NutrEval interpretation based on my research
I know people frequently come to these forums trying to interpret their own results. I've been doing a lot of research: medical journals, the book Laboratory Evaluations for Integrative and Functional Medicine, my own physician, and scavenging the interpretations of other's results.
That said, these are just my best guesses based on my own research. I am far far from knowledgeable in this area.
Here is my understanding of some of the NutrEval results (I focused on my own results that were abnormal, so this isn't comprehensive):
Pyruvic acid (pyruvate): elevated in thiamin deficiency
Citric acid (and its intermediates): can be low due to biosythesis, such as heme synthesis
Succinic acid: decreased in deficiency of B12, leucine, and/or isoleucine
Vanilmendalic acid: if low, suggests low levels of norepinephrine. Could be due to tyrosine deficiency.
Homovanillic acid: if low, suggests low levels of dopamine. Could be due to tyrosine deficiency.
5-OH-indoleacetic: Increased when taking SSRIs. Can lead to low tryptophan.
alpha-ketoadipic acid: Elevation means B vitamin or lipoic acid deficiency.
FIGlu: High FIGlu indicates partial methylation block
Methylmalonic acid: elevation indicates partial methylation block
3-Hydroxyisovaleric acid: elevation in biotin deficiency
Pyroglutamic acid: Low level indicates low glutathione in the intestines
Lysine: low levels linked w/anemia. Essential amino acid needed for B6 activation
Taurine: can be elevated due to dietary intake of fish, liver/organ meats, taurine-supplemented foods. Also elevated in zinc deficiency.
Alanine: Low levels can cause exercise fatigue and hypoglycemia.
Aspartic Acid: B6 deficiency can cause Aspartic Acid to rise and not be fed into the citric acid cycle, which means Citric acid, Cis-Acitonic, and Isocitric will all be reduced.
Cystine: Low cystine coupled w/low glutamine is a sign of muscle catabolism (ie. body burning muscle for fuel)
Glycine: low glycine indicates low glutathione
Ethanolamine: Needed for choline formation. Can be obtained from dietary lecithin.
Sarcosine: Elevated when FIGlu is elevated; indicates folate metabolism impairment.
1-Methylhistidine: Can be elevated from high intake of chicken, turkey, salmon, tuna.
Beta-Alanine: High levels indicate breakdown of "unwanted" body tissues. Can impair body's use of Taurine.
Glutamine/Glutamate: low ratio indicates deficiency of B vitamins
Oleic acid: Need B vitamins, C, zinc, and magnesium to increase.
Tricosanoic acid: increased levels indicate need for increased biotin or B12 in order to convert to burnable short-chain fatty acids. Can also indicate a diet high in soluble fiber.
Dihomo-y-linoleic acid: low levels can be improved through use of black currant oil, borage oil, or evening primrose oil to increase GLA levels
Mercury: RBC mercury is best for determining levels of methylmercury and can be influenced greatly by eating fish
So now the question is: what do I do about all of this? Well, I plan to continue supplementing with the active B vitamins, add alpha lipoic acid, black currant oil, branched chain amino acids, L-glutamine, and L-glycine. My doctor also really wants me to supplement with NAC to try to increase cystine levels, so I will give that a go (I know there are mixed opinions on NAC supplementation).
Anyway, I hope this might be of help to other people struggling with their own NutrEval results in the future.
