Hey @LAK ,

Many factors could play into the advice your friend has been given, so it’s hard to reply to that part. I can however clarify the relationship between the MTHFR mutation – or SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism).

Elevations in homocysteine are considered as a risk factor for clotting. Homocysteine is normally broken down to Methionine and can be measured by doctors. Common causes for elevated homocysteine are a deficiency in vitamin B12 and/or folate. Other vitamins play a part as well. For example, vitamins B6 and B2 play a role as well.

People with the MTHFR mutation have an extra challenge: they can’t convert folate as effectively into the bioactive form methyl-folate. This could cause a deficiency in methyl-folate causing homocysteine to rise. But not necessarily! A lot of people with the MTHFR mutation have balanced levels of homocysteine. Nutrition and lifestyle play a part as well.

As to the second part of your question, I’m not sure what toxic gas the FP was referring to. Perhaps you could provide us with more details on this topic so we might be able to help you better!

Hey @healthyliving99

First of all, exciting news! Congratulations!

Since your pregnant you have to share your nutrients with your new family member. It is quite normal for ferritin (the storage form of iron) to drop during the third trimester in regular pregnancies. For a good interpertation of lab values it’s important to know the reference ranges provided by the lab that examined your blood.

That we don’t have them, doesn’t mean we can’t give you some answers, but if you like to have a deeper dive on what is happens with these lab values during pregnancy you can look in table 2 of this research paper.

Since you are sharing your iron, it is common for pregnant women to see a drop in hemoglobin, iron and ferritin. If you’re already experiencing anemia in the beginning of the pregnancy it is important to get your iron markers up and have good quality en quantity of red blood cells. It are the red blood cells that transport oxygen and make metabolism possible.

Choosing to work with injecting iron is the fastest way to get iron up. Maybe you are worried about the fact that your Hb remained the same in the third trimester, but it is quite common for Hb, iron and feritin to drop in the third trimester. Your Hb remaining the same is actually good news. You’ve even managed to get your ferritin up.

I do challenge you to dive a little deeper into investigating why your iron was low in the first place?

• Was iron in your food? (for example: are you on a plant based diet?)
• Is iron being well absorbed?
  • We need strong stomach acid production and enzymes to cut out the iron from foods. These enzymes in the stomach need vitamin C to do their job
  • A lingering simmering infection can cause the body to choose to sequester iron away from the bloodstream since bacteria and viruses both need iron to reproduce
• Was your copper measured (this is usually not examined in traditional medicine)? Copper deficiency can mimic iron deficiency.
• Do you have heavy blood loss during your cycle and did you start with low(-ish) iron before pregnancy?

If you would like to learn more about what could cause iron deficiency, check out this video as well.
Another thing to consider is the form of iron in your supplements. We have a video explaining what to look for in your supplements. Bernadette explains it well in this video

The change in numbers is quite good considering the pregnancy and considering you were dealing with an iron deficiency. Symptoms however are leading: we aren’t treating numbers, but symptoms. If you feel better, you’re on the right track!

I hope this answers your questions!

Hey @Inga-55

I like the products of Thorne since they are third-party tested and don’t use binders and fillers in their supplements. This prenatal vitamin is from them. Best would be to consume this multivitamin with food.

Ginger can help with nauseau in some pregnant women. Unfortunatelly not with everyone. You should at least have consumed it a few days in a row before the best effects though. Did your daughter tried that?

Other things she could try are aromatherapies with essential oils. Some women experience relief with essential oils like mint, lemon or orange. Vitamin B6 can also help. The multivitamin of Thorne contains a small amount and could be helpfull there as well.

If these things don’t help, studies have showed that acupressure and acupuncture can bring relief as well.

I hope she finds some relief soon!

Hey @Inga-55

Good question! Although it’s hard to evaluate every ingredient on the labels, I will help you understand some of them so you can make more educated choices! When choosing a good product I like to answer these two questions as well as possible:

1. Are there ingredients on the list that we know of that are harmful?

2. How well are the ingredients on the list chosen to fulfil the main goal of the product?

Body Wash (Brand Essentials, Pro Silk Body and Personal Care)
It’s a good start that this product doesn’t contain parabens or dyes. However, with question 1 in mind, some ingredients do pop out. The ingredient “fragrance” is not specified and can still contain ingredients that don’t serve your health as well. Methyl(chloro)isothiazolinone has been related to health problems like allergies, skin irritations and long irritations when inhaled. The Canadian government has even forbidden the use of this compound in cosmetic products and allows a very very tiny bit in rins-off products.

