Question: What to do when different folate markers don’t line upYou know, if you have high figlu on the NutrEval, which is Formiminoglutamic acid, which rises when there is Tetrahydrofolate THF, unmethylated folate, to metabolize figlu, and in that case, I would be thinking about maybe you have a B12 deficiency that is leading to the trapping of folate as the methylfolate form, so that THF isn't regenerated for that reaction. So I would absolutely never use figlu as the only marker of folate. I would look at serum folate and red blood cell folate always as the first markers of folate. So in this case, I would look at your serum folate and your red blood cell folate. So before I would get folate injections, I would be looking at all those markers to see whether there's a coherent story between all of them that are agreeing that your folate status is low despite supplements, versus a divergence story between them that is telling me that one form of folate is the one that's missing rather than a total folate. If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, a private discussion group, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass/ and use the code QANDA to get 10% off the membership for life. From now through March, I will be working full-time on finishing my Vitamins and Minerals 101 book, while reserving a portion of my time for consulting clients. You can pre-order my book at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/book. You can sign up for a consultation at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/consultations.  DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice. Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

What to do when different folate markers don’t line up | Masterjohn Q&A Files #220

Hi, I'm Chris Masterjohn and I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences. I am an entrepreneur in all things fitness, health, and nutrition. In this show I combine my scientific expertise with my out-of-the-box thinking to translate complex science into new, practical ideas that you can use to help yourself on your journey to vibrant health. This show will allow you to master the science of nutrition and apply it to your own life like a pro.

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Question: Is whole food vitamin C superior to natural because it is part of a tyrosinase complex? Short Answer: Vitamin C is nearly ubiquitously distributed in plant tissues, and is never bound to any enzyme as a structural complex. Vitamin C promotes absorption of iron from plant foods, inhibits copper absorption, and de-loads copper from ceruloplasmin, which may play a role in distributing copper to tissues. Vitamin C is not capable of destroying ceruloplasmin. These functions follow directly from vitamin C as an electron donor and there is no evidence whatsoever that whole food vitamin C behaves differently in these respects than synthetic vitamin C. However, daily needs in most contexts are 2-400 milligrams of vitamin C per day, which is below the dose shown to potentially cause problems with copper. Getting this from whole foods or whole food supplements is better than using synthetic vitamin C because it avoids GMO corn and Chinese synthetics and provides a host of other beneficial constituents alongside the vitamin C. This is a clip from a live Q&A; session open to CMJ Masterpass members. In addition to this episode, you can access two other free samples using this link: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/questions-on-hair-trace-mineral-analysis In that batch of free episodes you will also find the answer to this question:   Is Hair Mineral Testing Useful?    What's the Deal With Seed Oils?   If you want to become a Masterpass member so you can participate in the next live Q&A;, or so you can have access to the complete recording and transcript of each Q&A; session, you can save 10% off the subscription price for as long as you remain a member by using this link to sign up: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/qanda Learn more about the Masterpass here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/about This snippet is from the June 16, 2023 AMA. The full recording and transcript is reserved for Masterpass members. Here is a preview of what’s included:   Butyrate for Hashimoto’s? What else?   What in the comprehensive nutritional screening is helping to interpret lactate/pyruvate and ketone ratios?   Is the solution to a respiratory chain disorder to take Niagen?   If I have high manganese on an HTMA, do I need to detox?   Should CFS patients target reducing their serum BH4?   What to do about low alkaline phosphatase?   If my glucose spikes above 140, should I eat fiber and take ACV before the meal, eat cinnamon with the meal, chew slowly, and move for ten minutes after my meals?   Difficulty getting Quest to do the lactate/pyruvate ratio correctly.   Is 38 milligrams of niacinamide enough to rule out niacin deficiency as a cause of low NAD+?   How does optimizing body composition help optimize energy metabolism? Can impaired energy metabolism make someone fatter?   Is monounsaturated fat the best fat?   Manganese followup.   Do you need to stop taking biotin before a biotin test?   What in "a bunch of supplements" flip the lactate/pyruvate ratio from high to low?   NAD infusions, yay or nay?   Why do I feel better after a warm shower, even better than after sunshine?   Should I cut back on vitamin A if I have toxicity symptoms but cutting back makes me get sick?   Do home blood drop tests have to be pricked at the finger?   Is it true that my boyfriend was just born a night owl?   How much eating out is too much?   When measuring ketones, lactate, and glucose at home to optimize energy metabolism, what time of day should we take the measurements?   Here’s a link to the full AMA:  https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/recording-and-transcript-of-the-june-a55 Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.  

