Mastering Nutrition (Chris Masterjohn, PhD)

In this episode I describe how I have designed my evening and morning routines to maximize my quality sleep and productivity. I include the roles of blue-light deprivation using f.lux, iOS 9.3 Nightshift, blue-blocking amber fits-over glasses and lights from lowbluelights.com. I also include the roles of list-making, television, movies, video games, paperback fiction, making the bed, morning walks, and low-decision, high-nutrition, time-saving breakfasts.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/005-my-evening-and-morning-routines

If you’re one of the 7% who have this gene, then drinking coffee may just save your life.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Question: "I keep waking up in the middle of the night and stay awake for hours. Would low carb make it worse?"

It definitely could. 

Your brain will consume 120 grams of carbohydrate every day, just your brain. There's got to be another 30 grams or so that would be used no matter what obligately by red blood cells, certain cells in the testes, the kidney, and the lens of the eye. Then the rest of your body — if you're eating not a ketogenic diet, the rest of your body is not really trying to burn fat, so it's going to burn through carbohydrate.

Your liver stores about 90 grams of carbohydrate to be able to stabilize your blood sugar between meals, and overnight is the biggest time where it has to do that because overnight is the longest period of time that you go without meals.

If you add that up, you're looking at like 250 grams of carbohydrate a day — and remember we haven't gotten to high-intensity exercise yet.

Now, if you go on a ketogenic diet, what happens? 

Well, your brain glucose consumption goes down from 120 grams a day to like 30 or 35 grams a day. You cannot and will not ever, ever, ever, ever, ever go to zero. That's one thing. You still have another 20, 30 grams of carbohydrate that you're burning through by cells that cannot burn anything else. You still have a minimum probably 60 or 70 grams of carbs per day that you need — even when you're maximally keto-adapted. I'm not saying you need to eat those carbs. You'll make them through gluconeogenesis if you don't eat them.

But the rest of the body where the needs were flexible, has mostly shifted to burning fat for fuel on a long-term ketogenic diet. So, the real big problem is if you're not low-carb enough to be keto, but you're way under 200, 250 grams of carbs a day. Like, probably 100 grams of carbs a day is like, if it works for you, great, but if you have symptoms of low blood sugar at night, you shouldn't be spending a lot of time guessing why, because you're in this gray area where you are not keto-adapted, your brain is still burning through 120 grams a day, your liver still stores 90 grams a day, and the rest of your body still probably is preferentially burning carbs for energy instead of storing them for the most part because the carbs are there. So, your body is not deliberately, intensively reorganizing to conserve the carbohydrate in that gray area.

==If you are eating 50 or 100 grams of carbs, and you are in this place, then you absolutely should connect the two and see if increasing your carbs helps.

Low-carb is not the best solution to high fasting glucose. There's a lot of people on low-carb who have high fasting glucose. There's a ton of people who go low-carb and develop high fasting glucose. That’s because a low carb diet alters the hormonal environment in two main ways:

1.) Increases the morning glucagon response. 

2.) Increases adrenal hormones. 

Both of these are early and late-stage adaptations to low glucose supply. 

This Q&A can also be found as part of a much longer episode, here:https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/podcast/2019/02/09/ask-anything-nutrition-feb-1-2019/ 

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Question: Insulin resistance from fat invading muscle cells?

I think increased free fatty acids in the blood. That's going to be a normal reaction to dietary fat and I think that if you have increased fatty acids than increased glucose, that you have more energy to dispose off. And if you have more energy to dispose of, and you don't dispose off the energy, then that's going to cause insulin resistance.

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, a private discussion group, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass/ and use the code QANDA to get 10% off the membership for life.

From now through March, I will be working full-time on finishing my Vitamins and Minerals 101 book, while reserving a portion of my time for consulting clients. You can pre-order my book at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/book. You can sign up for a consultation at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/consultations.

DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Question: What to do when serum magnesium is high but RBC magnesium is low?

The magnesium in the blood and the hair is high. When you say blood, I'm assuming this is serum or plasma because the RBC magnesium is low. I'm hoping that's not whole blood magnesium in which case it would be hard to separate from the RBC magnesium. But I mean even for whole blood, if the RBC magnesium is low and the blood magnesium is high, then the magnesium that's in the blood that's high is in the serum or plasma, not in the RBCs obviously.

Clearly this means that you're deficient in magnesium transport. You're not deficient in magnesium. So, the last thing that you should do is start blasting high-dose magnesium at that. Because not only is it not going to help, but you basically have two or three times the risk of harm from supplementing high-dose magnesium, because the harm of high-dose magnesium comes when your serum levels go to double the upper limit of the reference range. If your serum level is high, and your RBC is low, and you start blasting.

B6, even if it's adequate, maybe try 10 milligrams. Work your way slowly up to 100 milligrams of P5P. See if that helps. If it doesn't, you probably have a more serious issue with magnesium transport. You might have a rare genetic defect in a magnesium transporter. Off the top of my head, I'm not sure how to manage that. There's probably things you can't do. It might come down to just maximizing all the different possible ways that you can get magnesium into your system and cells. That might mean that you want a modest hypermagnesemia.

In other words, you want your serum magnesium to be a little over the top of the upper reference range in order to try to drive magnesium into the red blood cells. But you still need to measure it regularly so that you know that you're not anywhere near twice the top of the upper reference range. Then just do what you can to maximize the other factors. Insulin, salt, and B6 is what I think there.

This Q&A can also be found as part of a much longer episode, here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/podcast/2019/03/30/ask-anything-nutrition-march-4-2019

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Are you using niacin or nicotinamide riboside? If so, watch this video! These supplements can help you age more gracefully and give you more energy, but they can also hurt your liver, mess with your neurotransmitters and your mood, and even sap your energy.

In this video I discuss using a powder for better control over the dose, and how to match your niacin dose to a corresponding dose of trimethylglycine (TMG).

The nicotinamide riboside powder can be found at hpnsupplements.com.

The TMG can be found at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/tmg.

If you use my affiliate link for the TMG, I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you, which will help support the free work

This episode is brought to you by Testing Nutritional Status: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet. Everything you could ever need to know to optimize your nutrition, all in one place. Easier to find and use than ever before. Get your copy at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/cheatsheet Use the code LITE5 to get $5 off.

To get these episodes free of ads, with transcripts, and weeks or sometimes even months before they are released to the public, along with access to monthly live Q&A sessions, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass. Use the code LITE10 to get 10% off. To make it easier to get the discount, use this link, which has the coupon already activated: https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/cmj-masterpass/2200/buy?coupon=LITE10

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Please consider supporting my work by making a purchase using these links at one of my affiliates: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/foursigmatic, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/paleovalley, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/seekinghealth, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestralsupplements, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/magicspoon, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lmnt 

Plenty more at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/support!

Question: Will lowering my PTH with calcium reverse my atherosclerosis?

And so you will definitely be removing a major source of calcification risk if you suppress your PTH down into the bottom half of the reference range. And generally, I don't know exactly where the point of maximal suppression is, and I suspect that it's different between different people.

So what I would do is, however you're approaching that with vitamin D, calcium, et cetera. Try something, re-measure it, try tweaking the dose upwards and see if it keeps going down and find the point of maximal suppression. And if you do that it's hard to say where the difference is between not getting worse and reversing.

But I think that will certainly... To the degree that you can reverse it I think that would be, definitely be an important thing to do in order to get reversal, and so I would hope so. And I think there's good reason to hope for that.

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

What’s the best riboflavin supplement? 🤷‍♂️

For years I thought it was riboflavin 5’-phosphate, also known as flavin mononucleotide (FMN). In this episode, I explain why I know believe it is plain old riboflavin.

This episode is brought to you by Vitamins and Minerals 101. This is my new, free, 30-day course that covers the basics of each nutrient, including why it’s important, how to get it from food, how to know if you need more, when you should think about supplementing, and concerns for special diets or special populations. You can get it delivered by Facebook Messenger or email. The Messenger version is taught by Chris Masterbot, my baby bot, is more interactive, and has more jokes and emojis. This requires no background beyond high school and is made for the beginner, but even many experts find it a great refresher and find little golden nuggets in each lesson. Sign up for free at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/101

This episode is brought to you by Testing Nutritional Status: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet. I've been through the pain and suffering of embracing a diet because I *thought* it was healthy, only for it to wreck my body and mind. I've been through the path of healing, only to make the mistakes of thinking that what worked best for me would work for everyone, and that what I did to heal would be something I would need to do forever. I've learned the hard way that each of us is unique, and that we all change with time. Your needs are not mine, mine are not what they were ten years ago, and yours won’t be in ten years what they are now. That’s why we need a recipe to know exactly what’s missing, what’s there in excess, and what’s out of balance. It is my mission to empower you to know exactly what your body needs, and to make exactly the right decisions to nourish it. Make the cheat sheet your secret weapon, and use the code LITE20 to get 20% off, at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/cheatsheet

To get these episodes free of ads, with transcripts, and weeks or sometimes even months before they are released to the public, along with access to monthly live Q&A sessions, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass. Use the code LITE10 to get 10% off. To make it easier to get the discount, use this link, which has the coupon already activated: https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/cmj-masterpass/2200/buy?coupon=LITE10

Here’s a massive podcast I did on riboflavin with Alex Leaf, which has 50 scientific references:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2019/02/16/manage-riboflavin-status/

Here are some previous posts on riboflavin:

Your “MTHFR” is Just a Riboflavin Deficiency (written version)

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/riboflavinmthfr

Your “MTHFR” is Just a Riboflavin Deficiency (video version)

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2019/03/26/mthfr-just-riboflavin-deficiency-2/

How to Know If You Need More Riboflavin

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lite-videos/2019/06/04/know-need-riboflavin

Sunlight and Tanning Beds Hurt Your Riboflavin Status

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lite-videos/2019/06/06/7758

Riboflavin and Tanning Beds for Fungal Infections?

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lite-videos/2019/06/11/riboflavin-tanning-beds-fungal-infections

High-Fat Diets Make You Need More Riboflavin

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lite-videos/2019/06/13/high-fat-diets-make-need-riboflavin

Exercise and Dieting Make You Need More Riboflavin

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lite-videos/2019/06/18/exercise-dieting-make-need-riboflavin

How to Get Enough Riboflavin From Food

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lite-videos/2019/06/20/7774

The Best Blood Test for Riboflavin

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/blog/2019/06/25/best-blood-test-riboflavin

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Do you have anxiety? Depression? Attention problems? Or are you worried about estrogen and cancer?

If so, listen to this podcast to learn about the role of your COMT genetics.

COMT metabolizes dopamine, estrogen, and various other things. Half of us have the genetic for intermediate activity. The other half of us are split evenly between high and low activity. When nutrition is optimal, this just leads to personality differences: with low COMT activity, you’re better at focusing, but tend to ruminate on things rather than letting them go; with high COMT activity, you rarely get stuck in a rut, but you just as rarely sit down to focus on one single thing. When nutrition is off, we can go to pathological extremes, whether it’s depression and anxiety on one hand, or attention deficit and hyperactivity on the other. Robust COMT activity is also needed to get rid of harmful forms of estrogen that contribute to cancer risk.

I recommend testing your COMT genes with StrateGene, which you can get here:

chrismasterjohnphd.com/strategene

To get these episodes free of ads, with transcripts, and weeks or sometimes even months before they are released to the public, along with access to monthly live Q&A sessions, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass. Use the code LITE10 to get 10% off. To make it easier to get the discount, use this link, which has the coupon already activated: https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/cmj-masterpass/2200/buy?coupon=LITE10

For more information on how to get the StrateGene report, watch this video, the first of the three MTHFR videos:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2017/12/04/know-need-care-mthfr/

Here are the two other MTHFR videos:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2017/12/06/what-to-do-about-mthfr/

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2017/12/11/bloodwork-get-mthfr/

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Here are ten steps to healthy sleep!

What has been most game-changing for you? Let me know in the comments!

