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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...
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday April 13 2018, @08:20PM (3 children)
I just take one of these [devanutrition.com] once in a while, mainly for the B12. I'm not vegan but I haven't bought much meat and stuff lately that would contain the nutrient. It says "Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin)", so it is bacteria-derived as expected. Yeast [wikipedia.org] actually don't produce B12, and nutritional yeast sources are often fortified with it.
Excessive iron [nytimes.com] or calcium (kidney stones) could also fuck your day up.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 14 2018, @01:27PM
There's also Methylcobalamin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methylcobalamin [wikipedia.org]
I'd be curious to see if it has the same side effects.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Friday April 20 2018, @07:09PM (1 child)
I like putting nutritional yeast flakes on my popcorn with butter and a bit of salt. Yum!
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday April 20 2018, @07:40PM
It's good. I brought it up because it is not actually a natural source of B12, though.
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(Score: 3, Interesting) by Gaaark on Friday April 13 2018, @08:53PM
We gave our son a 'magnetic' clay bath once: seemed to calm him down. I took one and it made me ANGRY like the wolf.
Complete reversal of my usual demeanor.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 1, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Saturday April 14 2018, @12:41AM (1 child)
Sounds like the journal of a meth addict. The only other demographic experiencing hypochondria at this level of detail are med students.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Azuma Hazuki on Saturday April 14 2018, @03:55AM
Sorry to disappoint you, but aside from maybe one or two drinks with friends a year at Lunar New Year's, I'm straight-edge. However, your other possibility was a path I almost went down in college, and I have several relatives who did. I've always been into organic chemistry and have a tendency to memorize vitamin and drug structures, especially antibiotics. And, I'm trying to become a pharmacy technician, precisely because of this ability to memorize, store, and retrieve insane amounts of information about biochemistry. So, you can consider me an honorary med student, if it helps.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday April 14 2018, @10:46AM (3 children)
Last I heard C wasn't proven to be especially anything as long as you got enough into yourself to prevent scurvy. It's not going to hurt you even if taken way, way over the RDA though; most mammals have massively higher levels of it in their bodies than humans do due to humans lacking some enzyme or other.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Saturday April 14 2018, @02:49PM (1 child)
Yup. Gulonolactone oxidase, if I remember right. Humans, some great apes, and of all things, guinea pigs, have broken C synthesis genes. I have to wonder how we came so far without something so basic. Probably by eating a lot of fruit?
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday April 14 2018, @08:22PM
Likely. It generally grows on trees and we're basically just less hairy apes. Or we just really didn't need it all that badly to begin with and so it wasn't selected as a trait that made us unfit for survival.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Friday April 20 2018, @07:13PM
Vitamin C in large quantities will give you the runs. Something like 3-4k mg makes your stomach rather uncomfortable.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by realDonaldTrump on Saturday April 14 2018, @12:30PM
Let me tell you about a fantastic business I was in. I partnered with a great MLM company, Ideal Health. We built what we called The Trump Network. Folks would send us their urine. And we'd do VERY SPECIAL tests on it. We had the OsteoTest, we could tell if somebody's bones were breaking down. We had the AllerTest to check for reactive foods with that one. We had the FitTest for metabolism. The StressTest, obviously that one was for stress. EstrogenaTest to check the balance of good & bad estrogen. And the DigestTest for bad belly bacteria. We did the tests, then we told folks EXACTLY what supplements they needed. So we never sold anyone a supplement they didn't need. We helped so many people!!
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday April 15 2018, @02:15AM (2 children)
Body language is largely bullshit. I've seen managers dismiss what people have to say, using that body language bullshit. Don't want to take someone serious? Just mention body language. Alternatively, if you don't want to be taken seriously, just mention body language. Mention of body language is kind of code for, "I don't give a damn what you say or do, my mind is already made up, and besides, I don't like you, and it's all your fault."
It's somewhat related to "Don't speak to me in that tone of voice!" Half the world's population can't even hear "that tone", so how in hell can we use, or avoid using, "that tone"?
There is some scientific basis for that whole body language thing though. If you should observe an individual holding another party by the throat, and shaking that third party vigorously, while addressing him, you may safely conclude that the first individual is being assertive. It should be noted that this is often the only effective method of addressing management.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Sunday April 15 2018, @06:29PM (1 child)
Is this subtle misogyny? Or even misandry?
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(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday April 16 2018, @02:25AM
Neither. It is simply a recognition that the two genders are different in yet another way. Women hear stuff men cannot, and they get sensitive about the stuff we can't hear. "Don't talk to me in that tone of voice!" What man anywhere has ever responded with anything other than a baffled look?
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.