Nitric oxide formation via the reduction of nitrites and nitrates.
Ralt, D.
The Gertner Institute, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel
Medical Hypotheses, 2009, 73(5), 794-796
Abstract
A recent attribution of vegetables to human health stems from their effect on the gasotransmitter nitric oxide (NO). This commentary proposes that a major reason for this attribution is that vegetables are rich in nitrates. Recent research has shown that nitrites and nitrates are not only inert end-products of NO oxidation. In addition, they can be recycled back to bioactive NO and this pathway is an important alternative to the classical L-arginine-NO-synthase pathway.
Various chronic ailments, e.g. diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, are symptomatic of NO bioavailability. Because NO deficiency is metabolically complex, natural nitrate-rich nutrients, such as green leafy vegetables, can improve these chronic ailments via the alternative nitrate-NO pathway.
This commentary implies an added value for vegetables in enhancing health such as cardiac health and in lowering the risks of maladies such as diabetes.
Introduction
Fruit and vegetables rich diets has been associated with lower risk of chronic diseases including cancer and cardiovascular disease and provide beneficial effects that can be attributed to a variety of protective agents [1, 2, 3]. In this commentary, the therapeutic attributes of vegetables will be discussed mainly in terms of their nitrates and nitrites content as a source for nitric oxide (NO) [4, 5, 6, 7].
The past decade has witnessed a significant increase in the interest of biologists in NO. This highly reactive free radical, first considered only a noxious air pollutant, plays a vital role in many biological events including regulation of blood flow, immunity and neurotransmission [8].
Recent data demonstrate that NO is not only a paracrine substance. It has been shown that enzymatic generation of NO in the heart is capable of modulating remote physiological actions and cell signaling [9]. NO was also shown to affect the computational ability of the brain; it regulates information transmission across neurons [10]. Extensive data from studies on NO signals, on relaxation/stress processes and on health, supports a view of an NO net, serving as a body coordinator [11, 12].
The necessity of NO for body functions is suggested by the fact that its deficiency is correlated with various chronic ailments such as, obesity [13], diabetes [14], hypertension [15], pulmonary hypertension [16], osteoporosis [17] and old age [18]. Supplementing NO levels is helpful and thus 5-phosphodiesterase inhibitors (e.g. Viagra), have a potential protective role in chronic ailments as coronary artery disease [19, 20]. It is also not surprising that though helpful, the response rate to NO related drugs as Viagra is lower in diabetics [21].
The problematic nature of chronic ailments is the occurrence of an extended, not necessarily hazardous, condition (see the following elaboration on obesity). Thus, while temporary deficiency of NO may not pose a dramatic risk, a long term NO deficiency becomes hazardous.
NO bioavailability in the body depends on the rate of its synthesis and metabolism. Though arginine is a main precursor for the NO synthesis [22], it has lately been established that mammalian nitrate and nitrite reduction can also contribute to NO biogenesis [23, 24]. This commentary recommends an increase in consumption of nitrate-rich vegetables to prevent NO shortage and its consequential ailments. These nitrate-rich nutrients support health via reduction of nitrites and nitrates to NO [25]. Though beyond the scope of this commentary, it is worth mentioning that vegetable consumption has many nutritional benefits, these include supplementing precursors not only to NO but also to other gasotransmitters such as H2S [26, 27].
Discussion
This section is composed of 3 parts:
- Description of a chronic ailment (obesity) and its NO deficiency.
- Curing NO shortage via nitrates and nitrites supplementation.
- Nitrate rich vegetables indeed improve chronic ailments.
Obesity and NO deficiency
Obesity, which begins as simple overweight, over time becomes a malady correlated with ailments such as heart disease and diabetes [28]. NO deficiency may explain this pattern [29]. There are a number of studies that support this idea.
First, NO and citrulline are decreased in obese juveniles when compared to normal weight juveniles, and are negatively correlated with body weight. Arginine (the NO precursor) however, is increased in obese juveniles and is positively correlated with body weight [13]. Therefore, whereas low levels of NO are correlated with obesity,
it is not the lack of arginine that limits NO bioavailability.
Second, another study demonstrated that excess of fat in the body results in excess of the leptin hormone, which in turn, can lower the levels of bioavailable NO [30].
In addition, it is interesting to note that caloric restriction, without malnutrition, extends life span in a range of organisms [31] and that there is an NO link between caloric restriction and mitochondria [32].
Until the last century, obesity was a rare and impermanent condition and a transient lowered NO communication capacity was not necessarily unhealthy. Today, when obesity is mostly irreversible, prolonged inhibited NO bioavailability is hazardous and can account for the numerous maladies associated with obesity [28].
The reduction of nitrites and nitrates
Increasing the sources of NO, may therefore, contribute to the health of the obese even in the absence of losing weight. When arginine oxidation to NO is prohibited, alternative routes for NO production are effective - the reduction of nitrites and nitrates [33].
Nitrate and nitrite are important alternative sources of NO in especially, but not exclusively, hypoxic states [34]. Following are some examples; The intermittent hypoxia improved glucose tolerance [35]. Nitrite therapy augments ischemia-induced angiogenesis [36], nitrate reduction is emerging as a regulator of physiological functions and tissue responses to myocardial infarction or stroke [23] and brief elevations in plasma nitrite trigger a concerted cardioprotective response [37]. In addition to supplementation of NO compounds in acute situations, it is also effective in improving the urogenital system and skeletal health [38].
As suggested by Tamaki [39], dietary nitrite-derived NO generation may serve as a backup system when the NO synthase/L-arginine-dependent NO generation system is compromised.
