Credit where credit's due.

I've had a busy day today. In the morning I got a man in to fix a broken underground sewer pipe. It was broken when I moved into the house in 1991, but I was quoted £600 to dig up the path and replace the pipe back then. I couldn't afford that, so I rodded the pipe every few years to clear any blockages.

In the spirit of New beginnings, I decided to "get it sorted". So I got a man who knows about these things in. It cost under £100 to do the job, as the whole pipe didn't need to be replaced. That's Karl Gratton, Aldershot, Hants. 07851 894256. Here's an "after" photo after chucking a couple of buckets of water down to clear the cobwebs. I didn't take a "before" photo, but there was a hole in the bottom of the inspection chamber (now cemented) as well as the broken pipe.


After Karl left, I walked to my local Waitrose. By pavement, it's a 20 minute walk, so I took a short-cut through the woods. It was pouring with rain, the path was very muddy and full of puddles. I felt a strange sensation....


My soles had cracked. Oh, wow! What an amazingly heavy bummer!

When I got to Waitrose, I was dismayed to see that they had sold out of Burgen Soya & Linseed bread, as I had a 50p coupon that expired that day. Two assistants (Sally & Barbara) told me that I could get 50p off on a future visit if I showed them the coupon. I bought some nosh as a treat for the soggy walk home. While I was waiting at the checkout, Sally (or maybe Barbara) approached me, holding a loaf of Burgen. Now that's what I call customer service! That's Waitrose, Tresham Crescent, Yateley, Hants, GU46 6FR - 01252 861888.

EDIT: When I'm in Henley, I have lunch at Jay's Kitchen. I phone/text my order in advance and get a freshly-cooked Full English (2 bacon, 2 sausage, 2 egg, baked beans, fried onions, mushrooms & tomatoes) for £3. There's a table & 2 chairs on the pavement. That's Jay's Kitchen, Newtown Rd, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.


EDIT: Today (16th February), I got this:-


EDIT: Just around the corner, also on Newtown Rd is a car wash done by hand. A basic wash is £6 and a full inside & outside clean is £12. I was given a free bottle of water to drink.

And finally...

I want to give credit to....Gary Taubes *sound of people fainting*. His curate's egg Good Calories, Bad Calories is good, in parts. The parts about the Diet-Heart Hypothesis, I completely agree with, as I have read The Great Cholesterol Con by Anthony Colpo, which pretty much ties-up with The Great Cholesterol Con by Dr Malcolm Kendrick, which pretty much ties-up with Ignore the awkward! How the cholesterol myths are kept alive by Uffe Ravnskov. See also The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics.

Here's a picture to warm the cockles of your heart.

When you get the bad parts sorted, we'll stop prodding you with a pointy stick!

Enzymes

I have started to discuss my theory with Gary Taubes and this blog post is intended to go into a bit more detail about how stuff works. Trying to explain the following over the phone with hand-waving is likely to be very difficult, especially when I forget things!

Firstly, see Enzyme. Their name always ends in "ase". The thing about enzymes is that their activity can be increased & decreased by the level of substrate i.e. how much "stuff" there is going in to the reaction and how much "stuff" there is coming out of the reaction. Activation & inhibition can also be produced by other substances not directly involved in the reaction.

To get from Glucose (assuming muscle cells) to Pyruvate involves a multi-step process involving lots of different enzymes and other substances. Here's the first step.

Glucose + 1 molecule of ATP (Adenosine Tri-Phosphate) is converted by Glucokinase (with the aid of 2 Magnesium ions) into Glucose-6-phosphate + 1 molecule of ADP (Adenosine Di-Phosphate) + 1 Hydrogen ion. Here's the last step.

Phosphoenolpyruvate + 1 molecule of ADP is converted by Pyruvate kinase (with the aid of 2 Magnesium ions and 1 Potassium ion) into 1 molecule of Pyruvate + 1 molecule of ATP.

As stated in Everyone is Different , muscle cells at rest derive most of their energy from fat (Tri-Palmitin). Inside the cell mitochondria, molecules of Palmitoyl CoA (from Palmitate from hydrolysed Tri-Palmitin) produce energy starting with a process called beta-oxidation, where Acetyl CoA is repeatedly "snipped-off" yielding a fatty acid that's shorter by 2 carbon groups, 1 molecule of Acetyl CoA, 1 molecule of FADH2 + 1 molecule of NADH+H+ (don't ask!) until all that's left is Acetyl CoA. The molecules of Acetyl CoA enter the Krebs Cycle which produces more energy.

As muscle cells at rest derive most of their energy from Acetyl CoA rather than Pyruvate, Pyruvate accumulates. This inhibits the enzyme Pyruvate kinase causing an accumulation of Phosphoenolpyruvate. This inhibits the enzyme that produces Phosphoenolpyruvate etc etc. This results in an accumulation of Glucose-6-phosphate. This inhibits the enzyme Glucokinase causing an accumulation of Glucose. This inhibits the Glu-T4 transporters making muscle cells temporarily insulin resistant. Blood glucose stops entering muscle cells.

Things change when muscle cells undergoing anaerobic exercise use Pyruvate instead of Acetyl CoA. A lack of Pyruvate activates the enzyme Pyruvate kinase causing a lack of Phosphoenolpyruvate. This activates the enzyme that produces Phosphoenolpyruvate etc etc. This results in a lack of Glucose-6-phosphate. This activates the enzyme Glucokinase causing an lack of Glucose. This activates the Glu-T4 transporters making muscle cells temporarily insulin sensitive. Blood glucose enters muscle cells even if blood insulin level is normal.

The same principle applies to fat cells regarding glycerol-3-phosphate. In conclusion:
Within cells, the biochemical processes that produce "stuff" are not static but vary according to the needs of the cells.

I need a break!

While waiting to get hold of Taube's book Good Calories Bad Calories, I'm reading Toban Wiebe's Complete Notes to Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes.

I'm also reading Anthony Colpo's latest articles on http://www.anthonycolpo.com/ . This guy doesn't mince his words!