Methylation is crucial to happiness and well-being.
Making too much or not enough methyl impairs our ability to think clearly, have meaningful relationships, a healthy body, and live a fulfilling life.
In today’s world, methylation problems are commonplace due to food and environmental toxins, emotional trauma, genetic errors, and stress.
Conditions that have a direct link to methylation imbalances include, but are not limited to: bipolar disorder, behavior disorders and ADHD, autism, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, autoimmune diseases, and cancer.
Symptoms include, but are not limited to: depression, high anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, perfectionism, panic disorder, addictions, PMS, chemical and food sensitivities, amenorrhea (absence of menstruation), infertility, hair loss, anemia, elevated blood sugar, high blood pressure, memory loss, violent behavior, postpartum depression, hypothyroidism, skin rashes, headaches, insomnia, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), sensitive skin, spaciness, racing thoughts, arthritis, asthma, allergies, weight gain, weight loss, acne, premature greying of the hair, and chronic infections.
Methane is the simplest organic chemical, consisting of one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms. In biochemistry, there are hundreds of cellular processes that involve methylation, a chemical reaction in which a methyl group is attached to an atom or molecule.1
DNA methylation is profoundly connected to mental health and is one of severalepigenetic mechanisms that cells use to control gene expression (protein production). For example, if serotonin is not properly methylated, it will become inactive, which in turn leads to depression.
Born undermethylated with copper overload, I’ve traversed the ins and outs of this imbalance my entire life, and I know its secrets quite well.
So let’s break it down shall we?
UNDERMETHYLATION TRAITS
You’re likely to be a high-achiever constantly striving for greater levels of career accomplishment. Entrepreneurs, corporate executives, professional athletes, doctors, lawyers, producers, and scientists all fit this type. Looking at Hollywood and Silicon Valley as a whole, I know straight away the vast majority of these folks are undermethylated. You probably have at least a graduate level education, and may come from an affluent background.
Despite all your accomplishments and accolades, you suffer from severe inner turmoil, yet remain calm on the outside. Highly perfectionistic, no detail goes unnoticed. You were self-motivated in school and probably come from a family of high-achievers. You have obsessive compulsive tendencies you can’t seem to shake that drive you nuts. You’ve always been very strong willed with a high libido. Despite poor concentration, ritualistic behaviors make you feel in control and you have a tendency toward addiction.
You probably have a low tolerance for pain. Seasonal allergies and headaches may be a problem, yet you respond quite well to antihistamines. You also respond well to anti-depressants, but may isolate yourself socially because you feel misunderstood and struggle with phobias.
Undermethylation is much more common than overmethylation, and undermethylated parents have higher rates of autistic children due to epigenetic insults.
OVERMETHYLATION TRAITS
The opposite of undermethylation, you’re likely to be the creative, sensitive type. An underachiever, you probably experience learning issues with a high level of internal tension and anxiety. There is also a tendency to overreact to experiences, and you feel that everyone is out to get you. You probably also have high empathy for others.
You struggle with depression, have trouble sleeping, and probably experience food and chemical sensitivities; obsessions without compulsions and low libido are also part of daily life. You had little motivation for scholastic achievements because you have trouble sitting still. Hyperactivity, panic attacks, and a high tolerance for pain are also part of your profile.
Physically you may be overweight with a pear shaped body (but not always), have heavy body hair, struggle with eczema, have dry eyes and mouth, and upper body/head/neck pain.
If you’ve tried antidepressant medications, you probably did not respond favorably to them.
In clinical studies, about 45% of persons diagnosed with schizophrenia were found to be severely overmethylated.2
Overmethylators have elevated serotonin and dopamine with low levels of histamine, which explains why antidepressant medications (SSRI’s increase neurotransmitter activity at the synapse) can cause suicidal ideation in these folks.
Undermethylators have low serotonin and dopamine with elevated histamine.
Both biotypes struggle with addiction. The main difference is the cause: overmethylators often turn to drugs to try and quash high anxiety/panic as a result of too much neurotransmitter activity; undermethylators become obsessive compulsive with a substance or concept (for me it was food/sugar/starving myself/being perfect no matter what) and have to have it at all costs due to not enough activity at the synapse.
