About Gregory Gai

Interests

Macronutrients
- Carbohydrates, Fats (including Essential Fatty Acids), Proteins, Macrominerals, H₂O. These macronutrients are interchangeable as energy.
  - Carbohydrates --> glucose and other monosaccharides (4 kcal/g)
  - Fats --> fatty acids and glycerol (9 kcal/g)
  - Proteins --> peptides and amino acids (4 kcal/g)
  - Ethanol --> (7 kcal/g)

- Nitrogen & Protein
  - "Carbohydrates and fat spare tissue protein. Unless sufficient nonprotein calories are available from either dietary sources or tissue stores (particularly of fat), protein can not be used efficiently for tissue maintenance, replacement, or growth, and considerably more protein is required for a positive nitrogen balance."

Essential Amino Acids (EAAs)
- - - (⁹/₂₀ amino acids) ⁸/₂₀ required by all humans
- Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein
  - Decreases from...
    - 2.2 g/kg in 3-mo-old infants to...
    - 1.2 g/kg in 5-yr-old children and...
    - 0.8 g/kg in adults.
- Biological Value (BV) determined by
  - - the extent to which a protein matches the amino acid composition of animal tissues.
  - A perfect match is egg proetin with a BV of 100.
  - Animal proteins in milk and meat have a high BV of ~90.
  - Cereal and vegetables have a BV of ~40.
  - Derived proteinslike gelatin lack tryptophan & valine have a BV of ~0.
- -RDA for protein assures that the average mixed diet has a Biological Value of ~70.

Essential fatty acids (EFA)
- - Should be introduced as 6-10% of fat intake (5-10 g/day)
  - These include & must be provided by the diet.
    - ω-6 (n-6) fatty acids
      - Linolenic Acid (cis-9,12-octadecadienoic acid)
      - Arachidonic Acid (cis-5,8,11,14-eicosatetraenoic acid)
    - ω-6 (n-3) Fatty Acids
      - Linolenic Acid (cis-9,12,15-octadecadienoic acid)
      - cis-5,8,11,14,17-eicosapentaenoic acid
      - cis-4,7,10,13,16,19-docosahexaenoic acid
    - Vegetable Oils provide Linoleic and Linolenic fatty acids
    - Marine Fish Oils provide eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid.
  - EFAs are required in the formation of a variety of eicosanoids
    - Prostoglandins
    - Thromboxanes
    - Prostacyclins
    - Leukotrienes
  - ω-3 appear to aid in the reduction of coronary artery disease
  - All EFAs are polyunsaturated fatty acids PUFAs but not all polyunsaturated fatty acids are EFAs.
Macrominerals
- Required in gram quantities by humans daily
  - Sodium
  - Chloride
  - Potassium
  - Calcium
  - Phosphorus
  - Magnesium
  - Water (H₂O)
    - Required in amounts of 1 mL/kcal of energy expended (approx. 2500 mL/day)