This episode is brought to you by Ancestral Supplements' Grass Fed Beef Brain. Our Native American ancestors believed that eating the organs from a healthy animal would support the health of the corresponding organ of the individual. Ancestral Supplements has a nose-to-tail product line of grass-fed liver, organs, bone marrow and brain... all in the convenience of a capsule. For more information or to buy any of their products, go to https://AncestralSupplements.com

This episode is brought to you by Ample. Ample is a meal-in-a-bottle that takes a total of two minutes to prepare, consume, and clean up. It provides the right balance of nutrients needed for a single meal, all from a blend of natural ingredients. Ample is available in original, vegan, and keto versions, portioned as either 400 or 600 calories per meal. I'm an advisor to Ample, and I use it to save time when I'm working on major projects on a tight schedule. Head to https://amplemeal.com and enter the promo code “CHRIS15” at checkout for a 15% discount off your first order.

To get these episodes free of ads, with transcripts, and weeks or sometimes even months before they are released to the public, along with access to monthly live Q&A sessions, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass. Use the code LITE10 to get 10% off. To make it easier to get the discount, use this link, which has the coupon already activated: https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/cmj-masterpass/2200/buy?coupon=LITE10

Here are some links related to this episode:

My Recommendations for Better Sleep (this has a link to the online calorie calculator, the sleep mask, and ear plugs I mentioned): https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2017/07/29/my-recommendations-for-better-sleep/

The recent Chris Masterjohn Lite episodes (there are six per page, hit the right green arrow to go to the next six): https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lite

Carbs or Keto for Sleep: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2018/06/12/carbs-keto-sleep/

Five Rules for a Healthy Diet: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2018/09/27/five-rules-healthy-diet/

How to Track Your Vitamin and Mineral Intake: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2018/07/24/track-vitamin-mineral-intake/

That Moment You Wake Up to Pee And Can’t Fall Back to Sleep: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2017/01/31/moment-wake-pee-cant-fall-back-sleep/

Testing Nutritional Status: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/cheatsheet use the code LITE5 to get $5 off.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Short Answer: When I had a serious case of indoor mold-induced illness, I tested my urine and my apartment dust for mycotoxins. Both were high, but the classes of toxins were totally different between the two, making me think the mycotoxins in my urine came from food rather than my apartment. Symptoms going away when outside of the apartment was a far more useful clue, so I think you should consider the cost of a vacation, the cost of mycotoxins, and assume you get more information out of taking the vacation, and then decide which to do.

Watch the video or listen to the podcast with the links below. You can obtain a full transcript of the episode by signing up for the Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

Please consider supporting my work by making a purchase using these links at one of my affiliates: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/foursigmatic, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/paleovalley, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/seekinghealth, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestralsupplements, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/magicspoon, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lmnt 

Plenty more at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/support!

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Question: Nutritional recommendations for MTR and MTRR polymorphisms.

In the methylation cycle, I've talked a lot about MTHFR, which helps finalize the methyl group of methyfolate. But then folate has to donate that methyl group to vitamin B12 in order for vitamin B12 to donate it to homocysteine. In that process, that's how you clear homocysteine primarily in the fasting state rather than the fed state. It's also how you recycle homocysteine to methionine to use for methylation, again, primarily in the fasting state rather than the fed state.

If your MTHFR is working fine, then the creatine is much less relevant, and the glycine really isn't that relevant. Glycine is still important for everyone, but it's not specifically relevant because of the genetic variations. With that said, I do think that because some tissues rely more on folate and B12 than they do on choline that there might be some tissues that would benefit from supplementing creatine, so you could play around with it. I supplement creatine, and I don't have any problems. I mean, there's no harm in trying out the creatine.

In my view, there's no blanket recommendation for someone with MTRR polymorphisms. What I say is because in theory you will be bad at repairing B12 when your B12 gets very damaged, you should thoroughly look at your B12 status at least once. Then every time you enter a new health era, you should monitor your B12 status again.

What I mean by health era is your health changes or your developmental stage changes in a way that could impact your health. So, change in health eras, and I'm making this term up, this is not a medical term, but the change in health eras means you get sick with a sickness you never had before. That's a change in your health era. Or you go through puberty. That's a change in your health era. You go through menopause. That's a change in your health era. Or you go on birth control. That's a change in your health era.

Look, my MTRR, as I said before, looks terrible on paper. I measured everything I could think of about my B12 status, and everything looked fine. I'm not talking about just serum B12. I'm talking about all the functional markers too. They looked just fine. That just reinforced my belief and the observational data that these things are so common.

If these things dramatically impacted your B12 status in a very negative way most of the time, not many people would have the polymorphisms. And yet, they're very common. Those are huge reductions in activity. They're very, very common. So, I think it's ridiculous to make a generalized nutritional protocol around either of those. MTR, it gives you a couple ideas you can experiment with. MTRR, be proactive about monitoring your B12 status.

This Q&A can also be found as part of a much longer episode, here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/podcast/2019/09/06/ask-anything-nutrition-march-8-2019

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

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DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical doctor and this is not medical advice. I am also not an infectious disease epidemiologist and I am not speaking on behalf of infectious disease epidemiologists. I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in conducting and interpreting research related to my field. Please consult your physician before doing anything for prevention or treatment of COVID-19, and please seek the help of a physician immediately if you believe you may have COVID-19.

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It would mean the world to me if you support this service by purchasing a copy of my ebook, The Food and Supplement Guide to the Coronavirus. The guide contains my most up-to-date conclusions about what we should be doing for nutritional and herbal support on top of hygiene and social distancing for added protection. Due to the absence of randomized controlled trials testing nutritional or herbal prevention, these are my best guesses for what is likely to work without significant risk of harm, based on the existing science.

Many people have asked why I am charging for this instead of giving it away for free, given that this is a time of crisis and people are in need.

Unfortunately, I have not been immune to the effects this virus has had on the economy. My revenue from my other offerings started falling in February, and by mid-March I had days where my revenue was zero. I have three people who work for me full-time, and I am doing everything I can to avoid laying any of them off. By mid-March I had depleted 75% of my emergency fund in order to avoid any layoffs, and without charging for the guide I would not have been able to hold out much longer.

Charging for the guide has allowed me to keep everyone working, replete some of my savings, and devote myself to researching COVID-19 full-time. As a result I now publish this daily COVID-19 series and the free newsletter, am involved in the design of several clinical trials that are in the process of being submitted for registration now, and am able to continually update the guide for free whenever my research warrants it.

By purchasing the guide, you are enabling me to continue devoting my skills to the most important issue we now face. I am genuinely grateful for your contribution. You can purchase a copy at chrismasterjohnphd.com/coronavirus

PLEASE NOTE: As a result of the COVID-19 crisis and the time I am committing to staying on top of relevant research, as well as the high volume of questions I receive, it may take me extra time to respond to questions here. For an up-to-date list of where I respond to questions most quickly, please see the contact page on chrismasterjohnphd.com.

While collagen won’t bonk your serotonin if you eat enough other protein, low-carbing too much might. Here’s why at least one meal a day with natural high-glycemic carbs like white potatoes or sweet potatoes could help improve your stress-resistance.

Tune in for more details and for what to do if low-carb is something you need to stick to.

This episode is brought to you by Ancestral Supplements' "Living" Collagen. Our Native American ancestors believed that eating the organs from a healthy animal would support the health of the corresponding organ of the individual. Ancestral Supplements has a nose-to-tail product line of grass-fed liver, organs, "living" collagen, bone marrow and more... in the convenience of a capsule. For more information or to buy any of their products, go to https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestral

This episode is brought to you by Ample. Ample is a meal-in-a-bottle that takes a total of two minutes to prepare, consume, and clean up. It provides the right balance of nutrients needed for a single meal, all from a blend of natural ingredients. Ample is available in original, vegan, and keto versions, portioned as either 400 or 600 calories per meal. I'm an advisor to Ample, and I use it to save time when I'm working on major projects on a tight schedule. Head to https://amplemeal.com and enter the promo code “CHRIS15” at checkout for a 15% discount off your first order.”

To get these episodes free of ads, with transcripts, and weeks or sometimes even months before they are released to the public, along with access to monthly live Q&A sessions, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass. Use the code LITE10 to get 10% off. To make it easier to get the discount, use this link, which has the coupon already activated: https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/cmj-masterpass/2200/buy?coupon=LITE10

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Please consider supporting my work by making a purchase using these links at one of my affiliates: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/foursigmatic, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/paleovalley, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/seekinghealth, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestralsupplements, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/magicspoon, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lmnt 

Plenty more at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/support!

Question: Iron deficiency without anemia?

I would just say that I would be wary of iron deficiency, even if it's not causing anemia, because iron plays roles in energy metabolism, detoxification, and thyroid metabolism separate from anemia. But the things that are easiest to test are thyroid panel and CBC. So if your thyroid panel and your CBC look great, you probably aren't truly iron deficient, but I would also measure it against symptoms. So for example, if you have unexplained fatigue and you feel much better when you get more iron in your diet, I would interpret that as iron deficiency, that probably is just most sensitively affecting the electron transport chain if it's not showing up in a CBC or a thyroid panel.

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Will collagen supplements bonk your serotonin and make you depressed or anxious?

Tune in for my response to an article that Trudy Scott, author of The Anti-Anxiety Food Solution,  wrote about this over at “Every Woman Over 29” blog.

This episode is brought to you by Ancestral Supplements' "Living" Collagen. Our Native American ancestors believed that eating the organs from a healthy animal would support the health of the corresponding organ of the individual. Ancestral Supplements has a nose-to-tail product line of grass-fed liver, organs, "living" collagen, bone marrow and more... in the convenience of a capsule. For more information or to buy any of their products, go to https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestral

This episode is brought to you by Ample. Ample is a meal-in-a-bottle that takes a total of two minutes to prepare, consume, and clean up. It provides the right balance of nutrients needed for a single meal, all from a blend of natural ingredients. Ample is available in original, vegan, and keto versions, portioned as either 400 or 600 calories per meal. I'm an advisor to Ample, and I use it to save time when I'm working on major projects on a tight schedule. Head to https://amplemeal.com and enter the promo code “CHRIS15” at checkout for a 15% discount off your first order.”

To get these episodes free of ads, with transcripts, and weeks or sometimes even months before they are released to the public, along with access to monthly live Q&A sessions, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass. Use the code LITE10 to get 10% off. To make it easier to get the discount, use this link, which has the coupon already activated: https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/cmj-masterpass/2200/buy?coupon=LITE10

Here are links mentioned in this episode:

Trudy Scott’s article: https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/collagen-gelatin-lower-serotonin-increase-anxiety-depression/

My episode on why collagen shouldn’t replace other protein:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2018/11/06/do-you-supplement-with-collagen/

How GABA and glycine can sometimes have a stimulatory effect:
https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2018/12/25/glycine-gaba-wake/

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Got any strange, unresolved health problems? 🤭

High-dose riboflavin might help! 

MIGHT. 😬

This episode is a shot in the dark, but covers how high-dose riboflavin could help with a lot of mystery issues.

This episode is brought to you by Vitamins and Minerals 101. This is my new, free, 30-day course that covers the basics of each nutrient, including why it’s important, how to get it from food, how to know if you need more, when you should think about supplementing, and concerns for special diets or special populations. You can get it delivered by Facebook Messenger or email. The Messenger version is taught by Chris Masterbot, my baby bot, is more interactive, and has more jokes and emojis. This requires no background beyond high school and is made for the beginner, but even many experts find it a great refresher and find little golden nuggets in each lesson. Sign up for free at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/101 

This episode is brought to you by Testing Nutritional Status: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet. I've been through the pain and suffering of embracing a diet because I *thought* it was healthy, only for it to wreck my body and mind. I've been through the path of healing, only to make the mistakes of thinking that what worked best for me would work for everyone, and that what I did to heal would be something I would need to do forever. I've learned the hard way that each of us is unique, and that we all change with time. Your needs are not mine, mine are not what they were ten years ago, and yours won’t be in ten years what they are now. That’s why we need a recipe to know exactly what’s missing, what’s there in excess, and what’s out of balance. It is my mission to empower you to know exactly what your body needs, and to make exactly the right decisions to nourish it. Make the cheat sheet your secret weapon, and use the code LITE20 to get 20% off, at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/cheatsheet 

To get these episodes free of ads, with transcripts, and weeks or sometimes even months before they are released to the public, along with access to monthly live Q&A sessions, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass. Use the code LITE10 to get 10% off. To make it easier to get the discount, use this link, which has the coupon already activated: https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/cmj-masterpass/2200/buy?coupon=LITE10 

Here’s a massive podcast I did on riboflavin with Alex Leaf, which has 50 scientific references:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2019/02/16/manage-riboflavin-status/

Here are some previous posts on riboflavin:

Your “MTHFR” is Just a Riboflavin Deficiency (written version)

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/riboflavinmthfr

Your “MTHFR” is Just a Riboflavin Deficiency (video version)

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2019/03/26/mthfr-just-riboflavin-deficiency-2/

How to Know If You Need More Riboflavin

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lite-videos/2019/06/04/know-need-riboflavin

Sunlight and Tanning Beds Hurt Your Riboflavin Status

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lite-videos/2019/06/06/7758

Riboflavin and Tanning Beds for Fungal Infections?

