#16 PRESENTATION: Rhonda Speaks at the Orthomolecular Congress in Bussum, Netherlands
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In this audio recorded Oct. 3rd, 2015, Dr. Rhonda Patrick delivers the keynote lecture at the Orthomolecular Medicine Congress in Bussum, Netherlands (MBOG Congres 2015).
Discussion covers:
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The prevalency of micronutrient inadequacies and what the biggest behavioral culprits are (not eating green, leafy vegetables)
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Dr. Bruce Ames' triage theory.
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Dr. Patrick's clinical research on the role of DNA damage in cancer and aging and her data that suggests obese individuals accumulate more DNA damage than lean individuals.
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How vitamin D is likely needed to produce serotonin in the brain and how this may be relevant for the prevention of autism because serotonin functions as an early brain morphogen: shaping the structure and wiring of the developing fetal brain.
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How omega-3 fatty acids regulate serotonin release from neurons and receptor function.
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How vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids are important to prevent brain dysfunction, particularly in individuals that have gene polymorphisms in the serotonin pathway that predispose them to low serotonin.
Dr. Bruce Ames' Triage Theory
Dr. Ames proposed that the body does a strategic rationing so that those proteins and enzymes in the body which are essential for short-term survival get their share of vitamins and minerals at the expense of other proteins and enzymes that are essential for long-term survival. This means that micronutrient inadequacy results in an insidious type of damage that may lead to diseases of aging, such as cancer and neurodegeneration.
Related links
- Related episode: Bruce Ames on Triage Theory, Longevity Vitamins & Micronutrients
- Publication: Low micronutrient intake may accelerate the degenerative diseases of aging through allocation of scarce micronutrients by triage.
- Publication: Vitamin K, an example of triage theory: is micronutrient inadequacy linked to diseases of aging?
- Publication: Vitamin D hormone regulates serotonin synthesis. Part 1: relevance for autism.
- Publication: Vitamin D and the omega-3 fatty acids control serotonin synthesis and action, part 2: relevance for ADHD, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and impulsive behavior.
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Fantastic talk! Thanks for the info! Thought i’d add a few of the notes I took while listening (first part only).
Triage theory - strategic rationing when micronutrients are scarce, so the proteins and enzymes that are essential for short-term survival and reproduction get their share of the vitamins and minerals at the expense of the other proteins and enzymes that are essential for more long-term survival functions. Insidious types of damage accumulate, leading to the diseases of aging, such as cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.
Your metabolism is running the show. Many metabolic pathways need enzymes. About 22% of the enzymes in any given cell require micronutrients as a cofactor in order to function properly.
Example 1: Magnesium.
Magnesium is at the center of the chlorophyll molecule, thus it is found in green leafy vegetables.
-different enzymes require magnesium for different tasks, including the production of ATP, which is obviously an essential function needed for short-term survival.
normal living and breathing in of oxygen is how we make energy (oxidative phosporylation). This process causes reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can damage DNA. This damage can cause double-stranded breaks (the most harmful and difficult to repair) in DNA, leading to mutations and ultimately causing cell dysfunction and resulting in a fatal disease, such as cancer.
NO-ONE CAN ESCAPE DNA DAMAGE.
DNA repair is not required for short-term survival - it’s an insidious type of damage that accumulates over decades.
Example 2: Vitamin K.
Vitmain K is also found in green leafy plants - it’s required for plants to photosynthesise (make energy).
Vitamin K serves as a variety of co-factors for proteins and enzymes necessary for survival, such as coagulation.
Vitamin K is also required to activate proteins that pull calcium out of the vascular system (blood vessels / arteries) and bring it to the bone. Again, not important for short-term survival, but calcium plaques can build up over long periods of time and cause atherosclerosis and vascular dementia.
Your body is going to make that whatever vitamin K you do get is going to go to the liver to make sure that coagulation is taken care of AT THE EXPENSE of the other proteins and enzymes that make sure calcium doesn’t build up in your vascular system.