Best Nitrite and Nitrate Food Sources
Some of the best nitrate-rich foods are lettuce, spinach, beetroot [6] and fruits such as pomegranates [40, 41]. Accumulating data shows that these foods improve various chronic ailments. Following are some examples; Beetroot reduces high blood pressure [42], green leafy vegetable consumption is linked to lower risk for diabetes in women [3], nitrate rich vegetables were shown to decrease the oxygen demand during exercise [43], pomegranate juice consumption by patients with carotid artery stenosis decreases carotid IMT and systolic blood pressure [44] and indeed NO produced from nitrite plays important roles in limiting post-ischemic tissue injury [45].
Because increasing substantially the daily consumption of vegetables is not simple [46, 47, 48], it seems worthwhile to spread the trend of drinking vegetable juices [49] when dealing with chronic ailments.
It is interesting to note that the Dunhuang scrolls dating to approximately 800 AD, suggested that nitrite and nitrate were used by the Chinese to relieve chest pain and reduce cold in the hands [50].
Conclusions
Regulation of NO function is showing itself to be a complex event that maladies are associated with its disruption.
Here, it is proposed that vegetables can at least partly, reverse these effects by increasing NO generation via nitrate and nitrite. This explains how encouragement of daily consumption of extra vegetables supports good health.
Vegetables can be considered a natural “drug” with sustained release of low-dose nitrite into the circulatory system, alternative source to the L-arginine pathway to NO.
List of abbreviations
NO - nitric oxide
IMT - intima-media thickness
References
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25. Jansson EA, Huang L, Malkey R, Govoni M, Nihlén C, Olsson A, Stensdotter M, Petersson J, Holm L, Weitzberg E, Lundberg JO: A mammalian functional nitrate reductase that regulates nitrite and nitric oxide homeostasis. Nat Chem Biol 2008, 4:411-417.
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27. Jacob C, Anwar A, Burkholz T: Perspective on recent developments on sulfur-containing agents and hydrogen sulfide signaling. Planta Med 2008, 74:1580-1592.
28. Bray GA, Wilson JF: In the clinic. Obesity. Ann Intern Med 2008, 149:ITC4-1-15.
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32. Guarente L: NO link between calorie restriction and mitochondria. Nat Chem Biol 2005, 1:355-356.
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37. Perlman DH, Bauer SM, Ashrafian H, Bryan NS, Garcia-Saura MF, Lim CC, Fernandez BO, Infusini G, McComb ME, Costello CE, Feelisch M: Mechanistic Insights Into Nitrite-Induced Cardioprotection Using an Integrated Metabonomic/Proteomic Approach. Circulation Research. 2009, Published online, February 19, 2009
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39. Kanematsu Y, Yamaguchi K, Ohnishi H, Motobayashi Y, Ishizawa K, Izawa Y, Kawazoe K, Kondo S, Kagami S, Tomita S, Tsuchiya K, Tamaki T: Dietary doses of nitrite restore the circulating nitric oxide level and improve renal injury in L-NAME-induced hypertensive rats. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 2008, 295:F1457-F1462.
40. de Nigris F, Balestrieri ML, Williams-Ignarro S, D'Armiento FP, Fiorito C, Ignarro LJ, Napoli C: The influence of pomegranate fruit extract in comparison to regular pomegranate juice and seed oil on nitric oxide and arterial function in obese Zucker rats. Nitric Oxide 2007, 17:50-54.
41. Rajfer J: Pomegranate Juice: Is It the New, All-Natural Phosphodiesterase Type 5 Inhibitor? Rev Urol 2008, 10:168–169.
42. Webb AJ, Patel N, Loukogeorgakis S, Okorie M, Aboud Z, Misra S, Rashid R, Miall P, Deanfield J, Benjamin N, MacAllister R, Hobbs AJ, Ahluwalia A: Acute blood pressure lowering, vasoprotective, and antiplatelet properties of dietary nitrate via bioconversion to nitrite. Hypertension 2008, 51:784-790.
43. Larsen FJ, Weitzberg E, Lundberg JO, Ekblom B: Effects of dietary nitrate on oxygen cost during exercise. Acta Physiol (Oxf) 2007, 191:59-66.
44. Aviram M, Rosenblat M, Gaitini D, Nitecki S, Hoffman A, Dornfeld L, Volkova N, Presser D, Attias J, Liker H, Hayek T: Pomegranate juice consumption for 3 years by patients with carotid artery stenosis reduces common carotid intima-media thickness, blood pressure and LDL oxidation. Clin Nutr 2004, 23:423-433.
45. Abe Y, Hines I, Zibari G, Grisham MB: Hepatocellular protection by nitric oxide or nitrite in ischemia and reperfusion injury. Arch Biochem Biophys 2008 Oct 12. [Epub ahead of print]
46. Dumbrell S, Mathai D: Getting young men to eat more fruit and vegetables: a qualitative investigation. Health Promot J Austr 2008, 19:216-221.
47. van Sluijs EM, Skidmore PM, Mwanza K, Jones AP, Callaghan AM, Ekelund U, Harrison F, Harvey I, Panter J, Wareham NJ, Cassidy A, Griffin SJ: Physical activity and dietary behaviour in a population-based sample of British 10-year old children: the SPEEDY study (Sport, Physical activity and Eating behaviour: Environmental Determinants in Young people).
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49. Keen C: Vegetable juice is an effective and acceptable way to meet DASH vegetable recommendations. In American Dietetic Association Food & Nutrition conference, 25-28 October 2008, Chicago.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-10/wsw-nss102308.php
50. Gladwin MT, Schechter AN, Kim-Shapiro DB, Patel RP, Hogg N, Shiva S, Cannon RO 3rd, Kelm M, Wink DA, Espey MG, Oldfield EH, Pluta RM, Freeman BA, Lancaster JR Jr, Feelisch M, Lundberg JO: The emerging biology of the nitrite anion. Nat Chem Biol 2005, 1:308-314.
