Cell membrane physiology (anabolic / catabolic)

Section from data gathering form

This point of balance in the body is second only to the Electrolyte Balance. You may wonder why we’ve ranked this balance above the others. As in each ranking in the hierarchy of points of stasis, the higher ranking points of stasis hold greater sway and are more influential factors impacting the lower ranking points of stasis. For example, if someone is in either an anabolic or catabolic imbalance, cell walls are less able to properly regulate the flow of acid and alkaline elements throughout the body.

Summary of the anabolic / catabolic distinction

Our bodies are designed to swing from a more catabolic state in the morning to a more anabolic state in the evening. During the catabolic state, cell walls are more permeable, allowing more energy exchange to happen and produce more metabolic waste in the process.

Think of the catabolic state as one where an individual is burning the candle at both ends. As the day progresses into evening & night, our bodies ideally shift to a more anabolic state, where cell membranes become less permeable, in a sense, closing down shop for the evening to restock, regenerate internal supplies, rest, repair and grow. 

Think of the anabolic state as one where a person isn’t burning the candle at either end - they’re resting or even sleeping. That’s a natural ebb and flow that we should all go through each day. It helps us be energetic when it’s time for action and lets us rest up at night to prepare for the following day’s activity.

A brilliant physician named Emmanuel Revici, M.D., discovered that most seriously ill individuals were stuck in either catabolic or anabolic states. We just talked about the advantages of being in each state, but you may already be able to guess some of the problems with being stuck in either one state or the other. If we were stuck in the catabolic state, burning the candle at both ends, we may soon find ourselves exhausted. Energy stores would run thin and we’d be generating excessive metabolic waste. Further, being stuck in this state makes cells less stable, age/die faster, and makes the body more prone to bacterial, yeast and fungal infection. We generate more oxidative stress and tend to be less able to sleep well or ever feel really rested and energetic. On the flip side, someone stuck in an anabolic state, not burning the candle at either end, has a really hard time tapping into the potential energy present in the body. The anabolic cells are also more closed off to oxygen and, as such, produce energy through what’s called anaerobic fermentation. This produces an intracellular (inside the cell) environment that is more hospitable to viral infection. Not cool. The cells also tend to last longer than they should and run into more problems with DNA replication, making the anabolic individual prone to certain types of tumour growth. Also way not cool! There are other issues that each state has with it and things we can do to restore balance in each scenario. 

What determines if cell membranes are built right and healthfully swing from the catabolic state in the a.m. to the anabolic state in the p.m. and back again the next day? There are many factors including vitamin, mineral and amino acid balances that impact this swing, but one of the most important factors is a balance of the types of fats that make up the cell membrane.

Our cells are bi-lipid membranes (“bi” means two) - these two types of fats that make up our cell membranes are fatty acids and sterols (sterols as in cholesterol). If a cell’s membrane has an imbalance of too many fatty acids and not enough sterols, as is often the case for someone who, due to pop culture, has avoided saturated fats for a long time, then the cell wall will be too permeable and the person will likely fall into a catabolic imbalance. On the other end of the spectrum, if someone has too many sterols making up their cell membranes (as might be the case in someone with elevated cholesterol levels) then the cells will not be permeable enough and the person will likely be in an anabolic imbalance. Specific recommendations and further elaborations of each state follow, but first, a little bit about the genius whose insights most heavily inform the content of this information...

What can you say about a man that continued to go into the office after his 100th birthday. Crazy? Or maybe it is dedication beyond the call to duty. This was Emanuel Revici, MD. A physician whose genius and dedication to research rocketed past his peers. In fact he was so far past his peers that the State of New York saw fit to take away his medical license when he was in his 90's for doing things they did not agree with. (He eventually got his license back.)

With brilliant research in lipid/sterol mechanics and cancer, one culmination of Revici's work was his textbook titled "Research in Physiopathology as Basis of Guided Chemotherapy, With Special Application to Cancer". It should be required reading for every medical and oncology student though it is basically an unknown work in those circles (Probably due to the extreme academic, political and corporate influence in this area).

What Revici did was nail the benchmarks for easily determining the anabolic/anaerobic or catabolic/dysaerobic condition of the body which is the ultimate reflection of the diphasic nature of human life.