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lite-videos/2019/06/11/riboflavin-tanning-beds-fungal-infections

High-Fat Diets Make You Need More Riboflavin

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lite-videos/2019/06/13/high-fat-diets-make-need-riboflavin

Exercise and Dieting Make You Need More Riboflavin

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lite-videos/2019/06/18/exercise-dieting-make-need-riboflavin

How to Get Enough Riboflavin From Food

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lite-videos/2019/06/20/7774

The Best Blood Test for Riboflavin

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/blog/2019/06/25/best-blood-test-riboflavin

Riboflavin Supplements: Free B2 Is Better Than FMN or Riboflavin 5’-Phosphate

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2019/06/18

Riboflavin for Iron-Deficiency Anemia

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lite-videos/2019/07/02/riboflavin-iron-deficiency-anemia

High-Dose Riboflavin for Migraines

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lite-videos/2019/07/04/high-dose-riboflavin-migraines

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Question Are low polyunsaturated omega-6 values on the ION test a concern?

Not the total, but if the arachidonic acid levels are low I would look at low arachidonic acid intake, or inflammation, or oxidative stress. It would concern me because arachidonic acid is important to a lot of physiological functions, but I don't care about the total omega-6.

This Q&A can also be found as part of a much longer episode, here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/podcast/2019/02/24/ask-anything-nutrition-feb-17-2019/

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

These are considered rare, yet this reinforces the pattern of never looking for them, leading them to likely be massively under-diagnosed.

Many are highly relevant to nutrition.

Written Version:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/when-to-consider-inborn-errors-of

Mitochondrial Energy Summit:

https://drtalks.com/mitochondrial-summit/?uid=406&oid=47&ref=3053

My MTHFR Protocol:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/mthfr-protocol

Short Answer: SHBG is increased by adiponectin (vitamin K2, insulin sensitivity), thyroid hormone, fasting physiology (AMPK, fat oxidation), and estrogen (especially estrone), while it is decreased by insulin resistance, obesity, the fed state and carbohydrate-dominant physiology, androgens, and polyunsaturated fat.

In episode 25, Insulin Resistance Isn't All About Carbs and Insulin, I explained why an individual cell would "decide" to stop taking up energy. Here in episode 26, I explain tissue-level energy overload, focusing on adipose tissue and liver.

At adipose tissue, the problem with fatness isn't the amount of fat. It's that we've reached the point where we can't get any fatter. Well, we can, but we can no longer do so while maintaining a healthy organizational structure within adipose tissue that allows blood, oxygen, and nutrients to get to where they need to go. Surprisingly, some of the things that enable proper expansion, and thus protect our metabolic health, are things that we usually think of as "bad," such as inflammation. In fact, the pro-inflammatory changes in the gut microbiome in response to an obesogenic diet provide information to adipose tissue that it needs to prepare for healthy expansion.  And adipose expansion is most protective at the site of the "bad" body fat: visceral fat in the abdomen.

At liver, the problem is fat gets trapped in the liver, flattening out everything in the cell and hogging the space needed for glycogen storage, and this can happen even in a lean person.

I conclude with some practical recommendations about body composition and nutrient density.

In this episode, you will find all of the following and more:

Sometimes a really simple digestive aid can do wonders for your digestive system and save you from restrictive diets and other more complicated solutions. Here’s five ways to try ginger to do just that.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Question: Nutrition for children with ADHD.

In adults 100 to 800 milligrams per day has been used in a couple studies showing effects in the brain. One of the things that's going wrong in ADHD is that the brain is not getting dopamine's signal that something is valuable enough to keep paying attention to it.

I think the drugs that are used to treat ADHD are increasing the tonic level of dopamine in the frontal cortex, and they're increasing the tonic level of dopamine in the basal ganglia. In the frontal cortex, the increased dopamine is basically making more stable mental states. If you focus on something, you will hold on to that better. In the basal ganglia, increasing the tonic dopamine is making it harder for a new thing to grab your attention, which reinforces the fact that you are more focused. Anything that increases dopamine is going to be good. There's that.

Should we just use the glycine to promote sleep, or should I also use it in the morning? I would say, ultimately, you have to judge it based on the results you get, but you should try it at other times during the day because one of the roles of glycine would be to provide the buffer against excess methylation.

For dopamine to make you pay attention to something that has value, you must have GABA suppressing attention to everything else. Dopamine cannot be a meaningful signal of the value of placing attention on something unless you have adequate GABA to suppress your attention paid to everything else. Because if you're paying attention to your schoolwork while you are also paying attention to your video games and to the mosquito in the corner equally as much, then you're not actually paying attention to your schoolwork. So, I think that anything that would boost GABA would be helpful.

So, yes to the glycine during the day. Yes, you do want to keep choline levels up. But remember that choline is a methyl donor. Choline is a double-edged sword here. First of all, the choline is needed for acetylcholine. When dopamine tells you to pay attention to something, once you're paying attention, you need acetylcholine to sustain your attention on that thing and get results. Dopamine is the signal that that thing has value to pay attention to. Acetylcholine is what you actually use to pay attention to it and get results.

You do want to help his acetylcholine levels, but you have to remember that choline is a methyl donor and that the more choline you have, the more important it becomes that the glycine is kept high enough to buffer excess methylation. Otherwise, choline could act as a double-edged sword and potentially wind up reducing dopamine levels.

The other thing that I would add is the GABA. Maybe start at 100 milligrams a day and work your way up to 800 and just be careful with the low dose. See what results you get. If it seems promising, try increasing the dose.

This Q&A can also be found as part of a much longer episode, here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/podcast/2019/09/06/ask-anything-nutrition-march-8-2019

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

If you’re going to cook your own fresh liver, here are five core principles to make it taste as good as it possibly can. These can be applied to any recipe.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Short answer: 25(OH)D is 1000 times weaker at activating the VDR than 1,25(OH)D, but 1000 times more abundant. This is why I advocate measuring both, and ultimately believe we need to create a calculated index of “biological vitamin D activity” from them.

Watch the YouTube video to see the slides:
https://youtu.be/Az0f6VPaEAA

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SUPPORT

These research updates are made possible by purchases of The Food and Supplement Guide to the Coronavirus. The guide contains my most up-to-date conclusions about what we should be doing for nutritional and herbal support on top of hygiene and social distancing for added protection. Due to the absence of randomized controlled trials testing nutritional or herbal prevention, these are my best guesses for what is likely to work without significant risk of harm, based on the existing science. By purchasing the guide, you are enabling me to continue devoting my skills to the most important issue we now face. I am genuinely grateful for your contribution. You can purchase a copy at chrismasterjohnphd.com/coronavirus

You can get the guide for free if you pre-order my upcoming book, Vitamins and Minerals 101: How to Get the Nutrients You Need on Any Diet (to be released when the COVID-19 crisis subsides). You can pre-order it at chrismasterjohnphd.com/book

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DISCLAIMER

I am not a medical doctor and this is not medical advice. I am also not an infectious disease epidemiologist and I am not speaking on behalf of infectious disease epidemiologists. I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in conducting and interpreting research related to my field. Please consult your physician before doing anything for prevention or treatment of COVID-19, and please seek the help of a physician immediately if you believe you may have COVID-19.

STAY SAFE AND HEALTHY!

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DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical doctor and this is not medical advice. I am also not an infectious disease epidemiologist and I am not speaking on behalf of infectious disease epidemiologists. I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in conducting and interpreting research related to my field. Please consult your physician before doing anything for prevention or treatment of COVID-19, and please seek the help of a physician immediately if you believe you may have COVID-19.

SUBSCRIBE

This series is based on my free daily newsletter, COVID-19 Research Updates. As a result of the time it takes to produce an video or podcast from a newsletter I wrote up, there's a slight delay between when I publish the newsletter and when you watch or listen to this. When you subscribe to the newsletter, you get the latest of my research every single day as soon as it's ready to come out. You get references and links to the sources for all the information, and you immediately get an archive of all the past issues. You can sign up at chrismasterjohnphd.com/covid19-updates

SUPPORT

It would mean the world to me if you support this service by purchasing a copy of my ebook, The Food and Supplement Guide to the Coronavirus. The guide contains my most up-to-date conclusions about what we should be doing for nutritional and herbal support on top of hygiene and social distancing for added protection. Due to the absence of randomized controlled trials testing nutritional or herbal prevention, these are my best guesses for what is likely to work without significant risk of harm, based on the existing science. By purchasing the guide, you are enabling me to continue devoting my skills to the most important issue we now face. I am genuinely grateful for your contribution. You can purchase a copy at chrismasterjohnphd.com/coronavirus

PLEASE NOTE: As a result of the COVID-19 crisis and the time I am committing to staying on top of relevant research, as well as the high volume of questions I receive, it may take me extra time to respond to questions here. For an up-to-date list of where I respond to questions most quickly, please see the contact page on chrismasterjohnphd.com.

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Question: When on a ketogenic diet, it is a problem if ketones are going up to 5 to 6 millimoles per liter?

One of the popular ketogenic advocates was saying that if the ketones are getting above 3, then it's from not eating enough protein. I don't really see it that way. I think that protein will suppress ketogenesis, and so will carbs. Five to 6 millimoles per liter is what you see in therapeutic ketogenic diets.

In terms of how you could bring the ketones down, more carbs or more protein are going to bring them down. Between the two of those, probably protein would be the most important thing to increase as a means of protection against lean mass loss and as a means of keeping neurotransmitters and all the other things that you do with protein healthy. But you could raise the carbs a little bit too. Because remember that your carb demand even on a ketogenic diet is definitely not down to 20 grams of carbs. That's not even feeding your brain on the ketogenic diet.

If you have room to increase carbs, then I think would be great to get the carbs up to at least 30 and then maybe use protein going up to supply the rest of that. Then also pay attention to micronutrients. Do a dietary analysis. If there are certain nutrients that this person is not really getting in that more vegetables would help those micronutrients, then increase the vegetables and the carbs along with them for that purpose. But just on macros alone, I would say go up at least 10 grams on the carbs and go up to, if you can get there, a gram of protein per pound of body weight on the protein, and that will bring the ketones down.

This Q&A can also be found as part of a much longer episode, here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/podcast/2019/09/06/ask-anything-nutrition-march-8-2019

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

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Short answer: If inflammatory markers are low and Lp(a) is proportionally more elevated than LDL-P, then blood lipids probably account for part of the calcification, while factors impacting LDL oxidation come next and those impacting calcification directly come after that. For the latter two, the oxidative stress and calcium sections of the Cheat Sheet should be consulted.

Watch the video or listen to the podcast with the links below. You can obtain a full transcript of the episode by signing up for the Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

Please consider supporting my work by making a purchase using these links at one of my affiliates: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/foursigmatic, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/paleovalley, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/seekinghealth, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestralsupplements, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/magicspoon, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lmnt 

Plenty more at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/support!

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Could your medications be contributing to your histamine intolerance?

There are over 50 medications that could be culprits, so if you have symptoms of histamine intolerance and you are on any medications, tune in to this episode to find out if the ones you’re taking could be a problem.