- after publication relevant articles:
* Food sources of nitrates and nitrites: the physiologic context for potential health benefits
Am J Clin Nutr. 2009, 90(1), 1-10
* The University of Leicester team believe nitric oxide may change the way we think and hear.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8116194.stm
Nitroglycerin Bioactivation
http://www.jbc.org/cgi/content/abstract/284/30/19878
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090819125042.htm
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Saturday, July 5, 2008
A novel obese therapy - reversed (reduced) NO production
The two major topics that attract my scientific interest are obesity and the routes of NO -nitric oxide (the above links summarise my previous studies).
NO, as I have suggested, enabled the initial physiological communication of multicellular organisms and serves now as a support communication system in all living organisms.
It was thus no wonder for me to read the recent Austrian study, which showed that obesity reduces the bioavailability of NO. The studied obese juveniles revealed highly significant alterations in the NO pathway. NOX and citrulline were decreased in obese compared to normal weight juveniles and negatively correlated with body weight. Arginine was increased in obese juveniles and positively correlated with body weight. Is the arginine accumulation related to the arginine paradox? Or mainly to the inhibition of NOX synthesis?
Int J Obes 2008 32: 826-831
I would like to suggest that the decrease in NO bioavailability in the obese (as well as in diabetics or others) is the result of a “savings” strategy…Resources are directed from activeness to accumulation (fat) and lowering the “primordial” communication system may be associated with this lower physiological tempo.
This might remind also aging… and indeed aging is also associated with an impaired bioactivity of NO. It is no wonder that obesity and aging have a lot in common… See also the effect of adipose tissue reduction on lifespan.
This article is meant to point a fault in the obesity strategy (e.g., see below how smart is the Sirt1 startegy). It is true that the obese are trying to accumulate a reservoir for the future, but is it essential that they also lower the NO communication system?
I would try to explain such an evolutionary logic by suggesting that obesity was in the past (before our century) rare and impermanent and maybe a transient lowered communication capacity was even helpful…
Today when obesity is permanent, such prolonged inhibited communication is hazardous and might be the reason for the numerous maladies associated with obesity.
We could thus assume that enhancement of the NO resources might contribute to the health of the fat person even when they do not lose weight.
This reminds me of the resveratrol, found in red wine, which keeps obese mice healthy, and of course the SirT1 which regulates energy metabolism and responds to caloric restriction in mice. It does so smartly, by repressing UCP2 , or via promoting fat mobilization ...see also the recent PNAS Sirt1 article... as well as the new data on the essential CLOCK protein that regulates the body's circadian rhythms and works in balance with the Sirt1...
Is NO signaling in the biological clock, impaired in the obese?
Recent data form Denmark indeed show that human adipose tissue contains Sirt1 and the expression of Sirt1 can be regulated by calorie restriction just as in other species. Interesting... lean women had more than twofold higher Sirt1 expression in subcutaneous adipose tissue compared to obese women...Is this related to NO?
So what can we do to improve wellness in spite of obesity? or in other words, how can we improve the NO availability?
L-arginine supplementation does indeed improve insulin sensitivity and endothelial function in obese type 2 diabetic patients…However I want to mention that it was associated with higher postinfarction mortality… and moreover, arginine was anyway increased in obese juveniles...
I would like to suggest a novel wellness therapy; induction of the reverse route - NO formation via nitrites and nitrates… or maybe through citrulline who is also decreased with obesity.
Nitrate and nitrite are important alternative source of NO to the classical L-arginine-NO-synthase pathway, in particular (but not only) under hypoxic states.
Note that intermittent hypoxia indeed improved glucose tolerance… nitrite therapy indeed augments ischemia-induced angiogenesis... and a role for mammalian nitrate reduction in regulation of nitrite and NO homeostasis as well as: Human endothelial cells bioactivate organic nitrates to nitric oxide.
Hypoxia can also assist wellness via preventing the producion of the toxic peroxynitrite...
It is interesting to note that documents (Dunhuang scrolls) dating to approximately 800 AD, suggested that nitrite and nitrate were used by the Chinese to relieve heart pains and cold in the hands.
I am a cautious person and thus I tend to recommend mainly wise nutrition (rather than food additives) and physical activity... please also consult your physician before applying any measure.
It is rather obvious that we should recommend nitrate-rich vegetables such as spinach, lettuce, radishes or beetroot or fruits like pomegranate.
Nitrate rich vegeatbles such as beetroot indeed reduces blood pressure ... in another experiment it was shown that green leafy vegetable consumption was linked to lower risk for diabetes in women and in another it was shown to decrease the oxygen demand during exercise.
We could also recommend Red wine, which (besides its other qualities, such as its antioxidants) was shown to promote the reduction of nitrite to NO.
Small amounts of polyphenol-rich dark chocolate improved formation of nitric oxide.
On Viagra we could talk as well, but please be moderate…
As for physical activity, a rather hypoxic is the body building…I wonder if my usual recommendation for body building (obesity, diabetes or old age) contributes to this reverse NO formation as well and thus makes this type of physical activity a major contributor to wellness.
NO, as I have suggested, enabled the initial physiological communication of multicellular organisms and serves now as a support communication system in all living organisms.
It was thus no wonder for me to read the recent Austrian study, which showed that obesity reduces the bioavailability of NO. The studied obese juveniles revealed highly significant alterations in the NO pathway. NOX and citrulline were decreased in obese compared to normal weight juveniles and negatively correlated with body weight. Arginine was increased in obese juveniles and positively correlated with body weight. Is the arginine accumulation related to the arginine paradox? Or mainly to the inhibition of NOX synthesis?
