Category Archives: nicotine

LIGHT timing for circadian entrainment

Posted on July 5, 2016 | 13 comments

Basically, this much is pretty obvious now: LIGHT and food in the morning + darkness after sunset = proper circadian entrainment.  But the how is pretty cool; LIGHT affects different biochemical pathways at different times of the day, which is how it can either advance or delay your circadian phase.

LIGHT entering the eyes is perceived by ipRGCs which then dish out glutamate and PACAP.  These mediators go on to activate receptors in the SCN (the “Master Clock”).

Depending on the time of day, glutamate and PACAP affect different pathways.

 

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Posted in Advanced nutrition, angiotensin, Bromocriptine, Cabergoline, chronopharmacology, circadian, Dopamine, Ketosis, Leptin, melatonin, nicotine, Sun, vasopressin, Vitamin D

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Protein dilemma ~ sleepy or smart. #Gelatin

Posted on November 3, 2013 | 3 comments

Gelatin and glycine have bounced around the blogosphere for quite some time.  Coming from a nutrition-centric place: you say gelatin, I think tryptophan (or lack thereof) and glycine.  Others think:

Jane Plain discusses positive mental effects of gelatin and pimps Pro-Stat (good source of glycine).  Chris Masterjohn discusses glycine and in typical WAP fashion seems to favor bone broth (20% off Kettle & Fire’s awesome broths HERE!).  Knox gelatin didn’t help Michael Allen Smith sleep better, and he apparently tracks sleep quality quite well.  However, Sondra Rose thinks it improves sleep harmony, and gelatin simply blows Dana Carpender’s mind.

bones

 

Tryptophan-rich proteins like those found in whey and egg whites will elevate blood levels of tryptophan relative to other large neutral amino acids (Trp:LNAA ratio), leading to higher brain uptake and subsequent serotonin synthesis.  Tryptophan-poor proteins like gelatin do the opposite, and impair memory.  But the high glycine content in gelatin improves sleep quality.*  Glycine powder might be able to get around this, it’s dirt cheap and it seems to have the opposite effect on brain serotonin, albeit at a much higher dose (and in rats).

 

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Posted in Advanced nutrition, diet, gelatin, glycine, insulin, nicotine

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Brown adipose tissue

Posted on May 6, 2013 | 13 comments

Once thought to be the holy grail of energy expenditure manipulators and a potential cure for obesity – fail.  I don’t have great evidence for this; it’s really just a hunch.

A new mouse study has provided some additional fodder for speculation, however.

The theory & background info: increased BAT activity can effortlessly burn away excess fat mass by using fuel to create heat instead of energy.  This model was most aptly summarized by the title of Dr. Efraim Racker’s 1963 ediorial: “Calories Don’t Count-If You Don’t Use Them.”  At best, I don’t think BAT is a panacea.  At worst, we might’ve learned our lesson long ago from DNP (circa 1938; also McFee et al., 2004; Miranda et al., 2006; Tewari et al., 2009; and Grundlingh et al., 2011).

drug banned

In a slurry of publications in 2009, researchers re-ignited the quest by showing cold-induced BAT activation in healthy humans (Virtanen et al., 2009):Virtanen BAT

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Posted in Advanced nutrition, empty calories, Energy balance, ephedrine, nicotine, TPMC

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NRT = nicotine replacement therapy

Posted on December 1, 2012 | 8 comments

NRT improves quitting success rates and reduces cessation-induced weight gain.  It’s a fact; and there are a lot of anti-addictive pharmacological interventions that do too.

Dear obesity researchers, primary care physicians, and smokers,
Pay attention.
Sincerely,
Bill

Rimonabant is the anti-“munchies” drug that blocks the marijuana receptor CB1.  It causes weight loss.  But 20 mg daily also increases the odds of successfully quitting smoking by 50 – 60% (Cahill and Ussher, 2007).

Relevance?
Marijuana: not really addictive.
Obesity diets: delicious, but not really addictive.
Cigarettes: definitely addictive.
Rimonabant: anti-addictive.  It causes weight loss in overweight but not lean people, perhaps because lean people don’t eat obesity diets (?).

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Posted in Advanced nutrition, diet, Energy balance, mortality, nicotine, smoking

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