Animal protein contains more L-lysine than plant protein. L-lysine stimulates production of growth hormones that could lead to greater strength for bodybuilding, but not necessarily greater endurance for running marathons. Athletes who consume animal products may actually exhibit less strength and endurance than vegan athletes due to protein breakdown products such as uric acid, urea, and purines poisoning and interfering with muscle and nerve function (pg.320, Conscious Eating by Gabriel Cousens ISBN 1-55643-285-2). Uric acid and urea are primary solutes in urine. The large excess of L-lysine consumed when eating animal protein may also lead to promotion of cancer cells.
Vegan bodybuilders could eat more nutritional yeast, which contains a whopping 70% of calories in protein, and L-lysine closer to the proportions of animal protein than the proportions of L-lysine contained in plant protein. The L-lysine from nutritional yeast can also stimulate production of growth hormones that could lead to greater strength. Speculatively, eating more nutritional yeast with its high level of L-lysine could lead to more biosynthesis by the body of L-carnitine, taurine and creatine. So nutritional yeast can also be tried by those who are concerned about possible deficiencies in L-carnitine, taurine and creatine. I usually eat about 1-2 tbsp. of nutritional yeast a day for its B vitamins and protein. Eating more than 5 tbsp. per day raises concerns about getting too many purines from the yeast as one also can with animal protein. (Please see “Nutritional Yeast”.) Excessive purines may result in an abundance of uric acid, which has been associated with gout (arthritis) (Joanne Stepaniak, www.vegsource.com/talk/veganism). Even so, nutritional yeast doesn’t contribute to uric acid levels to the extent of animal protein, which contains more uric acid produced by the living animal, as well as purines and urea. BTW, beware of supplementing a lot of any individual amino acids such as L-lysine or L-arginine, since excessive supplementation can cause damaging imbalances.
Why do some vegans lapse, reverting to consuming dairy products and/or eating flesh? Often they haven’t given the vegan diet justice, consuming refined, nutrient–poor foods. Other reasons follow.
If one has followed through with an optimal approach, supplementing the fundamentals listed in the previous chapter “Vegan B12 bliss? Not”, and eating a wide variety of unrefined foods, one may have problems absorbing the nutrients. If foods have primarily been raw, one might consider trying cooked plant-based foods before breaking from the vegan diet.
If one’s liver has been overworked due to years of consuming the toxins in the usual SAD diet, the liver may take many months to recover after improving the diet. If one’s tongue has a yellowish coating, the liver may be jaundiced. Since the liver makes about 80% of all amino acids that the body needs to biosynthesize, liver malfunction may also create a need for extra protein and conditionally essential molecules. Therefore modest supplementation may be needed by some vegans.
The healing of any chronic disorder such as liver malfunction may well occur more rapidly on a vegan diet, since the body isn’t challenged by the poisons and disease-promoting elements of animal products described in this book. Rather, the healing is supported by plant-based foods.
That said, some people develop allergies to foods that can include not only non-vegan dairy products, but also to wheat or soy. Failure to recognize such a problem may result in failure to thrive while eating allergenic foods.
L-carnitine mainly helps transport fatty acids into the mitochondria, a role critical for metabolizing fats for energy. Decreased biosynthesis of L-carnitine is thought to be related to vitamin C deficiency, since one of its earliest symptoms is fatigue. A 70 kg (154 lb) vegan needs to biosynthesize from 11 mg to 34 mg/day of L-carnitine. Its biosynthesis requires two essential amino acids (L-lysine and L-methionine), iron (Fe2+), vitamin C, vitamin B6, and niacin (http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/othernuts/carnitine/). Older vegans and others may not biosynthesize enough.