Int J Obes 2008 32: 826-831
I would like to suggest that the decrease in NO bioavailability in the obese (as well as in diabetics or others) is the result of a “savings” strategy…Resources are directed from activeness to accumulation (fat) and lowering the “primordial” communication system may be associated with this lower physiological tempo.
This might remind also aging… and indeed aging is also associated with an impaired bioactivity of NO. It is no wonder that obesity and aging have a lot in common… See also the effect of adipose tissue reduction on lifespan.
This article is meant to point a fault in the obesity strategy (e.g., see below how smart is the Sirt1 startegy). It is true that the obese are trying to accumulate a reservoir for the future, but is it essential that they also lower the NO communication system?
I would try to explain such an evolutionary logic by suggesting that obesity was in the past (before our century) rare and impermanent and maybe a transient lowered communication capacity was even helpful…
Today when obesity is permanent, such prolonged inhibited communication is hazardous and might be the reason for the numerous maladies associated with obesity.
We could thus assume that enhancement of the NO resources might contribute to the health of the fat person even when they do not lose weight.
This reminds me of the resveratrol, found in red wine, which keeps obese mice healthy, and of course the SirT1 which regulates energy metabolism and responds to caloric restriction in mice. It does so smartly, by repressing UCP2 , or via promoting fat mobilization ...see also the recent PNAS Sirt1 article... as well as the new data on the essential CLOCK protein that regulates the body's circadian rhythms and works in balance with the Sirt1...
Is NO signaling in the biological clock, impaired in the obese?
Recent data form Denmark indeed show that human adipose tissue contains Sirt1 and the expression of Sirt1 can be regulated by calorie restriction just as in other species. Interesting... lean women had more than twofold higher Sirt1 expression in subcutaneous adipose tissue compared to obese women...Is this related to NO?
So what can we do to improve wellness in spite of obesity? or in other words, how can we improve the NO availability?
L-arginine supplementation does indeed improve insulin sensitivity and endothelial function in obese type 2 diabetic patients…However I want to mention that it was associated with higher postinfarction mortality… and moreover, arginine was anyway increased in obese juveniles...
I would like to suggest a novel wellness therapy; induction of the reverse route - NO formation via nitrites and nitrates… or maybe through citrulline who is also decreased with obesity.
Nitrate and nitrite are important alternative source of NO to the classical L-arginine-NO-synthase pathway, in particular (but not only) under hypoxic states.
Note that intermittent hypoxia indeed improved glucose tolerance… nitrite therapy indeed augments ischemia-induced angiogenesis... and a role for mammalian nitrate reduction in regulation of nitrite and NO homeostasis as well as: Human endothelial cells bioactivate organic nitrates to nitric oxide.
Hypoxia can also assist wellness via preventing the producion of the toxic peroxynitrite...
It is interesting to note that documents (Dunhuang scrolls) dating to approximately 800 AD, suggested that nitrite and nitrate were used by the Chinese to relieve heart pains and cold in the hands.
I am a cautious person and thus I tend to recommend mainly wise nutrition (rather than food additives) and physical activity... please also consult your physician before applying any measure.
It is rather obvious that we should recommend nitrate-rich vegetables such as spinach, lettuce, radishes or beetroot or fruits like pomegranate.
Nitrate rich vegeatbles such as beetroot indeed reduces blood pressure ... in another experiment it was shown that green leafy vegetable consumption was linked to lower risk for diabetes in women and in another it was shown to decrease the oxygen demand during exercise.
We could also recommend Red wine, which (besides its other qualities, such as its antioxidants) was shown to promote the reduction of nitrite to NO.
Small amounts of polyphenol-rich dark chocolate improved formation of nitric oxide.
On Viagra we could talk as well, but please be moderate…
As for physical activity, a rather hypoxic is the body building…I wonder if my usual recommendation for body building (obesity, diabetes or old age) contributes to this reverse NO formation as well and thus makes this type of physical activity a major contributor to wellness.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Two urges to eat
As a biologist, in a lifetime attempt to lose weight, I have always wondered about the fascinating nature of eating. I will begin with a general overview on eating and later discuss our conscious part in it.
To physically live, we need two major ingredients - food and breath. Comparing the utilization of these two assets seems different; the eating appears to be volitional while continuous breathing feels essential. However, more accurate observation reveals that they are in principle rather similar; both have a volitional aspect and an essential aspect. However, they differ in their proportions. If we decide to stop breathing it will take at most a few minutes before we are naturally forced to restart breathing. When we decide to stop eating it takes much longer before we finally eat, regardless of our decision. The evolutionary rationale for this type of behavior is easy to understand. Oxygen is almost always present in our surrounding air and it is unnecessary to develop oxygen reserves in our body, therefore we need to breath continuously. Food on the other hand has not always been available, making it crucial to develop fat reserves and making it unnecessary to eat all the time.
It is interesting to watch dolphins who, like us, breathe air but live in the sea where air is not available. They manage air more like we manage food, dolphins decide when to breath and they can also hold their breath for long periods of time.
It is no wonder that dolphin models are useful in yoga, as yoga is based greatly on breathing.
It is not coincidental that I have introduced yoga here. Evolution has led us to develop both eating and breathing with major autonomous (non-voluntary) regulators. It can therefore be concluded that if we wish to control our eating, we need to develop “yoga type” dexterities.
This also explains why most diets fail, as well as diet pills usage (after 2-3 years). Note that the mammalian energy interface (regulating our eating) is related to about 25% (in mice) of the genes, thus trying to skirt it is pointless. Genes are associated with the lean component of our body mass as well. The main issue is that obesity is a very complex disposition, e.g. a core network module in humans and mice was identified that is enriched for genes involved in the inflammatory and immune response and has been found to be causally associated to obesity-related traits.
