Does folate/B12 raise cortisol?

[Ninan]

My saliva cortisol test showed higher cortisol the hours after taking methyl folate. Why is that? Has enoyone else noticed this correlation? Does it stimulate adrenals or does it just help HPA signalling? According to 23andME I'm a bit sensitive to methyl groups but different kinds of folate always had the same effect on me, no difference between them.

My adrenals seem very weak at the moment and I've started crashing the day after having effect from metafolin. Is cortisol the reason it gives energy?

This study found a correlation: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3847740/

Could folate be bad for adrenals?

 

[PeterPositive]

The study you have posted used a multivatimin that has all th B complex, plus antioxidants and other botanicals.

In the discussion sections they say:

Firstly, while B-Vitamins were one of the main constituents included in the Swisse F1® formula, there were a number of other constituents included in the supplement which could also foreseeably have impacted neuro-endocrine function, including anti-oxidants such as Vitamins C and E, and small quantities of selected botanicals. For this reason the effects on the CAR cannot be solely attributed to B-Vitamins

It's a quite difficult to isolate the effects of B12/B9 from the study...

You mention having taken Metafolin... is it the first time you've tried it? What dosage? Do you also take B12 with it?

cheers

 

[Ninan]

Ok, thanks Peter. I've taken it for years. Have had problems with C so had to stop for some time. Took some pig liver and had effect but crashed the fifth time. From just maybe 10-20 grams of liver. I seem to have quite strong folate effect from liver.

Maybe it's just a bit too stimulating when my adrenals are this bad.

 

[Ninan]

I'm thinking of trying hydroxycobalamin. Maybe the combination folate (other kind?) and hydroxy could be milder on the adrenals.

 

[Critterina]

Your saliva cortisol should be higher in the morning. In the study, they only measured it in the morning. It's not like they gave it to them at different times of day and then measured cortisol shortly after. But in the study what they found was that it was higher when they'd been supplementing for a while - after 8 and 16 weeks, not a measurement immediately after taking the supplements.

That's how it's supposed to work, being higher in the morning. If it's low, or if you have symptoms of low adrenal function, see if the doctor will give you a short cosyntropin test (a.k.a ACTH stimulation test), to see whether your adrenals have the ability to respond properly to stress.

It's my feeling that if you are having symptoms of low adrenal function (buzzy body, insomnia, hypoglycemia, extreme weakness, dizziness, nausea, fainting, nightly bilateral pain in the kidney areas) you're close enough to crisis to either have the test or go to the emergency room. My endocrinologist said I was fine and referred me to the Mayo Clinic. Let me save you that runaround - the Mayo clinic does not have any doctors who see or treat people for adrenal insufficiency. And they repeated that when I told them that I didn't have that diagnosis, that my doctor said I was fine.

Now, as to whether the vitamins help your adrenals recover, I don't know - the study was done with healthy adults. But that said, I just had my morning serum cortisol measured and it was nearly twice what it was last year (after being low since 2012). It can double again and still be normal, but I'm taking credit for progress.

Also, many doctors don't take a saliva test as diagnostic for low cortisol, only for high cortisol; they say you have to have morning blood test to determine low cholesterol. It's not universal, but I've run into it.

 

[Ninan]

Thanks @Critterina My cortisol is low all over, except when I take folate. Trying adrenal extracts now.

 

[Critterina]

Thanks @Critterina My cortisol is low all over, except when I take folate. Trying adrenal extracts now.

Well, that's really interesting. I have no idea how that works. I wonder if overall if the folate is helping my adrenals come back, in terms of cortisol.