The main ingredient is Sodium Laureth Sulfate which is often used in shampoo and soaps because it dissolves fats. Unfortunately, because the skin barrier (which helps protect the skin) is fatty, this compound will also break down this skin layer. On top of that, this compound can cause irritated skin in some people.

Moisturizing Lotion (B Pure)
Ethylexyl palmitate is the main ingredient of this lotion. Although this lotion’s goal is to moisturize, the main ingredient is listed as a skin irritant on the website of the Environmental Working Group (If you like to, you can search for ingredients yourself on their website. Just navigate to: http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/)

Hyaluronic Acid
Here we see the same ingredient coming back: Ethylexyl palmitate

Facial Serum
One of the top ingredients here is propylene glycol. We know you shouldn’t consume this compound because we expect it to be toxic to the organ system. Propylene glycol does however enhance skin absorption which means the skin gets more “open” so that other compounds can enter the body more easily, including propylene glycol itself. Therefore it wouldn’t be something I personally like in my skin care products.

If you like to explore safer options, we do have a handout that dives deeper in how to avoid toxins. Just click here!

Hey @Annie
Like Bernadette mentioned: in some cases, some people don’t respond well to a certain supplement. We are all unique and sometimes what works for many people simply causes problems in another.

That being said…

Not all interactions between medications and supplements are well described. If he is taking this supplement together with his medications, he could try to take this supplement away from his medication and see if this resolves the problem!

Hey @Annie ,

Could you tell us what kind of discomforts we are talking about? This will help us to determine what could be the problem. Other things that will help provide us with insight are:

– How fast after taking his supplement he experiences the discomfort

– What symptoms/disease is he trying to recover from? (If you wrote about this on another topic, a reference to this post will be enough. Since I’m still exploring the new functions of the new platform myself I’m not sure if I have missed this post)

– What other supplements/medications is he currently taking? This includes PPIs and other over-the-counter medications.

– How does his current diet look like?

Let us know and we can help you with a more detailed answer!

Hey

Garlic contains a compound called alliin, which transforms into allicin when you crush the garlic (or chew it) under the influence of an enzyme. Allicin is a sulfur-containing molecule with many beneficial properties (think detoxification, it’s antimicrobial, helps lower cholesterol, and it’s been studied for other health benefits as well). Unfortunately, allicin can cause the typical ‘garlic breath’. In bigger dosages, it can be transported through the bloodstream and leave through the lungs and skin.

• With garlic breath, when allicin is not transported through the lungs, you can remove the breath by eating/chewing on parsley.
• Stainless steel can remove garlic smell from hands

Unfortunately I don’t know any trick (besides reducing the amount) that will help reduce skin odor. Mixing it with food might be something you could try, but this is based on personal experience, not on scientific research.

Good tips that help preserve fresh garlic is freezing:

• You can store the unpeeled whole cloves in the freezer
• Peel your cloves and then blend them in a food processor or blender with an oil. Because the oil won’t freeze completely, you can easily scrape some pureed garlic
  off for use in cooking.

Is there a special reason why you’re eating 1-2 fresh garlic gloves?

@Annie Sye,

It would be easier to check if some symptoms he presents remind you of this condition. Symptoms usually present early in life (at the age before 10) or a little later in atypical cases. Symptoms you’re looking for are involuntary muscle movements, speech difficulties, trouble with walking, some people develop vision loss or personality changes. It’s very rare, but since the OAT test showed elevated vitamin B5 and there is evidence that schizophrenia is linked to neurodegeneration I felt like mentioning it.

A high intake of supplements can also cause the elevation of vitamin B5. But if he didn’t take a B5 supplement recently it’s hard to tell if this will show up on the test. I don’t know how long ago this was and how long he took the dose. Vitamin B5 leaves the body quickly, but I have no experience with these dosages. It is however a more common reason for higher levels of B5 in the body.

Vitamin B6 supplement
I often recommend my clients to use B vitamins in a B complex formula. The exception would be vitamin B12. Basic B from Thorne is a product I like. I usually recommend half a capsule per day to start with and see how people feel about that.

