Am I on to something important, or just daft?

Question

Codons, which are three-base sequences of messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), come in many forms. These forms include leucine, tyrosine, valine, phenylalanine, and tryptophan. mRNA are types of nucleic acids that carry a gene’s message out of a cell’s nucleus. The last two codons are very common; phenylalanine is in many soft drinks, and tryptophan is in turkey (that is the chemical that makes you feel sleepy after Thanksgiving dinner). Codons link with anticodons in ribosomes in a process called translation, which forms a chain of amino acids. Said acids are very important to the body’s functions, as the amino acids influence the quaternary shape of proteins, and a protein’s structure determines its function. So, having derived the above information from pop bottles, AP Biology, and my Anatomy textbook, I have arrived at this conclusion: drinking too much pop or eating too much turkey could unfavourably mutate one’s proteins, thus causing health issues. Surely, one would have to ingest

terrific amounts, but if I am correct, it would be wise to avoid pop and meat. Am I correct, or just daft?

Answer 1

No, I don't really think so. Everything you said is basically true, but digestion occurs and in digestion your body will only take in which specific amino acids it needs at that point in time (we have no real way to store amino acids) and excete everything else. So if you eat a lot of tryptophan your body will just stop taking it in when it doesn't need any more.
Also, your body can switch a lot of amino acids into a different amino acid. So if you have a lot of one and need more of another, your body can just make that one.
Note that there are some "essential" amino acids, meaning that your body cannot make them and they must be ingested!
Also, maybe there's a bit of confusion on the codon thing. A codon is a specific sequence in the mRNA of 3 nucleotides that codes for an amino acid. A tRNA with the complementary anticodon will bring this amino acid to the growing chain. Only the tRNA that matches the codon will come in. This cannot be influenced by what you eat.

Answer 2

With many apologies, you are mistaken. The reason that diet soda pop has L-phenylanaline in it is that humans put it there. If you want sufficient L-phenylalanine, "Drink a pint a milk a day."

Answer 3

You are correct. Stay where you are and wait for the nice men to come and talk to you.

Answer 4

well...those things would eventually be excreted...

Answer 5

i have ABSOLUTELY no idea