The tragic suicides of Robin Williams and Kurt Cobain are classic overmethylation examples; with Karen Carpenter being a classic undermethylator.
When it comes to methylation, you either don’t make enough, make too much, or make just the right amount. And be cautious with the use of folate/folic acid if you are an undermethylator. Folate is a serotonin reuptake promoter, (antidepressants (SSRI’s) are reuptake inhibitors and undermethylated persons respond well to these medications) so its affect on your epigenetic structure will make you feel worse.
Keep in mind that there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach. Determining methylation status is not just about chemistry, but also about understanding you as a person. There are always myriad variables within eachbiotype. And this combined with the full range of functional and diagnostic testing is how we create nutrient protocols.
The fact that I was undermethylated with copper overload explained everything for me.
Does this post resonate with you? Or do you know of someone struggling in these areas? If so, please share your story in the comments below. It is through sharing your story that we create community, eliminate guilt and shame, and bring about healing.
B Vitamins and MethylationOctober 1, 2014Last week a client came to me following an abnormal pap smear. Any nutritional advice – she asked?
I suggested she consider taking folate and B12, since studies show the combination can help with the prevention of cervical cancer.
But I made sure she opted for the right B12, and the right folate.
In other words the methyl version of these vitamins – the natural form your body knows how to use.
Methyl-what?
Methylation is how your body manages to stay in balance.
When you’re blood sugar is high, you rely on the process of methylation to release insulin; when your body is burdened with toxins, you need healthy methylation to detox and methyl enzymes are essential to convert and absorb key nutrients.
‘Methylation helps the body rid itself of toxins and assures that the new cells you make everyday are exact copies of the ones that are being replaced,’ explains Dr. Garry Gordon, co-founder of the American College for Advancement in Medicine (ACAM).
‘Amazingly, many doctors today still know nothing about the methyl form of folic acid and why I insist on giving it along with the sublingual methyl form of B12.’
Along with getting enough B vitamins – we’ll cover that in a second – there are other factors that affect methylation.
4 Factors that Mess with Methylation
Low stomach acid: Stomach acid is necessary to digest food and help you absorb vital nutrients including B12. Age can reduce stomach acid as well as certain health conditions and medications including antacids.
Plastics Bisphenyl A (BPA) found in plastic water bottles can disrupt the methylation process, triggering DNA changes. In one landmark study, scientist Randy Jirtle and his group of researchers exposed pregnant mice to bisphenol A and watched as more of their offspring developed into yellow, obese mice (Dolinoy et al., 2007). Start sipping from stainless steel now.
Smoking The carbon monoxide from cigarette smoke inactivates vitamin B6.
Heavy Metals Especially mercury, which binds to the amino acid methionine and interferes with methylation.
Unfortunately we’re constantly exposed to this neurotoxic metal – mercury is in mascara, your favourite sushi restaurant, in the water you drink and the air you breathe (16 per cent of airborne mercury in the UK is estimated to be from crematoria burning fillings and teeth).
So how do you protect the vital methylation processes in your body?
Improve your stomach aid by taking digestive enzymes or increasing your intake of bitter foods like lemons, rocket and apple cider vinegar; reduce your exposure to plastics and mercury (for instance swap plastic Tupperware for Pyrex and choose low mercury fish) quit smoking and most importantly up your intake of B vitamins.
Foods rich in B vitamins include the following:
For Folate, think fibre.You need to eat plenty ofdark leafy greens like kale, spinach, bok choy, parsley and mustard greens to get your dose.
Good sources of B12 include organic eggs, oily fish (preferably line caught and low in mercury) mussels, oysters and organic meat.
For B6, eat moresunflower seeds, salmon and sweet potato.
However you may still want to consider a supplement, for the following reasons:
If you are vegan it can be hard to get adequate levels of B12 through food – in fact some argue it’s impossible.
If you have been on the contraceptive pill you might want to take folate – since oral contraceptives interfere with folate metabolism. In addition, a common gene mutation means many people cannot convert food folate into the usable methyl form.