Is Whole Food Vitamin C Really Different? | Masterjohn Q&A Files #330

Question: What Is the Real Issue With Seed Oils?  Short Answer: The main issue with seed oils is that they present an oxidative liability. They do not acutely cause oxidative stress, but their polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are more vulnerable than any other macronutrient to oxidative damage. Oxidative stress can increase because of nutrient deficiencies, toxins, infections, other sources of inflammation, alcohol, or smoking, and it will inevitably increase as a function of aging. As oxidative stress increases, more PUFAs in the tissues mean more damage. At least 0.6 milligrams of vitamin E should be gotten per gram of PUFA in the diet, but vitamin E cannot fully protect against PUFA, so their intake should be moderated to the very low levels needed, as obtained by eating fatty fish once or twice a week, eating eggs daily, and eating 4-8 ounces of liver per week. Additional secondary problems with them include residual solvents and heat damage prior to intake, but the main issue is that we do not want to increase our tissue PUFA content more than needed. This is a clip from a live Q&A; session open to CMJ Masterpass members. In addition to this episode, you can access two other free samples using this link:  https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/questions-on-hair-trace-mineral-analysis In that batch of free episodes you will also find the answer to this question:   Is Hair Mineral Testing Useful?   Is Whole Food Vitamin C Really Different?   If you want to become a Masterpass member so you can participate in the next live Q&A;, or so you can have access to the complete recording and transcript of each Q&A; session, you can save 10% off the subscription price for as long as you remain a member by using this link to sign up: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/qanda Learn more about the Masterpass here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/about This snippet is from the June 16, 2023 AMA. The full recording and transcript is reserved for Masterpass members. Here is a preview of what’s included:   Butyrate for Hashimoto’s? What else?   What in the comprehensive nutritional screening is helping to interpret lactate/pyruvate and ketone ratios?   Is the solution to a respiratory chain disorder to take Niagen?   If I have high manganese on an HTMA, do I need to detox?   Should CFS patients target reducing their serum BH4?   What to do about low alkaline phosphatase?   If my glucose spikes above 140, should I eat fiber and take ACV before the meal, eat cinnamon with the meal, chew slowly, and move for ten minutes after my meals?   Difficulty getting Quest to do the lactate/pyruvate ratio correctly.   Is 38 milligrams of niacinamide enough to rule out niacin deficiency as a cause of low NAD+?   How does optimizing body composition help optimize energy metabolism? Can impaired energy metabolism make someone fatter?   Is monounsaturated fat the best fat?   Manganese followup.   Do you need to stop taking biotin before a biotin test?   What in "a bunch of supplements" flip the lactate/pyruvate ratio from high to low?   NAD infusions, yay or nay?   Why do I feel better after a warm shower, even better than after sunshine?   Should I cut back on vitamin A if I have toxicity symptoms but cutting back makes me get sick?   Do home blood drop tests have to be pricked at the finger?   Is it true that my boyfriend was just born a night owl?   How much eating out is too much?   When measuring ketones, lactate, and glucose at home to optimize energy metabolism, what time of day should we take the measurements?   Here’s a link to the full AMA:  https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/recording-and-transcript-of-the-june-a55 Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.  

