Medicues

Energy

· The human body requires energy to support normal functions, physical activity, growth, and repair of damaged tissues.

· Energy derived primarily from the oxidation or utilization of dietary carbohydrates or sugars.

· When your body has a deficiency in carbohydrates (sugars) from your diet, your body can modify proteins, fats and alcohol and use them for energy.

· Oxidation (burning) or utilizing of 1 gram of carbohydrate provides about 4 kcal (kilocalories) of energy.
· Utilization of 1 gram of protein can provide 4 kcal of energy.
· Utilization of 1 gram of fat can provide 9 kcal of energy.

• It is important to understand that calories from carbohydrates do not equal calories from proteins or calories from fats.

· Calories from carbohydrate (sugars) are much more easily burned than calories from protein or fats and therefore carbohydrate calories have more energy and potential for weight gain.
· Human physiology primarily uses the calorie from carbohydrate (sugars) for energy and will only utilize calories from fats or proteins in a starvation state.

· Therefore dietary carbohydrate restriction is the most effective manner to loss weight.

February 4, 2009

Read more – February 4, 2009

Nutrition

• Nutrients are essential compounds needed for healthy metabolism.

• Essential nutrients cannot be made or synthesized by the human body.

• There are approximately 40 nutrients.

• A deficiency in a nutrient can cause physiologic abnormalities that when replaced, should disappear.

• Essential nutrients include:
· essential amino acids (amino acids that cannot be made by the human body and must come form the diet)
· water-soluble vitamins
· fat-soluble vitamins
· minerals
· essential fatty acids (fatty acids that cannot be made by the human body and must come from the diet)

• The human body also requires:
· adequate energy substrate
· a small amount of usable carbohydrates
· indigestible carbohydrate (fiber/bran)
· additional nitrogen
· water

February 4, 2009

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Vitamin D

· Vitamin D is the fat-soluble vitamin that functions to maintain the calcium balance of your body. 
· Vitamin D stimulates dietary calcium absorption in the intestine and calcium deposition in bones.
· Vitamin D deficiency causes the disease Rickets which is a bone disorder.
· Vitamin D functions as a hormone more than vitamin.

· Vitamin D comes in different forms:
vitamin D2 (called ergocalciferol) is the dietary form of vitamin D found in plants, multiple vitamins and milk.
vitamin D3 (called cholecalciferol) is the form made from the exposure of skin to sunlight.

· Vitamin D recommended daily requirements:
There is no consensus regarding Vitamin D daily requirements.
The recommended dietary allowance of vitamin D for infants and children is 400 IU but this dose was based on a previously common dose equivalent of a teaspoon (5 ml) of cod liver oil.
This has traditionally been considered safe and effective in preventing Rickets.
Adults require less vitamin D than infants and children so the adult dose was set arbitrarily at 200 IU.
The optimal dose of vitamin D is not known.

· Recent studies have shown lower levels of vitamin D is becoming more common and that there has been an increase in cases of of vitamin D-dependent Rickets.
· Lower vitamin D levels are likely related to the use of sunscreen and sunlight avoidance.

· Vitamin D receptors are found in cells throughout the body and vitamin D likely has many more functions other than just regulating calcium levels.
· Vitamin D deficiencies and complications associated with low vitamin D levels are only recently being appreciated by the medical community.

Read more – February 3, 2009

Diet and Exercise

Read more – October 30, 2008