Instagram Q&A 7/9/2024

Q: Should choline and citrulline be avoided due to heart disease risk

A:

I think that's a little over blown. There are definitely associations with certain nutrients and the development and progression of certain disease. So there's nuance that needs to be added depending on the health status of the individual. But that's kind of what I'm getting at — the health status of the individual is largely what determines that and how things get used. NAD may be great for cancer prevention. But the dynamics are different when you have active metastatic cancer.

Similarly, I think there are a lot of dietary components and even supplements that can prevent or inhibit the conversion of choline and carnatine (which is what I think you probably meant there) into TMA. A lot of healthy keystone bacteria do not produce TMA and can actually inhibit some TMA transforming bacteria. You'll always have some TMA producing bacteria, but I believe you can shift the balance away from that when the gut is healthy.

Q: Possible some supplements like b vitamins Shilajit or mag could make feel worse?

A:

You have to realize that any suggestion I give on here (regardless of how safe it is or regardless of how 'generally' beneficial it can be) can always create paradoxical reactions in some people.Sometimes that may mean you need to use a different form of the vitamin (that’s why I formulated my B-complex with as many relatively non-problematic forms as possible, but that doesn't mean every single person won't need nuanced recs to go along with that and or different dosing strategies). Sometimes it may mean you need to change your dosing and or frequency. I can't say. The reason I offer one on one consulting and coaching is because there's nuanced involved in supplementation. With that being said, you can always experiment around on your own to see what works best for you. Even with my supplements. I cons the meathere wo place ao itiona nuanced involved. I've had some people who take 3-5 tablets of Shilajit and feel like they're on crack. So they do much better on 1-2 tabs. There's a lot of individual biochemistry involved. General health status of the individual will determine systemic dynamics of how nutrients and used.

Q: Tips for asthma?

A:

Check house for mold. A very large percentage of people with asthma have issues with mold. I can't really tell you what you need to do but some of the things in the fungal protoco could possibly help. There's probably co-infections like Candida albicans in the upper and even lower airway.I've seen that be pretty common in people with mold infestations who have asthma. There's also some strains in the just thrive probiotic (like HU58) that can attentuate asthmatic symptoms. People talk about the gut-brain axis but forget about the gut-lung axis. human gut microbiota has a large impact on the pathogenesis of asthma (there's a few randomized controlled trials on this as well) primarily because it can modulate total immunoglobulinE levels and supress systemic inflammation. You may also want to consider looking into some things in my lung health guide (posted on patreon) like molecular hydrogen inhiliation.

Q: MOTS C for CFS?

A:

It depends on where you're at. Trying to rev up mitochondrial function with mitochondrial peprides can sometimes be like putting a v8 in a prius - are the chassis, transmission, and cooling systems able to handle that output? One of the main sources of ROS in cells is the electron transport chain, which is part of the process of ATP production in mitochondria. It's going to be bad news if you try to rev that up when you're not healthy and don't have the right nutrients and co-factors to make things like glutathione and superoxide so maybe. But later on down the road.

Q: With the sample of thymalin and zinc are there other peptides that need minerals to

A: Khavinson did some work showing that some bio-regulators didn't work as well when people were mineral deficient. There are lots of minerals and co-factors necessary for peptides to be truly beneficial. Zinc and thymalin like you mentioned is a good example. IL-1 stimulates the secretion of thymulin, which requires zinc for its biological activity. I'm nearly positive there are other peptides that require similar mineral co-factors. This is why it's frustrating when someone says something 'didn't work'. Did it? Even things like testosterone won't help you building muscle if you androgen receptors aren't sensitive to it. Guess what that requires? More minerals

Q: What kind of pain explains an injury if there is no actual tear or muscle trauma, like what is

A: focal neuromuscular injury. affects the connection between the nerve and muscle. Usually involves some type of damage or trauma to the neuromuscular junction, which is where the nerve endings meet the muscle fibers and transmit signals. So you get pain and discomfort but it's not technically 'muscle damage'

Q: Any reccomendations for treating hip labrum tears with peptides?

A:

It's always possible. Never a bad idea to give BPC a try (I have a capsule version with a discount code in the bio). But it depends on how severe the SLAP grade is. If you have some fraying with degeneration, or even a detachment without retraction or extension...you may be able to get away without surgery. Depends on severity and activity level. Above everything else, I'd consider PEMF therapy.

Q: Genes that can cause you to absorb less magnesium

A:

Yes. A lot of other somewhat common conditions can also impact nutrient absorption in the gut as well. Sometimes it's not genetic mutations for magnesium itself (or really any nutrient) but rather mutations that are impacting the cell membrane and or other systems needed to use and metabolize those nutrients. A lot of people with EDS having issues with magnesium. They also tend to have mutations in metabolizing essential fatty acids which will impact cell membrane health and therefore the utalization of minerals. Anecdote here, but l've had a few people with EDS who I've suggest trying mega-doses of C15 and plasmalogens temporarily (for cell membrane intergrity) and sawimprovements in RBC mag that wouldn't budge. Overall mineral status improved substantially during that period of time.

Q: Inflammation prevent body from using vitamins? Is that possible

A:

Yup. inflammation can disrupt the expressio of TCIl receptors for example..So that's affecting the uptake of vitamin B12 into cells. that's just the first one that came to mind for whatever reason but yes. That can happen for any nutrient. Impaired cellular uptake is part of the reason some people get paradoxical reactions with some nutrients. Molecular mimicry (where heavy metals bind to receptors for minerals like magnesium, zinc, calcium etc) accounts for both mineral defiencies and heavy metal toxicity. They both drive each other in a continuous loop. Intrinsic factor is required for the absorption of vitamin B12 in the intestine and that's dysregulated in a lot of auto immune and inflammatory conditions in the GI

Q: Can anything be done for muscle dystrophy

A:

Think about this — Utrophin is a protein that is structurally and functionally similar to dystrophin (the protein that's dysregulated in muscular dystrophy, it's what connects the cytoskeleton of muscle fibers to the extracellular matrix). Its normally found in lower levels in muscle fibers compared to dystrophin, but in DMD the body upregulates utrophin as compensatory mechanism to help stabilize the muscle membrane. There's so much money being dumped into gene and cell therapy and other small molecules for Utrophin as a therapeutic molecular target for DMD. But no one ever talks about the direct link between mitochondrial function and the expression of proteins. mitochondrial dysfunction will impact the expression and function of cellular energy metabolism and all of those 'comensatory' mechanisms. There's a lot of things you can try and do. There's some studies on niacin and a lot of compounds and therapies out there including plasmalogens. but you HAVE to get healthy. In general. There's too many things that go into managing a condition like that. Its beyond what a single therapy can provide. Same thing for EDS with mitochondrial dysfunction and collagen dysregulation. It's beyond the gene