What's the Deal With Seed Oils? | Masterjohn Q&A Files #329

Question: How useful is hair trace mineral analysis (HTMA) for nutritional testing? Short Answer: Hair trace mineral analysis is included as an optional add-on in the comprehensive nutritional screening from Testing Nutritional Status: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet, because it can capture data for some ultra-trace minerals for which there are no better-validated tests, and it might capture a pattern that might not be picked up as quickly with blood work, such as a mineral transport issue. However, its utility is limited by the fact that hair mineral content is not well validated as a test for any specific mineral, is generally anti-validated when there is enough science on a mineral (such as zinc, where hair zinc does not go down in deficiency), and should not be used as a central piece of data without corroboration from other more well-validated tests, which exist for most of the nutrients. This is a clip from a live Q&A; session open to CMJ Masterpass members. In addition to this episode, you can access two other free samples using this link:  https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/questions-on-hair-trace-mineral-analysis In that batch of free episodes you will also find the answer to this question:   What's the Deal With Seed Oils?   Is Whole Food Vitamin C Really Different?   If you want to become a Masterpass member so you can participate in the next live Q&A;, or so you can have access to the complete recording and transcript of each Q&A; session, you can save 10% off the subscription price for as long as you remain a member by using this link to sign up: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/qanda Learn more about the Masterpass here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/about This snippet is from the June 16, 2023 AMA. The full recording and transcript is reserved for Masterpass members. Here is a preview of what’s included:   Butyrate for Hashimoto’s? What else?   What in the comprehensive nutritional screening is helping to interpret lactate/pyruvate and ketone ratios?   Is the solution to a respiratory chain disorder to take Niagen?   If I have high manganese on an HTMA, do I need to detox?   Should CFS patients target reducing their serum BH4?   What to do about low alkaline phosphatase?   If my glucose spikes above 140, should I eat fiber and take ACV before the meal, eat cinnamon with the meal, chew slowly, and move for ten minutes after my meals?   Difficulty getting Quest to do the lactate/pyruvate ratio correctly.   Is 38 milligrams of niacinamide enough to rule out niacin deficiency as a cause of low NAD+?   How does optimizing body composition help optimize energy metabolism? Can impaired energy metabolism make someone fatter?   Is monounsaturated fat the best fat?   Manganese followup.   Do you need to stop taking biotin before a biotin test?   What in "a bunch of supplements" flip the lactate/pyruvate ratio from high to low?   NAD infusions, yay or nay?   Why do I feel better after a warm shower, even better than after sunshine?   Should I cut back on vitamin A if I have toxicity symptoms but cutting back makes me get sick?   Do home blood drop tests have to be pricked at the finger?   Is it true that my boyfriend was just born a night owl?   How much eating out is too much?   When measuring ketones, lactate, and glucose at home to optimize energy metabolism, what time of day should we take the measurements?   Here’s a link to the full AMA:  https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/recording-and-transcript-of-the-june-a55   Access the show notes, transcript, and comments  here.

Is Hair Mineral Testing Useful? | Masterjohn Q&A Files #328

Debunking the myth that vitamin C in plants is found in a special "tyrosinase complex." For the written article with references, see here:  https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/vitamin-c-whole-food-vs-synthetic For issues of vitamin C dosing and balancing with other nutrients, see these two links:  https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/the-powerful-duo-how-glutathione  https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/balancing-vitamin-c-and-glutathione-d6f  

Vitamin C, Whole Food Vs. Synthetic: Does It Matter?

Question: How to Find the Root Cause of Autoimmunity?  Short Answer: Autoimmune conditions are likely driven by deficiencies of vitamins A and D, which contribute to post-infectious autoimmunity by compromising the rhythmic rise and fall of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), and to autoimmunity regardless of infections through impaired suppression of Th17 helper T cells. More broadly, infections and tissue damage are the most likely drivers of autoimmunity onset. However, energy metabolism governs everything through the second law of thermodynamics, which holds that energy must be used to prevent everything from randomly mixing, and this includes randomly mixing the immune defense against pathogens with immune attacks on the host. In this example, we discuss how a respiratory chain disorder would compromise absorption and distribution of zinc and compromise the oxidation of NADH to NAD+, and how both of these would interact with a genetic impairment in acetaldehyde dehydrogenase to prevent the activation of vitamin A to retinoic acid. Autoimmunity thus results as one of many symptoms of vitamin A deficiency driven not by lack of vitamin A, but rather by impaired activation of vitamin A, secondary to impaired energy metabolism.  This is a clip from a live Q&A; session open to CMJ Masterpass members. In addition to this episode, you can access two other free samples using this link:  https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/questions-on-nac-biofilms-vitamin In that batch of free episodes you will also find the answer to this question:   Can NAC hurt your gut health?   Why Would Vitamin C Cause Joint Pain, Muscle Pain, and Brain Fog?   If you want to become a Masterpass member so you can participate in the next live Q&A;, or so you can have access to the complete recording and transcript of each Q&A; session, you can save 10% off the subscription price for as long as you remain a member by using this link to sign up: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/qanda Learn more about the Masterpass here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/about This snippet is from the May 13, 2023 AMA. The full recording and transcript is reserved for Masterpass members. Here is a preview of what’s included:   GLA to lower hydroxyhaemopyrrolin-2-one?   When would I use the StrateGene and Genova Methylation Panel for nutritional testing?   Energy metabolism as a root cause of gut issues?   Nutrition for skin healing?   Nutrition for hypnic jerks?   Suggestions for snoring or sleep apnea?   Nutrition to protect against restaurant meals?   What is the cause of crusty eyes in the morning?   What causes brain fog?   How much oxalate should one eat each day?   Should I be concerned about low alkaline phosphatase?   What nutrients give tall children to short parents?   Energy metabolism impairment mimicking Wilson's disease.   Can taking digestive enzymes reduce our own production?   Rapid-fire response to non-winners from the question contest.   Here’s a link to the full AMA:  https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/recording-and-transcript-of-the-may  Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.  

What to do when different folate markers don’t line up | Masterjohn Q&A Files #220

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