[ExI] Progress

[Dave Sill]

On Fri, Mar 1, 2013 at 3:53 AM, Anders Sandberg <anders at aleph.se> wrote:
> Earlier this week we had a big debate on the causes of obesity (
>
http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2013/02/28/balaji-ravichandran-are-all-calories-equal-or-are-some-more-equal-than-others
> ) and I think my main take-home surprise was that obesity suddenly started
> to grow worldwide (with some lags) in the late 70s. Yet the causes seems
to
> be fairly complex - I was not too convinced by the explanations given.

This is pretty interesting (summary, emphasis mine):

http://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/sulfur_obesity_alzheimers_muscle_wasting.html

*Although sulfur is an essential element in human biology, we hear
surprisingly little about sulfur in discussions on health. Sulfur binds
strongly with oxygen, and is able to stably carry a charge ranging from +6
to -2, and is therefore very versatile in supporting aerobic metabolism.
There is strong evidence that sulfur deficiency plays a role in diseases
ranging from Alzheimer's to cancer to heart disease. Particularly
intriguing is the relationship between sulfur deficiency and muscle
wasting, a signature of end-stage cancer, AIDS, Crohn's disease, and
chronic fatigue syndrome.*
*
*
*The African rift zone, where humans are believed to have first made their
appearance several million years ago, would have been rich with sulfur
supplied by active volcanism. It is striking that people living today in
places where sulfur is abundantly provided by recent volcanism enjoy a low
risk for heart disease and obesity.*
*
*
*In my research on sulfur, I was drawn to two mysterious molecules:
cholesterol sulfate and vitamin D3 sulfate. Researchers have not yet
determined the role that cholesterol sulfate plays in the blood stream,
despite the fact that it is ubiquitous there. Research experiments have
clearly shown that cholesterol sulfate is protective against heart disease.
I have developed a theory proposing that cholesterol sulfate is central to
the formation of lipid rafts, which, in turn, are essential for aerobic
glucose metabolism. I would predict that deficiencies in cholesterol
sulfate lead to severe defects in muscle metabolism, and this includes the
heart muscle. My theory would explain the protective role of cholesterol
sulfate in heart disease and muscle wasting diseases.*
*
*
*I have also argued that cholesterol sulfate delivers oxygen to myoglobin
in muscle cells, resulting in safe oxygen transport to the mitochondria. I
argue a similar role for alpha-synuclein in the brain. There is a striking
relationship between Alzheimer's and sulfur depletion in neurons in the
brain. Sulfur plays a key role in protectiing proteins in neurons and
muscle cells from oxidative damage, while maintaining adequate oxygen
supply to the mitochondria.*
*
*
*When muscles become impaired in glucose metabolism due to reduced
availability of cholesterol sulfate, proliferating fat cells become
involved in converting glucose to fat. This provides an alternative fuel
for the muscle cells, and replenishes the cholesterol supply by storing and
refurbishing cholesterol extracted from defective LDL. Thin people with
cholesterol and sulfur deficiency are vulnerable to a wide range of
problems, such as Crohn's disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, and muscle
wasting, because fat cells are not available to ameliorate the situation.*
*
*
*Cholesterol sulfate in the epithelium protects from invasion of pathogens
through the skin, which greatly reduces the burden placed on the immune
system. Perhaps the most intriguing possibility presented here is the idea
that sulfur provides a way for the skin to become a solar-powered battery:
to store the energy from sunlight as chemical energy in the sulfate
molecule. This seems like a very sensible and practical scheme, and the
biochemistry involved has been demonstrated to work in phototrophic
sulfur-metabolizing bacteria found in sulfur hot springs.*
*
*
*The skin produces vitamin D3 sulfate upon exposure to sunlight, and the
vitamin D3 found in breast milk is also sulfated. In light of these facts,
it is quite surprising to me that so little research has been directed
towards understanding what role sulfated vitamin D3 plays in the body. It
is recently becoming apparent that vitamin D3 promotes a strong immune
system and offers protection against cancer, yet how it achieves these
benefits is not at all clear. I strongly suspect that it is vitamin D3
sulfate that carries out this aspect of vitamin D3's positive influence.*
*
*
*Modern lifestyle practices conspire to induce major deficiencies in
cholesterol sulfate and vitamin D3 sulfate. We are encouraged to actively
avoid sun exposure and to minimize dietary intake of cholesterol-containing
foods. We are encouraged to consume a high-carbohydrate/low-fat diet which,
as I have argued previously (Seneff2010), leads to impaired cholesterol
uptake in cells. We are told nothing about sulfur, yet many factors,
ranging from the Clean Air Act to intensive farming to water softeners,
deplete the supply of sulfur in our food and water.*
*
*
*Fortunately, correcting these deficiencies at the individual level is easy
and straightforward. If you just throw away the sunscreen and eat more
eggs, those two steps alone may greatly increase your chances of living a
long and healthy life.*
*
*
-Dave
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