Going supplement shopping? Here’s your crib sheet:
Avoid products that say ‘folic acid’ – most multivitamins contain this synthetic form, which has been linked to cancer. In the US, rates of colorectal cancer began to increase in 1996 and the same happened in Canada in 1998 following folic acid fortification of foods.
Avoid products containing cyanocobalamin, which is found in 99 per cent of the vitamins on the market containing B12.
Not only does cyanocobalamin contain cyanide, but it is made from recovered activated sewage sludge or ‘produced through total chemical synthesis’ according to health researcher Sayer Ji from GreenMedInfo.
In addition, a study published in 1997 in the journal Blood, found that cyanocobalamin ‘antagonizes vitamin B12 in vitro and causes cell death from methionine deficiency.’
Bottom line, you’ll feel better with methyl vitamins according to a growing number of holistic physicians. Dr. Richard Moore is one of them. At his clinic in Bondi Junction Sydney, he offers a range of intravenous nutrition including methyl B12 shots: ‘The methyl group of vitamins are necessary for serotonin production – the feel good hormone – so sometimes B12 can really help people with mood issues.’
Research is increasingly showing that diet is intimately linked with our mental health – probiotics being hailed as the new Prozac is a case in point – but it’s also true that our mental state affects our biochemistry. For instance when we’re stressed we burn through C and B vitamins as well as selenium and essential fatty acids.
That’s why as a health coach I look beyond food: sometimes I’m there to talk supplements other times it’s stress – I will work with a client to identify triggers and find strategies to help them manage fist-bighting situations better.
That in turn can help with everything from losing weight and balancing hormones, to boosting immunity and slowing hair loss.
METHYLATION DIET FIFTY REASONS FOR THE COOKED VEGETABLE DIET This Diet can be used for Adrenal and Chronic Fatigue sufferers, as well.
The cooked vegetable diet is the basis for every nutritional balancing program, as I set them up. It may also be called the alkaline reserve mineral diet.
The diet consists of about 75-80% cooked vegetables, and NOT raw salads. A few vegetables are excluded, such as the nightshades (white and red potatoes, all peppers, eggplant and all tomatoes). A few others that are also excluded are asparagus, artichokes, celery, okra and mushrooms. All these are a little toxic in some way, we find. Summer squashes are also restricted.
The diet also includes some quality animal protein daily, a little raw dairy product, and some whole grains, but not wheat and spelt. Slow oxidizers need more complex carbohydrates, while fast oxidizers must substitute more fats and oil for most of the carbohydrates. The diet excludes all fruit, all fruit juices, all smoothies, sweets, wheat, soy, and chemicalized foods. However, 10-12 ounces of carrot juice (only) is strongly recommended.
Ideally, one should eat a large portion of cooked vegetables with every meal - 2 to 3 cups of cooked vegetables three times daily. With this one may have a small portion of either ONE starch such as rice or quinoa, or ONE protein food such as lamb, chicken or soft-cooked eggs. One can also have just a meal of cooked vegetables, or some other mono (or one-food) meal. These simple food combinations make the digestion of the diet even easier. One may eat as many meals and as much food as needed, but do not just snack all day.
Why this diet is so helpful is the subject of this article. Some of the reasons may seem odd. I included them because, based on the many comments we receive about the diet, perhaps some of the more unusual reasons are important, even if we do not understand them well. So here are the reasons for the cooked vegetable diet.
BIOCHEMICAL REASONS
1. High in calcium and magnesium. These are structural elements and this is a structural diet. Also, leaves, roots and stems are support structures and this is what people need today.
2. High in fiber. This helps with constipation, toxic metal removal, toxic chemical removal, and gut restoration. It is also essential for the functioning of the Peyer’s patches, which are important lymph glands located along the small intestine. Read Peyer’s Paches for more on this important subject.
3. High in folate and TMG for methyl groups. This is a methylation diet, and this is critical today for toxic metal removal, DNA and protein synthesis and much more. For more on this, read Methylation.
4. High in bioavailable iron. Cooked dark greens contain a special iron that helps remove amigo iron or iron oxide. To read more about this important subject, read The Amigos.
