3 replies to this topic

[Dorian Grey]

I became interested in Lipid Soluble Alkaloids (LSAs) while pondering the mysterious benefits of chocolate.  Jeanne Calment, the world’s longest lived human (122) was said to be very fond of chocolate (as well as cigarettes and port wine), consuming it a kilo per week, but what was the mysterious beneficial ingredient?  Flavanols?  Yes, but many foods are rich in flavanols, so how could this be what makes chocolate so special?  

 

Enter theobromine,, which has substantial effects on human physiology, and coincidentally is a lipid soluble alkaloid, which is fairly rare in  modern diets.  I’d read about those who feel shifting the body, which often becomes more acidic with age, back towards alkalinity, with some advocating drinking sodium bicarbonate in water; but I also read doctors opinions who claimed this would be futile, as it is too swiftly excreted to produce a lasting effect.  Theobromine however has a half life of 6-12 hours in humans, so perhaps this is a better way.  

 

Unfortunately, with chocolate being the only food rich in theobromine, and also very rich in sugar, this may present a compromising issue for many, as sugar is considered almost a poison to some (ME!).  

 

Looking at other / alternative LSAs, caffeine pops up, and coffee also is known to have some mysterious elixir of life ingredient that seems to ward off several chronic disease states and promote longevity; but once again, nothing really jumps out as unique to coffee except the caffeine, which is a lipid soluble alkaloid.  With a half life of 5-6 hours, twice per day dosing might be more effective than a single blast in the morning, and the caffeine side effects are unpleasant to some.  

 

Nicotine?  Well, it’s not for everyone, but I did note an unusual property regarding smoking and cancer.  Among smokers and ex-smokers, it seems the ex-smokers are more likely to get lung cancer than unrepentant / current smokers.  Tis a puzzlement!  Unless you consider smoking bathes the lungs in that lovely lipid soluble alkaloid nicotine, and this is somehow protective.  

 

I am also a believer in Ferrotoxic Disease…  That age related iron accumulation can promote accelerated aging and disease.  What’s this got to do with smoking?  Well, tobacco smoke particulate is fairly rich in IRON, which gets deposited in the lungs, causing oxidative stress, inflammation, and CANCER.  This iron persists long after quitting smoking, and likely may be what contributes to cancers that spring up many years after quitting.  

 

Interestingly…  Once you quit smoking and bathing your lungs in alkalizing nicotine, lungs can become more acidic which can render any iron to a very reactive state.  If you’re a blood donor, and/or chelating iron with IP6, this inflammatory iron will dissipate to leave a healthier pulmonary environment, but if you’re a male who’s been accumulating iron all his adult life, hepcidin (the bodies master iron transport hormone), will shut down iron transport, and lungs will remain full of highly reactive and inflammatory  iron.  If only there was a way to alkalize those poor lungs! 

 

There is yet another aspect to consider, and that is the alkalization of cellular organelles and autophagy.  Cellular lysosomes use acid to break down cellular garbage, and alkalizing them can inhibit this mechanism.  NOT GOOD one might think, but I have been unable to find just how much of a shift to alkaline moderate dietary LSAs do to lysosomes.  Quinine, Chloroquine & Hydroxychloroquine are all very powerful LSAs, some with a very long half life, with many who are treated with these for many years (even decades) for Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, malaria prevention, etc, without much mention of the consequences of potent and persistent alkalization.  

Finally…  There is one more factor for consideration, and that is telomeres. I’m not an expert in this area, but I’ve read there is a delicate dance between autophagy and telomere health.  Cells burn brightly & hot in an acid environment, and also tend to burn out and be replaced rapidly, with telomeres shrinking a bit with every cell division. Shortening telomeres?  No Bueno!  

On the flip-side, alkalized cells tend to run cooler, with less autophagy and live longer lives, which may not sound too bad, but longer lived cells can have more accumulation of DNA breaks and damage, which may potentiate CANCER?  Perhaps…  But I would expect this would mean those on long term hydroxychloroquine therapy for RA & Lupus, would have a greatly increased proclivity for cancer, and I haven’t heard this to be so.  

What am I doing?  Well…  Moderation in all things!  I don’t smoke, and resist daily chocolate intake due to the sugar (and NO, I’m not forcing dark choc on myself or anyone else).  I do have a large, 22oz black, fresh brewed coffee most every day after lunch.  Coffee on an empty stomach is supposed to spike cortisol, so avoid that, but any time after you break your morning fast is fine, so long as you can sleep at night.  

I also switched from my old red wine evening tipple to Gin & Light Tonic.  I loved my cabernet, but the sulfites were a problem, and I switched to G & T during the plague for the quinine, and found I really liked it.  You must be careful to avoid full sugar tonic water, as it really is loaded with more sugar than even sodas to counteract the bitterness of the quinine.  Sugar free tonic has very little quinine, so this defeats the whole G & T benefit.  There is one Light Tonic I have found with only 30 calories per 6.8oz bottle, and a good natural quinine content, and that is FEVER TREE Light Tonic Water.  

