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Chemicals... necessary things for metabolism · Scientific Health: Education and Human Performance

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  Warning. The following presentation contains information that might contradict what you
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  have previously heard or believed to be true about how the human body works and contains
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  material that is not suitable for closed-mind and individuals. Enjoy.
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  Let's take a look at the chemicals that we will be seeing in metabolism
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  and the importance of those chemicals. When we're talking about chemicals, we're talking about the
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  elements or the molecules that we need in order to live and we need molecules to live.
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  And so chemicals tend to have sometimes a bad connotation to them and we're going to take a
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  look at some of those bad connotations today and hopefully clarify any of the misconceptions that
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  we might have leading to future discussions about metabolism. So what's metabolism?
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  Well, metabolism is not about energy even though it is kind of sometimes about energy.
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  It's the chemical reactions that we have in the body. And what do we need in order to have chemical
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  reactions? We need chemicals. Chemicals are the things that are used within the reactions of the
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  body that allow us to have a normal functioning body. When we talk about these chemicals, we'll
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  classify them in terms of how they're going to be involved within the chemical reactions.
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  This is where we'll use words like reactants and those are the molecules that are interacting with
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  each other within the chemical reactions. Or we'll use the words like product and product is
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  looking at what molecules are coming out at the end of the reaction. In some of the metabolic
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  reactions, we'll have things known as byproducts and byproducts are really those molecules that form
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  during the reaction, but don't necessarily continue within the metabolism that we're looking at.
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  Or don't seem to have any use within the metabolic processes and we'll go about being eliminated
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  by the body. Now just to confuse everybody even more, sometimes we'll use the same word to describe
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  a reactant, a product and a byproduct. And so you may hear or read about things known as substrates
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  or metabolites. And when we talk about substrates and metabolites, we're simply talking about reactants,
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  products and byproducts. Other terms that we need to be able to be aware of and these include things
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  like a metabolite, which is simply those things that are used in the metabolic process, a toxin,
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  which is a metabolite that will interfere or may possibly stop metabolism, or a poison.
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  And a poison is a metabolite that will stop metabolism. And in the cases of toxins and
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  poisons, these are what's referred to as dose, that is how much is there, and duration, how long
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  am I being exposed to that metabolite in terms of its overall effect as being toxic or poisonous.
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  And so, everything has the chance to be toxic based off of how much is there and how it's going to
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  interfere with metabolism. The difference that we see between a toxin and a poison is that poisons
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  tend to be lethal, whereas toxins tend not to be as lethal as poisons. Okay, okay, I understand.
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  I'm already a little too much here. So, what's a chemical? And this is where we're going to kind
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  of go back to our junior high and our high school science classes and for some of you
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  interior college classes. And we're looking at the stuff in chemistry that we reference within
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  the periodic table of elements and then how those elements are going to interact with each other to
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  form all of the bigger chemicals within the body. And so, when we look at these chemicals and we
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  look at these molecules, we start with the atoms, which is going to be the building block of the
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  molecules. And those atoms will start to interact with each other to form a little bit bigger molecule,
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  and molecule simply just multiple atoms put together. And then those molecules will start
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  to interact with each other and build even bigger molecules, which we refer to as macro molecules,
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  macro simply being bigger. And when we look at this, what we do is we look at, okay, what does
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  the body need in order to survive? And this is where we look at atoms and molecules as the
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  building blocks of everything that we have within our body. In this, we divide them into three
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  distinct categories. And the three distinct categories we have was referred to as major,
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  minor, and then trace. Major, minor, and trace is not about importance. It's about how much is there.
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  And we usually start with the elements and then build from the elements into the molecules.
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  And so our major, minor, and our trace elements is all about how much mass, how much amount is
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  there. The majors we're going to need in grams and kilograms per day. The minors we're going to need
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  in milligrams to grams per day. And then the trace we're going to need in the very smallest
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  amounts that we tend to measure, which are the micrograms per day. So what are the major ones?