5. Low in ferments. Too many people have yeast problems and liver toxicity, which is made worse by fermented foods. While some yogurt and kefir is allowed, do not eat too much of these foods. For more on this subject, read Fermented Foods.
6. Moderate in protein. Protein is a building food, but it is also a more acid-forming food and “clogging” food. This diet contains animal protein, which is more yang, and is moderate in protein, but not high and not low.
7. Very low in sugars. This is important today for many reasons. Sugars are too yin. They also upset the blood sugar, promote yeast overgrowth, and do a lot of other damage. Most people do not handle sugars well, and eat too many of them. Read Sugar Addiction and the three other sugar articles on this site for much more on the effects of sugary diets.
8. A flavorful diet. Vegetables are among the most varied foods in terms of flavors, although some are subtle. In part, this is due to their phyto-chemicals such as DIM, I3C, TMG and hundreds of others.
9. High silicon, low selenium. This combination moves the body in a certain direction that is helpful at this time for most people.
10. Extremely high in trace minerals. This is probably the most important reason for this diet. The vegetables must be cooked well to obtain all the minerals that are locked inside the tough vegetable fibers.
11. Moderate copper and zinc. These minerals, in bioavailable forms, are very needed by most people.
12. Low in phytates and phosphorus. Phosphorus is a fiery and stimulating mineral. This diet is low in phosphorus compounds purposely, as it is designed to be a non-stimulating diet. A diet high in phosphorus is one with a lot of meat and perhaps a lot of dairy products such as eggs and cheese.
13. High in bioavailable sulfur. The diet is rich in sulfury vegetables, which includes cabbage , broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, radishes, turnips and some other vegetables. This is helpful for heavy metal detoxification in the liver, and for cleansing and supporting the body, in general. Sulfur also antagonizes copper and is needed for all connective tissues.
14. Moderate in amino acids (nitrogen foods). Amino acids are very important, but too much is stimulating, once again.
15. High in omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D. This is found in this diet in the sardines, grass-fed or pasture-raised meats, a little raw dairy, and even in some green vegetables. We supplement it if one chooses not to eat sardines because in that case, almost everyone needs more than the diet can supply.
16. Very high in chlorophyll and several other important plant phytochemicals. These substances help prevent most diseases, and can also help balance the body chemistry, restore the gut, improve the immune response and much more.
17. Low in toxic chemicals and no poor quality potassium, as is found in all fruits today. This is an important topic in nutritional balancing science.
18. Very high in the ultra trace minerals. This is a more esoteric idea, but an important one. One of the most important of these is silicon, a future spiritual mineral.
19. A lower calorie diet. This is very helpful for weight loss. However, one can feel full on the diet due to all the fiber and all the nutrients it contains.
20. Moderate in water content. We find the water is needed, but too much water mixed with food is not helpful for the intestines. This occurs with diets containing smoothies, for example. For this reason, it is best to eat the cooked vegetables as is, rather than make them into soups. You can puree the vegetables, however, using a hand blender, as this does not require adding more water.
21. Moderate in viscosity. This is also helpful for the intestines. In contrast, a diet high in wheat or pasteurized dairy products tends to congeal and stick to the walls of the intestines, to some degree.
22. A low to moderate combustion diet. This simply means that the diet is high in mineral foods, and somewhat lower in the fuel foods such as grains, beans, and even fat, although the fast oxidizer version is higher in fats and oil.
This is somewhat like running an engine lean, meaning using less fuel and more air in the engine. It forces the engine to run more efficiently, there is more complete burning of the fuel, and it actually cleans up the engine to some degree.
23. Definitely a mineral repletion or body recycling diet. Replenishing the body’s stores of the alkaline reserve minerals and others is one of the definite goals of this diet.
24. Not a “solar diet”. Solar foods are those that are most exposed to the sun. These include fruits, first, and animal foods such as meats, eggs and dairy. Vegetable leaves and stems are in the sun, but they are next to the earth and often partly shaded. Roots, of course, receive no sunlight. The sun may impart to foods certain etheric energies that are not as desirable today as they are upward-moving currents of energy.