I will clarify, how long term effects on our nutrition, requires taking into account the bodily holistic physiological goals as well as its intricacy. Furthermore, affecting these goals intelligently (e.g. good night sleep preferably without headaches, or via physical activity, preferably with music) can lead automatically to smart eating habits and weight loss, without too many struggles. Overeating, rather than the obesity it causes, is the trigger for developing metabolic syndrome.
Note that these special efforts are essential only at our wealthy times, e.g. when Cuba was hit with serious food shortage and people had to walk or cycle wherever they needed to go, health was drastically improved...(today, with better economics it is worse again).
The major point I want to emphasize here is that the need to eat, as well as our satiety, are regulated by two unrelated urges. One is our daily energy expenditure and the other is the need to accumulate energy for the future (our bodily worry).
Which urge we choose to fill, depends on our genetics and condition.
If our body feels that there is no need to worry, we will be satiated once we eat approximately the averaged total energy that we expend daily. This was nicely demonstrated when healthy people were asked to drink various caloric shakes and they drank more or less to reach the same caloric total regardless of the shake.
Recently, scientists from Chicago have demonstrated how the brain integrate information from multiple domains and assesses hunger or satiety. We also have mechanisms to evaluate the caloric value of our foods. Scientists from Duke university have shown that calorie-rich nutrients can directly influence brain reward circuits that control food intake independently of palatability or functional taste transduction. Recently it was shown that the ghrelin hormone can change how we see and smell food, there is no doubt that multiple factors affect our satiety.
On the other hand, if our body feels “worried” (economically not emotionally), the second urge to eat will be initiated, an urge that will subside only when the worry disappears.
Note the multiple reasons for this bodily worry (detailed later); if indeed a quarter of the genes are associated with our weight, it is no wonder that so many reasons are relevant.
The obesity related second urge is manifested not only via the unending urge to eat, but also via bodily "saving policy" [see the top sketch, no water (=calories) is wasted]. Is obesity associated with lower body temperatures?
To physically live, we need two major ingredients - food and breath. Comparing the utilization of these two assets seems different; the eating appears to be volitional while continuous breathing feels essential. However, more accurate observation reveals that they are in principle rather similar; both have a volitional aspect and an essential aspect. However, they differ in their proportions. If we decide to stop breathing it will take at most a few minutes before we are naturally forced to restart breathing. When we decide to stop eating it takes much longer before we finally eat, regardless of our decision. The evolutionary rationale for this type of behavior is easy to understand. Oxygen is almost always present in our surrounding air and it is unnecessary to develop oxygen reserves in our body, therefore we need to breath continuously. Food on the other hand has not always been available, making it crucial to develop fat reserves and making it unnecessary to eat all the time.
It is interesting to watch dolphins who, like us, breathe air but live in the sea where air is not available. They manage air more like we manage food, dolphins decide when to breath and they can also hold their breath for long periods of time.
It is no wonder that dolphin models are useful in yoga, as yoga is based greatly on breathing.
It is not coincidental that I have introduced yoga here. Evolution has led us to develop both eating and breathing with major autonomous (non-voluntary) regulators. It can therefore be concluded that if we wish to control our eating, we need to develop “yoga type” dexterities.
This also explains why most diets fail, as well as diet pills usage (after 2-3 years). Note that the mammalian energy interface (regulating our eating) is related to about 25% (in mice) of the genes, thus trying to skirt it is pointless. Genes are associated with the lean component of our body mass as well. The main issue is that obesity is a very complex disposition, e.g. a core network module in humans and mice was identified that is enriched for genes involved in the inflammatory and immune response and has been found to be causally associated to obesity-related traits.
I will clarify, how long term effects on our nutrition, requires taking into account the bodily holistic physiological goals as well as its intricacy. Furthermore, affecting these goals intelligently (e.g. good night sleep preferably without headaches, or via physical activity, preferably with music) can lead automatically to smart eating habits and weight loss, without too many struggles. Overeating, rather than the obesity it causes, is the trigger for developing metabolic syndrome.
Note that these special efforts are essential only at our wealthy times, e.g. when Cuba was hit with serious food shortage and people had to walk or cycle wherever they needed to go, health was drastically improved...(today, with better economics it is worse again).
The major point I want to emphasize here is that the need to eat, as well as our satiety, are regulated by two unrelated urges. One is our daily energy expenditure and the other is the need to accumulate energy for the future (our bodily worry).
Which urge we choose to fill, depends on our genetics and condition.
If our body feels that there is no need to worry, we will be satiated once we eat approximately the averaged total energy that we expend daily. This was nicely demonstrated when healthy people were asked to drink various caloric shakes and they drank more or less to reach the same caloric total regardless of the shake.
Recently, scientists from Chicago have demonstrated how the brain integrate information from multiple domains and assesses hunger or satiety. We also have mechanisms to evaluate the caloric value of our foods. Scientists from Duke university have shown that calorie-rich nutrients can directly influence brain reward circuits that control food intake independently of palatability or functional taste transduction. Recently it was shown that the ghrelin hormone can change how we see and smell food, there is no doubt that multiple factors affect our satiety.
On the other hand, if our body feels “worried” (economically not emotionally), the second urge to eat will be initiated, an urge that will subside only when the worry disappears.
Note the multiple reasons for this bodily worry (detailed later); if indeed a quarter of the genes are associated with our weight, it is no wonder that so many reasons are relevant.
The obesity related second urge is manifested not only via the unending urge to eat, but also via bodily "saving policy" [see the top sketch, no water (=calories) is wasted]. Is obesity associated with lower body temperatures?
