weed out the good and bad info you may read on Essential Fatty Acids.

*Derivative EFAs are not used by the body, unless derived from the "parent." Nearly ALL EFA supplements, including fish oil, consists of derivatives. Your body makes the derivatives it needs from the "parent" oils, as well as using the parent directly.So supplements without parent oils are insufficient and ineffective!

EFAs are fundamental to proper nutrition. Our bodies use EFAs as the building blocks for cellular growth, which plays a central role in feeling, looking, and performing well. Your body can’t make EFAs; they must come from the food you eat or from nutritional supplements. References: Biochemistry and Disease, Basic Medical Biochemistry Fatty Acid Trafficking and Transcriptional Control of Genes Regulating Fatty Acid Transport and Metabolism.

Click here for Visual Aid

[Omega 6 (GLA)] - borage oil, evening primrose oil, and black currant oil have been prescribed for a variety of conditions, including cancer, premenstrual syndrome, cystic fibrosis, irritable bowel syndrome and many skin conditions. Reference: Enig, Mary G., Know Your Fats, (Silver Spring, Bethesda Press, 2000). and Horrobin, David F., The regulation of prostaglandin biosynthesis by manipulation of essential fatty acid matabolism. Reviews in Pure and Applied Pharmacological Sciences, Vol. 4, pp 339-383, Freund Publishing House, 1983.
 
 “We know that EFAs support heart health.”  Reference: 2002 EFA Conference, Shanghai, China.

Click here for Visual Aid
Fatty acids (EFAs) and higher lipids are essential to the structure and function of cells and organisms. These compounds include structural components of biological membranes, mediators of signal transduction and transcription, and physiological regulators. Fatty acids are also the preferred energy source for the heart and it is estimated that circulating long chain fatty acids provide 60-70% of the cardiac energy requirements. Current evidence indicates that several classes of  conserved transport proteins, enzymes, and transcription factors participate in fatty acid metabolism and gene regulation. Using yeast and bacterial model systems, the proteins involved in fatty acid transport, activation, and transcriptional control are being defined at genetic, functional, and structural levels. These investigations include identification of unique genes and proteins using molecular genetics; characterization of mammalian gene expression in yeast and bacteria; and biochemical analysis of protein structure and function. This work will result in a better understanding of how lipid metabolism is coordinated to meet the nutritional, structural, and regulatory needs of cells and tissues.  It provides a foundation for understanding and treating diseases resulting from deficiencies in fatty acid and lipid metabolism including arteriosclerosis, cardiomyopathies, obesity, and diabetes. Reference: Laboratories:Paul N. Black, B.S., Ph.D.Professor, Education:B.S. from Colorado State University in 1978 Ph.D. from University of Vermont in 1983.
Reference: Concetta C. DiRusso, Ph.D.Professor Education: Ph.D. from University of Vermont in 1982

EFAs and cellular oxygen transfer (key to resisting cancer cell development):
“Essential fatty acids [EFAs] are found in the structural lipids of the cell… and are concerned with the structural integrity of the mitochondrial membrane [respiratory-based energy producing].” Reference: Harper’s Illustrated Biochemistry, 26th edition, page 191.

EFA conversion inhibited:
Bad fats [trans-fats], lack of minerals, lack of vitamins B3, B6, C, E, viruses, obesity, diabetes, aging, and rare genetic mutations can inhibit omega 6 conversion. Reference: Stephen B. Edelson, M.D., F.A.A.F.P., F.A.A.E.M. The Edelson Center for Environmental and Preventive Medicine
 
EFAs and cholesterol levels:
Essential Fatty Acids naturally decrease blood cholesterol levels. Reference: Textbook of Medical Physiology, pg. 873.

EFAs and cancer:
Omega 3 fights colon cancer in laboratory studies, according to graduate student Abgela Jordan and colleagues at J.W. Goethe University, Frankfort Germany. “The growth inhibitory effect was most prominent in rapidly proliferating [cancer] cells. They seemed especially effective against COLO-320, the most aggressive of the two cancer cell lines, halting all growth within 72 hours of exposure. This inhibitory effect appears to stem from ‘both growth arrest and apostasies [death of cells].” Reference: Reuters Health, May 24, 1999.

EFAs and the brain:
Brain synapses have higher levels of DHA (Omega 3 EFA) than most tissues. Reference: Nutrition and the Brain, Vol. 8, 1990:2.

EFAs help ADD:
Purdue University conducted a study which was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. About 40% of children with ADD had deficiencies of EFAs as measured in their blood.

