4 ms·

What is the benefit of containing neurotransmitters? I hit up Wikipedia and see they carry signals. I'm not seeing how that is a benefit, however. They appear t

by KGIII 9y ago

What is the benefit of containing neurotransmitters? I hit up Wikipedia and see they carry signals. I'm not seeing how that is a benefit, however. They appear to carry any signal, not some special signals. Unless one has too few (I'm not sure what might even cause that) then I'm not seeing why that's beneficial.

cwkoss 9y ago
I don't think they can cross the blood brain barrier, but I think I've read that some can get partially metabolized into a precursor, travel across the BBB, and then re-assembled within the brain. Probably not particularly necessary for healthy individuals, but could reduce the amount of work needed to synthesize your own transmitters (few steps rather than 'from scratch'). Perhaps some individuals with neurotransmitter deficits could see benefit. As I'm sure you can tell though, I'm not a trained neuroscientist.
- KGIII 9y ago
  Hmm... If I'm understanding correctly, they might possible be bound to opiate molecules and increase efficacy in hitting the receptors? That makes some sense. By itself, I can't think of how it would benefit a healthy person. I'm not even sure what kinds of unhealthy people that might help. So, to me it looked like, 'Hey, here are some fancy words! Don't look too deep, because they are mostly meaningless.' No offense intended, that's just what it looked like to a curious layman. I have a commercial wild blueberry operation so I hear some really, really strange claims. Things like this peg my skepticism meter. No, my blueberries won't turn you into Superman or Einstein. They don't cure cancer, prevent HIV, or give you psychic powers.
  - cwkoss 9y ago
    I don't think nettles have opiate-like molecules. (Would probably be counter productive - less pain, poorer defense mechanism) Nettles have serotonin, histamine, and acetylcholine. Serotonin could benefit certain mood disorders, and acetylcholine supplementation can reduce certain kinds of headaches. As with all natural foods/medicines, I think you'd typically see only minor benefits over long-term supplementation. Much less powerful than modern medicine, but perhaps fewer side effects when taken properly. You're right to be skeptical though, lots of snake-oil salesmen in the natural food space making dubious claims. Blueberries are probably much healthier for you than eating Cheetos, but probably not that different from other berries. I appreciate scientists studying which species have the most nutrition, but variance in freshness and growing conditions are probably the biggest factors in nutritional density. ex. fresh raspberry are probably better than old poorly grown blueberries.
    - KGIII 9y ago
      I meant they could be chemically bound with opiate molecules in a separate process. Not that they contained them by default and in nature. Sorry for the confusion. Blueberries contain antioxidants! LOL

by KGIII 9y ago

cwkoss 9y ago

I don't think they can cross the blood brain barrier, but I think I've read that some can get partially metabolized into a precursor, travel across the BBB, and then re-assembled within the brain. Probably not particularly necessary for healthy individuals, but could reduce the amount of work needed to synthesize your own transmitters (few steps rather than 'from scratch'). Perhaps some individuals with neurotransmitter deficits could see benefit. As I'm sure you can tell though, I'm not a trained neuroscientist.

KGIII 9y ago
Hmm... If I'm understanding correctly, they might possible be bound to opiate molecules and increase efficacy in hitting the receptors? That makes some sense. By itself, I can't think of how it would benefit a healthy person. I'm not even sure what kinds of unhealthy people that might help. So, to me it looked like, 'Hey, here are some fancy words! Don't look too deep, because they are mostly meaningless.' No offense intended, that's just what it looked like to a curious layman. I have a commercial wild blueberry operation so I hear some really, really strange claims. Things like this peg my skepticism meter. No, my blueberries won't turn you into Superman or Einstein. They don't cure cancer, prevent HIV, or give you psychic powers.
- cwkoss 9y ago
  I don't think nettles have opiate-like molecules. (Would probably be counter productive - less pain, poorer defense mechanism) Nettles have serotonin, histamine, and acetylcholine. Serotonin could benefit certain mood disorders, and acetylcholine supplementation can reduce certain kinds of headaches. As with all natural foods/medicines, I think you'd typically see only minor benefits over long-term supplementation. Much less powerful than modern medicine, but perhaps fewer side effects when taken properly. You're right to be skeptical though, lots of snake-oil salesmen in the natural food space making dubious claims. Blueberries are probably much healthier for you than eating Cheetos, but probably not that different from other berries. I appreciate scientists studying which species have the most nutrition, but variance in freshness and growing conditions are probably the biggest factors in nutritional density. ex. fresh raspberry are probably better than old poorly grown blueberries.
  - KGIII 9y ago
    I meant they could be chemically bound with opiate molecules in a separate process. Not that they contained them by default and in nature. Sorry for the confusion. Blueberries contain antioxidants! LOL