25. A very “colorful” diet. This means that the cooked vegetables provide a lot of the colorful and wonderful phytochemicals called the carotenoids. These amazing chemicals are what give vegetables their bright colors - reds, oranges, yellows, blues, and greens. They are anti-oxidants and have many other functions as well, and include substances such as lycopene, zeozanthin, beta carotene, and others.
26. Low in estrogens. This is very important today, since we are besieged with toxins and other things such as soy foods that raise estrogens, leading to cancers and other problems. For much more on this, read Estrogens As Yin Toxins on this site.
27. High in anti-oxidants. According to Susan Southon, PhD, head of the micronutrient section, Institute of Food Research, Norwich, England: “Cooking breaks up plant vegetable cells, allowing a greater release of carotenoids and possibly other antioxidants, sometimes as much as five times more than if eaten raw.” - reported in Bottom Line Personal, Vol. 8, #1, January, 2000.
LIFESTYLE-RELATED REASONS
1. It is a non-stimulating, parasympathetic diet. This is important for healing and for balancing the autonomic nervous system. One might say it is a bland diet, in this respect, although it is quite tasty.
2. It is a face-your-issues diet and a face-your-traumas diet. This is one effect of the diet. It does this by moving energy downward, its absence of stimulating foods, and due to its nutritional content.
One reason some people do not like the diet is that it tends to move a person into issues and traumas, to help resolve them. It is not an escapist diet, which usually means a diet with a lot of stimulants or a lot of meat or sugar.
3. It is a temperate climate diet. Some diets are difficult to follow for people living in certain climates. Eating a lot of fruit, for example, can make one cold. Eating too much meat can overheat the body. The cooked vegetable-based diet is somewhere in the middle.
4. It is a very supportive and cleansing diet. Much of the food in the diet (stems and leaves) are support structures of plants. These contain nutrients needed for support of the body. This also has to do with its high fiber content and its high sulfur content.
The cooked green vegetables, in particular, help oxygenation and burning of toxins.
5. A grounding and centering diet. Vegetables grow on or near the ground. While it may seem odd, this causes the vegetables to contain certain energies that tend to relate to grounded electrical energy and grounded thinking and functioning.
6. It is a conserving diet, not a weaning diet (a lot of dairy) or an ethereal diet (fruit). These are more subtle qualities about foods that are interesting and sometimes helpful to know.
7. It is a labor-involving diet. That is, it requires cooking or food preparation, compared with a diet of more fruit, more dairy or more bread, which do not require as much preparation.
Some do not like this aspect of the diet, saying they do not have time to buy and cook their vegetables. However, one effect of this diet is to stop binge eating, impulsive eating, and overeating by forcing one to plan meals and cook their food. This may help a person to stabilize the mind and organize one’s life better.
8. It is a chewing diet. That is, one must chew the food. This tends to slow eating, relax a person, and avoid bingeing, impulse eating and over-eating.
9. A subtle flavors diet. Vegetables are probably the most flavorful foods, but the flavors are subtle. The diet avoids foods that overwhelm the senses, such as sugars and hot spices. The delicate flavors then tend to come through.
10. A very easily digested diet. This is important because most people have very weak digestion. Unlike what many people think, a diet with smoothies, for example, is not that easy to handle as it has too much water and often very poor food combinations.
HAIR ANALYSIS-RELATED REASONS
1. The diet tends to raise the sodium and potassium levels, and the sodium/potassium ratio somewhat. This is critical, as this is what we desire with most people. In contrast, we find that raw food and fruit-based diets lower the Na/K ratio. Raising the Na/K ratio has something to do with removing toxic metals and replacing them with the alkaline reserve minerals, and others such as sulfur and phosphorus.
2. It is a stay-out-of-four lows-diet. By this I mean that it does not contain stimulants or irritants that can push a person into a four lows hair analysis pattern or tunnel pattern. Instead, it is extremely nourishing and gentle on the body.