 
EFAs (Defined):
 
Omega 6– LA – Linoleic Acid, body makes into the derivatives: GLA, DGLA, AA. - polyunsaturated – safflower, sunflower, corn.
 
Omega 3– ALA – Alpha Linolenic Acid, body makes into the derivatives: SDA, EPA, DHA. - super-unsaturated – flax, hemp (fish is also a source of omega 3, but it is mostly derivative based and not the ideal form for what your body needs).
 
Proper EFA radio: "Parent" omega 6 to "Parent" omega 3 = 1:1 to 4:1

Advice: EFA supplements that contain derivatives and NOT parent oils cannot be guaranteed to be used by your body as needed. Fish Oil supplements is a perfect example, containing mostly derivatives and very little parent oils.Your body needs the parent oils as much as it does the derivatives, and it will make any derivatives it needs from the parent oils. When you look at the ingredients of an EFA supplement, and it contains tons and tons of derivative information, don't buy it. It's not going to give your body what it needs.
 
Anachidonic Acid is the 3rd EFA – non-essential. Reference: Stephen B. Edelson, M.D., F.A.A.F.P.,F.A.A.E.M. The Edelson Center for Environmental and Preventive Medicine.

Essiac®:

(An herbal cleansing blend) consists of four herbs that grow in the wilderness of Ontario, Canada. The original formula has its roots in native Canadian Ojibwa medicine. The four main herbs that make up Essiac® are Burdock Root, Slippery Elm Bark, Sheep Sorrel and Indian Rhubarb Root. These four herbs may help normalize body systems by helping cleanse the blood and purge toxic build up. This formulation has been successfully used in alternative cancer treatments. Essiac® is a product of Resperin Corporation, Unfortunately, theEssiac® website has been removed.

In 1937, John Wolfer, M.D., director of the tumor clinic at Northwestern University Medical School, treated 30 terminal cancer patients at their clinic. At the end of a year of treatment, a panel of 5 physicians at Northwestern wrote: “Essiac® prolonged life, shrank tumors, and relieved pain.” Reference: Reclaiming Our Health, John Robbins, H.J. Kramer, Inc., POB 1082, Triburon, CA, 1998, page 271.

 
Exercise: (see Metabolism)
 
Carbs and exercise:
Reasonable exercise helps raise basal metabolic rate (BMR) and therefore the rate of ‘burning’ energy. But remember, it takes a lot of exercise to burn off a significant amount of calories, and if you have any carbohydrate before or after vigorous exercise, the resulting insulin response will effectively block any fat loss.
Reference: Textbook of Medical Physiology, pg 871, Arthur C. Guyton, John E. Hall, W B Saunders Co., January 15, 1996, ISBN: 0721659446.
 
Body fat burning:
Only under extreme physical exercise does a muscle use glucose. Most of the time, muscle membrane is only slightly permeable (open) to glucose. Reference: Textbook of Medical Physiology, pg. 973, Arthur C. Guyton, John E. Hall, W B Saunders Co., January 15, 1996, ISBN: 0721659446.
 
For a real endurance event, one can expect fat to supply more than 50% of the required energy after about the first 3 to 4 hours. The body starts off using mainly glucose/glycogen for energy and only gradually shifts to increased fat-burning (this is why it’s very beneficial to avoid carbohydrates before exercise when attempting to reduce body fat). Reference: Textbook of Medical Physiology, pg. 871, Arthur C. Guyton, John E. Hall, W B Saunders Co., January 15, 1996, ISBN: 0721659446.

“…thus an excess of Carbohydrates: in the diet not only acts as a fat-sparer, but also increases the Fat in the fat stores. In fact, all the excess carbohydrates not used for energy or stored in the small glycogen deposits of the body (less than one teaspoon worth) are converted to fat and stored as such.” Reference: Textbook of Medical Physiology, pg. 871, Arthur C. Guyton, John E. Hall, W B Saunders Co., January 15, 1996, ISBN: 0721659446.
 
Growth hormone:
Growth hormone increases protein syntheses in all cells of the tissue, and increases use of fatty acids (coming from excess body fat) for energy. Glucose utilization is decreased, which means we burn stored body fat while exercising. Reference: Textbook of Medical Physiology, pg. 936, Arthur C. Guyton, John E. Hall, W B Saunders Co., January 15, 1996, ISBN: 0721659446.
 
Fat storage and bloating:
The more glycogen you store, the more bloated you become. Every single pound of excess glycogen adds three pounds of water. Reference: Nutrition For Fitness & Sport, pg. 106, Melvin H. Williams, WCB/McGraw-Hill, January, 1995, ISBN: 0697101452

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