(OFFLIST) RE: specific amino acid restriction does the same thing as calorie restriction?

From: Harvey Newstrom (mail@HarveyNewstrom.com)
Date: Sat Apr 19 2003 - 17:48:49 MDT

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    (I am reaching my eight-posts-per-day limit, so this is off-list.)

    You wrote,
    > The only way I know of currently to activate these pathways
    > is to remove some of the essential amino acids from the diet.

    Should this read "non-essential" amino acids?

    "Essential" aminos are those that cannot be synthesized in the body from
    other aminos and must be eaten in the diet. "Non-essential" aminos are
    those that can be synthesized in the body from other aminos and do not have
    to be eaten in the diet.

    I think eliminating some "non-essential" aminos in the diet would lead to
    more synthesis of new aminos from other aminos and the synthesis of new
    proteins. Eliminating "essential" aminos would cause a deficiency that the
    body could not recover utilizing other aminos.

    > The only way I know of currently would
    > be to live on a diet biased towards beans or corn. I believe
    > both of these may be deficient in one or more of the essential
    > amino acids (Harvey or gts or someone may want to confirm this).

    Yep. They are not totally deficient in any one, but there is a definite
    limiting factor where some are represented at much higher levels than
    others. Beans and corn are both "incomplete" proteins which can be combined
    together to form "complete" proteins, but the body would have to put them
    together. (Nutritional labels only show the "complete" protein portion.
    The "incomplete" portions are not reported. Combining beans and corn will
    result in more complete protein being available to the body than the sum of
    the two protein labels would indicate.)

    I just posted some comments that my veggie diet might have this side-effect
    of creating more new proteins, and I am intrigued about this PR idea. I am
    not sure if the protein restriction is reducing the amount of protein the
    body can produce, or if it avoids the condition of excess proteins being
    available that are not needed.

    --
    Harvey Newstrom, CISSP, IAM, GSEC
    <www.HarveyNewstrom.com>
    


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