Homocysteine Brochure- PF Protection Factors

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• Reduces Toxic Homocysteine to Methionine

• Supports the Remethylation and Elimination of Homocysteine

• Promotes the Body’s Own Production of Important Enzyme Antioxidants

• Provides a Balance of All the Major Nutrients Important for Methylation

• Improves Nutritional Status of the Liver

What is Homocysteine and Why Does It Matter?

Homocysteine is sometimes called the “new cholesterol” because of its role in heart disease. Elevated homocysteine levels in the blood have been determined to be closely linked to heart disease and to a number of other conditions. High blood levels of this compound are damaging in themselves, but elevated readings may also be indicative of sluggish homocysteine metabolism. This means that elevated blood homocysteine levels may serve as a marker for depressed methylation in the body more generally. Inadequate methylation brings its own health dangers.

The essential amino acid methionine, which comes only from the diet, is “used up” by the body to help donate a methyl group (CH3 - one carbon linked to three hydrogen atoms) to processes going on in every cell. These processes lead to the conversion of some of this methionine to homocysteine, and then into homocysteine thiolactone. This latter compound is a highly toxic metabolite or by-product. The remethylation of homocysteine, with the help of folic acid, vitamin B12 and trimethylglycine (TMG), converts homocysteine back into methionine.

The methionine - homocysteine axis must be kept working smoothly and efficiently to reduce the levels of toxic homocysteine which are present in the blood and tissues at any given time, and also to keep the levels of important compounds, such as S-adenosyl- methionine (SAM-e) high. Homocysteine poses a threat only when the pathways to its conversion inside the cells are sluggish. When this happens, homocysteine is exported into the blood, where it causes damage.

For optimal health, both the pathway from homocysteine to methionine and SAM-e and the pathway from homocysteine to the amino acid cysteine (and, ultimately, elimination) must be operating smoothly. A build-up in serum homocysteine indicates that either one or both of the transformation pathways are sluggish. Vitamin B-6 is the most important nutritional factor for keeping the second “elimination” pathway working smoothly.

Is There a Link Between Methyl Donors and Antioxidants?

Yes, there is. Methylation controls certain toxic compounds which are only poorly influenced by antioxidants, of which homocysteine is only one. Methyl donors also act to support the transformation of compounds within the cells, such as the production of neurotransmitters and the anti-inflammatory polyamines, and to protect DNA from damage. In this sense, the roles of methyl donors and antioxidants are complementary.

Methyl donors can improve the antioxidant status of the body indirectly by taking on some of the protective duties performed by antioxidants. However, methyl donors also add directly to the body’s antioxidant capacities by increasing the production of the antioxidant glutathione. Glutathione is perhaps the most significant antioxidant active in the liver, where it is present to mop up free radicals wherever carbohydrates are being metabolized for energy. Fats and alcohol, to an even greater extent, place elevated demands upon the liver’s glutathione content. Similar to the case of glutathione, the body manufactures much of its supply of the antioxidant amino acid taurine with sulfur supplied by the degradation and elimination of homocysteine with the help of vitamin B-6. Remarkably, even the cysteine component of homocysteine can link to vitamin C and become part of the structure of collagen!

Is Aging Related To Homocysteine Levels and Reduced Methylation?

Most of the conditions which are thought to be linked to sluggish homocysteine metabolism are, likewise, linked to the aging process. The methylation pathway declines with age, and this decline leads to a loss of the detoxification and repair operations which must be renewed moment by moment to maintain good health. For instance, methylation is perhaps the body’s most important in-built mechanism for protecting the DNA of the cells. Supplementation with methyl donors thus becomes one of the options which should be considered for maintaining sound health under conditions of stress and advancing years.

Methylation for the Liver and the Brain

The liver is one of the most active organs of the body. It must constantly filter the blood to remove bacteria and toxins even as it transforms vitamins and other nutrients into their co-enzymatic forms. The liver is intimately connected with the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. It removes and eliminates spent hormones from the system, and it produces bile, which is important both for digestion and for the health of the gastrointestinal tract.

Methyl donors play a big role in the liver’s functions, in part because of their ability to support glutathione production for antioxidant protection and bile production for the disposal of toxins. Methyl donors, moreover, are amongst the classic lipotropics, substances which improve the ability of the liver to process fats and alcohol. It is important to recognize that no one methyl donor can perform all of these functions equally well. For example, TMG helps to protect the liver against fatty infiltration caused by chronic alcohol poisoning, but folic acid does not.

The brain is another organ which is dependent upon methylation. Transmethylation is so pervasive in the formation of neurotransmitters and, likewise, in the proper release and uptake of these same transmitters in the synapses of the nerves, that it is difficult to pinpoint any one brain mechanism which can be said to be supported by supplementation with methyl donors to the exclusion of other such mechanisms. The neurotransmitters which depend upon methylation include epinephrine, norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine. As is true of the liver, some methyl donors are more important for the brain than are others. In tissues outside the brain it may be possible to improve transmethylation reactions by supplementing with TMG. However, the brain lacks the capacity to readily make use of this alternative, whereas folic acid, vitamin B-6 and vitamin B-12 may be of some benefit. In this regard, the methylcobalamin form of vitamin B-12 is better absorbed, retained and utilized than is cyanocobalamin, the more commonly supplemented form of the B-12.

Usage and Safety

Take 1 tablet daily with a meal, or as directed by your qualified health consultant. Easy-Solv® tablets disintegrate within several minutes of ingestion.

References

Source: Jarrow Formulas