Most plant foods contain little L-carnitine. For example one medium avocado contains 2 mg. For reasons detailed in “Nutritional Yeast”, I speculate that minimal carnitine gets biosynthesized by the yeast, so that nutritional yeast provides insignificant amounts of carnitine. Unfortunately, vegetables also supply insignificant amounts of carnitine. I wrote the following Appendix after I realized that 2 day sprouted sunflower kernels [without the shells for convenience] probably contain substantial carnitine, meaning that a ready and convenient source of it’s available to vegans. Please see “Appendices: L-carnitine hypothesis regarding sprouts”. After eating root-shooting sunflower kernels, I feel vibrant, whatever the reason.
A significant number of vegans may revert to eating flesh due to insufficient biosynthesis of the enzymes needed to produce L-carnitine, taurine, or creatine, all found in animals, and all biosynthesized in our bodies when the formative enzymes are present.
[Although they are not protein amino acids in the sense that they get used in the body directly to build proteins, L-carnitine and creatine are in chemical jargon amino acids since their structure contains both of the functional groups of all amino acids, the acidic ammonium cation –the amine group when uncharged– and the basic carboxylate –the carbonyl group when uncharged–. Taurine contains a sulfonic acid group, rather than the carboxylic acid found in other amino acids. It’s one of the most abundant free amino acids in many tissues, especially the heart.]
If a vegan has been feeling debilitated for years despite supplementing the fundamentals and eating a wide variety of unrefined plant-based foods, then eats a little flesh and an hour later feels much more vigorous, that reaction would not be due to re-supplying B12 or DHA deficiency, since those take longer to replenish. Perhaps the fast reaction to flesh indicates a deficiency in L-carnitine, taurine, or creatine, in which case supplements could meet the need instead of flesh.
[DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) is a long chain fatty acid, not DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone), a hormone secreted from the adrenal glands. DHEA is a precursor of the sex hormones estrogen and testosterone.]
People undergoing hemodialysis or those dealing with certain disorders may wish to exercise more caution if they experiment with tiny amounts of L-carnitine, taurine, or creatine. Such disorders are: epilepsy, other seizure disorders, manic or bipolar depression, or impaired renal (kidney) function. “Impaired renal function” may be viewed differently from challenges such as a small renal tumor that may not impair function substantially (The Carnitine Connection by Winifred Conkling pg 173 ISBN: 0-312-97458-2).
The argument can be made that eating flesh or supplementing a little bit of one or more of L-carnitine, taurine, or creatine may only give a stimulating effect that doesn’t address the true cause of debilitation, such as possible deficiency in one or more of the fundamentals: B12, folic acid, D, minerals, vitamins, essential fatty acids and DHA, or protein due to malabsorption.
For example, iron deficiency can impair biosynthesis of L-carnitine. If such a deficiency’s the case, stimulation will only temporarily dominate the symptoms, with the stimulant not really supplying the body’s root needs and with the body becoming further depleted with continued stimulation, requiring ever more of the stimulant. Therefore special emphasis needs to be given on trying to boost intake of the listed fundamentals to boost vitality before trying supplementation of L-carnitine, taurine, or creatine. If one’s on a raw foods diet, better to try tempeh for protein even though it’s cooked than to revert to possibly toxic animal products.
However, for some people with a true deficiency in one or more of L-carnitine, taurine, or creatine, supplementing may well be the key to remaining vegan. This possibility may become more real for older vegans as the body makes some conditionally essential molecules less well than in youth. For most younger people, it’s just a matter of fine-tuning.
After beginning to supplement, one could vary one’s diet and periodically drop the supplementation to find out if it’s still needed. Also, healing could well take place due to an overall healthier regimen so that the body’s making more of the enzymes needed to biosynthesize the items supplemented. Better than taking in the toxins and dealing with the many possible degenerative and infectious disorders consequent to eating flesh or dairy described in this book, would be to try supplementing very small amounts of one or more of L-carnitine, taurine, or creatine.
I’ve found that moderate supplementation maximizes my vigor [I don’t sell supplements]. (Please see “Appendices: Author’s diet and exercise”.) For those who have tried boosting the fundamentals, and just throw up their hands at the complexity of adding further supplements to their diet, I can understand and sympathize with the desire to simplify.
