A heavy isotope diet is one in that contains

nutrients A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow, and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi, and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excret ...

in which some atoms are replaced with their heavier non-radioactive

isotope Isotopes are two or more types of atoms that have the same atomic number (number of protons in their nuclei) and position in the periodic table (and hence belong to the same chemical element), and that differ in nucleon numbers (mass numbers) ...

s, such as deuterium ²H or heavy carbon ¹³C. Biomolecules that incorporate heavier isotopes give rise to more stable molecular structures, which is hypothesized to increase resistance to damage associated with

ageing Ageing ( BE) or aging ( AE) is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. In ...

or diseases. Medicines with some hydrogen atoms substituted with deuterium are called

deuterated drug A deuterated drug is a small molecule medicinal product in which one or more of the hydrogen atoms contained in the drug molecule have been replaced by its heavier stable isotope deuterium. Because of the kinetic isotope effect, deuterium-containin ...

s, while substances that are

essential nutrient A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow, and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi, and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excret ...

s can be used as food constituents, making this food "isotopic". Consumed with food, these nutrients become building material for the body. The examples are deuterated

polyunsaturated fatty acid Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are fatty acids that contain more than one double bond in their backbone. This class includes many important compounds, such as essential fatty acids and those that give drying oils their characteristic proper ...

s, essential aminoacids, DNA bases such as

cytosine Cytosine () ( symbol C or Cyt) is one of the four nucleobases found in DNA and RNA, along with adenine, guanine, and thymine (uracil in RNA). It is a pyrimidine derivative, with a heterocyclic aromatic ring and two substituents attached (an am ...

, or heavy water and

glucose Glucose is a simple sugar with the molecular formula . Glucose is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. Glucose is mainly made by plants and most algae during photosynthesis from water and carbon dioxide, using ...

Suggested mechanism

One of the most pernicious and irreparable types of

oxidative damage Oxidative stress reflects an imbalance between the systemic manifestation of reactive oxygen species and a biological system's ability to readily detoxify the reactive intermediates or to repair the resulting damage. Disturbances in the normal r ...

inflicted by

reactive oxygen species In chemistry, reactive oxygen species (ROS) are highly reactive chemicals formed from diatomic oxygen (). Examples of ROS include peroxides, superoxide, hydroxyl radical, singlet oxygen, and alpha-oxygen. The reduction of molecular oxygen () p ...

(ROS) upon biomolecules involves the carbon-hydrogen bond cleavage (hydrogen abstraction). Intriguingly, the biomolecules most damageable by this type of damage belong to the group of

s (10 out of 20 amino acids; nucleosides at certain conditions (conditionally essential); all

s). In theory, replacing hydrogen with deuterium "reinforces" the bond due to the

kinetic isotope effect In physical organic chemistry, a kinetic isotope effect (KIE) is the change in the reaction rate of a chemical reaction when one of the atoms in the reactants is replaced by one of its isotopes. Formally, it is the ratio of rate constants for th ...

, and such reinforced biomolecules taken up by the body will be more resistant to ROS.

Deuterated omega-6 fatty acids for humans with degenerative diseases

The company Retrotope pioneered the

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped * Photograph ...

a source of deuterated

omega-6 Omega-6 fatty acids (also referred to as ω-6 fatty acids or ''n''-6 fatty acids) are a family of polyunsaturated fatty acids that have in common a final carbon-carbon double bond in the ''n''-6 position, that is, the sixth bond, counting from ...

fatty acid

di-deuterated linoleic acid ethyl ester Di-deuterated ethyl linoleate (also known as RT001, di-deuterated linoleic acid ethyl ester, 11,11-''d2''-ethyl linoleate, or ethyl 11,11-''d2''-linoleate) is an experimental, orally-bioavailable synthetic deuterated drug, deuterated polyunsaturat ...

( RT001) as a food additive for potential treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as

Friedreich’s ataxia Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA or FA) is an autosomal-recessive genetic disease that causes difficulty walking, a loss of sensation in the arms and legs, and impaired speech that worsens over time. Symptoms generally start between 5 and 20 year ...

and

infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy Infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy is a rare pervasive developmental disorder that primarily affects the nervous system. Individuals with infantile neuroaxonal dystrophy typically do not have any symptoms at birth, but between the ages of about 6 and ...

FDA The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

has granted it an orphan drug designation and it passed the Phase I/II

clinical trial Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel vaccines, drugs, dietar ...

s (as of 2018).

References

External links

a New Scientist article about ifood

a Scientific American article about content of ¹³C in American fast food
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ifood (Isotopic Food) Life extension Nutrients Hypotheses

Suggested mechanism

Deuterated omega-6 fatty acids for humans with degenerative diseases

See also

References

External links