Make sure to discuss any problems with your medication or changes to be made with your doctor! Please don’t change your medications on the basis of this episode alone!

This episode is brought to you by Ancestral Supplements' "Living" Collagen. Our Native American ancestors believed that eating the organs from a healthy animal would support the health of the corresponding organ of the individual. Ancestral Supplements has a nose-to-tail product line of grass-fed liver, organs, "living" collagen, bone marrow and more... in the convenience of a capsule. For more information or to buy any of their products, go to https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestral

This episode is brought to you by Ample. Ample is a meal-in-a-bottle that takes a total of two minutes to prepare, consume, and clean up. It provides the right balance of nutrients needed for a single meal, all from a blend of natural ingredients. Ample is available in original, vegan, and keto versions, portioned as either 400 or 600 calories per meal. I'm an advisor to Ample, and I use it to save time when I'm working on major projects on a tight schedule. Head to https://amplemeal.com and enter the promo code “CHRIS15” at checkout for a 15% discount off your first order.”

To get these episodes free of ads, with transcripts, and weeks or sometimes even months before they are released to the public, along with access to monthly live Q&A sessions, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass. Use the code LITE10 to get 10% off. To make it easier to get the discount, use this link, which has the coupon already activated: https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/cmj-masterpass/2200/buy?coupon=LITE10

Here are the links to the introductory episodes on histamine intolerance:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2018/11/22/dietary-histamine-reliable-information/

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2018/11/27/test-histamine-intolerance/

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2018/11/29/kidney-dao-supplements-histamine-intolerance/

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2018/12/04/migraines-menstrual-cycle-histamine/

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Question: What to do if gamma-tocopherol levels are low-normal while taking 100 IU/d of alpha-tocopherol.  

My initial impression is that there is nothing wrong because I don't care that much about gamma tocopherol. My doctoral research specialized in gamma tocopherol and there is some evidence that gamma tocopherol does some things that alpha tocopherol doesn't do. It’s likely that people who take high-dose alpha tocopherol supplements are suppressing their gamma tocopherol levels.

But you don’t have to be in the middle of the green for gamma tocopherol on the ION test. So if you are taking a 100 IU of alpha tocopherol at the time of test, then stop taking that and replace it with TocoSorb, or take a lower dose. I think a reasonable dose of vitamin E for the average person is 20 IU.

This Q&A can also be found as part of a much longer episode, here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/podcast/2019/02/24/ask-anything-nutrition-feb-17-2019/

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Please consider supporting my work by making a purchase using these links at one of my affiliates: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/foursigmatic, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/paleovalley, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/seekinghealth, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestralsupplements, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/magicspoon, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lmnt

Plenty more at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/support!

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Question: Why do thyroid levels drop on a low-carb diet?

So insulin and leptin are both positive regulators of thyroid hormone, production, and conversion. And generally I do think there's probably a larger effect from thyroid production than peripheral conversion. I'm not too sure about that, but insulin does directly regulate thyroid. It has TSH-like effects on the thyroid gland. It doesn't replicate all of TSH's effects, but it does replicate a portion of them. So basically, more or less, have like TSH amplification with insulin.

This Q&A can also be found as part of a much longer episode, here.

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, a private discussion group, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass/ and use the code QANDA to get 10% off the membership for life.

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DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

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✅ Transcripts! These are great if you like to read, or if you want to be more productive. For example, I would first listen to the episodes while I'm doing something else to scan for familiarity, then I'd go back later and keyword search the transcripts for the things I found most interesting so I could follow them up by taking notes or reviewing them in more detail.

✅ Specifically in Masterclass With Masterjohn, you get additional learning tools, such as videos you can keyword search (you literally type in a word and hit "enter" to watch it skip to each instance where I use that word) or put on a customized loop (with three clicks you start and end the loop wherever you want and it plays that section over and over again until you stop it). You also get transcripts with the slides, references, and further reading materials embedded exactly where they are relevant. Even the scientific papers are mostly one click to open up the full text.

Here's what's going on with the Q&A sessions:

🔶We use Zoom, a video chatting software, in webinar mode. You can ask your question anonymously in text, but you can also ask it publicly, and you can even get "on stage" and share your mic, web cam, or screen with everyone.

🔶I can't promise that everyone will get in every month. I'm limiting the seating -- the first time around is this Friday, to 30 seats that are already sold out -- to ensure everyone included gets to ask a question and I have time to give them a good answer. Right now I am promising to open up one live Zoom session per month and you as a Masterpass holder get the opportunity to grab your seat on a first-come, first-served basis. Over time I will experiment with the frequency and size of the sessions to make sure I'm offering the best value I can.

🔶As a Masterpass holder, you'll get immediate access to the replay whether you had a seat in the session or not.

🔶Eventually they get published as an episode of Mastering Nutrition. So you can get a little mini-famous 🌟in these. 🤩

And now about that discount.

This is for you --> 💰

Haha, seriously though.

I created the "earlybird" discount for all the people most on fire to see this happen who signed up while the system was still being constructed. That discount is 50% off, not just right now, but on the recurring membership fee FOREVER, through the life of the program. Depending on whether you pay once a month or once a year, it saves you $60-90/year.

Now, the CMJ Masterpass is virtually finished. All the content has been fully migrated. The only things I have left to do are finish getting up the search bars and some how-to video tours. I'll be finishing that up today.

So the earlybird discount is about to disappear. It ends tomorrow, Thursday, January 31, at midnight eastern time.

To lock in your last chance of a $60-90/year discount, use the link https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass

That link has the 50% discount already activated and it will stay that way until the discount expires tomorrow night.

Remember this isn't for everyone. I'm not asking you to sign up unless you really love my content and would just love to have more of it faster with all these features that help you get the most out of it. I love all of you either way. ❤️

If you're on the fence, check out this video to see what it looks like on the inside.

Oh, and if it feels like a risk, it's not. I'm confident that if you love my content you will absolutely love the Masterpass, so I'm offering a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you didn't like it for any reason, let my support team know within 30 days and you get your money back.

Hope to see you inside the Masterpass! 😊

Please consider supporting my work by making a purchase using these links at one of my affiliates: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/foursigmatic, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/paleovalley, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/seekinghealth, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestralsupplements, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/magicspoon, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lmnt

Plenty more at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/support!

Question: Is it useful to measure HVA, VMA, and 5-HIAA?

I find them useful in a very limited context. The limitation of their usefulness is basically that you can't really tell if something is high or low because of production or degradation.

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Question: What to do if taking biotin and yet beta-hydroxyisovalerate is elevated.

Well in theory that's a marker of biotin deficiency, but you might have a defect in a biotin-dependent enzyme so you can try 5 milligrams, but if you still have high beta hydroxy isovaleric you need to start looking at a metabolic disorder, providing there are symptoms. You might have a 20% decrease in that enzyme activity.

This Q&A can also be found as part of a much longer episode, here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/podcast/2019/02/24/ask-anything-nutrition-feb-17-2019/

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Since carbs are richer in oxygen than fat, they consume less water in their metabolism and release more carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide puts stress on the lungs and its generation should be restricted in the case of lung injury to allow healing. This calls for a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet. On the other hand, carbon dioxide is needed to support the action of vitamin K and biotin, and to promote delivery of oxygen to tissues during exercise.

In our first glimpse into glycolysis and beta-oxidation, we find that understanding the basic chemical makeup of these molecules is deeply relevant to how we would manipulate the diet in many contexts of health and disease.

For the full lesson, go to chrismasterjohnphd.com/mwm/2/12

Sign up for MWM Pro for early access to content, enhanced keyword searching, self-pacing tools, downloadable audio and transcripts, a rich array of hyperlinked further reading suggestions, and a community with a forum for each lesson.

Episode 39 is a panel discussion between me and three panel members who are either finishing medical school now or are recent graduates of medical school. We discuss the current state of nutrition in medical school, whether and how it should change, what doctors and future doctors should do to obtain a deep understanding of nutrition, and what patients should do to obtain high-quality, nutritionally focused medical care.

The panel:

Clayton Dalton received his MD from Columbia Medical School and is now a resident physician in emergency medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Leland Stillman received his MD from the University of Virginia and will complete his residency in internal medicine at Maine Medical Center in July of 2017.

Rob Abbot is a 4th-year medical student at University of Virginia and will be starting a family medicine residency with Virginia Commonwealth University in June of 2017.

This episode is brought to you by US Wellness Meats. Head to grasslandbeef.com and enter "Chris" at checkout to get 15% off your order as long as the final price is over $75 and you order fewer than 40 pounds of meat. You can use "Chris" to get the same discount twice.

In this episode, you will find all of the following and more:

00:38 I introduce the panel to you in my own words. 07:39 The panel members introduce themselves to you in their words and tell you how they got interested in nutrition. 14:35 Everything in our body is made from our food. So is there a difference between learning “nutrition” and learning how everything in the body works? Does the biochemistry, physiology, and molecular biology learned in medical school count as learning nutrition? 17:13 Triage theory: you can learn every pathway, but if you don’t learn how they’re prioritized in suboptimal nutrient status, you haven’t learned useful nutrition. 24:34 The deficiency of clinical relevance and connections between clinical and basic science material. 26:58 Is teaching less the key to teaching deeper? 30:50 Is the purpose of the medical prerequisites and curricula to sort people rather than teach useful information? 32:12 It’s just harder to teach in a way that connects the dots. 36:03 My upcoming class on energy metabolism. 37:23 Are rare metabolic diseases (inborn errors of metabolism) really irrelevant?  39:29 Is the medical diagnostic paradigm too binary? Should we be looking at disease and health on a continuum instead?  47:56 Wildly misaligned economic incentives take the focus off nutrition. 53:15 In order to avoid burdening patients with unnecessary worry, we often withhold information. But this often hurts our collective pool of knowledge by hampering critical research and impairs our ability to help people. 1:06:38 Nutrition in medical school is abysmal, but do we need more and better nutrition education in medical school, a separate type of medical degree for primary care that focuses on nutrition, or more collaboration between physicians and others (for example, dietitians) who specialize in nutrition? 1:14:57 Empowering patients with mobile apps and other digital technology, providing real-time information in the context of a backlogged medical system. 1:24:14 What should a medical doctor, medical student, or future medical student do now to gain a practically useful understanding of nutrition?  1:34:08 Disciplines are fragmented and isolated, and desperately need to be connected. 1:38:36 Social media will be the next game-changer in medical education. 1:42:00 How to think about a patient’s nutritional status. 1:44:22 Selenium as an example of where testing can help you navigate equal probabilities of help and harm with supplementation. 1:45:03 Testing nutritional status is valuable because knowledge that a choice is necessary makes the choice more sustainable. 1:48:02 What should patients be doing to get good nutritionally focused medical care? 2:02:05 How you can find the panel members.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/039-nutrition-in-medical-school-do

Question: Is it useful to measure urine pH?

The urine pH is telling you the acid burden that your body has been subjected to. It's telling you, you can make an inference about the compensations that your body has had to engage in. You can also make an inference about the limitations of your body in compensating for that because even your urine pH should be buffered. It's not the case that you put a little bit of acid in the urine and then boom your pH is going to go down. It's the case that your body has a whole bunch of systems to buffer even the urine pH as you excrete acids from your body.

The system is, like in your blood, the tiniest, tiniest change in your pH is immediately going to set in motion a change in your breathing rate that is going to cause you to either increase or decrease the exhalation of carbon dioxide in order to adjust the pH of the blood. Then there's going to be a longer-term compensation where you're going to take some of those acids and pee them out. When you pee them out, your kidney is going to buffer those acids in the way of preserving the urine pH.

If your urine pH goes down from 6.5 to 5.5, it tells you that your urine pH is like ten times more acidic, but it doesn't tell you that your blood is ten times more acidic. The critics of using urine pH will point that out. But what it does tell you is that your body has been subjected to a rather enormous acid burden, number one; and number two, that you're even starting to overwhelm your kidney's ability to buffer the urine and prevent the pH of the urine from changing. And so it does tell you about the stress put on the system.