This obesity related policy prohibits dealing with health issues, promotes no-exercise and leads as much energy as possible to the fat storage. It naturally explains why obesity is associated with so many maladies (e.g. The stress cytokine IL-6, induces obesity related insulin resistance). At old age this "saving policy" is manifested via sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass) which is frequently associated with fat accumulation and varoius disorderly conditions (via renin-angiotensin system?).
What was once a smart temporary strategy to overcome food deficiency, more recently has become a steady limiting strategy that causes the fat to become fatter and sicker. Even obese children find food more reinforcing than do nonoverweight children.
It is, therefore, easy to conclude why obese people can/want to consistently eat more, why they eat quickly (to eat more per time), why satiation is impaired, why they stop eating only when they are full, why they eat more on weekends or when served with smaller bags of potato chips , why they behave differently at buffets, why they stop eating due to technical reasons (e.g. no food left on the table), why there is no relationship between eating pattern and sensations of hunger or fullness and thus why recommending healthy eating is usually futile.
A note for the non-obese reader - It will be difficult for the non-obese to empathize with the obesity behaviors as he is mainly acquainted with the first eating urge. It is not a problem for the non-obese to meet his energy needs and thus to follow healthy nutrition guidelines . The obese, in comparison, is eating due to the second urge and thus is rarely satiated or filling his energy needs as most energy is reffered to storage. For a laugh (and to better understand) see this "getting fat" youtube.
Some of the reasons for bodily worry (besides the trivial reason of lack of food):
* Lack of physical activity (or muscles...) - it raises the question of why didn’t we move (not enough energy?) and possibly assumes that eating might supplement the energy required for movements. Note that exercising reduces the urge to eat... or also another study from Scotland...as well as affects our mitochondrial coupling. Indeed muscular strength is inversely and independently associated with death in men.
* Overeating - Digestion of the eaten food, requires abundance of efforts. Thus overeating will cause temporary lack of attention from most other bodily functions (we might feel tired). This evolutionary smart mechanism that was ideal when dealing with sporadic food abundance, is hazardous today when food abundance is constant. It also may explains why fasting is healthy; all the digestive effort can be forwarded to other essential functions. This btw gives a sense of abundance and I will speculate and suggest that thus it does not promote bodily worry. It is no wonder that fasting has become a "hot" issue, e.g. Fasting-Induced Hormone FGF21. Note that in contrast to fasting, diet foods lead to obesity as they promote its economic Saving policy.
What was once a smart temporary strategy to overcome food deficiency, more recently has become a steady limiting strategy that causes the fat to become fatter and sicker. Even obese children find food more reinforcing than do nonoverweight children.
It is, therefore, easy to conclude why obese people can/want to consistently eat more, why they eat quickly (to eat more per time), why satiation is impaired, why they stop eating only when they are full, why they eat more on weekends or when served with smaller bags of potato chips , why they behave differently at buffets, why they stop eating due to technical reasons (e.g. no food left on the table), why there is no relationship between eating pattern and sensations of hunger or fullness and thus why recommending healthy eating is usually futile.
A note for the non-obese reader - It will be difficult for the non-obese to empathize with the obesity behaviors as he is mainly acquainted with the first eating urge. It is not a problem for the non-obese to meet his energy needs and thus to follow healthy nutrition guidelines . The obese, in comparison, is eating due to the second urge and thus is rarely satiated or filling his energy needs as most energy is reffered to storage. For a laugh (and to better understand) see this "getting fat" youtube.
Some of the reasons for bodily worry (besides the trivial reason of lack of food):
* Lack of physical activity (or muscles...) - it raises the question of why didn’t we move (not enough energy?) and possibly assumes that eating might supplement the energy required for movements. Note that exercising reduces the urge to eat... or also another study from Scotland...as well as affects our mitochondrial coupling. Indeed muscular strength is inversely and independently associated with death in men.
* Overeating - Digestion of the eaten food, requires abundance of efforts. Thus overeating will cause temporary lack of attention from most other bodily functions (we might feel tired). This evolutionary smart mechanism that was ideal when dealing with sporadic food abundance, is hazardous today when food abundance is constant. It also may explains why fasting is healthy; all the digestive effort can be forwarded to other essential functions. This btw gives a sense of abundance and I will speculate and suggest that thus it does not promote bodily worry. It is no wonder that fasting has become a "hot" issue, e.g. Fasting-Induced Hormone FGF21. Note that in contrast to fasting, diet foods lead to obesity as they promote its economic Saving policy.
See also how energy restriction induces extension of life span in obese but not in lean mice.
* "Thinner" fat cells metabolism (results of diets). Fat cells that have lost their stored fat, induce “catch-up” processes which promote the second urge of eating. Note how manipulating fat cells can increase the body’s metabolism. Also known, visceral adipose tissue promotes obesity.
* Stress, ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and other psychological disturbances (e.g. depression) are associated with obesity. Note that stress is a complex issue, I have tried to define "muscle/body worry" vs. "emotional worry" as different stress "shippers" and to which we do not respond equally. e.g., “muscle/body worry” promotes eating while “emotional worry” represses eating.
I propose to interpret the association between emotional stress and overeating as a decreasing ability to control overeating and not as if the emotional-stress promotes overeating. Indeed, obesity (initial increased overeating) is associates with the emotional-stress over eating, while leanness is more likely to be associates with eating reluctance under stress.
* Lack of sleep is also associated with obesity... btw, singing could help a silent night...
and not to mention (here, as the article is already too long...) lack of love , body image or mind-body attitude.
