Nitrogen insufficiency in urine test – related to NO/ONOO cycle?

[Ruffles]

Hi everyone. Very long-time lurker here who is so grateful for all the knowledge you’ve shared over the years.

I’ve recently done the Doctor’s Data urine test for amino acids and I have no idea how to understand one element of the results. Under ‘presumptive needs / implied conditions’, Nitrogen Insufficiency is in the red zone of their traffic-light coded bar. The double negative flummoxed me for a while, but I guess the meaning is that I have (presumptively) nitrogen insufficiency.

I’m aware of the NO/ONOO discussions, but, as I'm scientifically illiterate, I don’t understand how this result relates to that or what it means. Perhaps it doesn’t actually relate to that particular cycle. Would someone be kind enough to explain it to me like I’m five years old, please? Well, maybe ten. 😊

Thanks so much for any help.

 

[Creekside]

I think there are a lot of other nitrogen reactions going on in the body. I forget what leads to ammonia production in the body, but I don't think it involves the NO/ONOO reaction. I think it has to do with protein metabolism.

 

[Ruffles]

I think there are a lot of other nitrogen reactions going on in the body. I forget what leads to ammonia production in the body, but I don't think it involves the NO/ONOO reaction. I think it has to do with protein metabolism.

It's very kind of you to use your energy answering my question. I didn't know that about nitrogen reactions.

It's interesting about the ammonia production being related somehow to protein metabolism. A lot of my amino acids results suggest protein malnutrition, though I eat a fair amount of protein daily and have no GI or pancreatic symptoms so far as I'm aware, and my ammonia is neither low nor high.

Thanks for giving me something to look further into.

 

[Creekside]

Ammonia in the body is probably not simple. Maybe you can show normal serum ammonia, but low kidney/bladder ammonia. Maybe you have a bladder infection that is sopping up ammonia. If you read up on ammonia metabolism, you might find some insights on what other tests should be done to figure out what's going wrong where. You don't need a degree in biochemistry; start with simple sources (wiki?) and whenever you don't understand a part of it, look that up too. That's what I've done. I didn't start with an advanced biology education, but I can read--and comprehend--fairly complex research papers by looking up new terms as necessary.

Keep in mind that many doctors like simple problems with simple answers, while many patients have non-simple disorders, so many of us have to do our own searching for answers.

 

[Ruffles]

Ammonia in the body is probably not simple. Maybe you can show normal serum ammonia, but low kidney/bladder ammonia. Maybe you have a bladder infection that is sopping up ammonia. If you read up on ammonia metabolism, you might find some insights on what other tests should be done to figure out what's going wrong where. You don't need a degree in biochemistry; start with simple sources (wiki?) and whenever you don't understand a part of it, look that up too. That's what I've done. I didn't start with an advanced biology education, but I can read--and comprehend--fairly complex research papers by looking up new terms as necessary.

Keep in mind that many doctors like simple problems with simple answers, while many patients have non-simple disorders, so many of us have to do our own searching for answers.

Thank you for this. I do try to do my own reading until I gain a (very basic) understanding, but my problem with this test result was that googling 'nitrogen insufficiency' as a starting point took me nowhere except to plant-care pages. I have a lot of problems, but drooping leaves isn't one of them!
You've helped me see that I need to take a step back and attempt to gain a more fundamental understanding on which I can build, rather than grabbing at discrete bits that seem to fit. Thank you.

 

[Creekside]

Google is a useful tool, but you do need to know what search terms to use, which means having an understanding of the basics (biochemistry, metabolics, etc). It's even more difficult when the search terms are also common in commercial marketing, or other commercial enterprises (agriculture in this case).

One useful tip is to find a page that is at least somewhat related to what you're looking for, such as urine ammonia, and look for terms that might lead you to another page that might have terms that might lead you further. That's worked for me a few times. If there's a term you don't understand, check the wiki, which might lead to more terms to look up.