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  The major ones are going to be oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and then we can toss in phosphorus.
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  Phosphorus could also be classified in the minor elements. But the principal minor elements that
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  we look at are calcium, potassium, sulfur, sodium, chloride, magnesium, and iron.
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  And then the trace elements, boron, chromium, copper, fluorine, iodine, zinc, and manganese.
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  If we go back and think about the listing of metabolites in terms of metabolite, toxin, poison,
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  we tend not to have any type of toxicity issues when we look at our major elements.
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  However, as we start getting into the minor and into the trace elements, if we start
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  over consuming those elements, we then have to worry about toxic issues that come about. And
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  we'll talk about that a little bit more in detail when we look at nutrition issues in subsequent talks.
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  So those elements will start to interact with each other. The atoms will start interacting with each
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  other, start building bigger things together. And those bigger things are the molecules. And
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  molecules are simply just chemicals by another name. And so we have to look at a couple of ways
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  in which we talk about things. Anytime we talk about sugars, we're talking about carbohydrates.
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  And one of the easy ways to recognize if I'm looking at a sugar or a carbohydrate, if I'm
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  like reading any of the nutrition labels, is to look for things that end in OSE, glucose, sucrose.
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  Those are the sugars, cellulose. Sometimes we use different words to describe some of those sugars.
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  So like cellulose is also referenced as fiber.
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  And then we have fats. Fats we reference as lipids.
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  In these, we can also call them fatty acids. And the reason why I call them fatty acids is because
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  part of the molecule itself has what we call a acid end to it. That's an end that will give away
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  hydrogens to cause the pH of the molecule to be less than seven in a water environment.
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  And then we have proteins. Proteins are also sometimes referenced as the amino acids.
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  Amino acids will build into proteins and we need all of these within our normal diet in order to
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  have normal metabolism. There are other molecules that we'll be consuming within our diet here,
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  and those are things like nucleic acids.
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  Now sometimes the nucleic acids can get some bad recognitions and some bad
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  referencing, particularly when you discuss things like genetically modified foods,
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  the GMOs that are there where the nucleic acids have been changed, the DNA, the genes of whatever
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  food product we're looking at has been changed. But one of the things we have to remember when we
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  look at all of these molecules and they come into the body is that all of these molecules are
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  going to get broken down into their base units, the smallest parts of the big molecules
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  in order for us to use these molecules to build things. And so we'll think about it,
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  remember that our cells are great builders. They are great factories, put quotes around that in
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  terms of an analogy, that allows us to build things and build things and build things so that we're
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  able to survive, we're able to live. Other things that we're going to take in are things like
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  vitamins. Vitamins just like with the trace elements have kind of the minor elements kind of have a
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  maximum level for them in which if we over consume some of the vitamins, we might have toxic issues
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  that can't come about. There are a lot of vitamins that are necessary for us to have the chemical
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  reactions that are taking place. However, if we have too much of some of them, we can have issues
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  within the functionality of tissues where they start acting like toxins. Other molecules that we're
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  going to need are things like ions and we'll get to what ions are here in a second.
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  Now sometimes we get worried about chemicals because they kind of sound scary and they kind
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  of sound scary because when we talk about molecules in a scientific sense, we usually use the big
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  science words. And so just because something might have a scientific name doesn't necessarily mean
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  it's something we have to be afraid of. Here's an example I like to use a lot. Dihydrominoxide.
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  So di2hydro is for hydrogen, mon or mono 1 oxide oxygen. And so if we look at it in terms of how we'd
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  write this in our chemistry class, that would be H2O. But how do we talk about this in everyday life?
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  Well, that's just water. So water is not scary. However, dihydro monoxide can sound kind of scary.
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  And so once again, we start looking at these words within the chemical nature of metabolism.
