Nutrition and Health – Spring 2020 – March 19th Blog During Spring Break
On March 13 we finished Chapter 7 by going over Oxidative Phosphorylation. During the lecture I mentioned that the drug dinitrophenol uncoupled Oxidative Phosphorylation because it caused proton (hydrogen) leak through the membrane. I also mentioned that people have tried to use it as a weight reduction drug. However, if you take too much, it may kill you because you can’t make enough ATP. Below is a recent paper that describes the death of a 17-year old body builder.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32125503
I put a pdf of this article in the Resource Folder – Please read it to learn about this unfortunate story!
I also wish to tell you that a student in class came up to me after class and told me about an experience she had when taking a weight loss drug. One day she took 2 pills instead of the one she normally took. She felt that she developed symptoms very similar to those described in the lecture – she became very hot, dizzy, and she felt heart palpitations. She couldn’t remember the name of the drug but she felt it was a generic weight loss drug. I suspect that it had dinitrophenol in it as the active agent.
Class 16 – Nutrition and Health – Spring 2020 – Chapter 8 – Start Energy Balance & Body Weight Regulation
The above slide is very important because it shows definitely that BMI cannot be used for the individual. Note that the title of the Article is “A requiem for BMI in the clinical setting.” What can be used in the clinical setting? Really what we wish to measure is percent body fat. This can be measured by DEXA, Body Pod, electrical impedance, or underwater weighing. Obviously DEXA would be the method of choice, but the instrument is expensive and costly to operate.
Class 15 – Nutrition and Health – Spring 2020 – Chapter 7 – Finish Metabolism – Oxidative Phosphorylation
Role of imagination in science
In the 1950s and 60s it was still unclear how energy released in metabolism was converted to a chemical.mechanical molecule called Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP). Dr. Peter Mitchell proposed the hypothesis that electrons powered the pumping of hydrogens into the intermitochondrial space. This allowed for a concentration gradient that powered the ATP synthase enzyme, which formed ATP.
Class 13 – Nutrition and Health – Spring 2020 – Chapter 6 – Finish Lipids
Last Class we discussed Fat Digestion and Endogenous Lipid Metabolism – Below is the Board Presentation
Class 9 – Nutrition and Health – Spring 2020 – Chapter 5 – Continue with Protein
Remember DSHEA for the exam:
How to cure obesity 
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