Phytoestrogens. Phytoestrogens are plant-derived xenoestrogens (see estrogen) not generated within the endocrine system but consumed by eating phytoestrogenic plants. Also called "dietary estrogens", they are a diverse group of naturally occurring nonsteroidal plant compounds that, because of their structural similarity with estradiol (17-β-estradiol), have the ability to cause estrogenic or/and antiestrogenic effects,[1] by sitting in and blocking receptor sites against estrogen.[2] Chemical structures of the most common phytoestrogens found in plants (top and middle) compared with estrogen (bottom) found in animals. Their name comes from the Greek phyto ("plant") and estrogen, the hormone which gives fertility to female mammals.
The word "estrus" - Greek οίστρος - means "sexual desire", and "gene" - Greek γόνο - is "to generate". It has been proposed that plants use phytoestrogens as part of their natural defence against the overpopulation of herbivore animals by controlling male fertility.[3][4] Paul Stamets: Lion's Mane: A Mushroom That Improves Your Memory and Mood? Mushrooms provide a vast array of potential medicinal compounds.
Many mushrooms — such as portobello, oyster, reishi and maitake — are well-known for these properties, but the lion’s mane mushroom, in particular, has drawn the attention of researchers for its notable nerve-regenerative properties. Lion’s mane mushrooms are not your classic looking cap-and-stem variety. These globular-shaped mushrooms sport cascading teeth-like spines rather than the more common gills. From these spines, white spores emerge. Lion’s mane mushrooms also have other common names: sheep’s head, bear’s head and the Japanese yamabushitake. I like the clever name “pom pom blanc” — a reference to their resemblance to the white pom-poms cheerleaders use. The Latin name for lion’s mane is Hericium erinaceus; both names mean “hedgehog Lion’s mane mushrooms are increasingly sold by gourmet food chains. Lion’s mane mushrooms are increasingly studied for their neuroprotective effects.
Is this data conclusive thus far? Resources - Free Tools: Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine. Do you know the glycemic load of your daily meals? With this Glycemic Load tool, you can estimate the GL of your own and your patients' diets. Begin by building your own typical day's meals. Drag food items from the food selector on the left to the tray area on the right. Then consider these questions: Did your daily total exceed the target GL of 100 or less? Glycemic response is a complex interplay of food chemistry and the body's biochemistry. How much sodium is in a typical American diet? Use the drop-down menu below the salt shaker to choose either a normal diet or a restricted-sodium (for hypertensive patient) diet. Drag foods from the food selector at the bottom to the meal timeline. You can remove a food by clicking the red X after the food item. Dietary Reference Intake. The Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) is a system of nutrition recommendations from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the U.S.
National Academy of Sciences. The DRI system is used by both the United States and Canada and is intended for the general public and health professionals. Applications include: Composition of diets for schools, prisons, hospitals or nursing homesIndustries developing new food stuffsHealthcare policy makers and public health officials The DRI was introduced in 1997 in order to broaden the existing guidelines known as Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs). The DRI values are not currently used in nutrition labeling, where the older Reference Daily Intakes are still used.
History[edit] The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) was developed during World War II by Lydia J. The Food and Nutrition Board subsequently revised the RDAs every five to ten years. Current recommendations[edit] The current Dietary Reference Intake recommendation is composed of:[2] Macronutrients[edit] Six Basic Nutrients. 1. Carbohydrates Carbohydrates can be grouped into two categories: simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates are sugars whereas complex carbohydrates consist of starch and dietary fibre.
Carbohydrate provides about 4 kcal (kcal = kilocalories = Calories) per gram (except for fibre) and is the energy that is used first to fuel muscles and the brain. Soluble fibre (fruits, legumes, nuts, seeds, brown rice, and oat, barley and rice brans) lowers blood cholesterol and helps to control blood sugar levels while providing very little energy. 2. Protein from food is broken down into amino acids by the digestive system. 3. The fat in food includes a mixture of saturated and unsaturated fat. 4. Vitamins help to regulate chemical reactions in the body. 5. Minerals are components of foods that are involved in many body functions. 6.
Water is a vital nutrient for good health. Next Previous Return to menu. Carbohydrate. A carbohydrate is a biological molecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen:oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water); in other words, with the empirical formula Cm(H2O)n (where m could be different from n).[1] Some exceptions exist; for example, deoxyribose, a sugar component of DNA,[2] has the empirical formula C5H10O4.[3] Carbohydrates are technically hydrates of carbon;[4] structurally it is more accurate to view them as polyhydroxy aldehydes and ketones.[5] The term is most common in biochemistry, where it is a synonym of saccharide, a group that includes sugars, starch, and cellulose.
