Toms Blog on Life

This site was one of many I looked at to obtain data on what to include in my new protein blend. It has some useful data on digestive enzymes that may be of assistance to you in areas other than protein digestion so I am including it here for your reference. The article is well-referenced and concise. Here are some extracts from it that relate to protein absorption.

Many organs work together to make up your digestive system.

These organs take the food and liquids you eat and break them down into simpler forms, such as proteins, carbs, fats and vitamins. The nutrients are then transported across the small intestine and into the bloodstream, where they provide energy for growth and repair.

Digestive enzymes are necessary for this process, as they break down molecules like fats, proteins and carbs into even smaller molecules that can be easily absorbed.

There are three main types of digestive enzymes:

Proteases: Break down protein into small peptides and amino acids
Lipases: Break down fat into three fatty acids plus a glycerol molecule
Amylases: Break down carbs like starch into simple sugars
Enzymes are also made in the small intestine, including lactase, maltase and sucrase.

If the body is unable to make enough digestive enzymes, food molecules cannot be digested properly. This can lead to digestive disorders like lactose intolerance.

Thus, eating foods that are high in natural digestive enzymes can help improve digestion.

Here are 12 foods that contain natural digestive enzymes.

1. Pineapple

Pineapples are a delicious tropical fruit rich in digestive enzymes.

In particular, pineapples contain a group of digestive enzymes called bromelain.

These enzymes are proteases, which break down protein into its building blocks, including amino acids. This aids the digestion and absorption of proteins.

Bromelain can be purchased in powdered form to help tenderize tough meats. It’s also widely available as a health supplement to help people who struggle to digest proteins.

A study on people with pancreatic insufficiency, a condition in which the pancreas cannot make enough digestive enzymes, found that taking bromelain combined with a pancreatic enzyme supplement improved digestion more than the enzyme supplement alone.

2. Papaya

Papaya or pawpaw is another tropical fruit that is rich in digestive enzymes.

Like pineapples, papayas also contain proteases that help digest proteins. However, they contain a different group of proteases known as papain.

Papain is also available as a meat tenderizer and digestive supplement.

Studies have shown that taking a papaya-based formula may help ease digestive symptoms of IBS, such as constipation and bloating.

If you want to eat papayas, just make sure to eat them ripe and uncooked, as heat exposure can destroy their digestive enzymes.

Also, unripe or semi-ripe papayas can be dangerous for pregnant women, as it may stimulate contractions.

11. Kiwifruit

The kiwifruit is an edible berry that is often recommended to ease digestion.

It’s a great source of digestive enzymes, particularly a protease called actinidain. This enzyme helps digest proteins and is commercially used to tenderize tough meats.

Additionally, kiwifruit contains many other enzymes that help ripen the fruit.

Scientists believe actinidain is one reason why kiwifruits seem to aid digestion.

An animal study found that adding kiwifruit to the diet improved the digestion of beef, gluten and soy protein isolates in the stomach. This was thought to be due to its actinidain content.

Another animal study analyzed the effects of actinidain on digestion. It fed some animals kiwifruit with active actinidain and other animals kiwifruit without active actinidain.

Results showed that animals fed kiwifruit with active actinidain digested meat more efficiently. The meat also moved faster through the stomach.

Many human-based studies have also found that kiwifruit aids digestion, reduces bloating and helps relieve constipation.

12. Ginger

Ginger has been a part of cooking and traditional medicine for thousands of years.

Some of ginger’s impressive health benefits may be attributed to its digestive enzymes.

Ginger contains the protease zingibain, which digests proteins into their building blocks. Zingibain is used commercially to make ginger milk curd, a popular Chinese dessert.

Unlike other proteases, it’s not often used to tenderize meats, as it has a short shelf life.

Food sitting in the stomach for too long is often thought to be the cause of indigestion.

Studies in healthy adults and those with indigestion show that ginger helped food move faster through the stomach by promoting contractions.

Animal studies have also shown that spices, including ginger, helped increase the body’s own production of digestive enzymes like amylases and lipases.