ILLNESS-RELATED REASONS
In terms of fighting disease, this diet is helpful for most of today’s major degenerative diseases:
1. An anti-candida diet. The reason is it is very low in sugars and low in fermented foods.
2. An anti-osteoporosis diet. It is rich in bioavailable calcium and other minerals needed for the bones.
3. An anti-diabetic diet. This is also due to its low sugar content and high trace element content.
4. An anti-heart disease diet. It is a low-stress, less stimulating and more nourishing diet.
5. An anti-parasitic diet. This involves its high fiber content and the phytochemicals it contains.
6. An anti-obesity diet.Everyone loses weight if they do the diet properly, without requiring much exercise.
7. An anti-infective diet. In contrast, raw foods tend to contain many more bacteria, viri and parasite ova.
8. An anti-cancer diet. This is due to its high content of green and cruciferous vegetables that contain dozens of important nutrients that seem to assist the immune response and may have other anti-cancer effects.
9. Helpful for many organs and systems. The diet is definitely helpful for the digestive organs, the pancreas, the liver, the skin, the cardiovascular system, reproductive system, and the nervous system.
YIN-YANG REASONS
1. It is a fairly yang diet. ‘Yang’ is a Chinese medicine term that means that the diet tends to be warming, contracting, and drying to the body. This is most helpful because we live in a yin time in history.
Most all the bodies are too yin due to ionizing radiation, toxic chemicals, a nutrient-depleted food supply, toxic metals, electromagnetic stress, the use of vaccines and medical drugs, and for other reasons. The more yang diet tends to balance this and assists greatly, as a result, with physical, emotional and mental health.
DEVELOPMENTAL-ETHERIC REASONS
1. It moves energy downward. The reasons for this may be its lack of stimulants, its cooked quality, and perhaps for other reasons, such as its nutrient content. I am not sure how this occurs, but I know that the diet does help move etheric energy from the head to the feet.
2. It promotes mental development. This is due to its content of blue corn, sardines, kelp, sea salt, lamb and other foods that contain nutrients that promote development. It is also due to its ability to move energy downward through the body. This is a powerful aid to development.
3. It is not an etheric energy overload diet. This would be a diet with more meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy products. It is easy to overdo on these foods.
4. The development it produces is best for most people. This just means that the type of mental development it aids is appropriate for most people, and not extreme or dangerous.
5. It is somewhat of an “emptying” diet. This has to do with development, relaxation, grounding, centering, and moving energy downward.
Some people do not like this feeling. They change the diet to avoid a certain empty feeling that some feel, no matter how much food they eat on the diet.
6. It is not a diet based on the body’s ability to transmute minerals one into another. This is a good thing because this is the level of health where most people are. That is, they must take in the minerals they need as they cannot change or transmute some into the others very well. For more on this subject, read the book, Biological Transmutations, by Dr. Louis Kervran.
7. It is a “gathering” diet. Roots help plants gather nutrients from the soil. Leaves help plants gather sunlight and convert it to biochemical energy. Perhaps, in some way, this diet helps our body gather its minerals and its energy, in order to function at its best.
ACID-BASE BALANCE REASONS
1. The diet is extremely alkaline-forming. The reason is it is rich in the alkaline reserve minerals. This is needed today, as most people’s bodies are too acidic at the tissue level.
Replenishing the alkaline reserve minerals is the only way to really alkalinize the body at the deepest level. Alkaline water, sodium bicarbonate therapy and other superficial means are temporary only. Also, it is not true that a diet rich in fruit is more alkaline forming than a cooked vegetable-based diet, because the vegetable-based diet contains much more of the alkaline reserve minerals.
B Vitamins and MethylationOctober 1, 2014Last week a client came to me following an abnormal pap smear. Any nutritional advice – she asked?
I suggested she consider taking folate and B12, since studies show the combination can help with the prevention of cervical cancer.
But I made sure she opted for the right B12, and the right folate.
In other words the methyl version of these vitamins – the natural form your body knows how to use.
Methyl-what?
Methylation is how your body manages to stay in balance.
When you’re blood sugar is high, you rely on the process of methylation to release insulin; when your body is burdened with toxins, you need healthy methylation to detox and methyl enzymes are essential to convert and absorb key nutrients.