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  We just remember big scary words aren't necessarily big scary words. They're just how we would explain
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  it scientifically. And I understand that sometimes we don't do a great job explaining those big
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  scientific words so that they're easily digested like water is a very easily digested word,
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  but dihydro monoxide, not so much. Continuing on looking at these various types of molecules,
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  one of the ways in which we look at molecules and how molecules will be able to interact with each
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  other in terms of metabolic processes is how are the molecules shaped? In this case here,
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  we have two distinct ways of looking at molecules. And those two ways of looking at molecules are
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  things like whether it is organic or inorganic. Now, organic might have a connotation to it,
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  a meaning to it outside of the scientific conversation of metabolism. Like if you go to the
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  story, you might see things that are organic or organically raised. Well, what does that mean in
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  terms of the material that we're eating versus something that is not labeled as being organic?
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  Well, organic in terms of our chemicals is just something that happens to have a carbon in it.
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  And all of those molecules that we need to eat in our diet, the carbohydrates,
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  the lipids, the proteins, the nucleic acids, those are all organic. And so to say that you are having
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  an organic diet, well, every diet is an organic diet because we're eating organic molecules.
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  Whereas an inorganic molecule is something that doesn't have carbon in it. And so what are the
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  things that might be inorganic that we would have in our diet? Well, water. Water is an inorganic
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  molecule. It doesn't have carbon in it. It's simply two hydrogens and one oxygen put together.
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  Salt, the table salt, the sea salt, the pink Himalayan salt, the not so much salt because we
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  have to watch how much sodium we have in our diet salt. Those are all inorganics.
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  Now, the other way that we can look at these organic and inorganic
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  relationship is by the shape of the molecule. And those are sometimes referred to as polar and non-polar.
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  And what we're really talking about with polar and non-polar is will that molecule or will that
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  element or will that atom be able to dissolve in water? If it's able to dissolve in water,
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  then it's polar. If it's not able to dissolve in water, then it's non-polar.
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  The other way to look at how the elements and how the atoms are going to interact with each other
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  is based off of how the atom is set up within the molecule. In this case here, we're going to look
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  at specific things known as ions. And in ions, what we have is we have atoms or molecules
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  that don't have an equal number of electrons to their protons.
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  And we have two distinct classifications here. And the two distinct classifications are referenced
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  as cat ion. That is, I have more protons than electrons.
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  And these are things that are going to be found in the first two columns
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  of our periodic table that we reference to in our chemistry classes.
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  Heading out to about the third column in our periodic table and in our transitional elements.
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  And we'll see them when we look at references to them as having a little plus
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  indicator next to the symbol for the element. The opposite of those are going to be the anions.
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  These are usually the last three columns heading into the noble gas column of the periodic table.
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  And these are atoms that are going to have more electrons than they're going to have protons.
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  And these are things like chloride and fluoride or chlorine and fluorine in the ion
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  base of the element.
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  And so when we look at the periodic table, we can very easily see whether or not we're going to have
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  a cat ion or an anion form from that atom or from that element.
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  Based off of where they lay within the periodic table. And that's going to be very important
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  because we need salts within our body and the salts are going to give us the ions. And so
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  when we look at salt salts are nothing more than a cat ion and an anion stuck together.
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  And we need those cat ions and those anions to help us out with where we're going to see water
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  within the body. And how are we going to be able to control the making of some metabolites that
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  might change the pH of our body? And once again, we'll talk a little bit more about pH of the body
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  later on in a different talk. But all of those are very important as it relates to the anions that
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  we have and the cat ions that we have within the body. And so that's the general gist of chemicals.
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  But if we take a step back and start thinking about, wait, I'm reading all these big scary
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  stories in the news about different types of chemicals. Well, there's a couple of things
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  that we have to remember about the about these big scary stories is that just because it might have
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  an effect in one form doesn't mean it's going to have the same effect in all of its forms.