The saccharides are divided into four chemical groups: monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides. Carbohydrates perform numerous roles in living organisms. Polysaccharides serve for the storage of energy (e.g., starch and glycogen) and as structural components (e.g., cellulose in plants and chitin in arthropods). [edit] Protein. Once formed, proteins only exist for a certain period of time and are then degraded and recycled by the cell's machinery through the process of protein turnover. A protein's lifespan is measured in terms of its half-life and covers a wide range. They can exist for minutes or years with an average lifespan of 1–2 days in mammalian cells.
Abnormal and or misfolded proteins are degraded more rapidly either due to being targeted for destruction or due to being unstable. Biochemistry Chemical structure of the peptide bond (bottom) and the three-dimensional structure of a peptide bond between an alanine and an adjacent amino acid (top/inset) Most proteins consist of linear polymers built from series of up to 20 different L-α-amino acids. All proteinogenic amino acids possess common structural features, including an α-carbon to which an amino group, a carboxyl group, and a variable side chain are bonded. Synthesis Biosynthesis A ribosome produces a protein using mRNA as template. Chemical synthesis. Fat. Examples of edible animal fats are lard, fish oil, butter/ghee and whale blubber.
They are obtained from fats in the milk and meat, as well as from under the skin, of an animal. Examples of edible plant fats include peanut, soya bean, sunflower, sesame, coconut and olive oils, and cocoa butter. Vegetable shortening, used mainly for baking, and margarine, used in baking and as a spread, can be derived from the above oils by hydrogenation. These examples of fats can be categorized into saturated fats and unsaturated fats. Unsaturated fats can be further divided into cis fats, which are the most common in nature, and trans fats, which are rare in nature but present in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Chemical structure Example of a natural triglyceride with three different fatty acids. There are many different kinds of fats, but each is a variation on the same chemical structure. The properties of any specific fat molecule depend on the particular fatty acids that constitute it. How Fats Work" Between the food commercials you see on TV every day and the many nutrition bulletins and reports you hear about on the news every night, you get a huge amount of information about the fats that you eat. For example, you have probably heard of the following terms: Saturated fatUnsaturated fatPolyunsaturated fatMono-unsaturated fatFatty acidsEssential fatty acidsTrans fatty acidsOmega-3 and omega-6 fatty acidsPartially hydrogenated fat Have you ever wondered what it all means, or why it matters?
Why can't we just eat, drink and be merry? We see pure fats in three places at the grocery store: In the vegetable oil aisle you see oils created from different seeds and nuts. The rest of the grocery store is, of course, filled with fats and oils, although they are less obvious. So what are these fats and oils really made of? Dietary mineral. Dietary elements (commonly known as dietary minerals or mineral nutrients) are the chemical elements required by living organisms, other than the four elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen present in common organic molecules. The term "dietary mineral" is archaic, as it describes chemical elements rather than actual minerals. Chemical elements in order of abundance in the human body include the seven major dietary elements calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, sodium, chlorine, and magnesium.
Important "trace" or minor dietary elements, necessary for mammalian life, include iron, cobalt, copper, zinc, molybdenum, iodine, and selenium (see below for detailed discussion). Over twenty dietary elements are necessary for mammals, and several more for various other types of life. The total number of chemical elements that are absolutely needed is not known for any organism. Essential chemical elements for mammals[edit] Periodic table highlighting dietary elements Other elements[edit] Vitamin. A bottle of high potency B-complex vitamin supplement pills. A vitamin (US /ˈvaɪtəmɪn/ or UK /ˈvɪtəmɪn/) is an organic compound required by an organism as a vital nutrient in limited amounts.[1] An organic chemical compound (or related set of compounds) is called a vitamin when it cannot be synthesized in sufficient quantities by an organism, and must be obtained from the diet.
Thus, the term is conditional both on the circumstances and on the particular organism. For example, ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is a vitamin for humans, but not for most other animals. Supplementation is important for the treatment of certain health problems but there is little evidence of benefit when used by those who are otherwise healthy.[2] List of vitamins[edit] Each vitamin is typically used in multiple reactions, and, therefore, most have multiple functions.[6] Health effects[edit] Vitamins are essential for the normal growth and development of a multicellular organism. Supplements[edit] Effect of cooking[edit] Vitamin Library.