For those who want to try eating a little flesh despite the hazards described above, to find out if that improves their energy, probably a minimal amount of sardines would introduce less mercury and other toxins, in comparison to other animal products, while providing DHA as well as the other nutrients in flesh. Although land animals may contain somewhat less mercury so long as they haven’t been fed fish meal, in general they concentrate other toxins and do not provide the substantial DHA of sardines. Another option is organic free-range eggs, but per calorie they contain much less B12 and DHA, and much more cholesterol than sardines. Even eggs concentrate poisons ubiquitous in the environment, such as PCBs. Therefore one could eat a minimal amount of sardines to get their nutritional benefits, with mercury being the toxic trade-off. Again, due to the toxins and disease promotion associated with any animal products it may be well worthwhile trying supplementing despite its added complexity before breaking from the vegan diet.
I personally am not feeling a need to break from the vegan diet because of the vibrant physical health and deeper reverence for life that I’m experiencing as a vegan. As I go snorkeling alongside schools of flashing silvery flickering marvels, I’d rather swim with them than munch them. Plus I avoid the ingested mercury, PCBs, and cholesterol from fish as well as other animal–based foods. Therefore I’m supplementing 500 mg each of L-carnitine and taurine. I haven’t tried creatine.
L-carnitine mainly helps transport fatty acids into the mitochondria, a role critical for metabolizing fats for energy. The heart is particularly sensitive to a deficiency of L-carnitine. Acetyl-L-carnitine provides acetyl groups, which may be used in the formation of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. In addition to L-carnitine, Alpha Lipoic Acid and CoQ10 are also conditionally essential for optimal energy metabolism.
Omnivores typically eat 100 to 300 mg of carnitine per day in animal products (www.vrg.org/journal/vj2003issue4/vj2003issue4weight.htm). Unfortunately, synthetic carnitine may well contain both D-carnitine and L-carnitine, especially when L-carnitine is derived from D-carnitine. D-carnitine acts as a toxic substitute for L-carnitine in the body. Only a few major manufacturers produce L-Carnitine without using D-Carnitine to start. Both Solgar (www.solgar.com) and Holland and Barrett (www.hollandandbarrett.com) claim to offer vegan and pure L-carnitine. I haven’t yet researched how they make it. [Other pure L-carnitine may come from animal sources including oyster shell.]
When healing cardiovascular or renal (kidney) disorders, supplementing L-carnitine and CoQ10 may prove beneficial (L-carnitine and the Heart by Stephen T. Sinatra MD, Keats Publishing 1999 ISBN 0-658-01163-4). Emulsified CoQ10 may get absorbed better than plain.
Taurine is an amino acid, but not an essential amino since it can be biosynthesized by the body, although in many people in insufficient quantities. Taurine levels can be determined by lab analysis of the blood. Taurine is critical for effective utilization of minerals. Deficiency over the long term can result in many disorders, including heart arrhythmias. Taurine comprises over 50 percent of the total free amino acid pool of the heart. Low levels of taurine have been associated with pathological lesions, including those in cardiomyopathy and retinal degeneration. Taurine levels have been found to be depressed in insulin-dependent diabetic patients (Timothy C. Birdsall, ND. “Therapeutic applications of taurine” Altern-Med-Rev. 1998 Apr; 3(2): 128-36). Taurine is used to treat disorders of the brain, including anxiety, hyperactivity, and epilepsy. Taurine may reduce the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, since alcohol abuse depletes taurine. Omnivores typically eat 40 to 70 mg of taurine per day in animal products. Excessive taurine may cause muscle weakness due to depletion of L-carnosine from the competition of these beta-amino acids for entry into cells. Nutritional yeast is reputed to be a vegan source of taurine.