I hope this information helps you!

Hey @Annie Sye,

With vitamin B6 I usually recommend my clients a low & slow approach since it is involved in the production of neurotransmitters. I also would recommend they to use the biologically available form (pyridoxal 5 phosphate). 50 mg B6, although it has been used, is still quite a lot.

I’m not sure why his current vitamin B5 is elevated. There could be some hidden exposure from food sources. It is for example added to beverages or breakfast cereals sometimes. Reading the labels will give you more insight. In rare cases, pantothenic acid (the scientific name for vitamin B5) can also be metabolized badly. This happens in people who suffer from PKAN (pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration). Although observed levels in the OAT are usually higher in the last case, it’s still worth ruling out in his case since he is suffering from schizophrenia.

Fungal overgrowth
The OAT shows indeed evidence of a fungal overgrowth. Arabinose is also elevated and more indicative for Candida. I’m under the impression you might already know some stuff about this topic, so I’ll keep the advice on this topic brief. Just let me know if you need more information. This video helps you choose botanical antifungals if you consider them an option. This handout could also be of use. The mold & mycotoxin course might give you a deeper dive into all things mold related.

Kidney function
Do you know the elevations of this specific marker you refer to? And is this specific marker creatinine by any chance? I’m asking because it might influence how to read the lab reports.

Hey @Yasmin atassi,

Gene tests are great! They can provide you with insights into your unique strengths and weaknesses. That being said, it’s good to be aware that not even if you have a faster or slower working enzyme because your genetic code is slightly different, it doesn’t mean it determines health outcomes only. What you eat, what you do, stress or shortly the environment in which you move plays a very big factor as well. And that’s good news!

MTHFR/MTR
These genes both play a role in the methylation cycle. Your MTR codes for a variation on an enzyme that works a bit more quickly than average, while your MTHFR is a little slower.

What does that mean?
In the methylation cycle methionine gets converted to homocysteine and back. The enzyme that codes for MTR will speed up the step before making methionine, while the MTHR gene, which helps the conversion of methionine to homocysteine is slowed down. Does this mean your methylation cycle is unbalanced? I don’t know. Measuring values like homocysteine can provide more insight into the actual balance.

If you use a vitamin supplement with B vitamins, you want to ensure you use a methylated version of folate (methyl-folate).

COMT
COMT helps breakdown dopamine, adrenaline and also estrogen. The variation your gene encodes for produces an enzyme that works a little slower. Again, this doesn’t say anything about your balance. Symptom-wise, when you’re experiencing estrogen dominance symptoms, adding a magnesium supplement can help since magnesium is needed for the enzyme to work.

Here you can see a beautiful example where genes don’t determine everything. You could have the fastest COMT encoding gene, but if you’re magnesium deficient, you have functionally a slow-working COMT enzyme.

Acne and your genes
You’ve got some other gene variations that could influence your acne as well. The BC01 gene turns precursors of vitamin A found in plants into the bioactive form of vitamin A. Your variation works a little less efficiently. Therefore providing your diet with vitamin A from animal sources (for example liver) would be recommended. Vitamin A plays an important role in the skin and often helps improve acne symptoms.

Some genes related to inflammation are a little slower as well. For example, the variation of the FADS1 gene which you carry, encodes for a slower-working enzyme. FADS1 is involved in the metabolism of omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids. A slower working FADS1 is associated with higher inflammation. Is this the case with you? I don’t know. But adding Omega 3 in your diet is more important than for people with a faster working gene.

The gene that helps breakdown lactose works slowly as well. Therefore lactose-rich products (like milk products) will create more inflammation in your unique case. A lactose-free diet will likely benefit you (and possibly reduce acne as well). For gluten, this DNA profile shows a similar story.

Your vitamin D gene profile also shows a few variations. This means it’s harder for you to convert vitamin D to its bioactive form. This can be overcome by adding vitamin D to your diet, using a supplement or prioritising a walk in the sun. Magnesium is also an important nutrient since it helps to convert the precursors of vitamin D to its bioactive form as well.

Vitamin D helps to reduce inflammation as well.

In the detoxification section, you can see a deletion of a gene that is involved in detoxification (GSTM1 gene). This deletion doesn’t mean you can’t detoxify, however, a lifestyle that is low in toxins might be more beneficial to you than someone who has the GSTM1 gene.

