On Fri, 28 Dec 2001 20:13:19 -0500, Wally Ballou <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

>Interesting choice of words... "degraded..."  While it's a colorful term,
>it would seem to be as applicable to any portion of the digestive and
>assimilation functions...  The proper term is "gluconeogenesis."

The degradation lies in the fact that the body seems to be thrifty with
amino acids, using them only then when no other carbohydrate source is
available (fasting) or when too much amino acids are present in the blood
and need to be removed. Amino acids are essential to build up body tissue.

However in most thinkable nature/paleo diets (of plants or animals) protein
is too much anyway, so you can consider gluconeugenesis a n
atural way of
assimilation.

The exception to the rule may be with a >80% fruit diet, where protein
intake is slightly below the RDA on a 2-3000 kcal diet.
The conservation tendence of the body may be attributed to tha fruitarian
background of primates. It should be different for cats.

> That is
>the process through which the body can convert up to 58% of protein
>(ingested, or cannibalized from its own tissues during starvation) into
>glycogen.

I think the 58% percent are not a upper rule, but more the average number
of diets operating close to the RDA. They compute if you take the RDA
protein, and subtract the amino acids used for structural purposes (the
amino acids as such). This for a low quality protein or a medium quality
protein (e.g. muscle meat) and slightly more than RDA intake.

With kidney diseases you have to aim for the lowest nitrogen input and the