/oss/taxonomy/term/1296/all en /oss/article/critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition/elixir-life-really <p>Prior to the buoyant accounts of the study with the alluring title “Taurine deficiency as a driver of aging,” it was mostly people who read the list of ingredients on the label of the “energy drink,” Red Bull, who were familiar with the chemical. Why does the beverage contain taurine? That is somewhat of a mystery. The only information provided on Red Bull’s website is that “taurine is an amino acid, naturally occurring in the human body and present in the daily diet.” No argument with that. Well, maybe a little one.</p> Wed, 14 Jun 2023 19:50:23 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9546 at /oss /oss/article/diets-food-health/when-protein-not-protein <p>You need protein to build muscle. We have all heard that, probably as early as elementary school. And it is true. Muscle is mostly made of protein and its source is protein in the diet. But the route is not direct. Proteins are complex molecules composed of hundreds to thousands of amino acids linked together. When consumed, these chains are broken down into smaller fragments called peptides as well as into individual amino acids.</p> Mon, 30 Mar 2015 01:43:47 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2248 at /oss /oss/article/drugs-health-you-asked/you-asked-zenbev-effective-sleep-aid <p>A lot of people have asked about Zenbev, the "organic sleeping aid" available in health food stores. This combination of pumpkin seed extract and dextrose with some rice starch and guar gum was developed by psychiatrist Craig Hudson based on the assumption that the tryptophan-rich protein in the seed releases tryptophan upon digestion, and that insulin secretion in response to the dextrose component leads to other amino acids being absorbed into muscle cells leaving trytophan free to cross the blood brain barrier.</p> Mon, 25 Nov 2013 02:04:12 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2036 at /oss