Lower Your Homocysteine and Your Brain Will Thank You!

Homocysteine is an amino acid naturally produced in your body as a byproduct of metabolizing methionine, a building block of protein. Healthy levels rely on vitamins B6, B12, and folate to break it down; elevated levels can indicate vitamin deficiencies or genetic disorders, and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, blood clots, strokes, and other common chronic medical problems. Abnormally high levels are associated with multiple factors, including:

· Smoking

· Alcohol consumption

· Vitamin deficiencies

· Chronic kidney disease

· Sedentary lifestyle and lack of exercise

· Increasing age

· Lack of B vitamins in the diet due to excessive intake of ultra-processed food.

High Homocysteine Will Fry Your Brain

Elevated levels of homocysteine are widely recognized as an independent risk factor for cognitive decline, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease. High homocysteine promotes oxidative stress, accelerates vascular damage, and contributes directly to brain atrophy. That’s not the only bad news. Elevated homocysteine plays a key role in the most common disease in modern western societies.

A New Disease Hits the Scene

In 2003 Hudson and Pope from Harvard published a study proposing that sixteen common brain disorders might be part of the same disease process that they termed Affective Spectrum Disorder. Over the past 40 years I’ve noticed that people who fit this pattern also seem to have excess body fat and metabolic syndrome, and I believe the disorder is triggered by long-term exposure to ultra-processed food. Thus, I decided to rename the condition Carbohydrate Associated Reversible Brain syndrome or CARB syndrome. It’s also very clear that most people with CARB syndrome have elevated homocysteine. This condition was missed by the medical and scientific communities, and it appears to be driving our current epidemics of obesity, metabolic disorders, and common brain disorders.

When it Comes to Homocysteine and Health, Your Physician is Likely Ignorant

That’s why it’s critical to check your homocysteine level which ideally should be below 7 umol/L for optimal health and brain function. Most physicians are unaware of these issues regarding the health issues related to high homocysteine, so you will likely need to ask your PCP to order this test. That’s because you don’t need drugs to manage high homocysteine, and Big Pharma plays a central role in what physicians pay attention to. You can’t patent supplements, so Big Pharma sticks to promoting expensive patented medications.

Follow These Steps to Save Your Brain

If your homocysteine is above 7 umol/L, follow these recommendations:

· Quit drinking alcohol or reduce your consumption.

· Exercise regularly, including both aerobic and strength training.

· Consume a healthy, whole foods diet and avoid ultra-processed foods and excess omega-6 from vegetable oils. · Consider taking a high quality omega-3 supplement like OmegaRx to keep your AA/EPA ratio between 1 and 3.

· Take Methylcobalamin (B12), Pyridoxal 5′-Phosphate/P5P (B6), and Methyl folate (bioavailable B9) to correct deficiencies. · I like a combination vitamin B product like Homocysteine Resist from Life Extension. This is the product I take. Start with two capsules daily with food and then titrate upwards based on your homocysteine response. I would also add trimethylglycine (betaine) 500-1,000 mg daily from Life Extension.

· If you fit the CARB syndrome pattern, add a monoamine precursor product like CARB-22.

Check your homocysteine level every 6-8 weeks to monitor your response to treatment. For a more detailed discussion of this topic, I recommend reading my friend Patrick Holford’s blog on homocysteine. Continue these measures until your homocysteine is 7 umol/L or below. I followed my own advice and lowered my homocysteine from 17 umol/L to 7 umol/L. Your brain and metabolic health will thank you for it!