{"id":1507,"date":"2025-02-27T17:56:44","date_gmt":"2025-02-27T17:56:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aihealthinsight.org\/?p=1507"},"modified":"2025-02-28T18:41:38","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T18:41:38","slug":"1507-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aihealthinsight.org\/1507-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Nuts #fungal source? #Kidneys Issue?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Metabolic Consequences of Amino Acid Imbalance in Nuts: Deamination and Renal Load<\/strong>.<\/h3><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Nuts Go Nuts on Nuts\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7l1nyx_UOjU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure><p>Since nuts are not a <strong>complete dietary protein source<\/strong>, the body&#8217;s ability to utilize their amino acids efficiently is limited. The <strong>disproportionate amino acid ratios<\/strong>\u2014especially the deficiency of lysine and threonine\u2014result in excess circulating amino acids that cannot be incorporated into protein synthesis. These excess amino acids undergo <strong>deamination<\/strong>, a process that places metabolic stress on the liver and kidneys.<\/p><hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>1. Deamination and Urea Cycle: Processing Excess Amino Acids<\/strong><\/h3><p>When amino acids from nuts are not used for protein synthesis due to an <strong>imbalanced essential amino acid profile<\/strong>, they undergo <strong>deamination in the liver<\/strong>:<\/p><ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The <strong>amine group (-NH\u2082)<\/strong> is removed from excess amino acids.<\/li>\n\n<li>This releases <strong>ammonia (NH\u2083)<\/strong>, a toxic byproduct that must be converted into <strong>urea<\/strong> via the <strong>urea cycle (ornithine cycle) in the liver<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n<li>The remaining <strong>carbon skeletons<\/strong> of amino acids are either:<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Gluconeogenic<\/strong> (converted to glucose via gluconeogenesis).<\/li>\n\n<li><strong>Ketogenic<\/strong> (converted to ketone bodies or stored as fat).<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Liver Metabolic Pathways Affected by Nut Amino Acids:<\/strong><\/h4><ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Arginine and Methionine Excess:<\/strong> Nuts are rich in arginine and methionine but lack lysine. Excess <strong>arginine increases nitric oxide (NO) production<\/strong>, which can influence vascular tone but may also increase oxidative stress.<\/li>\n\n<li><strong>Methionine Overload:<\/strong> Excess methionine, without sufficient glycine or lysine, can lead to homocysteine accumulation, increasing cardiovascular risk.<\/li>\n\n<li><strong>Tryptophan Metabolism:<\/strong> Some nuts contain moderate tryptophan levels, which feed into the serotonin and kynurenine pathways, but the metabolic balance is disturbed due to limited co-factors.<\/li><\/ul><hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>2. Renal Burden: Urea Excretion and Acid Load<\/strong><\/h3><p>As deaminated amino acids are processed, urea must be excreted by the kidneys. This leads to:<\/p><ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Increased Renal Urea Load:<\/strong> The kidneys must filter and excrete <strong>elevated urea concentrations<\/strong>, which can contribute to chronic kidney stress over time.<\/li>\n\n<li><strong>Acidic Urine Formation:<\/strong> Amino acid metabolism increases the acid load due to sulfur-containing compounds (from methionine and cysteine), potentially influencing kidney stone formation and metabolic acidosis in predisposed individuals.<\/li>\n\n<li><strong>Increased Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR):<\/strong> As more nitrogenous waste accumulates, the kidneys work harder to clear these metabolites, contributing to potential nephrotoxicity over time.<\/li><\/ul><hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>3. Implications of Relying on Nuts as a Primary Dietary Protein Source<\/strong><\/h3><ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Protein Synthesis Inefficiency:<\/strong> Since lysine is limiting, nitrogen balance is negative, leading to <strong>higher amino acid wastage<\/strong> and a greater need for <strong>deamination<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n<li><strong>Metabolic Stress:<\/strong> The imbalance forces the liver and kidneys to <strong>process unused amino acids<\/strong>, which increases <strong>oxidative stress<\/strong>, hepatic metabolic load, and renal filtration demands.<\/li>\n\n<li><strong>Potential Long-Term Effects:<\/strong><ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Increased risk of <strong>hyperammonemia<\/strong> if liver detoxification is impaired.<\/li>\n\n<li>Elevated <strong>homocysteine<\/strong> levels if methionine is excessive relative to glycine and folate.<\/li>\n\n<li>Higher <strong>renal solute load<\/strong>, potentially affecting kidney function over time.<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h3><p>Nuts, due to their incomplete amino acid profile, result in inefficient dietary protein utilization. The excess amino acids undergo deamination, placing an increased metabolic burden on the <strong>liver (urea cycle processing)<\/strong> and <strong>kidneys (nitrogen excretion and acid balance regulation)<\/strong>. Over time, this may lead to <strong>increased oxidative stress, nitrogen wastage, and renal strain<\/strong>, especially if dietary intake is not balanced with <strong>lysine-rich<\/strong> and <strong>bioavailable<\/strong> dietary protein sources.<\/p><p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Metabolic Consequences of Amino Acid Imbalance in Nuts: Deamination and Renal Load. Since nuts are not a complete dietary protein source, the body&#8217;s ability to utilize their amino acids efficiently&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2024-upgrade"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aihealthinsight.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aihealthinsight.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aihealthinsight.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aihealthinsight.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aihealthinsight.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1507"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/aihealthinsight.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1507\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1522,"href":"https:\/\/aihealthinsight.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1507\/revisions\/1522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aihealthinsight.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aihealthinsight.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aihealthinsight.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}