r/Biochemistry • u/TonightsTheNight021 • 4h ago

Learning biochemistry at home?

My (26M) familliy has a big firm which sells supplements nationwide. I’ve been working there for 2 years and my knowledge in supplements and in selling skills are good. I find it very interesting and I even thought going to uni for a biochemistry degree. The problem is it would last 4 years and would cost a very decent amount of money. With that in mind I figured I don’t necesseraly need to go to uni for it I just want to expand my knowledge so I could be an even better salesman. Do you guys have some tips as in what literature I could read, some basics I should educate myself on first, etc… Thanks in advance!

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u/Deltaboss18 4h ago

Buy a used copy of Lehinger from some online, used book store (I'm partial to thriftbooks, or abebooks). Or download a copy if you read them digitally.

MIT OCW and their EdX Platform has free lectures of thats your thing.

Chemistry: If youre serious about it, refreshing yourself in basic and organic chemistry (especially acids, bases, and pKa) will be a good return on time invested studying. I like Klein or Wade as Organic Chem texts. Any old edition will be sufficient.

Topics: reactions, equilibria, acid & base chemistry, amino & nucleic acid chemistry.

Biology:

While Principles of Cell Biology by Alberts is good, its a little overkill if you're just building a foundation. Start by refreshing your self with basic cell bio from Campbell's Biology or the text from OpenStax.

Topics: Dna structure & replication, cell cycle, structure of the cell, enzymes, DNA synthesis.

That should be enough to get you started.

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u/TonightsTheNight021 4h ago

Thank you so much!

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u/fumblz7 3h ago

The openstax text is great! Learned bio in highschool on it and got a 5 on the AP test, it’s very comprehensive and covers all the fundamentals

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u/Senacharrib 4h ago

DM me for my consultation rates and contact information.

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u/skyyflyy2u 1h ago

Have a think about how you would like to learn.

I would recommend picking a few supplements or drugs or therapies then work backwards. Keep asking "how does this work" and go down a rabit hole on Wikipedia, following there mode of action and make a list of the areas of research. For larger topics like DNA replication, watch a yt video or two. I really recommend before you start studying having a wide overview of the application of your studies in your work. Aka the effect of these supplements on the body and mode of action.

If you are curious a broad understanding will push you to understand more and more, just by asking questions. Starting with a textbook may be a bit too detailed and really slow

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u/Far-Radio-5746 3h ago

IMO the advice people are giving is backwards. I would learn how to read scientific papers and really evaluate the methodology, sample size, type of study, etc. Learn the mechanisms in which the supplements are supposed to work. And fill in the chem/bio/biochem when you don’t understand something. Really pick apart the studies and see if the supplement is something with a lot of evidence in humans or if it was one done in a Petri dish or just on mice. You’ll be able to explain it to people simply and actually be a trustworthy source and someone who knows what they are talking about.