A high potassium intake would be the number one thing that would acutely affect it apart from taking the bicarbonate. By the way, always take bicarbonate on an empty stomach away from food.

This Q&A can also be found as part of a much longer episode, here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/podcast/2019/09/06/ask-anything-nutrition-march-8-2019

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Can fat fuel intensity in a competitive athlete? This lesson takes a critical look at the commonly cited evidence in favor of a neutral or beneficial effect of low-carbohydrate or ketogenic diets on sports performance, as well as key pieces of conflicting evidence. Bottom line? Fat can fuel duration, but probably can never fuel your peak intensity, just as the physiology would predict.

For the full episode, go to chrismasterjohnphd.com/mwm/2/18

Sign up for MWM Pro for early access to content, enhanced keyword searching, self-pacing tools, downloadable audio and transcripts, a rich array of hyperlinked further reading suggestions, and a community with a forum for each lesson.

Question: Could low LDL hurt female fertility?

I haven't seen evidence of it, but that would not surprise me at all given that cholesterol is what you make sex hormones from. If you see levels that low, I don't know that it's intrinsically a problem. You kind of want to start looking at what are the reasonable things you could expect to happen from that that affect female fertility? Fat-soluble vitamins could be relevant. Sex hormones could be relevant. I'd start looking at those things.

I doubt that the LDL being that low itself in and of itself is going to be the thing that compromises fertility. This is the thing. Is the LDL low because of really good clearance from the blood, or is it low because of really low production? If it's low because of really low production, then you definitely have problems with fat-soluble vitamin transport. Because if the liver is not making lipoproteins as much, the fat-soluble vitamins are staying trapped in the liver and they're not getting to other tissues that need them.

While there's no evidence for it, it makes perfect sense that dietary cholesterol would help that because dietary cholesterol is very helpful in Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome, where the exact same defect is 1,000X to produce a devastating result. It makes total sense that in someone who is a carrier for SLOS, Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome, who has defective cholesterol synthesis in their gonadal tissues and therefore has defective sex hormone synthesis, it makes total sense of eating cholesterol would help those people. So, I would try it.

Egg yolks. That's what most people are going to eat for cholesterol. But this all hinges on the question of the LDL is low, so what? Is it because it's being cleared rapidly or because it's not entering the blood due to lack of synthesis? Whether that person is going to have infertility as a result of it and whether that's going to be helped by dietary cholesterol, it's all going to get a hinge on that. But the good news is for both people, it's probably completely harmless to eat some eggs. Eating eggs might just be the thing that helps.

This Q&A can also be found as part of a much longer episode, here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/podcast/2019/03/30/ask-anything-nutrition-march-4-2019

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Question: Can you explain what parent essential oils are? I was given some articles that seemed to be saying that high-dose cold-water fish oils are damaging to cell membranes and mitochondrial function.

"Parent essential oil" is a term invented by Brian Peskin, who looked at some  data that said it's not clear that supplementing with fish oil is good for you because doing so can cause oxidative stress and cause damage to cells.

That's true because the highly unsaturated oils found in fish oil, as well as in liver and egg yolks, are highly vulnerable to being damaged. This includes the physiologically essential omega-3 fatty acid, DHA, and omega-6 fatty acid, arachidonic acid. 

But that damage comes only when you eat too much. This is where I think Peskin is wrong, because he took that data and concluded that you don’t want to eat any of these oils. Instead, you should eat oils like flaxseed that provide the “parent” fatty acids that your body turns into DHA and arachidonic acid.

But the parent oils are prone to being damaged too, just to a lesser extent. On a gram to gram basis, they are safer, but you need to eat a ton of parent oils to get the physiological requirement for DHA and arachidonic acid. So, on a daily requirement basis, the parent essential oils are going to be way more damaging.

I recommend simply taking a small amount of arachidonic acid and DHA, since then you fulfill your requirements regardless of genetics or the environment or whatever could impede the transformation of parent oils to these physiologically essential oils. High-dose fish oil is ridiculous, and risky, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consume any. 

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Question: How to interpret the pattern of high citrate, low cis-aconitate, low glutamate, and high glutamine.

The aconitate and citric acid are markers on the citric acid cycle where we metabolize most of our energy. If citric acid is high and isocitric acid is low, (this must be the Great Plains Test which doesn't have isocitrate/cis-aconitate) that would indicate oxidative stress.

In terms of the glutamate being low --- if your glutamate is low and your glutamine is on the high side, then you probably have ammonia generation from somewhere that you're mopping up with glutamate. That would be my guess, but that's another can of worms to open.

This Q&A can also be found as part of a much longer episode, here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/podcast/2019/02/24/ask-anything-nutrition-feb-17-2019/

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Vitamin D deficiency and calcium deficiency look very similar, and poorly interpreted blood tests can easily mislead us into taking the wrong supplements. Here’s how to tell them apart.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Do you sunbathe or use tanning beds? If so, you might need more riboflavin.

Tune in for the details.

This episode is brought to you by Vitamins and Minerals 101. This is my new, free, 30-day course that covers the basics of each nutrient, including why it’s important, how to get it from food, how to know if you need more, when you should think about supplementing, and concerns for special diets or special populations. You can get it delivered by Facebook Messenger or email. The Messenger version is taught by Chris Masterbot, my baby bot, is more interactive, and has more jokes and emojis. This requires no background beyond high school and is made for the beginner, but even many experts find it a great refresher and find little golden nuggets in each lesson. Sign up for free at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/101

This episode is brought to you by Testing Nutritional Status: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet. I've been through the pain and suffering of embracing a diet because I *thought* it was healthy, only for it to wreck my body and mind. I've been through the path of healing, only to make the mistakes of thinking that what worked best for me would work for everyone, and that what I did to heal would be something I would need to do forever. I've learned the hard way that each of us is unique, and that we all change with time. Your needs are not mine, mine are not what they were ten years ago, and yours won’t be in ten years what they are now. That’s why we need a recipe to know exactly what’s missing, what’s there in excess, and what’s out of balance. It is my mission to empower you to know exactly what your body needs, and to make exactly the right decisions to nourish it. Make the cheat sheet your secret weapon, and use the code LITE20 to get 20% off, at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/cheatsheet

To get these episodes free of ads, with transcripts, and weeks or sometimes even months before they are released to the public, along with access to monthly live Q&A sessions, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass. Use the code LITE10 to get 10% off. To make it easier to get the discount, use this link, which has the coupon already activated: https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/cmj-masterpass/2200/buy?coupon=LITE10

Here’s a massive podcast I did on riboflavin with Alex Leaf, which has 50 scientific references:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2019/02/16/manage-riboflavin-status/

Here are some previous posts on riboflavin:

Your “MTHFR” is Just a Riboflavin Deficiency (written version)

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/riboflavinmthfr

Your “MTHFR” is Just a Riboflavin Deficiency (video version)

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2019/03/26/mthfr-just-riboflavin-deficiency-2/

How to Know If You Need More Riboflavin

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lite-videos/2019/06/04/know-need-riboflavin

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Does a growing child need a *less* nutritious diet than an adult?

You would think so, looking at the RDAs! Yes, some of them are higher during childhood growth phases, such as calcium. But many of them are lower, and not because we know children need less but simply because they were scaled down by bodyweight.

Should a child half your size who eats twice as much food as you eat a diet that’s only 25% as nutrient-dense?

I doubt it.

Tune in for my thoughts on the topic and what I think we should do about it.

This episode is brought to you by Ancestral Supplements' Grass Fed Beef Brain. Our Native American ancestors believed that eating the organs from a healthy animal would support the health of the corresponding organ of the individual. Ancestral Supplements has a nose-to-tail product line of grass-fed liver, organs, bone marrow and brain... all in the convenience of a capsule. For more information or to buy any of their products, go to https://AncestralSupplements.com

This episode is brought to you by Ample. Ample is a meal-in-a-bottle that takes a total of two minutes to prepare, consume, and clean up. It provides the right balance of nutrients needed for a single meal, all from a blend of natural ingredients. Ample is available in original, vegan, and keto versions, portioned as either 400 or 600 calories per meal. I'm an advisor to Ample, and I use it to save time when I'm working on major projects on a tight schedule. Head to https://amplemeal.com and enter the promo code “CHRIS15” at checkout for a 15% discount off your first order.

To get these episodes free of ads, with transcripts, and weeks or sometimes even months before they are released to the public, along with access to monthly live Q&A sessions, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass. Use the code LITE10 to get 10% off. To make it easier to get the discount, use this link, which has the coupon already activated: https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/cmj-masterpass/2200/buy?coupon=LITE10

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Question: What’s the best way to increase ferritin?

If you're taking an iron chelate supplement then you should probably take it with a carnivore meal. Vitamin C and a few other ones, folate, are not really vegan nutrients but they're very plant-oriented nutrients in terms of what's the thing you're probably going to add to your diet that's going to help. And so I really feel like if I had iron deficiency anemia, I would probably just spend four weeks on a carnivore diet that was rich in red meat and if I really wanted to just pick a simple dietary plan, go all in on it.

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, a private discussion group, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass/ and use the code QANDA to get 10% off the membership for life.

For the remainder of 2020, I will be working full-time on finishing my Vitamins and Minerals 101 book, while reserving a portion of my time for consulting clients. You can pre-order my book at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/book. You can sign up for a consultation at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/consultations 

DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Do you get dry skin when you put on muscle mass? It could be a zinc deficiency. Here's how to take care of it.

To get these episodes free of ads, with transcripts, and weeks or sometimes even months before they are released to the public, along with access to monthly live Q&A sessions, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass. Use the code LITE10 to get 10% off. To make it easier to get the discount, use this link, which has the coupon already activated: https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/cmj-masterpass/2200/buy?coupon=LITE10

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Question: How can I protect against oxalates?

Short Answer: Getting 300-400 mg calcium between food and supplements at each meal will minimize oxalate absorption. Maintaining postprandial urine pH in the 6.4-6.8 range by getting 3-5 grams of potassium per day from food or from organic acid salts such as potassium citrate will prevent its crystallization in the kidney. Reducing dietary oxalate will prevent any possible damage in the gut.

This is a clip from a live Q&A session open to CMJ Masterpass members. In addition to this episode, you can access two other free samples using this link:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/questions-on-blood-glucose-and-oxalate

In that batch of free episodes you will also find the answer to this question:

•  Why Should Postprandial Glucose Be Kept Under 140 mg/dL?

If you want to become a Masterpass member so you can participate in the next live Q&A, or so you can have access to the complete recording and transcript of each Q&A session, you can save 10% off the subscription price for as long as you remain a member by using this link to sign up:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/qanda

Learn more about the Masterpass here:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/about

This snippet is from the April 12, 2023 AMA. The full recording and transcript is reserved for Masterpass members. Here is a preview of what’s included:

• What Causes Hypercholesterolemia and Does It Matter?

• How to Reverse Coronary Calcification?

• How to do a comprehensive nutritional screening

• How long after eating improperly cooked egg whites should I wait to take biotin?

• Is the extrusion process as harmful as some claim?

• How long can one fast before micronutrient deficiencies become an issue?

• Do B vitamins compete with each other for absorption?

• Why is thirst a symptom of diabetes?

• Do I agree with Peter Attia that ApoB should be driven as low as pharmacologically possible?

• During a fast, does the body break down muscle?

• How do you rest and refeed your brain?

• Why would someone have high RBC magnesium but low serum magnesium?

• GLA deficiency?

• Should we eat for our ethnicity?

• How convincing are polyphenol studies?

• Can coronary calcium be driven by oxalate?

• Citrulline for vasodilation

• How to reduce catabolism

• Rapid-fire run-through of orphaned questions from the submission contest, including a detailed look at Nadia’s thyroid numbers

Here’s a link to the full AMA: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/recording-and-transcript-of-the-april

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Short Answer: To get adequate raw material for melatonin synthesis in the brain, carbs can come any time of day and are best if high-glycemic. To suppress brain histamine levels, carbs in the evening, with low protein and relatively low fat, is best. From among protein, collagen is best at night for the glycine.

