Hi Rich,
I remember an Adelle Davis book or two in my mother's collection.
I have a Bernard Rimland book (the ARI book) in mine!
...I should know this stuff, but still I have a B6 question, if you don't mind. When would P-5-P be indicated rather than pyridoxine?
I noticed that's what's used in the Neurological Health Formula I'm taking.
It's a bit off topic here but I wanted to let you know that I'm taking 2 caps of Yasko's Nucleotide Support formula these past few days and I've noted it seems to help noticibly with the extra inflammatory pain I felt after starting the simplified protocol.
I'm also going to start activated charcoal before bed after reading your post today on ammonia. I've noticed a faint ammonia smell on my skin a couple of times. I do have excitotoxicity which hasn't increased, but I'll be sure to let you know, in the relevant thread even (!), if a
decrease results from taking the charcoal.
Best,
Anne.
Hi, Anne.
Thanks for the information about your response to nucleotide support. Normally, folates are needed to make nucleotides, but the folate metabolism is dysfunctional in ME/CFS because of the partial block of methionine synthase and the methyl trap, which drains folate from the cells when this reaction is partially blocked. One of the main reasons for including folinic acid in the protocol is to help with the production of nucleotides until the folate metabolism has been restored, but taking them directly, as you have done, is another option, and I'm glad it is helping you. The nucleotides are important for making new DNA and RNA for new cells, and also for making ATP.
With regard to pyridoxine and P5P, P5P is the active coenzyme form of vitamin B6. Some people have difficulty converting pyridoxine into P5P. This requires an active coenzyme form of riboflavin (vitamin B2) If that is deficient, or if the conversion to its active form is not working well, such as for genetic reasons, then the production of P5P will be hindered.
Dr. Amy Yasko recommends in autism treatment that the B6 or P5P supplementation be kept low for people who have upregulating SNPs in the CBS enzyme, because this enzyme requires P5P, and one way to slow it down is to limit that. She finds that an upregulated CBS enzyme will increase the flow down the transsulfuration pathway and raise ammonia production. However, in ME/CFS, I find that many people have a deficiency of B6 (or P5P), I think because they are forced to burn amino acids for fuel, and this requires transamination reactions, which use P5P. A coenzyme is normally a catalyst and does not get used in the reaction, but over time some is lost if it is used a lot. So this seems to require a delicate balancing act!
With regard to calcium, note that when the NMDA receptors on the neurons are overactive (excitotoxicity), they open calcium channels and let too much calcium into the neurons, and this can eventually kill them. Dr. Yasko likes to say, "Glutamate is the trigger, and calcium is the bullet." So if a person is troubled with excitoxicity, limiting calcium intake some may help. Of course, it is an essential mineral, and that needs to be kept in mind, to avoid going into osteoporosis or osteomalacia. This is especially important for women to be careful of. Again, it's a balancing act.
I hope the activated charcoal helps you. I don't know the appropriate dosage, but I recall one person saying that it's important to take a pretty hefty dosage. If it causes constipation, it can be slurried with a magnesium supplement, such as Milk of Magnesia, to counter that, and the magnesium is usually beneficial, too. Other than producing diarrhea if taken in large dosages, the only other issue with taking a lot of magneisum is that the kidneys must be able to dump the excess into the urine. If the there are problems with the function of the kidneys, too much magnesium can cause more trouble there. But people with normal kidney function who are drinking reasonable amounts of water can handle magnesium alright. In general, people with ME/CFS are low in intracellular magnesium. This seems to be related to glutathione depletion. Experiments have been published on red blood cells that showed that when glutathione was lowered, intracellular magnesium went down, and when it was raised again, the magnesium level came up. So it apparently affects the membrane ion pumps that control the magnesium level, at least in red cells.
Best regards,
Rich
