On Fri, 21 Jul 2000 07:52:59 -0400, Todd Moody <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

>> About lipoic acid ..
>It's widely available in the U.S., usually advertised as the
>"universal antioxidant," and with a long list of other virtues.

Well, if combined with B-complex it may have a pyruvate lowering effect?
One can have py. tested (i did).
Or better use some living raw food which has the whole untouched complex.
It looks like a very interesting substance however.
Antioxidant... hm hm nowadays even more important as in the old days.

>
>I tried creating a "thiamin quotient" for the Anchell foods, and
>for some other foods, for comparison.

I once did a similar list at
http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?A2=ind9907&L=paleofood&P=R125
(my ratios were scaled by factor ten of yours
(to compare divide my ratio by ten, e.g.potatoe .5)

I see that the anchell foods -as natural ones- at least show
a ratio > .25, which i found as thiamin minimum for breakdown in literature.
So they have enough thiamin.
Your white rice result I can't believe.
>Rice (white)    24.73/.4        .250            1.03
>Rice (brown)    22.96/1.8       .096            .454
Can it be you switched white and brown rice? Can white rice have more than
brown? Even then i consider the white rice result unbelievable high.
I guess that some fortified (or at least parboiled) quality is assumed.

>The main result of this is that there is nothing special about
>the Anchell foods.

Yes, it looks so.
And for thiamin i must say, this is what i've expected. All natural food
have al least that .25 ratio for their own survival.
Compare to sugars or donuts, which are anchell forbidden.

>Many of the non-Anchell foods have a much
>higher thiamin quotient, with walnuts, peanuts, and spinach being
>the big winners.  Indeed, most of the non-Anchell foods have a
>higher score than most of the Anchell foods

As the anchell prescription is derived from practice, there will be other
influencing factors, that can rule out a foodstuff.
The very high fat content of the nuts. And eggplant (if prepared as usual).
Anchel as a weight loosing specialist will probably rule out such very
energy dense foodstuffs.

Or as my guess , regarding the decarboxylation enzyme complexes:
Niacin ratio is also important for pyruvate, both - as you wrote.
And riboflavin ratio (this occurs later *in* the C.A.Cycle and betrays also
breakdown of fats).

The very high thiamin factors of spinach and walnuts have something to do
with their overall small carbohydrate content (the walnut has a thiamin
reserve for the first incomeing carbohydrates, when sprouting).

>Conclusion: Either there is in fact nothing special about the
>Anchell foods or, if there is, it has to do with something other
>than niacin.

Well thiamin is high enough in all, as opposed to *many* "SAD" foodstuffs.
I think you mean thiamin, niacin and riboflavin is open.

A word about riboflavin:
The anchel diet is the "steak" diet, after all.
And for loosing weight (not only avoiding to gain).
Loosing weight means burning bodyfat.

Burning of fat enters the citric acid cycle at acetylCoA stage.
Somewhere in *there* riboflavin is required (I haven't lokalized where yet).
Fat burning will in addition to breakdown of the eaten carbohydrates require
a surplus of riboflavin. Steaks are a very *good* source of riboflavin.
(Even not so easy to achieve by grains and other plants).
Riboflavin check made sense.

cheers and happy weekend - anchellizing thiaminizing or ribiflavinizing...

Amadeus