Re: I must confess...

On Sat, 25 Mar 2006 18:37:36 -0500, Susan <nevermind@xxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

x-no-archive: yes

W.M.McKee wrote:

Actually, that is a very helpful and most informative post, bitters...
Thanks,


Here's something I found last year:

Science News
Week of Dec. 13, 2003; Vol. 164, No. 24


Ketones to the Rescue

Fashioning therapies from an adaptation to starvation
Ben Harder

In times of plenty, both the mind and the body thrive. But deprived of
basic
sustenance, the mind perishes before the body does. That's not New Age
philosophy; it's basic metabolic chemistry. While most of the body
manages food

shortages with relative ease, the tissues of the brain are vulnerable
during
periods of scarcity. So when blood sugar dips, the brain must fall back on
special
biochemistry to meet its energy needs. From studying that metabolic back-up
system, a coterie of scientists has drawn inspiration that could lead to
a new
treatment for conditions as diverse as epilepsy, diabetes, Alzheimer's
disease,

and heart failure.

Most of the time, the body makes its fundamental fuel, glucose, from
ingested
carbohydrates. With each meal, the bloodstream gets replenished with
glucose
to replace the blood sugar that hungry cells have consumed to satisfy their
metabolic needs. The body can't store glucose well, yet cells must be fed
continually. So the body puts away extra energy in the form of fat, which it
can
break down into energy-supplying fatty acids when needed. A starving
animal or
a
person with normal fat stores can thus sustain most of the body's cells for
weeks or months without eating.

But brain cells, even hungry ones, can't avail themselves of these
emergency
stores. A physiological barrier that blocks toxins in the bloodstream so
they
can't enter the delicate brain also keeps out fat and fatty acids. As a
consequence, when glucose in the blood runs low, brain cells can run into
trouble.

People

Thank you, Susan. That is definitely a keeper, as they say! :-)

Hope you are well tonight...

Will, T2
.

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