What’s more, ginger appears to be a promising treatment for nausea and vomiting.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/natural-digestive-enzymes

WARNING: This video contains images of cadavers but has some very important data on the “use it or lose it” theme.

https://www.gofitnow.com/the-fuzz-speech-pain-movement-massage/

Seems I have been doing it wrong. Not eating for 14-16 hours. Here’s the right way to do it!

https://news.usc.edu/135551/fasting-aging-dieting-and-when-you-should-eat-valter-longo/

This article has GREAT content but a severe drawback is that an extremely high level of understanding of genetics and biology is required to fully comprehend it without extensive use of the dictionary. In the first two sections I counted 17 words just for which off the top of my head I could not give an accurate definition. I commented on the article that if you are writing to communicate to the general public and not just biologists you would be well advised to either define the technical words used or keep the target audience in mind and phrase accordingly.

So here’s the synopsis.

The genes you inherit from your parents acount for only 10-16% (depending on whom you quote) of your health outcomes. Whether diet, lifestyle choices, environmental factors and toxins “turn on” or cause those genes to be expressed, is 84-90% of the deal.

…the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) states that genetics account for only 10% of disease, with the remaining 90% owing to environmental variables. An article published in the Public Library of Science One (PLoS One) entitled “Genetic factors are not the major causes of chronic diseases” echoes these claims, citing that chronic disease is only 16.4% genetic, and 84.6% environmental. These concepts make sense in light of research on the exposome. (Definition: The exposome encompasses the totality of human environmental (i.e. non-genetic) exposures from conception onwards, complementing the genome, first proposed in 2005 by a cancer epidemiologist. The cumulative measure of all the environmental insults an individual incurs during their life course that determines susceptibility to disease.)

For instance some heart drugs have been found to cause gene changes that lead to lupus.

Genes Might Load the Gun But Environment Pulls the Trigger

Pharmaceuticals, however, are not the only agents that can induce epigenetic disturbances. Whether you were born via vaginal birth or Cesarean section, breastfed or bottle-fed, raised with a pet in the house, or infected with certain childhood illnesses all influence your epigenetic expression. Whether you are sedentary, pray, smoke, mediate, do yoga, have an extensive network of social support or are alienated from your community—all of your lifestyle choices play into your risk for disease operating through mechanisms of epigenetics.

In delineating the totality of exposures to which an individual is subjected over their lifetime, the exposome can be subdivided into three overlapping and intertwined domains. One segment of the exposome called the internal environment is comprised of processes innate to the body which impinge on the cellular environment. This encompasses hormones and other cellular messengers, oxidative stress, inflammation, lipid peroxidation, bodily morphology, the gut microbiota, aging and biochemical stress.

Another portion of the exposome, the specific external environment, consists of exposures including pathogens, radiation, chemical contaminants and pollutants, and medical interventions, as well as dietary, lifestyle, and occupational elements.

At an even broader sociocultural and ecological level is the segment of the exposome called the general external environment, which may circumscribe factors such as psychological stress, socioeconomic status, geopolitical variables, educational attainment, urban or rural residence, and climate.

Transgenerational Inheritance of Epigenetic Change: Endocrine Disruptors Trigger Infertility in Future Generations

Scientists formerly speculated that epigenetic changes disappear with each new generation during the formation of sperm and ovum, and after fertilization. This theory was first challenged by research published in the journal Science which demonstrated that transient exposure of pregnant rats to the insecticide methoxychlor, an estrogenic compound, or the fungicide vinclozolin, an antiandrogenic compound, resulted in increased incidence of male infertility and decreased sperm production and viability in 90% of the males of four subsequent generations that were tracked.

Most notably, these reproductive effects were associated with derangements in DNA methylation patterns in the germ (sperm and eggs) line, suggesting that epigenetic changes are passed on to future generations. The authors concluded, “The ability of an environmental factor (for example, endocrine disruptor) to reprogram the germ line and to promote a transgenerational disease state has significant implications for evolutionary biology and disease etiology”. This may suggest that the endocrine-disrupting, fragrance-laden personal care products and commercial cleaning supplies to which we are all exposed may trigger fertility problems in multiple future generations.

Reactions to Toxins and Environmental Stressors Passed to Next Generation

…The study suggests that certain characteristics of the parental sensory environment experienced before conception can remodel the sensory nervous system and neuroanatomy in subsequently conceived generations…

…exposures to certain stressors such as starvation during the gestational period are associated with poor health outcomes for offspring. Women who undergo famine before conception of her offspring have been demonstrated to give birth to children with lower self-reported mental health and quality of life, for example…

http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/epigenetic-memories-are-passed-down-14-successive-generations-game-changing-resea