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  So once again, we go back into the periodic table and we have this cluster of elements that are
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  usually referenced as being heavy metals. And one of the big scary, the quotes around big scary,
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  heavy metal that's out there is mercury. And mercury got kind of this big scary story to it
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  because we would see mercury within some of the food products that we're eating. And we used to use
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  mercury as a stabilizing agent in some of the vaccines that we would give people. But there
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  are different types of mercury. The first type of mercury, the mercury that we would see within
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  fish and within some of the living organisms that we might be eating is what's referred to as methyl
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  mercury. Methyl mercury is the neurotoxin. It's the toxic form of mercury that will accumulate
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  within the stuff that we eat. Whereas as mercury enters one thing, it's going to get eaten by something
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  else and that something else will start to compile and add up all the different mercury that's being
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  eaten into its tissues. And then we would eat it and we would get that mercury. And that's where we
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  start hearing about the mercury poisoning issues that might come about. But that's different than
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  the mercury that we would see with that we used to see within the vaccines. And that is what's
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  referred to as ethyl mercury. And ethyl mercury does not accumulate within the body. In fact,
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  our liver does a very good job getting rid of that form of mercury. And because it's able to get
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  be eliminated, it's not the neurotoxin that we think about when we hear about mercury.
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  There's also a lot of studies that are out there that have been done in
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  a different animal than humans. One happens to be a lot of studies are done with rodents, mice,
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  and rats. Other studies are done within cells and within cell cultures. There's a recent study
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  that's out there that says that the alternate type of sugar, the sugar substitutes, might have some
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  sort of effect on the DNA within cells. Well, that might be true, but it might not be true
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  because we haven't looked at it in terms of humans. We've only looked at it in terms of cells
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  and looked at it in terms of rodents. And what we have to remember is that humans are more than
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  just one cell. What happens in one cell is what happens in one cell. And it may not happen in
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  that same cell if we put it in other cells together in what's called a tissue. And those tissues might
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  act like a tissue until we put it in with other tissues to make the organs. And then the organs
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  might function in one way until we decided to stick organs together to make a system.
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  And all of those systems within our body are all going to function slightly different when they
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  have to work with each other in order for us to be able to survive. And so just because it's
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  happening in one condition doesn't necessarily mean it's going to happen in all of the conditions.
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  And more importantly, humans are definitely not mice for rats. And our physiology might be slightly
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  different than the rat and or the mice physiology. And so even though we're seeing distinct types
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  of metabolism taking place in some organisms, doesn't necessarily mean we're going to see that same
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  type of physiology taking place in our body. So let's put this all together. What can we
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  remember or what should we take home as it relates to understanding about chemicals and metabolism?
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  And once again, this is just a stepping stone to other discussions on this topic.
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  So we may use lots of big words when discussing chemicals, but big words shouldn't automatically
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  mean scary thing or dangerous thing. Scientists tend to use scientific words. And sometimes those
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  scientific words can scare people. And we just have to remember that we're not trying to scare you,
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  we're simply trying to communicate in a way that all scientists know exactly what we're talking about.
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  Chemicals are necessary for living and everything we eat is made of chemicals. And so you can't have a
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  chemical free diet because if you have a chemical free diet, then you're not eating.
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  Toxins and poisons are dose and duration dependent effects. Just because the molecule has one effect
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  doesn't mean it's going to have the same effect in all conditions. To have a metabolic impact,
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  that chemical has to either act like a hormone or it has to alter the type and rate of chemical
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  reactions taking place in the cell. When you hear these stories out in the news, you have to be
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  willing to ask questions. If a news report says that a chemical is harmful, look into what model
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  was used, how was the research done, and compare what was being reported in the scientific studies
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  to what can and does happen within the human body.
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  And remember, humans are more than just one cell. The way which cells interact with other cells is
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  going to be dependent upon how all of the cells and tissues and organs and organisms are put
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  together so that the organism is able to survive. And if we're reading about studies done in rodents
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  or in other animals, we've got to remember that humans are not rodents, humans are not other
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  animals, humans are humans. And just because it's an issue for that rodent or that other animal
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  doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be the same thing for humans.
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  Well, thanks for listening. I hope you found this to be a little informative,
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  raised some questions for you, and stay tuned for more discussions on the topic of metabolism
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  in the near future.