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Methylfolate + folinic = more beneficial?

bigmillz

Senior Member
Messages
219
Location
NYC
Been experimenting with folinic acid lately, and it's mostly been pretty great. I have an MAOA mutation, so it's hard for me to take too much of either form of folate.

Today, I took 1600mcg of folinic, which proved to be a bit too much, but about 6 hours later I felt it starting to wear off. So much that I became quite tired. I happened to have some 1mg methylfolate tabs on me, so I took one to get me by.

A few hours later and I'm feeling GREAT.

The only other thing I can add to this is that I've noticed taking 800mcg of folinic twice, 6 hours apart, is much more effective for me than 1600mcg all at once.

Any explanation for this?
 

PeterPositive

Senior Member
Messages
1,426
Well,
both folinic acid and methyfolate are active in the brain, helping the production of dopamine and serotonin so... I guess that's part of the "feeling great" :) And of course it's temporary so it wears off after a while.

Similarly I take two doses of methylfolate a day and some extra folinic from a B complex.

cheers
 

bigmillz

Senior Member
Messages
219
Location
NYC
Well,
both folinic acid and methyfolate are active in the brain, helping the production of dopamine and serotonin so... I guess that's part of the "feeling great" :) And of course it's temporary so it wears off after a while.

Similarly I take two doses of methylfolate a day and some extra folinic from a B complex.

cheers

Thanks Peter, always good input :) It's definitely temporary sadly.

I'm going to go back on just folinic and swap a single dose for methylfolate at some point and see what happens.

Sadly taking a few days off again as the extra dose seemed to push it over the top again - feeling quite edgy this morning. Damn "warrior gene" :D
 

PeterPositive

Senior Member
Messages
1,426
Thanks Peter, always good input :) It's definitely temporary sadly.

I'm going to go back on just folinic and swap a single dose for methylfolate at some point and see what happens.

Sadly taking a few days off again as the extra dose seemed to push it over the top again - feeling quite edgy this morning. Damn "warrior gene" :D
I know the feeling. :rolleyes: Folate can cause lots of anxiety/nervousness especially for those sensitive to it, and I am one of them.

I find folinic and methylfolate different too. While I can take up to 3-4mg of the latter with no ill effects but I get jittery with just 800mcg of folinic. Go figure!
 
Messages
1,478
I split my 1200 mcg of Methylfolate into 3 doses 3 hrs apart. This seems to work. Two of those doses I take as part of a b complex which is better than the b,s separately. I think Fredd called this folate's "half life" he said that this was 3-4 hrs I seem to recall.
 

PeterPositive

Senior Member
Messages
1,426
Could this be low B1?
In my case, no.
It's just too much methylfolate :) I guess there's a "safe" dose for everyone after which one starts having side effects.

I have tried pushing all of the other vitamins in the B complex to see what differences they could make and there's not much of a difference from a certain dosage.. plus, personally, I don't do well with high doses of B1. They kick my stomach and increase brain fog.
 

Gondwanaland

Senior Member
Messages
5,092
I don't do well with high doses of B1. They kick my stomach and increase brain fog.
Yeah, same here, although I suspect dry Beriberi. Will try to get a diagnosis.

BTW excess methyl donors can induce a B2 deficiency too, but I don't do very well on B2 either - it dosen't mean I don't need it though.
 

bigmillz

Senior Member
Messages
219
Location
NYC
I know the feeling. :rolleyes: Folate can cause lots of anxiety/nervousness especially for those sensitive to it, and I am one of them.

I find folinic and methylfolate different too. While I can take up to 3-4mg of the latter with no ill effects but I get jittery with just 800mcg of folinic. Go figure!

Folinic definitely seems more potent, that's for sure
 

bigmillz

Senior Member
Messages
219
Location
NYC
Yeah, same here, although I suspect dry Beriberi. Will try to get a diagnosis.

BTW excess methyl donors can induce a B2 deficiency too, but I don't do very well on B2 either - it dosen't mean I don't need it though.

@PeterPositive I handle it better when I'm taking B2 as well, but haven't been on that lately as it was giving me some other issues, specifically exacerbating bruxism.
 

bigmillz

Senior Member
Messages
219
Location
NYC
Hmmm increasing the need for magnesium and/or potassium and/or manganese for GABA?

I've tried both of these without any beneficial results. At first I thought potassium was helping, but upon taking more, the benefits stopped, leaving me grinding away.

Manganese I'd still have to try.
 

Gondwanaland

Senior Member
Messages
5,092
Manganese I'd still have to try.
I always try to eat high manganese foods at dinner to ensure proper GABA and melatonin production (doesn't always work though depending on inflammation levels). Quinoa, chick peas, fennel. Unfortunately I can't tolerate sweet potatoes. Sometimes high tryptophan spices help, sometimes they hinder (parsley, Dijon mustard).