5 ms·

I don't mean to insult you, so let me apologize if this sounds mean, but I can tell you're completely unfamiliar with basic human physiology. What you're sayin

I don't mean to insult you, so let me apologize if this sounds mean, but I can tell you're completely unfamiliar with basic human physiology. What you're saying makes no sense. Ammonia is your body's way of getting rid of nitrogen, which comes from dietary protein. In general, an adult's body must dispose of as much nitrogen as they consume. This makes sense if you think about it, because humans don't grow forever. You may gain or lose lean mass for periods of time, but in general, nitrogen excretion equals nitrogen intake. The more protein you eat, the more ammonia your body makes, and your body is designed to efficiently process and eliminate large amounts of ammonia, mostly via conversion to urea and renal filtering. So think about this logically for a moment. Think about how much protein you eat every day. In effect, all of the nitrogen in that protein (an equal amount of nitrogen, rather) is converted to ammonia inside your body. You'll see exactly how much whenever you have your blood tested, in your UUN (Urine Urea Nitrogen) number. My last UUN was about 20 g/day. Healthy athletes commonly excrete up to 40 or 50 grams of nitrogen per day, which means their bodies can safely produce upward of 50 grams of ammonia every day (molar mass ratio of nitrogen to ammonia is about 0.82). This is perfectly normal and sustainable for your entire life. Renal efficiency declines slowly after middle age, but reasonably high-protein diets are harmless and in many ways beneficial even for elderly people. Does this make sense? You're worried about eating, say, a hundred milligrams of extra ammonia in your food, while your body is naturally and safely producing hundreds of times more than that every day. Do you see how silly that sounds? EDIT: As I pointed out in another comment, I'm a vegetarian, and I reflexively consider LFTB to be approximately equivalent to roadkill. I think there are legitimate risks in mislabeling LFTB, but the trace ammonia content is not one of them.

wolco 8y ago
Ammonia ends up being converted into urea which is then excreted in the urine. That process happens in the liver and the older you are the slower the urea cycle. While an athlete may be able to handle additional pink meat I would question why a high performing athlete would. The trace amounts you speak of are the maximum amounts before the taste starts to change.
- nate_meurer 8y ago
  > That process happens in the liver and the older you are the slower the urea cycle. Not exactly. As I said earlier, renal function degrades slowly in old age. But that has no bearing on the pink slime issue, because normal nitrogen clearance capacity is orders of magnitude greater than dietary ammonia consumption, even in the elderly. > While an athlete may be able to handle additional pink meat I would question why a high performing athlete would. No, nitrogen clearance has nothing to do with athleticism or fitness level. All healthy adults can handle high protein diets. Old, young, fit or not; if you don't have impaired renal function or some kind of genetic metabolic disorder, your body can and does safely process hundreds or thousands of times more ammonia than what you eat in your food. > The trace amounts you speak of are the maximum amounts before the taste starts to change. No, those are food safety limits set by the FDA. [EDIT: nope, actually those are just some random tested ammonia levels. As a GRAS additive, the FDA actually doesn't directly limit ammonia content of foods or cosmetics. That's how safe it is.] Look, I'm not telling you to eat pink slime. I certainly won't eat it. But it appears that your opinions are fixed in defiance of logic or evidence. I really think you'd be better off with some more basic knowledge, and maybe a little more willingness to learn.
  - wolco 8y ago
    You are making the case that eating pink slime and consuming ammonia is safe and a welcome thing because the FDA doesn't test for ammonia in food. You are also saying that our ability to detoxify doesn't change with age or fitness level. Each message you try to put down the other person to change the discussion into a personality based discussion. Personal attacks are a sign of weakness in your position. Using personality doesn't make your position stronger. You'll labeled yourself as an open minded non-meat eating person educated in FDA testing and human anatomy. That's a great profile but let's get back to the facts. You are arguing that ammonia in food at any level is okay and wouldn't put additional stress on the detoxification process because the fda doesn't test for this? The FDA does test this in 1974. Ammonium hydroxide has been tested. They have deemed it safe at normal food levels because it is part of the normal human process. That position while technically correct doesn't take into account all of the other stresses including age as factors that slow down these processes. What do you think would happen if you went on a 30 day pink meat challenge?

wolco 8y ago

Ammonia ends up being converted into urea which is then excreted in the urine. That process happens in the liver and the older you are the slower the urea cycle. While an athlete may be able to handle additional pink meat I would question why a high performing athlete would. The trace amounts you speak of are the maximum amounts before the taste starts to change.

nate_meurer 8y ago
> That process happens in the liver and the older you are the slower the urea cycle. Not exactly. As I said earlier, renal function degrades slowly in old age. But that has no bearing on the pink slime issue, because normal nitrogen clearance capacity is orders of magnitude greater than dietary ammonia consumption, even in the elderly. > While an athlete may be able to handle additional pink meat I would question why a high performing athlete would. No, nitrogen clearance has nothing to do with athleticism or fitness level. All healthy adults can handle high protein diets. Old, young, fit or not; if you don't have impaired renal function or some kind of genetic metabolic disorder, your body can and does safely process hundreds or thousands of times more ammonia than what you eat in your food. > The trace amounts you speak of are the maximum amounts before the taste starts to change. No, those are food safety limits set by the FDA. [EDIT: nope, actually those are just some random tested ammonia levels. As a GRAS additive, the FDA actually doesn't directly limit ammonia content of foods or cosmetics. That's how safe it is.] Look, I'm not telling you to eat pink slime. I certainly won't eat it. But it appears that your opinions are fixed in defiance of logic or evidence. I really think you'd be better off with some more basic knowledge, and maybe a little more willingness to learn.
- wolco 8y ago
  You are making the case that eating pink slime and consuming ammonia is safe and a welcome thing because the FDA doesn't test for ammonia in food. You are also saying that our ability to detoxify doesn't change with age or fitness level. Each message you try to put down the other person to change the discussion into a personality based discussion. Personal attacks are a sign of weakness in your position. Using personality doesn't make your position stronger. You'll labeled yourself as an open minded non-meat eating person educated in FDA testing and human anatomy. That's a great profile but let's get back to the facts. You are arguing that ammonia in food at any level is okay and wouldn't put additional stress on the detoxification process because the fda doesn't test for this? The FDA does test this in 1974. Ammonium hydroxide has been tested. They have deemed it safe at normal food levels because it is part of the normal human process. That position while technically correct doesn't take into account all of the other stresses including age as factors that slow down these processes. What do you think would happen if you went on a 30 day pink meat challenge?