04/25/2025
This is the last week of class in the Biochemistry that I teach in the Master's program at the University of Bridgeport. In this weeks' discussion board I invited students to write about the biggest takeaways from the course! This is what one student wrote:
If you had told me at the start of this semester that one of my biggest takeaways from biochemistry would be about the vibrations of fats in our cells, I probably would’ve laughed. But here we are. One of the things that truly blew my mind was learning that the fatty portion of the cell membrane doesn’t just sit there like a wall... it actually vibrates at a picosecond. And those little movements help keep the cell warm enough to do its job properly. As someone who works with clinics and talks to patients about supplements all the time, this was very helpful. Now I’m not just talking about omega-3s because they’re good for inflammation, cell membrane fluidity or heart health. I now say, “Hey, did you know these healthy fats actually help your cells stay active and efficient?” It makes the conversation more real, more interesting and way more powerful. I actually draw out the bilayer and show them!
Another moment that stuck with me was learning how our bodies signals with phosphatidyl serine when a cell needs to be cleaned up. I learned that normally hangs out on the inside of the cell membrane, and when it flips to the outside, it’s basically saying, “Come eat me.” That tiny switch is the start of a process where immune cells step in and do cleanup. That was completely new to me. It reminded me just how smart the body is.
And then there's the Kreb cycle. Its a very confusing chart with a bunch of arrows. But now I actually get it more. I understand where it happens, why it matters, and how it connects to real-world protocols we use in functional medicine.
Last thing I'll mention is learning how fat burning actually starts. It’s not just about exercise or eating less. It’s hormones epinephrine, norepinephrine, ACTH, and glucagon that kick off the process. I recently heard Dr. Huberman say that things like fidgeting and shivering help you lose weight because of this exact mechanism. It made me laugh because we were already learning it here before I heard it on his podcast.
Overall, biochem gave me these tiny but powerful nuggets that now help me educate my clinics and patients in a whole new way and make it all actually make sense. I really appreciate how you showed the practical value of each concept and its relationship with protocols given each. I am not a fan of biochemistry but this class made it fun and very useful!
