Homocysteine and Insulin Resistance

Check out this link:
http://www.mercola.com/2000/oct/1/insulin_homocysteine.htm

I find it interesting that the implication in this article is that increased insulin levels may have a correlation and indeed a negative impact on homocysteine levels because of the findings of the study of obese children. This may be true, but it doesn't jive entirely. I have done everything humanly possible to improve my insulin sensitivity through diet and have only had marginal results. I still suffer from occasional hypoglycemia and still have significant fat stores around my abdomen - both of which definitely point to raised insulin - but my diet is, in every way, picture-perfect in terms of macronutrient ratios and overall carbohydrate load, so it's not like my raised insulin levels are stemming from my diet. But I had never thought to check out my homocysteine levels or tried to improve my methylation before now.

Could it be that increased homocysteine levels and improper methylation cycles can cause raised insulin levels and decreased insulin sensitivity and not the other way around? Or perhaps they each contribute to the other? I'm sure they are two factors that are synergistic and certainly not isolated conditions that have no effect on each other. Either way, I'm hoping that improved methylation will improve my insulin levels and my attempts at getting rid of my excess belly fat. If it does happen, we'll know that this methylation business is more than it's cracked up to be and that these studies may have it backwards.

A New Day

I feel good. It's a new day and I feel fresh. Hopefully, this is a positive sign. As I stated yesterday, I caved in and started taking methyl donors. I say 'caved in' because I really should have waited until I was totally 'clean' of reactions before I started trialling something new, but I just couldn't resist trying something that may make me feel better. Plus, I'm taking a substantial number of methyl donors now, so I should know pretty soon if they're not a good idea. My regimen includes the following:

- a sublingual tablet called Homocysteine Formula (by a company called SISU), which includes methylcobalamin, folate and B6 in a decent ratio. This was the only form of methylcobalamin at my health food store that didn't have a bunch of junk added to it, such as polyols and 'cherry flavour'. Luckily the added vitamins are also methylation-supportive and I needed them anyway. 1 tablet, 3 times daily.
-1 tsp of Trimethyl Glycine (a.k.a. Betaine or TMG)
- 2 tablets of L-Methionine, which comes with added B6
- Zinc is a supporting element in methylation and I was not meeting my RDA, so I'm taking a small dose (15 mg) and have stopped experiencing nausea from it. Yay.
- Ascorbic acid, buffered with sodium bicarbonate
- potassium salts
- Okinawan Coral (for calcium, magnesium and Vit. D)

I tried to get molybdenum, but they didn't have a supplement that didn't come as a multivitamin. The lady at the store just looked at me like I had just fallen off the stupid idiot truck and said "You don't need a pill of molybdenum all by itself. Your RNI is only about 15 mcg and you'll find it in any of these multivitamins."

Bitch.

Hmmm, funny how I just can't get away from supplements. Seems like I'm always either their biggest supporter, or feeling like I'm too dependent on them and feeling as if they may be 'not good' for me. I'm thinking, however, that I've just been focusing on the wrong ones. If I am predisposed genetically to undermethylation, then I will have to take them forever. But yeah, suddenly having to spend $50 on supps when I thought I was done with them (and already have a cupboard full of them, which are now no longer applicable), seems like a bit of a cruel joke! Especially if I find out that they are contraindicated for whatever ails me. Let's hope everything works out and I don't have to toss them out. Ha ha, maybe if they don't work out, I can ship them to Emma! Along with some liquid glycerine shampoo.

Have I lost my way?

Foods Eaten: Clarified butter; eggs; egg yolks; peeled pear; cashews; lamb; cabbage; rutabaga; potassium salts; ascorbic acid; sodium bicarbonate; coral supplement; zinc supplement (to meet RDA); L-Methionine; TMG; Methylcobalamin; B6; Folic acid
Calories: 1729 Fat: 166 g Carb: 24 g Fibre: 3 g Protein: 44 g
Weight: 154.5 lbs

It occurs to me that Failsafe and even ON combined with Failsafe is not the be-all and end-all. There are so many other factors that can interfere with your own personal good nutrition. I figured that since I was still sticking to the basic principles of Failsafe and ON, that I should be OK. But really, I wasn't OK.

When I decided to give up dairy, I filled the carbohydrate-void with grains (flour mostly, but more recently oats). That would have been fine if I had been reacting well to grains before I gave up dairy, but the truth is, I have no idea how I was reacting to grains before because I never included them! The milk I was drinking was providing too many carbs and I had only trialled potatoes up to that point. So here I was, giving up one suspicious element and just throwing a different one in the mix. Thanks Emma, for noticing this!

So out go the grains. I never really felt like I should be having them anyway, since my Atkins "programming" had made me feel guilty every time I ate them. I'll miss them, I assure you, but for right now it's too important that I eliminate them until I sort things out.

So let's recap, shall we? No salicylates (fruit and veg), no amines (aged proteins, chocolate... etc.), no dairy (self-imposed due to cravings, possible hypoglycemic reactions and tell-tale dairy sensitivity symptoms, such as pale skin and undereye circles) and no grains. Part of me feels like this is absurd. But then I always feel slightly absurd. My partner suggested I was developing Howard Hughes-ian paranoia last night. I tried to assure him that it has always been there and that I'm actually doing much better now that I feel like I'm discovering why I'm such a mental case. It's a chicken/egg situation in many ways.