‘Methylation helps the body rid itself of toxins and assures that the new cells you make everyday are exact copies of the ones that are being replaced,’ explains Dr. Garry Gordon, co-founder of the American College for Advancement in Medicine (ACAM).
‘Amazingly, many doctors today still know nothing about the methyl form of folic acid and why I insist on giving it along with the sublingual methyl form of B12.’
Along with getting enough B vitamins – we’ll cover that in a second – there are other factors that affect methylation.
4 Factors that Mess with Methylation
Low stomach acid: Stomach acid is necessary to digest food and help you absorb vital nutrients including B12. Age can reduce stomach acid as well as certain health conditions and medications including antacids.
Plastics Bisphenyl A (BPA) found in plastic water bottles can disrupt the methylation process, triggering DNA changes. In one landmark study, scientist Randy Jirtle and his group of researchers exposed pregnant mice to bisphenol A and watched as more of their offspring developed into yellow, obese mice (Dolinoy et al., 2007). Start sipping from stainless steel now.
Smoking The carbon monoxide from cigarette smoke inactivates vitamin B6.
Heavy Metals Especially mercury, which binds to the amino acid methionine and interferes with methylation.
Unfortunately we’re constantly exposed to this neurotoxic metal – mercury is in mascara, your favourite sushi restaurant, in the water you drink and the air you breathe (16 per cent of airborne mercury in the UK is estimated to be from crematoria burning fillings and teeth).
So how do you protect the vital methylation processes in your body?
Improve your stomach aid by taking digestive enzymes or increasing your intake of bitter foods like lemons, rocket and apple cider vinegar; reduce your exposure to plastics and mercury (for instance swap plastic Tupperware for Pyrex and choose low mercury fish) quit smoking and most importantly up your intake of B vitamins.
Foods rich in B vitamins include the following:
For Folate, think fibre.You need to eat plenty ofdark leafy greens like kale, spinach, bok choy, parsley and mustard greens to get your dose.
Good sources of B12 include organic eggs, oily fish (preferably line caught and low in mercury) mussels, oysters and organic meat.
For B6, eat moresunflower seeds, salmon and sweet potato.
However you may still want to consider a supplement, for the following reasons:
If you are vegan it can be hard to get adequate levels of B12 through food – in fact some argue it’s impossible.
If you have been on the contraceptive pill you might want to take folate – since oral contraceptives interfere with folate metabolism. In addition, a common gene mutation means many people cannot convert food folate into the usable methyl form.
Going supplement shopping? Here’s your crib sheet:
Avoid products that say ‘folic acid’ – most multivitamins contain this synthetic form, which has been linked to cancer. In the US, rates of colorectal cancer began to increase in 1996 and the same happened in Canada in 1998 following folic acid fortification of foods.
Avoid products containing cyanocobalamin, which is found in 99 per cent of the vitamins on the market containing B12.
Not only does cyanocobalamin contain cyanide, but it is made from recovered activated sewage sludge or ‘produced through total chemical synthesis’ according to health researcher Sayer Ji from GreenMedInfo.
In addition, a study published in 1997 in the journal Blood, found that cyanocobalamin ‘antagonizes vitamin B12 in vitro and causes cell death from methionine deficiency.’
Bottom line, you’ll feel better with methyl vitamins according to a growing number of holistic physicians. Dr. Richard Moore is one of them. At his clinic in Bondi Juntion Sydney, he offers a range of intravenous nutrition including methyl B12 shots: ‘The methyl group of vitamins are necessary for serotonin production – the feel good hormone – so sometimes B12 can really help people with mood issues.’
Research is increasingly showing that diet is intimately linked with our mental health – probiotics being hailed as the new Prozac is a case in point – but it’s also true that our mental state affects our biochemistry. For instance when we’re stressed we burn through C and B vitamins as well as selenium and essential fatty acids.
That’s why as a health coach I look beyond food: sometimes I’m there to talk supplements other times it’s stress – I will work with a client to identify triggers and find strategies to help them manage fist-bighting situations better.
That in turn can help with everything from losing weight and balancing hormones, to boosting immunity and slowing hair loss.