I've been tinkering with various B vitamins recently since discovering what seems to be an MTHFR polymorphism or six in my genome. It's just a guess, as I can't spare the money for testing, but the immediate positive effects I've felt from certain forms of certain vitamins all but confirms a) MTHFR SNPs and b) an over-methylation pattern. Which *sounds* paradoxical at first, but really isn't.
People tend to be a little flippant with vitamin C and the B-family since they're water-soluble, reasoning "eh, if I overdose all it means is I get really expensive and really yellow pee." Nooooot...exactly. That's not wrong, but the little buggers will do plenty else before they exit via the kidneys. Here's what I've noticed:
Niacin/B3 - Produces the famous "niacin flush," though much less pronounced than in the first week of taking. About 100-200mg daily. Supposedly there's no harm in taking small (10) integer multiples of this dose, even though 200mg is supposedly almost 2 weeks' worth. Calms me down immensely and helps me sleep. It's also supposed to be good for lowering cholesterol, which is well within normal limits for me, but every little bit helps. Overall definitely a positive.
Pyridoxine/B6 (as pyridoxal-5-phosphate) - Holy crap, this is bad for me. It makes me sleepy and weak and ravenously hungry, then incredibly angry after I eat. How angry? I scared off an almost seven foot tall, 300-pound-plus man at work today. He actually decided not to order because, and this is a direct quote, "Your body language. You're angry and it's scaring me." Now yes, I look pretty much like a six-foot, Caucasian version of my namesake in glasses, and yes, I've been nicknamed "Grumpy Cat" by three separate co-workers at three separate jobs, but that is *bad.* Not touching this one again, at least not before work. Seems to be amping up my metabolism and producing (a lot) more catecholamines such as adrenaline, which would explain the effects.
Folate (as 6(S)-5-methylfolate) - This is the big tell that I've got an MTHFR problem. I felt immediate relief within half an hour after my first dose. Makes me feel, somehow, wet and cool and "fluffy" inside. Not as calming as niacin but still helps, just in a different way. Good synergy. I'm taking this once every few days now, after having spent 2 weeks repleting myself with a daily dose. I don't seem to need anywhere near as much caffeine since starting this one either.
Cobalamin/B12 (as adenosylcobalamin) - Another one for the "nope" column, at least no more than once every two weeks. Has similar effects to B6, though produces more anxiety than outright hostility. I am guessing it's causing either too much glutamate in the brain or, like B6, possibly upregulating stress hormones.
Vitamin C (as ascorbic acid with bioflavanoids, e.g., rutin and quercetin) - I can't tell if this is having any effects, but it doesn't seem to hurt and is important for iron processing, which in turn is necessary during Shark Week. Taking daily seems not to hurt anything, and might have helped me fight off the last two incipient colds I got.
People need to treat these things with more respect. We get people saying "oh supplements don't work," but if that were the case, there's no way they'd be having such pronounced and immediate effects. And, it seems everyone's body is different and even their metabolisms differ from day to day, so in the end, everyone needs to tailor their supplements and the doses thereof to their own physiology. Overall this is a net positive for me, but I'm probably going to avoid the B6...
They're water-soluble but that doesn't mean they're harmless
I've been tinkering with various B vitamins recently since discovering what seems to be an MTHFR polymorphism or six in my genome. It's just a guess, as I can't spare the money for testing, but the immediate positive effects I've felt from certain forms of certain vitamins all but confirms a) MTHFR SNPs and b) an over-methylation pattern. Which *sounds* paradoxical at first, but really isn't.
People tend to be a little flippant with vitamin C and the B-family since they're water-soluble, reasoning "eh, if I overdose all it means is I get really expensive and really yellow pee." Nooooot...exactly. That's not wrong, but the little buggers will do plenty else before they exit via the kidneys. Here's what I've noticed:
Niacin/B3 - Produces the famous "niacin flush," though much less pronounced than in the first week of taking. About 100-200mg daily. Supposedly there's no harm in taking small (10) integer multiples of this dose, even though 200mg is supposedly almost 2 weeks' worth. Calms me down immensely and helps me sleep. It's also supposed to be good for lowering cholesterol, which is well within normal limits for me, but every little bit helps. Overall definitely a positive.
Pyridoxine/B6 (as pyridoxal-5-phosphate) - Holy crap, this is bad for me. It makes me sleepy and weak and ravenously hungry, then incredibly angry after I eat. How angry? I scared off an almost seven foot tall, 300-pound-plus man at work today. He actually decided not to order because, and this is a direct quote, "Your body language. You're angry and it's scaring me." Now yes, I look pretty much like a six-foot, Caucasian version of my namesake in glasses, and yes, I've been nicknamed "Grumpy Cat" by three separate co-workers at three separate jobs, but that is *bad.* Not touching this one again, at least not before work. Seems to be amping up my metabolism and producing (a lot) more catecholamines such as adrenaline, which would explain the effects.
Folate (as 6(S)-5-methylfolate) - This is the big tell that I've got an MTHFR problem. I felt immediate relief within half an hour after my first dose. Makes me feel, somehow, wet and cool and "fluffy" inside. Not as calming as niacin but still helps, just in a different way. Good synergy. I'm taking this once every few days now, after having spent 2 weeks repleting myself with a daily dose. I don't seem to need anywhere near as much caffeine since starting this one either.
Cobalamin/B12 (as adenosylcobalamin) - Another one for the "nope" column, at least no more than once every two weeks. Has similar effects to B6, though produces more anxiety than outright hostility. I am guessing it's causing either too much glutamate in the brain or, like B6, possibly upregulating stress hormones.
Vitamin C (as ascorbic acid with bioflavanoids, e.g., rutin and quercetin) - I can't tell if this is having any effects, but it doesn't seem to hurt and is important for iron processing, which in turn is necessary during Shark Week. Taking daily seems not to hurt anything, and might have helped me fight off the last two incipient colds I got.
People need to treat these things with more respect. We get people saying "oh supplements don't work," but if that were the case, there's no way they'd be having such pronounced and immediate effects. And, it seems everyone's body is different and even their metabolisms differ from day to day, so in the end, everyone needs to tailor their supplements and the doses thereof to their own physiology. Overall this is a net positive for me, but I'm probably going to avoid the B6...
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