So the only remaining question marks (for now) are regarding supplements. Last night, I prematurely started on a copper-reducing cocktail of supplements that now I question after Emma's enlightening methylation post. I don't know if I should just go back to having nothing, or if I should just eliminate the ones specific to copper-reduction, since some of them are really methyl donors and may be helpful for me. [Edit: Impatiently, I picked some methyl donors up from the store and started them this evening. I figure if I'll know if I'm reacting to them pretty quickly.]

I feel pretty good today, by the way. And my weight is back down to the ever-faithful 154.5 lbs. Hilarious. Didn't get hungry until about 11 am again this morning. Had a bite of deliciously ripe pear instead of the oats or the flour. Yum.

Methylation and Metal-Metabolism

Right now Emma is posting on under and over-methylation and its effects on food intolerance and epilepsy. Her posts, here, here, here and here have been fascinating and have prompted me to do a bit of googling of my own.

From what I can tell, the symptoms for under-methylators and over-methylators are disagreed upon. William Walsh, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Pfeiffer Treatment Center says that the symptoms are as follows:

Undermethylation: This condition is innate & is characterized by low levels of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, high whole blood histamine and elevated absolute basophils. This population has a high incidence of seasonal allergies, OCD tendencies, perfectionism, high libido, sparse body hair, and several other characteristics. They usually respond well to methionine, SAMe, calcium, magnesium, omega-3 essential oils (DHA & EPA), B-6, inositol, and vitamins A, C, and E. They should avoid supplements containing folic acid. In severe cases involving psychosis, the dominant symptom is usually delusional thinking rather than hallucinations. They tend to speak very little & may sit motionless for extended periods. They may appear outwardly calm, but suffer from extreme internal anxiety. Other symptoms include good tolerance to cold, but poor tolerance to heat, nausea, low pain threshold, slender build, excessive saliva, hyperactivity, frequent infections, seasonal allergies, phobias, high metabolism, perspiration, warm skin, headaches, myalgia... etc.

Overmethylation: This condition is the biochemical opposite of undermethylation. It is characterized by elevated levels of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, low whole blood histamine, and low absolute basophils. This population is characterized by the following typical symptoms: Absence of seasonal, inhalent allergies, but a multitude of chemical or food sensitivities, high anxiety which is evident to all, low libido, obsessions but not compulsions, tendency for paranoia and auditory hallucinations, underachievement as a child, heavy body hair, hyperactivity, "nervous" legs, and grandiosity. They usually respond well to folic acid, B-12, niacinamide, DMAE, choline, manganese, zinc, omega-3 essential oils (DHA and EPA) and vitamins C and E, but should avoid supplements of methionine, SAMe, inositol, TMG and DMG. Other symptoms include good pain tolerance, low libido, absence of seasonal allergies, OCD, depression, tinnitus, restless legs syndrome, artistic/music interests/abilities, intolerance to Prozac and other SSRI's... etc.

The lists go on and on. This site questions some of the Pfeiffer Treatment Center's findings because they seem illogical. The food sensitivities part is curious, as it goes against much of what Emma has researched and the research that Enzyme Stuff mentions. I, myself, have no idea what any of it means, largely because I suffer from many symptoms that appear in both categories (lack of seasonal allergies but many food and chemical sensitivities, I used to have an abnormally high libido when I was younger, but now have next to none, horrible tolerance to cold, very high pain threshold, depression, anxiety, irritability, phobia, have gone through periods of very frequent infections, overweight, obsessive, childhood underachievement, tinnitus... etc. That list goes on and on too.

One thing I've come across in my web research is a third, common cause of some of my symptoms that actually fits the bill more accurately than either of the other two: copper imbalance/metal metabolism imbalance.

"Metal-Metabolism: A common problem in ADHD behavior disorders and hormonal depression is a physical inability to control copper, zinc, manganese and other trace metals in the body due to improper functioning of metallothionein, a small protein synthesized in the liver and kidney in response to the presence of some metal ions, including zinc, mercury, cadmium and copper. It binds the metal ions tightly and is important both in ion transport and in detoxification. These patients are often deficient in zinc and manganese, the amino acids cysteine and serine, and vitamin B-6. They are commonly overloaded in copper, lead and cadmium. They must avoid supplements and enriched foods containing copper. In addition we recommend they drink bottled water and limit use of swimming pools and jacuzzis treated with copper sulfate anti-algae agents. Foods to be limited due to high copper content include shellfish, chocolate and carob. Elevated copper levels are associated with hormonal imbalances and a classic symptom is intolerance to estrogen. Biochemical treatment focuses on stimulation of metallothionein using zinc, manganese, cysteine, serine and vitamin B-6."

Apparently, the symptoms of this imbalance, aside from estrogen intolerance and horrible pms symptoms are: acne, eczema, sensitive skin, sunburn, headaches, poor immune function, white spots under the fingernails, mood swings, sulphite sensitivity, fatigue, irritability, foggy brain, hypoglycemia, headaches, tender calf muscles, difficulty falling asleep...etc. many of which I have. The birth control pill can cause high levels of copper and will exacerbate the estrogen symptoms.

Do I have copper toxicity? Who knows! More on this soon.