Watch the video or listen to the podcast with the links below. You can obtain a full transcript of the episode by signing up for the Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

Please consider supporting my work by making a purchase using these links at one of my affiliates: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/foursigmatic, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/paleovalley, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/seekinghealth, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestralsupplements, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/magicspoon, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lmnt 

Plenty more at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/support!

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

If you're concerned about your cholesterol, or confused about what to do, this episode is for you. In this episode, I list the four key factors that control blood cholesterol levels and outline the simplest dietary or lifestyle changes we can make to have the biggest impact.

This episode is brought to you by US Wellness Meats. Head to grasslandbeef.com and enter "Chris" at checkout to get 15% off your order as long as the final price is over $75 and you order fewer than 40 pounds of meat. You can use "Chris" to get the same discount twice.

In this episode, you will find all of the following and more: 

00:33 Cliff notes; 09:22 Targeting the low-hanging fruit; 11:50  The total-to-HDL-C ratio as a fingerprint of low LDL receptor activity; 13:20  Other markers such as particle size, particle count, and ApoB as fingerprints of low LDL receptor activity; 16:30  The four factors that control the LDL receptor; 18:50  Intracellular free cholesterol (effects of dietary fiber, cholestyramine, statins, and polyunsaturated fatty acids or PUFAs); 20:37  Thyroid hormone (effects of micornutrients, body fat, and carbohydrate intake); 23:50  Insulin (via PCSK9, effects of the fasting-feeding cycle and carbohydrate intake); 27:00  Inflammation (via PCSK9, effects of acute infection and chronic inflammation); 29:15  Practical approaches to maximizing LDL receptor activity; 29:22  Nutrient-dense whole food diets; 34:00  Thyroid disorder; 37:15   Adrenal stress, circadian stress, inflammatory stress; 39:05  Insulin resistance, body composition, and fatty liver disease; 42:00  Weight loss will improve insulin sensitivity, and for many a low-carb diet is a tool to achieve that, but in an insulin-sensitive person, carbohydrate stimulation of insulin has a powerful beneficial effect on LDL receptor activity; 46:20  Inflammation and PCSK9; 47:00  C-Reactive Protein levels, body composition, diet quality, and exercise; 49:25  Replacing fat with carbohydrate.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/038-what-to-do-about-high-cholesterol

Copper!

Copper is needed to prevent anemia, histamine intolerance, high cholesterol, and osteoporosis, probably helps with allergies, and is needed to make you feel good overall. There’s a dark side to its toxicity, but more likely you need more copper than less.

Tune in for everything you need to know about how to manage your copper status!

This episode is brought to you by Ancestral Supplements. Our Native American ancestors believed that eating the organs from a healthy animal would support the health of the corresponding organ of the individual. Ancestral Supplements has a nose-to-tail product line of grass-fed liver, organs, bone marrow and more... in the convenience of a capsule. For more information or to buy any of their products, go to https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestral

This episode is brought to you by Testing Nutritional Status: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet. Everything you could ever need to know to optimize your nutrition, all in one place. Easier to find and use than ever before. Get your copy at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/cheatsheet Use the code LITE5 to get $5 off.

To get these episodes free of ads, with transcripts, and weeks or sometimes even months before they are released to the public, along with access to monthly live Q&A sessions, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass. Use the code LITE10 to get 10% off. To make it easier to get the discount, use this link, which has the coupon already activated: https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/cmj-masterpass/2200/buy?coupon=LITE10

These links are mentioned in the episode:

Zinc for heavy metals: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2018/11/01/zinc-heavy-metals/

The methylation page: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/methylation

Here’s a much more detailed page about copper: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2017/02/03/manage-copper-status/

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Rising Food Prices Part 4: Can Regenerative Agriculture Solve the Food Crisis?

This is the 4th in a series of interviews I am conducting to try to better understand why food prices have been rising, where they are going as we move toward a potential food crisis, how this will impact the evolving landscape of food availability, and what we should do about it.

Allen Williams joins me to talk about conventional, organic, and regenerative agriculture, and how fuel and fertilizer inputs differ between them, and why regenerative agriculture offers the best resilience in the face of what looks like an emerging food crisis.

Allen Williams is a 6th generation family farmer and founding partner of Grass Fed Insights, LLC, Understanding Ag, LLC and the Soil Health Academy. He has consulted with more than 4000 farmers and ranchers in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, South America, and other countries, on operations ranging from a few acres to over 1 million acres.

Allen pioneered many of the early regenerative grazing protocols and forage finishing techniques and now teaches those practices and principles to farmers globally. He is a “recovering academic”, having served 15 years on the faculty at Louisiana Tech University and Mississippi State University. He holds a B.S. and M.S. in Animal Science from Clemson University and a Ph.D. in Livestock Genetics from LSU. He has authored more than 400 scientific and popular press articles, and is an invited speaker at regional, national, and international conferences and symposia.

Allen and his colleagues specialize in whole farm & ranch planning based on the concept of regenerative agriculture. Their approach creates significant “value add” and prepares the landowner for multiple enterprise/revenue stream opportunities that stack enterprises and acres. This approach allows for enhanced profitability and/or investment value. They routinely conduct workshops and seminars across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

Find regenerative agriculture at https://regenified.com/

This is a work in progress. Until it is completed, use https://localharvest.org, https://eatwild.com, and https://soilhealthacademy.org/shop-regen-foods/

Follow Allen's work at https://understandingag.com/

Learn about soil at https://soilhealthacademy.org/

Find more research on the topic at https://www.ecdysis.bio/

If you are interested in investment opportunities in regenerative agriculture, inquire with Allen using the Understanding Ag contact form: https://understandingag.com/connect-with-us/

This series started from a Substack post I wrote, The Emerging Food Crisis:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/the-emerging-food-crisis

Over the next month, as part of this series, I will conduct interviews and panel discussions on my podcast in an effort to better understand the issue and what to do about it. Relying primarily on interviews will allow me to better understand the issue while staying focused on finishing my vaccine research so I can ultimately return to finishing my book.

I will eventually be concluding my work on the vaccines with a COVID Vaccine Guide, which I will distribute for free to paid Substack subscribers, those who have pre-ordered my Vitamins and Minerals 101 book, and members of the CMJ Masterpass. Articles in this series that lay out actionable foundations of my future protocol for vaccine side effects will be for paid Substack subscribers and Masterpass members. However, most of them will available for free for the first 48 hours, and all of them will be readable with a free trial. Paid Substack subscribers get immediate access to my COVID Guide, and are entitled to 50% off a membership to the Masterpass as well. You can subscribe or upgrade your subscription here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/subscribe

You can pre-order the book here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/book

And you can join the Masterpass here: https://themasterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/sales-page

Masterpass members get to watch these interviews live, and also have monthly access to a live Q&A with me. The next Q&A session is Wednesday, May 18, 12:00 PM Eastern.

Question: How to Find the Root Cause of Autoimmunity?

Short Answer: Autoimmune conditions are likely driven by deficiencies of vitamins A and D, which contribute to post-infectious autoimmunity by compromising the rhythmic rise and fall of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), and to autoimmunity regardless of infections through impaired suppression of Th17 helper T cells. More broadly, infections and tissue damage are the most likely drivers of autoimmunity onset. However, energy metabolism governs everything through the second law of thermodynamics, which holds that energy must be used to prevent everything from randomly mixing, and this includes randomly mixing the immune defense against pathogens with immune attacks on the host. In this example, we discuss how a respiratory chain disorder would compromise absorption and distribution of zinc and compromise the oxidation of NADH to NAD+, and how both of these would interact with a genetic impairment in acetaldehyde dehydrogenase to prevent the activation of vitamin A to retinoic acid. Autoimmunity thus results as one of many symptoms of vitamin A deficiency driven not by lack of vitamin A, but rather by impaired activation of vitamin A, secondary to impaired energy metabolism. 

This is a clip from a live Q&A session open to CMJ Masterpass members. In addition to this episode, you can access two other free samples using this link:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/questions-on-nac-biofilms-vitamin

In that batch of free episodes you will also find the answer to this question:

• Can NAC hurt your gut health?

• Why Would Vitamin C Cause Joint Pain, Muscle Pain, and Brain Fog?

If you want to become a Masterpass member so you can participate in the next live Q&A, or so you can have access to the complete recording and transcript of each Q&A session, you can save 10% off the subscription price for as long as you remain a member by using this link to sign up:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/qanda

Learn more about the Masterpass here:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/about

This snippet is from the May 13, 2023 AMA. The full recording and transcript is reserved for Masterpass members. Here is a preview of what’s included:

• GLA to lower hydroxyhaemopyrrolin-2-one?

• When would I use the StrateGene and Genova Methylation Panel for nutritional testing?

• Energy metabolism as a root cause of gut issues?

• Nutrition for skin healing?

• Nutrition for hypnic jerks?

• Suggestions for snoring or sleep apnea?

• Nutrition to protect against restaurant meals?

• What is the cause of crusty eyes in the morning?

• What causes brain fog?

• How much oxalate should one eat each day?

• Should I be concerned about low alkaline phosphatase?

• What nutrients give tall children to short parents?

• Energy metabolism impairment mimicking Wilson's disease.

• Can taking digestive enzymes reduce our own production?

• Rapid-fire response to non-winners from the question contest.

Here’s a link to the full AMA: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/recording-and-transcript-of-the-may

 Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Question: What are your thoughts on monitoring HRV for optimizing performance?

Measure your HRV every night and you stop exercising entirely to get a baseline. 

You completely stop working out, you don't go “oh no I'm going to lose my muscle mass,” nothing's going to happen for a week or two. And this is the whole foundation of you having good data.

This baseline ensures that you have good starting data that isn’t influenced by anything. 

Now you start working out. You do one workout that's typical, you keep taking your HRV, you may see your HRV plummet. Then you say, how long does it take me to recover on my current diet and lifestyle?

You repeat that, like you don't work out again until it's back up to the plateau level. Then you work out again and you see if you have a repeatable response where there's a certain amount of time on average that's fairly replicable that it takes you to recover your peak HRV after your typical workout. Then when you have that you get on that frequency.

You can then start playing around with factors — like does it matter what type of workout I do? Is my recovery level consistently different when I lift weights at 5 reps per set versus 15 reps per set. Is my recovery time consistently different when I do cardio, or when I do cardio and weights on the same day, or when I play soccer. Then you can start to tailor your recovery time around the specific workouts.

Maybe it takes you two days to recover from one workout and four days recovering from another. Lower body, upper body, if you have a lower body upper body split, does it take me five days to recover the lower body and does it take me three days to recover from upper body?

At that point you can start tweaking diet and lifestyle. Do I recover faster if I eat more carbs? Do I recover faster if I eat food X?  Do it recover faster if I take supplement X? Always testing one thing at a time and making sure it's replicable before you form a conclusion before you do the next test.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Question: What can be done about twitching?

Short Answer: Most twitching will be driven by glutamate/GABA balance or acetylcholine regulation, and the most likely nutritional issues are any of the electrolytes or any factor that influences energy metabolism. The best way to address it is to consider the conditions that influence it and then trial and error your way through each potential nutritional issue in order of which ones make the most sense for your individual case first.

This is a clip from a live Q&A session open to CMJ Masterpass members. In addition to this episode, you can access two other free samples using this link:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/questions-on-phosphatidylcholine

In that batch of free episodes you will also find the answers to these questions:

• Phosphatidylcholine and TMAO
• Vitamin K2 and Undercarboxylated Osteocalcin

If you want to become a Masterpass member so you can participate in the next live Q&A, or so you can have access to the complete recording and transcript of each Q&A session, you can save 10% off the subscription price for as long as you remain a member by using this link to sign up:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/qanda

Learn more about the Masterpass here:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/about

This snippet is from the December 14, 2022 AMA. The full recording and transcript is reserved for Masterpass members. Here is a preview of what’s included:

• Inositol, What Is It Good For?
• If I am at risk of heart disease, and phosphatidylcholine raises my TMAO, should I stop the supplement?
• If undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOCN) has health benefits and vitamin K2 decreases it, what does that mean for vitamin K2 supplementation?
• Maragen Calcium
• Could slow methylation cause high selenium levels?
• My current thoughts on cholesterol and heart disease
• If I already have oxidative stress, what ducks should I have in a row before supplementing with iron?
• Is it safe to take eight milligrams of zinc daily without copper?
• What to do about developing sensitivities to an increasingly broad range of foods?
• What else to do about hemochromatosis besides phlebotomy?
• If gestational diabetes is just a biotin deficiency, why are women who are insulin resistant prior to pregnancy at higher risk for it, including women with PCOS?
• What to do about chronically elevated amylase and lipase?
• What to do about a non-drinker having very high GGT and occasionally high ALT?
• What are the most common vitamin and mineral deficiencies?
• What are the best supplements, vitamins, and minerals for OCD and depression?
• What is the connection between low pyruvate and high ketones?
• Is high LDL a concern if the carotid IMT and coronary calcium scan are clear? 
• Do I trust food allergy tests?