I sip on two (or three) of these between dinner and midnight, and have found the 30 calorie per hour consumption rate does not create a sugar bomb or insulin flood/poisoning.  Quinine is in fact known to lower blood glucose, so there’s another reason to enjoy!  The quinine also seems to alkalize my stomach, and I don’t get reflux if I sleep on my right side anymore, like I did during my wine days.  .  

Please let me know your thoughts on this, and if I’ve made any erroneous assumptions.  

 

[pamojja]

 

I don’t smoke, and resist daily chocolate intake due to the sugar (and NO, I’m not forcing dark choc on myself or anyone else)

 

I smoke, ferritin has been consistently low (avg. 75 ng/ml) and had been taken 20 g of organic cocoa powder and as much 85% dark chocolate for over a decade, only recently I quit the powder. Still do take the dark chocolate voluntarily, no need of force. ;-)

 

For quitting sugar - also in bitter things like pure cocoa powder - stevia extract helped me. Also used gymnea sylvestre extract against pre-diabetes, Meshashringi in India, there known as killer of the sweet taste. How that worked for me, I found out on my last recuperating vacation to an Indian beach, when I forgot the stevia extract at home. It didn't kill my sweet taste, but at least the most bitter, pungent and astringent tastes don't bother me anymore. Stevia extract actually, for the first time, was available at that place as a mix with xylitol. I did without this time.

 

Beside theobromine from cocoa products, berberine, caffeine and nicotine probably make the bulk of my daily alkaloids for me, summing up to a few 100 mg/d. Some piperine too. Blood pH has been about 7.46 average for many years. And experienced remission of a walking-disability from PAD, symptoms of COPD, and post-excertional malaise (PEM, otherwise the hallmark of ME/CFS).

 

 

 

 

[Dorian Grey]

Thanks for the input pamojja.  I smoked a pipe for many years, but started feeling a bit of angina hiking up hills so had to lay it down a few years back.  The heart issue surprised me, as my lungs have always been great.  I'm a long term blood donor, so any iron in my lung tissue hopefully got tapped to replace all those red cells. I used to hike up and over the 200 steps at the convention center without coughing or even getting winded.  

 

I'm having trouble finding the ex smokers get more lung cancer than unrepentant/current smokers, so I may have to retract this.  I recall seeing it on the Forces International (smokers rights) site, and was impressed.  As I recall, it pertained to lifetime smokers who quit in their later/senior years, but I can't find it now.  I would have kept puffing till they nailed me into a box, but angina has a way of getting one's attention.  

 

I tried berberine, but it inflamed my colon, so I had to punt.  Perhaps I'll give the dark chocolate another try.  

 

Good to hear your PAD and other issues are under control! 

Edited by Dorian Grey, Today, 04:19 PM.

[pamojja]

I smoked a pipe for many years, but started feeling a bit of angina hiking up hills so had to lay it down a few years back.

 

I also had angina like chest pain before starting supplementing, but in my case related to physical or mental stress only, before starting to supplement comprehensively more than 16 years ago. Along with life-style changes against the PAD. Found simply 160 mg/d of CoQ10, or half of that of Ubiquinol, ceased them. Also reanalyzing all my intake, interestingly realized intake had been highest at about 200 mg/d CoQ10+Ubiqunol during my last and most difficult remission of PEMs.
 

I'm having trouble finding the ex smokers get more lung cancer than unrepentant/current smokers, so I may have to retract this.  I recall seeing it on the Forces International (smokers rights) site, and was impressed.  As I recall, it pertained to lifetime smokers who quit in their later/senior years, but I can't find it now.  I would have kept puffing till they nailed me into a box, but angina has a way of getting one's attention.

 

It sure does. I was completely surprised with my diagnosis of PAD, and following the advice of my MDs about daily walking-exercise (for which I quit regular commuting by cycling; a huge mistake) and to quit smoking, that only with those 2 intervention my walking-disability got worse. Down to 3-400 meter painfree walking distance only.

 

Therefore, I started to search for any evidence that quitting smoking could improve a PAD walking disability. Or at least some benefit in quitting for life-long smokers in mortality. Found nothing, but 2 long term randomized controlled trials with life-long smokers, where the groups supported in quitting had no improved outcome. Less lung-cancer, sure, but more colon cancer instead. Almost no difference in mortality. That was the end of me quitting, and start to improve again.

 

I'm still certain not smoking would of course be better, to begin with. But after decades of it? -  The self-medication aspect, for someone with so many health issues from birth onward, certainly plays a role too.

 

I tried berberine, but it inflamed my colon, so I had to punt.

 

Took only a low dose. Like 110 mg/d during the last 16 years. Probably my high ascorbic acid intake quelled inflammation there too.