I hope this information helps you to make some educated choices!

Hey @Annie Sye,

In this article, we’ve put some pros and cons of the most used non-toxic pots and pans that can help you choose better equipment for the kitchen. It is my experience that using more oil will help prevent sticking food to the bottom of your pan as well.

I hope this answer helps!

Hey @Nathalie Khoury,

Full reports will always give us more detailed information.

Personally, when it comes to children, I like to work with food-based options as much as possible. In the library of B Better, you can also find a supplement protocol for children. Just click here!

Hey @Nathalie Khoury,

I often recommend to my clients a mix of Vitamin A Palmitate (this is the form of vitamin A found in animal foods like liver, eggs and cheese) and Beta Carotene (this is a precursor of vitamin A found in plants). This supplement from Klaire Labs is a liquid form that you could try.

The benefit of animal-based vitamin A is that it’s ready to use by the body. Beta carotene needs to be converted and due to genetics, not everyone is equally good at that.

Elderberry drops have some (limited) research backing up that they can ease fever symptoms in children. The benefits seem to be the greatest when started within 24 to 48 hours after the symptoms begin. You could try and see if it benefits your child.

The second part of your question is not easy to answer. I like my clients to be higher in the reference range when it comes to vitamin B12 (above 600 ng/ml). This video dives deeper into details about measuring vitamin B12. I think you will find it interesting.

High levels of vitamin B12 like yours I haven’t seen without the use of supplements though. I do think it is important that you find out what would cause these high levels. It can be as simple as changing your food pattern. Check the labels of your foods as well. Perhaps some of the foods you are consuming contain a hidden source of vitamin B12.

Vitamin B12 is stored in the liver. In some cases, it can happen that the cells of the liver get damaged and vitamin B12 is spilt in the blood. This can also cause elevations in serum levels. It is less likely, but it happens. If you are experiencing symptoms, ask your doctor if he can rule out liver problems.

Another possibility is the units in your labs. You mentioned 2 different values. Do they have the same units? Sometimes serum B12 is measured in ng/ml and sometimes B12 is measured in pmol/l. Those numbers cannot be compared 1 on 1. Although your B12 went up, without units it’s hard to understand how much the elevations exactly are.

I hope this answer provides you with some clarity!

Hey @Naveed Aslam,

I’ve touched on this in your other question, but in short, sure! Chronic stress can cause low testosterone. The body prioritizes survival above reproduction!

Hey @Naveed Aslam,

I’m not 100 percent sure what your endocrinologist is trying to find out, therefore I will give you some testosterone basics. My main focus will be on what to measure if your endocrinologist wants to rule out

low testosterone or

prostate issues

Testosterone basics:

There are different forms of testosterone in the body. Most doctors will usually measure total testosterone and free testosterone. Free testosterone is the unbound hormone that has the most influence on your body, but that’s usually a very small percentage of the total testosterone (1-3 percent!)

SHBG
Testosterone can be bound to proteins. Sex Hormone Binding Globulin or SHBG for short binds very tightly to testosterone. It can be high or low because of other hormone imbalances (insulin resistance and thyroid hormone imbalances for example)

SHBG can therefore be an insightful marker.

DHEA

The body makes androgens from a precursor hormone called DHEA. DHEA is to create other hormones as well (like estrogen). Since DHEA is a precursor it can be an insightful marker.

Luteinizing Hormone
If testosterone is low, this could be caused by a problem in the testicles (this is called primary hypogonadism). In this case, the brain is “yelling” to the testicle to make testosterone by secreting a hormone called LH (Luteinizing Hormone). High values of LH and low testosterone values can therefore indicate this is a brain problem… and the most common reason for that is stress and sleep problems.

PSA

PSA or Prostate Specific Antigen is often used to assess prostate issues. I’ve written about it before in a different post (just click here). The risk is usually determined by measuring the ratio between total PSA and free PSA.

Summary
The endocrinologist might have a certain goal in mind, but to evaluate testosterone levels or possible problems with prostate health here is a summary of the values that I’ve talked about:

Total testosterone

Free testosterone

SHBG

DHEA

LH

Total PSA/free PSA ratio

I hope this information will be of use!