Thursday, February 17, 2011

the small things



In one of my classes we are learning about amino acids and the molecules that make up their compounds. Its very interesting! One of the coolest things I've learned so far is that each amino acid is super important to contributing to a healthy liver and heart and just about everything else in the body! From healthy hair and skin to fighting off depression, amino acids are super important! I was reading an article online for my class that talked about how important the structure of hemoglobin in the blood and that if the structure is changed in any small way, (of course its small we're talking about molecules! lol) it could result in sickness, and in hemoglobin's case, the result is sickle cell anemia. The article continued to read:

"The shape of proteins is critical to their function, and clearly the shape is largely a result of the bonds that form between the side chains of amino acids that make the protein. It can be concluded that a primary purpose of the side chains in amino acids is to give proteins their shape, which dictates their function."

If this is the case and our bodies are so dependant upon proteins to be specifically structured, this makes me wonder...what happens when all the meat we eat is fed genetically modified foods? or when they are injected with growth hormones?

This lesson in class is just really helping me to realize how sensitive our bodies really are and how I need to watch what I put into mine! Its also confirming to me that I need to continue supporting organic grassfed farming and local farmers markets!

2 comments:

  1. Don't freak me out. I agree though, it is scary to think of the additives, hormones...everything in our foods. I wonder what effects our bodies are seeing from all the little debbies, mcdonalds, ect we ate growing up.

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  2. After doing WW, and making healthier choice, whenever I do choose something junky my gut tells me so!

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