* "Thinner" fat cells metabolism (results of diets). Fat cells that have lost their stored fat, induce “catch-up” processes which promote the second urge of eating. Note how manipulating fat cells can increase the body’s metabolism. Also known, visceral adipose tissue promotes obesity.
* Stress, ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and other psychological disturbances (e.g. depression) are associated with obesity. Note that stress is a complex issue, I have tried to define "muscle/body worry" vs. "emotional worry" as different stress "shippers" and to which we do not respond equally. e.g., “muscle/body worry” promotes eating while “emotional worry” represses eating.
I propose to interpret the association between emotional stress and overeating as a decreasing ability to control overeating and not as if the emotional-stress promotes overeating. Indeed, obesity (initial increased overeating) is associates with the emotional-stress over eating, while leanness is more likely to be associates with eating reluctance under stress.
* Lack of sleep is also associated with obesity... btw, singing could help a silent night...
and not to mention (here, as the article is already too long...) lack of love , body image or mind-body attitude.
and of course other reasons that you might want to add…
Final words
Be smart if you wish to lose weight… rid yourself of your bodily worry ...
Don’t Muscle Worry, Be Happy. aps Observer, 21(4), April, 2008
Final words
Be smart if you wish to lose weight… rid yourself of your bodily worry ...
Don’t Muscle Worry, Be Happy. aps Observer, 21(4), April, 2008
visit the CURE TOGETHER site:
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Is nitric oxide an archaic communication signal?
Do you think of our primordial language? or, not even a language just an initial communication system…in those early days with groups of cells launching the transition from unicellular to multicellular organisms ~ a giga years ago…
Contemplating for a long time on the nitric oxide (NO) netting system, has led me to suggest that maybe it was compounds like NO which enabled such initial communication. The advantage of a radical NO net as a communication tool is its simplicity and availability, and its drawback is its vulnerability and reactivity.
What triggered this blog was the study published by the Geobiology Research Group of the Virginia Tech. They have discussed the 2 explosive evolutionary events which shaped the early history of multicellular life, and I thought whether it was gases like NO or CO which enabled the communication and organization of multicellularity. Such compounds are major signals at our times and they were even more predominant in the prehistoric days when life forms were simpler and less diverse.
The presence and functions of NO in the animal, vegetative or microbial kingdoms are well documented. In an historical review, it was shown that NO is indeed an archaic molecule, biologically functioning in every living organism. It is not difficult to understand its abundance and essentiality, especially prior to the evolution of the biological nitrogen fixation. Nitrogen is an essential element for life and is often a limiting nutrient. As most nitrogen is locked in the stable form, N2, in the atmosphere, processes that can fix N2 into biologically available forms control the supply of nitrogen for organisms. On the early Earth, nitrogen is thought to have been fixed abiotically, as NO was formed during lightning discharge.
In a recent study, the functions of NO in the developing circulatory system were expanded, NO is also important for vessel formation and tone.
While discussing these issues with Prof. Xiao from the Virginia Tech, he has suggested that the modern analogs for the early multicellular organisms would be sponges and cnidarians, and I guess it would be very illuminating to study the effects of NO on their social behavior. Any suggestions?
If indeed the NO net is so ancient, it was functioning before the evolution of the brain and senses. This opens a novel point of view for a current communication system, operating unrelated to emotions or mind, pls read the Viagra blog. Is it part of what we attribute to alternative communication routes? mysticism? holism?
On nitric oxide signaling, metamorphosis, and the evolution of biphasic life cycles
Evol Dev., 2003 Sep-Oct;5(5):542-50
A hypothesis about cellular signaling with nitric oxide in the earliest life forms in evolution
Free Radic Biol Med. 2009 May 9.
Contemplating for a long time on the nitric oxide (NO) netting system, has led me to suggest that maybe it was compounds like NO which enabled such initial communication. The advantage of a radical NO net as a communication tool is its simplicity and availability, and its drawback is its vulnerability and reactivity.
What triggered this blog was the study published by the Geobiology Research Group of the Virginia Tech. They have discussed the 2 explosive evolutionary events which shaped the early history of multicellular life, and I thought whether it was gases like NO or CO which enabled the communication and organization of multicellularity. Such compounds are major signals at our times and they were even more predominant in the prehistoric days when life forms were simpler and less diverse.
The presence and functions of NO in the animal, vegetative or microbial kingdoms are well documented. In an historical review, it was shown that NO is indeed an archaic molecule, biologically functioning in every living organism. It is not difficult to understand its abundance and essentiality, especially prior to the evolution of the biological nitrogen fixation. Nitrogen is an essential element for life and is often a limiting nutrient. As most nitrogen is locked in the stable form, N2, in the atmosphere, processes that can fix N2 into biologically available forms control the supply of nitrogen for organisms. On the early Earth, nitrogen is thought to have been fixed abiotically, as NO was formed during lightning discharge.
In a recent study, the functions of NO in the developing circulatory system were expanded, NO is also important for vessel formation and tone.
While discussing these issues with Prof. Xiao from the Virginia Tech, he has suggested that the modern analogs for the early multicellular organisms would be sponges and cnidarians, and I guess it would be very illuminating to study the effects of NO on their social behavior. Any suggestions?
If indeed the NO net is so ancient, it was functioning before the evolution of the brain and senses. This opens a novel point of view for a current communication system, operating unrelated to emotions or mind, pls read the Viagra blog. Is it part of what we attribute to alternative communication routes? mysticism? holism?
On nitric oxide signaling, metamorphosis, and the evolution of biphasic life cycles
Evol Dev., 2003 Sep-Oct;5(5):542-50
A hypothesis about cellular signaling with nitric oxide in the earliest life forms in evolution
Free Radic Biol Med. 2009 May 9.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Viagra - NO see, NO hear
After discussing the blindness risk, the FDA has decided to caution from the potential risk of sudden hearing loss and even brief amnesia associated with drugs like Cialis, Levitra, and Viagra. I would like to suggest a simple explanation to why do we prefer not to see or not to hear when we use those beneficiary drugs un-smartly.
