Re: The Healing Nutrients Within

[Guest guest]

Hi Listmates,

Below is a couple of paragraphs from The Book "The Healing Nutrients Within. Due to the limited space on an EMail Message I was only able to give you a very, very small sample of what the book is all about.

This book is loaded with more information than you ever thought possible. It should provide a blessing for anyone who is trying to get a handle on the cause of their Epilepsy.

Best of Luck,

P.S. - Many thanks to Zoe Langley who suggested this book for she is certainly someone who I shall forever be indebted. Thanks Zoe

From: The Healing Nutrients Within

by Dr. R. Braverman, M.D.

with Dr. Carl C. Pfeiffer, M.D., Ph.D.

Metabolism of Amino Acids: An Energy Source

The body breaks down excess amino acids essentially into either fat or sugar to obtain energy. The amino acids which are transferred into sugar are called glycogenic. The amino acids which are broken down into fat are called ketogenic (Table 1-3). All amino acids are valuable energy sources.

Inborn Errors of Metabolism: Genetic Diseases

Many important clues about amino acid metabolism come from studies of patients with inborn errors, as they are called. All of the amino acids discussed in this book are involved in biochemical pathways which can malfunction due to genetic disease. These inborn metabolic errors teach about the toxicity of amino acids (which often causes convulsions) and can occur when blood levels are increased five to twenty times above normal. Conversely, other inborn errors can cause deficiency symptoms. An understanding of genetic metabolic errors is revealing the secrets of nutrient interactions among the amino acids. Such studies reveal the basis for mega amino acid therapy, and help explain the reasons why some individuals need 3 grams of tryptophan daily whereas others need an extra gram of phenylalanine daily.

Metabolism within the Brain

The most exciting area of amino acid research is the study of brain metabolism. Communication within the brain and between the brain and the rest of the nervous system occurs through chemical "languages," called neurotransmitters. There are about fifty such languages; the amino acids, either as precursors (Table 1-4), neurotransmitters (Table 1-5) or peptides (Table 1-6) account for the majority of them.

The central nervous system is almost completely regulated by amino acids and peptides. The brain's amino acids are now being recognized for their importance, and amino acid therapies are revolutionizing the treatment of psychiatric disease. In each chapter, we describe a particular amino acid's therapeutic potential in psychiatry and the regulation of brain function.

Amino Acids as Precursors

Amino acids are present and important throughout the body. For example, muscle is very high in protein and amino acids. The heart muscle and other organs derive their structure and function primarily from amino acids. When the brain and other organs such as muscles, "talk" to each other, amino acid-related neurotransmitters are again the primary language. Throughout the body, the amino acids have important functions themselves and as precursors (Table 1-7) for the manufacture of other important substances. This is the reason that they have so much potential value in medicine and surgery.

Phenylketonuria (PKU)

Phenylketonuria, an inborn error of phenylalanine metabolism, is a serious health problem and the most prevalent form of amino aciduria (excess excretion of amino acids in urine). It accounts for about 0.5 percent (one in 200) of presently institutionalized retarded individuals.

Its incidence in the United States is reportedly one out of every 20,000 to 40,000 live births. Individuals heterozygous for the defective gene may constitute as much as 1 percent of the population. Not only is the disease prevalent, but the type of retardation that it produces is among the most severe. Most persons with untreated phenylketonuria have IQs of less than 20. Many of them can walk, but only about one- third can talk.

The biochemical defect appears to be the absence of the liver enzyme, phenylalanine hydroxylase. Other enzymes, tyrosine and tryptophan hydroxylase, can minimally substitute this function in the human brain.

There are several forms of PKU. One includes a primary defect in the phenylalanine hydroxylase enzyme co-factor called tetrahydrobiopterin. This co-factor is probably a derivative of folic acid.

Blood and urine levels of phenylalanine in PKU patients can be several hundred times normal. Since phenylalanine hydroxylation does not occur, the level of tyrosine in tissues and plasma remains normal or is a little depressed. Some minor alterations occur in the levels of other amino acids. Most prominent and interesting is a lowering of blood serotonin and a decreased excretion of serotonin metabolites, probably caused by competition between phenylalanine and tryptophan for uptake into serotonin-producing cells. Phenylketonurics may need supplemen!al tyrosine and tryptophan.

We found this out the hard way. A six-year-old girl with learning disabilities came to the Brain Bio Center for an evaluation. She did quite well with tryptophan supplementation, 1 gram A.M. and P.M. Yet, we still did not have complete results. Later, we tested all her amino acids, only to find her phenylalanine level was elevated to twenty times normal. Several other amino acids were deficient, e.g., ornithine, histidine, lysine, proline and alanine. On the PKU diet, most of her symptoms abated.

Despite the elaboration of biochemical abnormalities such as tryptophan deficiency, the exact causes of the neurological dysfunction in PKU is unclear. Much research has focused upon the effects of phenylalanine by-products (Ratzmann et al., 1984).

Metabolites of phenylalanine include phenylpyruvic acid, phenyllactic acid, phenylacetic acid and phenylethylamine. Also found are o-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, phenylacetylglutamine, N-acetyl-phenylalanine and hippuric acid. The exact origin of this latter group of phenylalanine metabolites is not known, but it is likely that they are formed outside the brain. It is the o-hydroxyphenylacetic acid that, apparently, gives phenylketonuric children their characteristic "mousey" odor. Also found is the unusual Schiffs base conjugate of phenylethylamine and pyridoxal, pyridoxylidine-L-phenyle- thylamine. This metabolite is detectable in the urine of phenylketonurics and in rats that have been given large doses of phenylalanine. It does not occur in man even at doses of 15 grams given to fasting individuals.

Phenylketonurics require more vitamin B6 than normal persons. Phenylketonuria and pyroluria (a pyrole factor in the urine) are two metabolic disorders where vitamin B6 is excreted in the urine.

Convulsions, tremors and abnormal EEG patterns usually accompany the mental defect. About two-thirds of the children are hyperactive and aggressive. Although screening is usually done at an early age, mild phenylketonuria is often missed. Most are microcephalic and many have skin problems. Children with mild PKU appear superficially normal, but they tend to have lightly pigmented skin, hair and eyes, and may, upon close examination, exhibit peculiar postures or gaits.

[Guest guest]

Thanks ,

I find that book invaluable!

Zoe