The elements largely responsible for the diphasic swing of anabolic and catabolic states is the lipid / sterol cellular balance. This directly relates to cell membrane permeability issues. If one were to be pushed into either extreme (typical of someone that is not well), cells would either be locked up and fail to communicate (that's one way of saying it), or would be so wishy washy they could easily give way to a loose structure and wreak havoc on the other extreme. These states are reflective in the numbers provided through urinary pH and surface tension results, and steadfastly correlated to suggested protocols gleaned through years of painstaking research by Dr. Revici. The clinical power this holds for the physician willing to learn these concepts cannot be understated.

Catabolic imbalance

If your tests gave some indications that you have a Catabolic Imbalance, you should know that this is a cellular permeability imbalance. During the day, our cell walls are intended to open up (much like a flower) so nutrients can get in and out more easily. At night, our cell walls are intended to become more closed (again like a flower) so nutrients cannot get in and out as easily. This "more open" state is called a catabolic state. Though it is very appropriate for the cells to be in a catabolic state during the day, some individuals will stay in a more catabolic state most of the time. These individuals are said to be experiencing a catabolic imbalance. 

Our cells are made up of different types of fats. (Fatty acids and sterols.) With too many fatty acids, in the cell membrane, and not enough sterols, we could be predisposed to get stuck in a catabolic state (As described above). If there are too many sterols and not enough fatty acids, our body can be predisposed to become stuck in an anabolic state (The opposite of a catabolic state).

To make the body operate correctly we need to oscillate back and forth from the anabolic state at night, while we sleep, and a catabolic state during the day, while we’re active. Without this natural oscillation, problems like insomnia or bacterial problems are more likely.

Since an overly catabolic state can be described as a lack of sterols at the cellular level, increasing your intake of sterols, such as butter or coconut oil, can be one method to help improve this imbalance. However, we find that most individuals with this imbalance really need to use more nutrients like specific vitamins, minerals and amino acids as well in order to see lasting improvement, but increasing your sterol intake can be a great place to start.

This imbalance may show itself in the form of a number of different symptoms or "conditions". The outcome may be different depending on the individual, but you may have already found yourself experiencing one or more of the following issues at some point:

• Insomnia
  
• Migraines
  
• Chronic Diarrhea or Loose Stool
  
• Hair Falling Out
  
• Muscle Loss
  
• Chronic Pain
  
•  Loss of Connective Tissue or difficulty in healing
  
• Aging Quickly - Joint and muscle pain; arthritis (especially rheumatoid)
  
• Bacterial Problems
  
• Oliguria (Insufficient Urination, perhaps often but in small amounts)
  
• Low Body Temperature

Anabolic imbalance

If your tests gave some indications that you have an Anabolic Imbalance, you should know this is also a cellular permeability imbalance, but opposite of the catabolic imbalance. During the day, our cell walls are intended to open up (much like a flower) so nutrients can get in and out more easily. At night, our cell walls are intended to become more closed (again like a flower) so nutrients cannot get in and out as easily. This "more closed" state is called an anabolic state.

Though it is very appropriate for the cells to be in an anabolic state at night, some individuals will stay in a more anabolic state most of the time. These individuals are said to be experiencing an anabolic imbalance. Weightlifters take anabolic steroids in order to be in the tissue-building, anabolic state when they are not playing fair with muscle building.

Our cells are made up of different types of fats. (Fatty acids and sterols.) If there are too many sterols, in the cell membrane, and not enough fatty acids, our body can be predisposed to become stuck in an anabolic state (as described above). With too many fatty acids and not enough sterols, we could be predisposed to get stuck in a catabolic state (The opposite of an anabolic state).

To make the body operate correctly we need to oscillate back and forth from the anabolic state at night, while we sleep, and a catabolic state during the day, while we’re active. Without this natural oscillation, problems like constipation or viral problems are more likely. When the body shifts from anabolic to catabolic, that's when the endorphins in the brain are released, which can help people from becoming depressed. 

Since an overly anabolic state can be described as a lack of fatty acids at the cellular level, increasing your fatty acid intake can be one method to help improve this imbalance. However, we find that most individuals with this imbalance really need to use more nutrients like specific vitamins, minerals and amino acids as well in order to see lasting improvement, but increasing your fatty acid intake can be a great place to start.

This imbalance may show itself in the form of a number of different symptoms or "conditions". The outcome may be different depending on the individual, but you may have already found yourself experiencing one or more of the following issues at some point:

• Constipation/hard stool
  
• Tachycardia
  
• Anxiety/panic attacks
  
• requent urination
  
• Difficulty awakening in the morning
  
• Viral problems
  
• UTI or Bladder Infections