Recently I have published an article suggesting that an intercellular communication network coordinates the various bodily functions. Radical gases like nitric oxide (NO) are signals in this net and its usability affects health and indicates wellness.
From this netting point of view, stress is the sense of flow interruption or blockage of the information stream. Such flow interruption affects also physiological functions and can explain the association between stress and many ailments.
Data were presented to demonstrate that NO can be a potential stimulus in such nets and explain its multi-factorial role in health.
It was suggested that netting is a prerequisite route of wellness, enabling bodily autonomous managerial decisions.
This vital diffusive NO network is extremely labile and potentially could contain the interplay of consciousness and unconsciousness. It may be effected by increasing the signals, e.g. via drugs like Viagra or by reducing the noise via activities such as yoga or guided imagery
Viagra can enhance the NO resultant cGMP by lowering its breakup rate and indeed was associated not only with better male sexuality but also with improved heart functions, urinary tract symptoms, pulmonary hypertension, jet leg and more…
So where is the pitfall? Internal information crisis…
As Linda Stone stated we are facing wealth of opportunities, as we are not willing to give some of it up, we are in a permanent crisis.
Viagra indeed can help us in dealing with so much data, by increasing the signal over the noise. However, if we abuse its use by trying to process with it, more and more information, we could "bombard" our inner communication system which would collapse and with no other vent, would try to block further data entry. More is not necessarily better; even the cellular phone use, meant to improve family communication, is associated with increased family distress.
Our two major bodily data admission routes are seeing and hearing and these are the two reported dangers of Viagra - blindness and hearing loss. Ponder on what do we do when we are tired from our daily duties, we want to close our eyes in a quiet place...seeing and hearing... or even forget (transient amnesia)...
What can be done? letting go...
I love to mention the Chinese philosopher Lau-Tsu, who wrote in The Tao te Ching, more than two thousands years ago, that the world is ruled by letting things take their course, and cannot be controlled through interference…
Recently I have published an article suggesting that an intercellular communication network coordinates the various bodily functions. Radical gases like nitric oxide (NO) are signals in this net and its usability affects health and indicates wellness.
From this netting point of view, stress is the sense of flow interruption or blockage of the information stream. Such flow interruption affects also physiological functions and can explain the association between stress and many ailments.
Data were presented to demonstrate that NO can be a potential stimulus in such nets and explain its multi-factorial role in health.
It was suggested that netting is a prerequisite route of wellness, enabling bodily autonomous managerial decisions.
This vital diffusive NO network is extremely labile and potentially could contain the interplay of consciousness and unconsciousness. It may be effected by increasing the signals, e.g. via drugs like Viagra or by reducing the noise via activities such as yoga or guided imagery
Viagra can enhance the NO resultant cGMP by lowering its breakup rate and indeed was associated not only with better male sexuality but also with improved heart functions, urinary tract symptoms, pulmonary hypertension, jet leg and more…
So where is the pitfall? Internal information crisis…
As Linda Stone stated we are facing wealth of opportunities, as we are not willing to give some of it up, we are in a permanent crisis.
Viagra indeed can help us in dealing with so much data, by increasing the signal over the noise. However, if we abuse its use by trying to process with it, more and more information, we could "bombard" our inner communication system which would collapse and with no other vent, would try to block further data entry. More is not necessarily better; even the cellular phone use, meant to improve family communication, is associated with increased family distress.
Our two major bodily data admission routes are seeing and hearing and these are the two reported dangers of Viagra - blindness and hearing loss. Ponder on what do we do when we are tired from our daily duties, we want to close our eyes in a quiet place...seeing and hearing... or even forget (transient amnesia)...
What can be done? letting go...
I love to mention the Chinese philosopher Lau-Tsu, who wrote in The Tao te Ching, more than two thousands years ago, that the world is ruled by letting things take their course, and cannot be controlled through interference…
Monday, October 1, 2007
The Muscle-Fat Duel
I have written an OpEd column for the Ivanhoe wellness channel, on my approach to the ever-widening obesity problem. Please read it, especially if you have any overweight children... and comment...
http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=17112
http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=17112
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Nitric oxide (NO) is everywhere
The past decade has witnessed an explosion in the interest of biologists in the gas nitric oxide (NO). This highly reactive free radical, first considered only a noxious air pollutant, is believed to play a vital role in many biological events including regulation of blood flow, immunity, and neurotransmission. Almost every cell and physiological parameter in our body is modulated by NO.
A major issue of our times is the stress so common to our affluent society. Vast data from studies on NO signals, on relaxation/stress processes and on health, supports a novel look of an NO net serving as a coordinator in the body. Such coordination would be essential for health, and interference in it can be the root of stress. I have recently proposed that NO represents an alternative communication system in the body and I am looking for NO "fans" to discuss current issues on this matter.
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1998
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1998/illpres/
The wellness solution
http://www.uthouston.edu/Media/newsreleases/nr2007/murad_book.html
A major issue of our times is the stress so common to our affluent society. Vast data from studies on NO signals, on relaxation/stress processes and on health, supports a novel look of an NO net serving as a coordinator in the body. Such coordination would be essential for health, and interference in it can be the root of stress. I have recently proposed that NO represents an alternative communication system in the body and I am looking for NO "fans" to discuss current issues on this matter.
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1998
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1998/illpres/
The wellness solution
http://www.uthouston.edu/Media/newsreleases/nr2007/murad_book.html
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