Here’s a link to the full AMA: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/recording-and-transcript-of-the-december

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Question: What can be done to reverse hypothyroidism other than taking thyroid medicine?

Chris: I'll throw in a couple things. If you just look at the nutrients needed to make thyroid hormone, you're looking at enough protein in addition to enough iodine. But then also the production of thyroid hormone is a very, very dirty process that requires an enormous amount of antioxidant support. Selenium is very important. But also, if you're looking at antioxidant protection, you're looking at not just things that we think of as dietary antioxidants. But you're looking at protein, zinc, iron, copper, manganese in addition to selenium. You're looking at vitamin C, vitamin E and a whole bunch, sort of a Pandora's box that you're opening up.

I think that probably the things that stand out the most are protein, iodine and selenium, but really you have a pretty big network of supportive nutrients in the background. Of course, everything I just said assumes that you're missing something that you need to make thyroid hormone, which is not necessarily the case, but I covered part of it.

This Q&A can also be found as part of a much longer episode, here:
https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/podcast/2019/10/19/ask-us-anything-hormones-dr-carrie-jones-may-10-2019

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

======

DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice.

PLEASE NOTE: As a result of the COVID-19 crisis and the time I am committing to staying on top of relevant research, as well as the high volume of questions I receive, it may take me extra time to respond to questions here. For an up-to-date list of where I respond to questions most quickly, please see the contact page on chrismasterjohnphd.com.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Please consider supporting my work by making a purchase using these links at one of my affiliates: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/foursigmatic, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/paleovalley, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/seekinghealth, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestralsupplements, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/magicspoon, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lmnt

Plenty more at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/support!

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Short Answer: I believe most methyl donor intolerances are a result of deficiencies in the glycine buffer system, which requires glycine, vitamin A, fasting (glucagon), androgens, riboflavin, unmethylated folate (THF), and iron. No one should expect to tolerate 30 milligrams of folate, however, and there is almost never a reason to use doses that high.

This is a clip from a live Q&A session open to CMJ Masterpass members. In addition to this episode, you can access two other free samples using this link:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/questions-on-cognitive-health-mct

In that batch of free episodes you will also find the answers to these questions:

• Does whey protein hurt the kidneys or otherwise hurt our health
• Why would someone not tolerate methyl donors even if they need them?

If you want to become a Masterpass member so you can participate in the next live Q&A, or so you can have access to the complete recording and transcript of each Q&A session, you can save 10% off the subscription price for as long as you remain a member by using this link to sign up:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/qanda

Learn more about the Masterpass here:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/about

This snippet is from the September 14, 2022 AMA. The full recording and transcript is reserved for Masterpass members. Here is a preview of what’s included:

• Why isn't my ferritin as high as diabetics when my transferrin saturation is higher?
• Why are vitamins A and E needed alongside D and K?
• Sunflower lecithin versus phosphatidylcholine supplements
• How do I reduce congestion while consuming dairy?
• Could eggs be raising triglycerides by curing fatty liver?
• Why would homocysteine ever be high when you can just use it to make glutathione?
• Why did my eye start twitching after sweating more than usual this weekend?
• Why do I now think A and D should be in roughly 1:1 ratios?
• Would MK-7 be enough to take with D or do I need MK-4?
• Why does water make me hungry?
• What's the proper ratio of calcium to magnesium, vitamin D, and vitamin K2?
• Is it safe to take zinc carnosine long term?
• Why did I recommend only using high-dose zinc for COVID protection for one year?
• Why did I recommend limiting quercetin phytosome to three months?
• Why take MK-4 when it has such a short half-life?
• How to make bowel movements more regular?
• Could freeze dried animal beef supplements cause gut infections?
• Do I recommend food sensitivity testing?
• What are the nutritional causes of restless leg syndrome?
• What do I think of drinking deuterium-depleted water for COVID severity?

Here’s a link to the full AMA: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/recording-and-transcript-of-the-september

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Question: Milk thistle, sulforaphane, and blood donation for iron overload

If it's an uptrend, you probably want to do something about it. Someone in that situation could try the Nrf2 stimulators, like milk thistle and sulforaphane. But if it is a genuine uptrend in early stage iron overload, that might be a situation that giving blood once a year would be the best solution.

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, a private discussion group, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass/ and use the code QANDA to get 10% off the membership for life.

From now through March, I will be working full-time on finishing my Vitamins and Minerals 101 book, while reserving a portion of my time for consulting clients. You can pre-order my book at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/book. You can sign up for a consultation at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/consultations.

DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Question: How to manage blood levels of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

I don't specifically want to look at the omega-3-to-omega-6 ratio. The AA/EPA ratio, I do not believe in wanting to get it low enough to prevent inflammation. I don't believe in using it that way. But I do believe that if it were too low, it could cause problems. I don't know what the cutoff would be. But if you're on the low end of normal, then I would think about cutting back your intake of EPA.

But my main concern would be if you're in the low or even middle end of the normal range for either arachidonic acid or DHA, I think you want to increase your intake of those. Particularly if your intake is already high, look for the cause of low levels. Especially if both of them are low, that could be caused by inflammation or oxidative stress.

This Q&A can also be found as part of a much longer episode, here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/podcast/2019/09/06/ask-anything-nutrition-march-8-2019

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Short Answer: From the trials, statins seem to reduce heart disease risk and total mortality, but it is impossible to separate this from conflicts of interest and industry funding. There are plausible mechanisms by which they may hurt mitochondrial function and promote soft tissue calcification. Dietary sulfur appears to lower cholesterol. While Lester Morrison showed 1500 milligrams per day of chondroitin sulfate could reduce cardiac events 7-fold, this has a theoretical potential to hurt the microbiome. My preferred way of getting sulfur is 1.2-1.8 grams per kilogram bodyweight of total non-collagen protein, with an emphasis on animal protein.

This is a clip from a live Q&A session open to CMJ Masterpass members. In addition to this episode, you can access two other free samples using this link:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/questions-on-statins-versus-sulfur

In that batch of free episodes you will also find the answers to these questions:

• Glutathione Intolerance: Getting to the Bottom of It
• Why Plasma Zinc is the Best Marker of Zinc Status

If you want to become a Masterpass member so you can participate in the next live Q&A, or so you can have access to the complete recording and transcript of each Q&A session, you can save 10% off the subscription price for as long as you remain a member by using this link to sign up:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/qanda

Learn more about the Masterpass here:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/about

This snippet is from the October 12, 2022 AMA. The full recording and transcript is reserved for Masterpass members. Here is a preview of what’s included:

• NADH vs NMN vs NR
• An unexplained rise in urine ketones
• Spreading out calcium across meals
• What should we have in our cold season cabinet?
• What besides diet could cause my high morning glucose on a CGM?
• Will some older people benefit from supplementing carnitine?
• What do I think about the CGM fad?
• Could my low triglycerides be cholestasis?
• Why limit the dose of cod liver oil?
• Why do I always feel better when my sulfur problems are worse?
• Should I use one lab’s reference range with another lab’s results?
• Is it safe to eat roasted potatoes?
• How much weight should I give genetic SNPs in my nutrition?
• High RBC magnesium but low serum: what could it mean?
• Burning in the stomach: what could it be?
• Should I treat low plasma amino acids by supplementing them?
• Why would MK-4 cause heart palpitations?

Here’s a link to the full AMA: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/recording-and-transcript-of-the-october

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Please consider supporting my work by making a purchase using these links at one of my affiliates: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/foursigmatic, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/paleovalley, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/seekinghealth, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestralsupplements, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/magicspoon, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lmnt 

Plenty more at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/support!

Question: Vitamin K and Clotting Risk When Not on Anticoagulants

There's essentially not a trade-off because if you're not on vitamin K antagonist anticoagulants; in theory, there shouldn't be any effect of vitamin K supplements on clotting at all. The one caveat to that is that you might be relatively vitamin K deficient now and not realize it. So it is within possibility that you're not meeting your own personal vitamin K requirement to maximize clotting, but that's very, very unlikely because in population studies, almost no one falls into this category. But if that were true, then essentially, vitamin K supplementation would bring you up to a normal level of clotting, which may or may not affect the cardiologist's assessment of whether you should be on anticoagulants. 

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Part 3 of how NUTRITION has a HUGE impact on your BRAIN!

Everything in your brain is something you ate, something you made from something you ate, or, in a few cases, something your mother ate. Nutrition impacts your mental and emotional health, the function of your five senses, and your conscious and unconscious control over your body movements.

Join me as I lead you in a safari through the textbook, “Neuroscience,” pointing out along the way all the interesting connections to nutrition. Listen in for part 2 on the THE FIVE SENSES!

This episode is brought to you by Ample. Ample is a meal-in-a-bottle that takes a total of two minutes to prepare, consume, and clean up. It provides the right balance of nutrients needed for a single meal, all from a blend of natural ingredients. Ample is available in original, vegan, and keto versions, portioned as either 400 or 600 calories per meal. I'm an advisor to Ample, and I use it to save time when I'm working on major projects on a tight schedule. Head to https://amplemeal.com and enter the promo code “CHRIS15” at checkout for a 15% discount off your first order.”

This episode is brought to you by Ancestral Supplements' "Living" Collagen. Our Native American ancestors believed that eating the organs from a healthy animal would support the health of the corresponding organ of the individual. Ancestral Supplements has a nose-to-tail product line of grass-fed liver, organs, "living" collagen, bone marrow and more... in the convenience of a capsule. For more information or to buy any of their products, go to https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestral

To get these episodes free of ads, with transcripts, and weeks or sometimes even months before they are released to the public, along with access to monthly live Q&A sessions, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass. Use the code LITE10 to get 10% off. To make it easier to get the discount, use this link, which has the coupon already activated: https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/cmj-masterpass/2200/buy?coupon=LITE10

In this episode, you will find all of the following and more:

00:35 Cliff Notes

08:50 Exteroception and proprioception are mediated by mechanoreceptors.

11:32 Pain is mediated by nociceptors, which are unspecialized, low-sensitivity neurons.

13:10 Capsaicin activates the TRPV1 receptor, which is also activated by hot temperatures.

15:12 The use of topical capsaicin to relieve chronic pain

18:25 Interoception is our sense of the physiological state within the body.

20:20 Why anorexics crave spicy foods

22:17 Managing pain in the peripheral nervous system; acidity sensitizes pain receptors.

24:12 Managing the fatty acids that help resolve inflammation, particularly arachidonic acid and DHA, to help with peripheral sensitization to pain

25:59 Combining aspirin with fish oil, glycine, and bicarbonate to help with peripheral sensitization to pain

30:50 Central sensitization to pain occurs through an LTP-like process, which is mediated by NMDA receptors.

32:47 Overview of vision and the importance of vitamin A

38:21 The role of vitamin A in preventing night blindness and its very closely related role in setting your circadian rhythm

41:54 Overview of hearing

44:20 Nutrients important for hearing

45:44 Overview of smell

47:41 Overview of taste

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/055-nutrition-in-neuroscience-part

Hormones matter, but they are never in charge. Their abnormalities are never the root cause of anything.

All hormones do is communicate the biochemistry of one tissue to the biochemistry of another tissue.