Creatine is used for storing energy temporarily in muscle in the form of phosphocreatine, with creatinine formed as a waste product after usage of that energy. Creatinine later gets excreted by the kidneys. The quality of creatine used is extremely important for positive results and to minimize the toxins formed as byproducts of artificial synthesis of creatine (www.creapure.de/bioactives/html/e/products/brands/creapure/risks.htm).
Anecdotally, some vegans who’ve felt debilitated and emotionally imbalanced for years report feeling vigorous and balanced very soon after beginning to supplement just an eighth teaspoon of creatine two or three times a day. This reaction may be to stimulation rather than a sign of true deficiency in creatine, especially since creatine is used for energy. Such stimulation may temporarily dominate the effects of the person’s as yet unidentified root deficiency, and obscure the need to address that deficiency. In such a case, it would be worthwhile checking consumption of the fundamentals listed above.
An eighth teaspoon of creatine is much less than the half tablespoon or greater amounts used by body-builders and should be less than the amounts that result in the side effects that athletes suffer from such large quantities. The side effects of large quantities of non-buffered creatine monohydrate range from dehydration and heatstroke, gastrointestinal disturbances such as diarrhea, and muscle cramps, to liver and kidney disorders in otherwise healthy individuals.
Besides the side effects listed above, supplementation of 15-20 grams per day has been associated with a rapid two pound weight gain, probably due to water retention. Even this relatively small weight gain, albeit water, could be detrimental to performance in some sports, since it wouldn’t make muscles stronger, only appear larger.
Creatine monohydrate makes fluids that it’s mixed with less alkaline and gastric fluid even more acidic, thereby creating an ambient that accelerates the conversion of almost all the creatine into creatinine before the body even gets a chance to absorb the “nutrient”. Supplementation of creatine monohydrate, in the large dosages commonly used, can result in urinary concentrations of creatinine that are 90 times greater than normal. The excessive creatinine likely causes the side effects of supplementing large amounts of creatine monohydrate. In addition people often use cheaper creatine produced by unreliable companies, creatine that contains toxins formed as byproducts of artificial synthesis in quantities that varyenormously from batch to batch. In the case of unreliable creatine, some side effects may stem from excessive toxins in the product as well as toxic creatinine.
The reason that athletes and others have felt any benefit from ordinary creatine is that the little bit of creatine that does make it into the blood even from very large dosages represents say a 10% to 20% increase in the amount of creatine ordinarily available in the body. Also, sometimes toxins such as creatinine even in small amounts cause stimulation as the body revs up to eliminate the toxin ASAP.
The buffered brand “Kre-Alkalyn” (Patent US6399661) is ordinary creatine monohydrate mixed with a strongly alkaline buffering agent such as baking soda to prevent the acidic creatine monohydrate from turning most fluids that it’s mixed with acidic, and from making the stomach more acidic (www.veropax.com). Since almost all the creatine gets assimilated, only a tiny amount would need to get supplemented. Although Kre-Alkalyn is claimed to “solve” the problem of premature conversion of creatine into creatinine, caution is still warranted when taking this buffered creatine:
In quantities greater than say one thirty second of a teaspoon to be conservative, buffered creatine might not only make the stomach much less acidic, hampering digestion of protein and B12, but also could make the entire body more alkaline, possibly even caustic. The blood would likely be maintained in the narrow range of alkalinity required for survival, but the tissues might become more alkaline than optimal.
Perhaps even an eighth tsp. might not cause problems, but no controlled studies have been conducted to my knowledge. Still, half a tablespoon could cause major problems in the resultant possibly over-alkaline, slightly caustic tissues of the body. An upper limit over a full day of Kre-Alkalyn might be two grams, the average dietary intake of omnivores via flesh.
Before taking creatine, one could read further on the subject (Becoming Vegan by Brenda Davis ISBN 1-57067-103-6 www.vrg.org, www.andrews.edu/NUFS/vegathletes.htm, www.veganhealth.org/shv/).
