Freddd
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This is just a theory. Since this particular subset of forums is for both methylation and chelation, many people coming here have a metal toxicity of some sort. Since you are the only one other than Rich who has a methylation protocol here, people regard you as an authority on many different health related matters. It's important to note that what you are saying is largely theoretical.
Rich believed that mercury was a real issue for a certain percentage of people here. Methylation can be especially difficult for people have a build up of toxins of any kind (or virus/infections for that matter). As I mentioned before people here have encountered toxins being released through methylation and have tests to prove it. People need to exercise a healthy dose of caution when following a methylation protocol of any kind.
As far as methylcobalamin converting inorganic mercury into monomethylmercury, this is what Rich has said
I prefer hydroxocobalamin for several reasons. One is that it allows the cells to control the amounts of the coenzyme forms of B12 (methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin) that they make, so that they can be matched to the need. Taking methylcobalamin in large dosages by injection or sublingually can overdrive the methylation cycle, as evidenced by a major rise in sarcosine, which I've seen in amino acids testing on some people who have been on this treatment for a while. I am not comfortable with overdriving the methylation cycle, both because I think it slows flow down the transsulfuration pathway and thus limits the normalization of the balance of the sulfur metabolism, including cysteine, glutathione, taurine and sulfate, and also because I am concerned about the possibility of overmethylation of DNA, which could have other deleterious effects.
My other concern is that methylcobalamin is known to be chemically able to methylate inorganic mercury. Many PWCs have significant body burdens of inorganic mercury as a result of having amalgam fillings in their teeth during an extended period while glutathione has been low, so that they have not been able to detox mercury at normal rates. Methylmercury can cross the blood-brain barrier readily. Mercury is a potent neurotoxin if it gets into the brain. This problem has been observed in guinea pigs. I don't have solid evidence for it in humans, but have heard from perhaps three people who may have had this problem, based on what they have reported. So I prefer to be cautious.
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Since Rich doesn't seem entirely sure about it, I probably will transition over to methylcobalamin at some point. I'm glad he's being cautious. It's usually better to err on the side of caution.
However, it is true that the methylation process itself will release toxins so I'm going slow. What attracted me to Rich's protocol was what how he described it as: "a gentler approach to lifting the partial methylation cycle block, and many PWMEs need such an approach."
Lotus,
So which studies do you want to ignore the science of. Hundreds of studies including the pharmacodynamics of cobalamins? That is overwhelming and they all more or less agree. The differences make no practical differences in what we are discussing here.
Do you want to ignore the studies that link monomethymercury to symptoms? Do you want to ignore the serum halflifes determined in many studies in animals and fish as 71-72 days? How about the studies that measured the serum halflif as the study itself and determined 71-72 days? You want to ignore those? Sure there are studies IN TEST TUBES of reacting mercury to high concentration MeCbl, proving it is possible for them to react but say nothing about in the body combining. The amount of excreted unchanged cobalamin studies, of all forms, is VERY CLEAR. There isn't any wiggle room. 1% remains 24-48 hours after injection. That amounts to 5mg sublingual held for a couple of hours or a 1mg injection. That still amounts to 10mcg availalbe for reactions of ALL sorts, conversion to AdoCbl, reaction with mercury, reactions with folate, etc. Within the constraints of hundreds of prior studies, that means that from 1mg of MeCbl absorbed daily that the amnount of monomethylmercury that can be generated is 1.4 mcg which mathamatically works out to be the amount in 1 -2 grams of fish containing the higher amounts of methyl mercury.
It is hardly a hypothesis. It is merely a little math putting together the separate data from multiple studies. Now if you can show me where the holes are in my model and why that is not correct I will certainly learn. What studies are you going to change or ignore to come to other conclusions to support it. Right now all I see is a belief in the magical powers of MeCbl, just whisper that potent name and monomethylmercury, which is SPECIFICALLY the only form we are discussing, pours into the tissues in such large amounts so quickly it would have required 210mg of MeCbl to be consumed 100% with zero excreted unchanged in forming that amount of monomethylmercury to casue toxic symptoms. I DON"T BELIEVE IT. That hypothesis would require complete rejection of all those hundreds of papers on 4 topics.