Tag: book excerpt

Does ginkgo actually do anything? Book Excerpt of the Week

Does ginkgo actually do anything? Book Excerpt of the Week

greeneyedguide

Ginkgo is in thousands of products, not just energy drinks. But does it really do anything? For this week’s book excerpt, we look at the studies on the benefits of ginkgo. Read more →

What Does Ginkgo Do? Book Excerpt of the Week

What Does Ginkgo Do? Book Excerpt of the Week

greeneyedguide

Ginkgo is in THOUSANDS of products, not just energy drinks. What does it do?

In Chinese medicine, extracts from the leaves of the ginkgo biloba tree improve memory and concentration, treat anxiety and depression, and alleviate headaches, dizziness, and tinnitus (ringing in the ears).

HOW DOES GINKGO DO all these wonderful feats? TWO STRONG THEORIES:

Theory 1 – Ginkgo increases blood supply by dilating blood vessels, reducing blood viscosity, and decreasing the density of free radicals that wreak havoc on the body.

Theory 2 – The PLACEBO EFFECT! If someone told you “Take this, it will improve your concentration and calm your anxiety” your subconscious is already onboard!

Wait, what?!? GINKGO IS A LIE???

Tune in next week for the answer to that question (spoiler alert: it’s complicated)…

If you enjoy these excerpts, you should DEFINITELY check-out (library joke) my book: “Are You a Monster or a Rock Star: A Guide to Energy Drinks- How They Work, Why They Work, How To Use Them Safely” available on Audible and Amazon and wherever books are sold, in all formats.

To learn more about ginkgo and the other energy drink ingredients, stay tuned for next week’s book excerpt as we continue our page-by-page exploration through the Energy Drink Guide (now on Audible!!!).

Let’s connect!

Vitamin B12 as the Ultimate Wingman – Book Excerpt of the Week

Vitamin B12 as the Ultimate Wingman – Book Excerpt of the Week

greeneyedguide

Vitamin B12 is the Ultimate Wingman! In this week’s book excerpt, we’ll discuss how B12 helps both folate and boring-basic-biotin, and why this makes B12 a good energy drink ingredient.

B12 as Folate’s Wingman

Remember when we talked about what folate does? Cells that rely on folate for growth and maturation also depend on B12 because it recycles folate, restoring it for the next round of DNA synthesis. Without B12, folate gets used up and stuck with a single carbon group. That’s like trying to take a cup of coffee from someone when you’re already holding a cup of water in each hand. To make sure sells get enough DNA to mature and divide, B12 and folate have to work as a team.

But that’s not the only vitamin B12 assists:

B12 as a side-kick to Boring Basic Biotin

One molecule of fat has three fatty acids, like a three-pronged fork. Each fatty acid is a chain of carbons. Each chain gets oxidized (broken down) two carbons at a time. This becomes a problem when there’s only thee left, so a special reaction takes place for the last three in the chain.

For the science nerds: That reaction is the transformation of a 3-carbon molecule (methylmalonyl CoA) to a 4-carbon molecule (succinyl CoA). CoA is short for coenzyme A.

Vitamin B12 helps Boring Basic Biotin handle these odd numbered units so they can get metabolized into energy through the Krebs cycle.

Why B12 makes a good energy drink ingredient

The Krebs cycle is a giant wheel of reactions that leads to massive amount of energy per turn. Since B12 helps fats get “into shape” (as in, from odd-to-even numbered) to enter the Krebs cycle, B12 is facilitating the production of energy. It may not be as boring as biotin or as amazing as niacin (my favorite B-vitamin), but B12 gets the award for the best team player.

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To learn more about B12 and the other B-vitamins, stay tuned for next week’s book excerpt as we continue our page-by-page exploration through the Energy Drink Guide (now on Audible!!!).

Let’s connect!

What is Vitamin B12, really? Book Excerpt of the Week

What is Vitamin B12, really? Book Excerpt of the Week

greeneyedguide

For last week’s book excerpt from the Energy Drink Guide, we talked about what vitamin B6 does. This week, we move into the Vitamin B12 chapter. Before we can talk about what B12 does, we have to talk about where it comes from…bacteria!

Did you know ALL B12 comes from bacterial fermentation?

Vitamin B12 can be found in food sources like meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, and dairy because the animals are the vessel for this bacterial fermentation. Plants don’t make B12, and they only provide B12 if they’ve been contaminated with soil that contains it (e.g. from the animal gut to the poop to the soil to the plant).

Certain natural vitamins are superior to their synthetic counterparts, and vice versa — remember when we talked about synthetic vs natural folate and the bling rings? But with vitamin B12, all B12 compounds are made through fermentation of bacteria, fungi, or algae.

Whether this fermentation occurs in the stomach of a cow or in a lab doesn’t affect the active structure or function of the vitamin.

 

Okay, phew – so B12 comes from bacteria…and that’s fine…

…But we’re not done with the fear-mongering.

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DO NOT PANIC if you come across a website that suggests synthetic B12 is poison because it’s cyanide. The association is irrelevant, just like the association between Chloride and SODIUM Chloride. The context makes all the difference. Furthermore, the dosage makes the difference between a poison and a cure (paraphrasing the Father of Toxicology, Paracelsus).

To learn more about B12 and the other B-vitamins, stay tuned for next week’s book excerpt as we continue our page-by-page exploration through the Energy Drink Guide (now on Audible!!!).

Let’s connect!