In this episode:

• Three Reasons For Hormones to Be Messed Up
• Exceptions to the Rule
• Leptin, Insulin, and Thyroid Hormone As an Example
• How to Approach Hormones

For the written version, the links to references, and the links to testing, see here:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/hormones-are-never-in-charge

Please consider supporting my work by making a purchase using these links at one of my affiliates: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/foursigmatic, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/paleovalley, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/seekinghealth, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestralsupplements, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/magicspoon, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lmnt 

Plenty more at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/support!

Question: What does it mean if you're helped by SAMe?

It could indicate that, or it could indicate that they have an impairment in the conversion of methionine to SAMe, which could be mediated by low magnesium status, low ATP status, or a poorly functioning MAT, methionine adenosyltransferase gene.

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Question: How should I take zinc if it makes me nauseous?

As far as I know, there's no relationship between the nausea and zinc deficiency. I could be wrong, maybe there's research on it I haven't seen or it could be not researched but I don't think there's a connection. My guess would be that that is either related to her ionizing it faster in the GI tract than you, or something else related to her nausea impulse that might be nutritional, it might be genetic, it might be male/female.

You could test out whether a little bit of bone broth or orange juice, or what have you with it buffers that enough to stop the nausea, and if it doesn't, I would just try to take it with a phytate-free meal. And by a phytate-free meal, I mean, a meal that doesn't have any whole grains, nuts, seeds, or legumes.

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, a private discussion group, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass/ and use the code QANDA to get 10% off the membership for life.

From now through March, I will be working full-time on finishing my Vitamins and Minerals 101 book, while reserving a portion of my time for consulting clients. You can pre-order my book at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/book. You can sign up for a consultation at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/consultations.

DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Get my new 7-page quick guide on how to not get sick for free when you sign up to my Substack:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/staying-immune-through-the-winter

Question: What to do about premenstrual water retention?

Chris: I looked at a really good paper that showed that in women who had water retention symptoms with PMS, the main difference in their hormones was that they weren't clearing progesterone as fast from their ovulation-related peak. I was discussing this with a different friend who had found that she would consistently get water retention in response to using progesterone creams.

Carrie: A big reason, that we are protected up to the point and then we go through menopause and we'd lose all that estrogen. A man's production of estrogen and a postmenopausal woman's production of estrogen.

This Q&A can also be found as part of a much longer episode, here:
https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/podcast/2019/10/19/ask-us-anything-hormones-dr-carrie-jones-may-10-2019

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

======

DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice.

PLEASE NOTE: As a result of the COVID-19 crisis and the time I am committing to staying on top of relevant research, as well as the high volume of questions I receive, it may take me extra time to respond to questions here. For an up-to-date list of where I respond to questions most quickly, please see the contact page on chrismasterjohnphd.com.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Ever wonder if you need more niacin?

This episode covers the signs and symptoms of niacin deficiency as well as the reasons you’d be likely to become deficient.

This episode is brought to you by Ancestral Supplements' Grass Fed Beef Brain. Our Native American ancestors believed that eating the organs from a healthy animal would support the health of the corresponding organ of the individual. Ancestral Supplements has a nose-to-tail product line of grass-fed liver, organs, bone marrow and brain... all in the convenience of a capsule. For more information or to buy any of their products, go to https://AncestralSupplements.com

This episode is brought to you by Vitamins and Minerals 101. This is my new, free, 30-day course that covers the basics of each nutrient, including why it’s important, how to get it from food, how to know if you need more, when you should think about supplementing, and concerns for special diets or special populations. You can get it delivered by Facebook Messenger or email. The Messenger version is taught by Chris Masterbot, my baby bot, is more interactive, and has more jokes and emojis. This requires no background beyond high school and is made for the beginner, but even many experts find it a great refresher and find little golden nuggets in each lesson. Sign up for free at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/101

This episode is brought to you by Testing Nutritional Status: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet. I've been through the pain and suffering of embracing a diet because I *thought* it was healthy, only for it to wreck my body and mind. I've been through the path of healing, only to make the mistakes of thinking that what worked best for me would work for everyone, and that what I did to heal would be something I would need to do forever. I've learned the hard way that each of us is unique, and that we all change with time. Your needs are not mine, mine are not what they were ten years ago, and yours won’t be in ten years what they are now. That’s why we need a recipe to know exactly what’s missing, what’s there in excess, and what’s out of balance. It is my mission to empower you to know exactly what your body needs, and to make exactly the right decisions to nourish it. Make the cheat sheet your secret weapon, and use the code LITE20 to get 20% off, at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/cheatsheet

To get these episodes free of ads, with transcripts, and weeks or sometimes even months before they are released to the public, along with access to monthly live Q&A sessions, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass. Use the code LITE10 to get 10% off. To make it easier to get the discount, use this link, which has the coupon already activated: https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/cmj-masterpass/2200/buy?coupon=LITE10

Here’s a massive 2-part podcast series I did on niacin with Alex Leaf, which has 52 scientific references:

Part 1: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2019/03/01/niacin-part-1-need/

Part 2: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2019/03/16/niacin-part-2-blood-tests-foods-supplements/

Here are other recent episodes on niacin:

Should You Inject Yourself With NAD+?

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2019/04/18/should-you-inject-yourself-with-nad/

The Best Form of Niacin for Anti-Aging

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2019/04/23/best-form-niacin-anti-aging/

https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2019/04/25/safely-take-nicotinamide-riboside-anti-aging/

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Sign up for the free newsletter: chrismasterjohnphd.com/covid19-updates

Support the service by purchasing a copy of The Food and Supplement Guide for the Coronavirus: chrismasterjohnphd.com/coronavirus

DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical doctor and this is not medical advice. I am also not an infectious disease epidemiologist and I am not speaking on behalf of infectious disease epidemiologists. I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in conducting and interpreting research related to my field. Please consult your physician before doing anything for prevention or treatment of COVID-19, and please seek the help of a physician immediately if you believe you may have COVID-19.

SUBSCRIBE

This series is based on my free daily newsletter, COVID-19 Research Updates. As a result of the time it takes to produce an video or podcast from a newsletter I wrote up, there's a slight delay between when I publish the newsletter and when you watch or listen to this. When you subscribe to the newsletter, you get the latest of my research every single day as soon as it's ready to come out. You get references and links to the sources for all the information, and you immediately get an archive of all the past issues. You can sign up at chrismasterjohnphd.com/covid19-updates

SUPPORT

It would mean the world to me if you support this service by purchasing a copy of my ebook, The Food and Supplement Guide to the Coronavirus. The guide contains my most up-to-date conclusions about what we should be doing for nutritional and herbal support on top of hygiene and social distancing for added protection. Due to the absence of randomized controlled trials testing nutritional or herbal prevention, these are my best guesses for what is likely to work without significant risk of harm, based on the existing science.

Many people have asked why I am charging for this instead of giving it away for free, given that this is a time of crisis and people are in need.

Unfortunately, I have not been immune to the effects this virus has had on the economy. My revenue from my other offerings started falling in February, and by mid-March I had days where my revenue was zero. I have three people who work for me full-time, and I am doing everything I can to avoid laying any of them off. By mid-March I had depleted 75% of my emergency fund in order to avoid any layoffs, and without charging for the guide I would not have been able to hold out much longer.

Charging for the guide has allowed me to keep everyone working, replete some of my savings, and devote myself to researching COVID-19 full-time. As a result I now publish this daily COVID-19 series and the free newsletter, am involved in the design of several clinical trials that are in the process of being submitted for registration now, and am able to continually update the guide for free whenever my research warrants it.

By purchasing the guide, you are enabling me to continue devoting my skills to the most important issue we now face. I am genuinely grateful for your contribution. You can purchase a copy at chrismasterjohnphd.com/coronavirus

PLEASE NOTE: As a result of the COVID-19 crisis and the time I am committing to staying on top of relevant research, as well as the high volume of questions I receive, it may take me extra time to respond to questions here. For an up-to-date list of where I respond to questions most quickly, please see the contact page on chrismasterjohnphd.com.

When I was in Greece this August, I didn’t have any allergies at first, but then they started acting up, and they kept getting worse throughout my trip. I thought it was from the local environment, but when I woke up with conjunctivitis in the last week I looked back and realized my diet had been very deficient in vitamin A while I was there. Vitamin A deficiency can be an important cause of allergies, and if you suffer from allergies you should consider your vitamin A status.

This episode is brought to you by Testing Nutritional Status: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet. Everything you could ever need to know to optimize your nutrition, all in one place. Easier to find and use than ever before. Get your copy at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/cheatsheet Use the code LITE5 to get $5 off.

This episode is brought to you by Ancestral Supplements. Our Native American ancestors believed that eating the organs from a healthy animal would support the health of the corresponding organ of the individual. Ancestral Supplements has a nose-to-tail product line of grass-fed liver, organs, bone marrow and more... in the convenience of a capsule. For more information or to buy any of their products, go to ancestralsupplements.com.

To get these episodes free of ads, with transcripts, and weeks or sometimes even months before they are released to the public, along with access to monthly live Q&A sessions, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass. Use the code LITE10 to get 10% off. To make it easier to get the discount, use this link, which has the coupon already activated: https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/cmj-masterpass/2200/buy?coupon=LITE10

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

In this episode, I break down an iron panel and explain why it’s important to also measure serum ferritin and transferrin, and when you should use transferrin saturation instead of iron saturation as a marker of your short-term iron status.

This episode is brought to you by Testing Nutritional Status: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet. Everything you could ever need to know to optimize your nutrition, all in one place. Easier to find and use than ever before. Get your copy at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/cheatsheet Use the code LITE5 to get $5 off.

To get these episodes free of ads, with transcripts, and weeks or sometimes even months before they are released to the public, along with access to monthly live Q&A sessions, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass. Use the code LITE10 to get 10% off. To make it easier to get the discount, use this link, which has the coupon already activated: https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/cmj-masterpass/2200/buy?coupon=LITE10

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Question: What are the best practices for nutrient absorption?

Large meals and fat soluble vitamins. Large meals are the ally of fat soluble vitamin absorption. Fat absorption from poor fat digestion, is the enemy of not only the absorption of fat soluble nutrients, but also the absorption positively charged minerals. There might a few of them missing, but those are the ones that really stand out to me as big nutrient absorption issues.

I wouldn't micromanage these things, but if it is an eminent view where there is a problem to fix, that's when I start thinking a lot about them. But certainly there are more details in the vitamins and minerals 101 course, and what I have gone through right here.

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, a private discussion group, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass/ and use the code QANDA to get 10% off the membership for life.

For the remainder of 2020, I will be working full-time on finishing my Vitamins and Minerals 101 book, while reserving a portion of my time for consulting clients. You can pre-order my book at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/book. You can sign up for a consultation at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/consultations.

DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Most people won’t have adverse effects from taking GABA or glycine supplements, but some do. If you find that either of these cause anxiety from tanking your breathing or heart rate, a dose of high-glycemic carbs like white potatoes, sweet potatoes, or rice, could be the thing that helps.

Tune in to find out why!

This episode is brought to you by Ancestral Supplements' "Living" Collagen. Our Native American ancestors believed that eating the organs from a healthy animal would support the health of the corresponding organ of the individual. Ancestral Supplements has a nose-to-tail product line of grass-fed liver, organs, "living" collagen, bone marrow and more... in the convenience of a capsule. For more information or to buy any of their products, go to https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestral

This episode is brought to you by Ample. Ample is a meal-in-a-bottle that takes a total of two minutes to prepare, consume, and clean up. It provides the right balance of nutrients needed for a single meal, all from a blend of natural ingredients. Ample is available in original, vegan, and keto versions, portioned as either 400 or 600 calories per meal. I'm an advisor to Ample, and I use it to save time when I'm working on major projects on a tight schedule. Head to https://amplemeal.com and enter the promo code “CHRIS15” at checkout for a 15% discount off your first order.

To get these episodes free of ads, with transcripts, and weeks or sometimes even months before they are released to the public, along with access to monthly live Q&A sessions, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass. Use the code LITE10 to get 10% off. To make it easier to get the discount, use this link, which has the coupon already activated: https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/cmj-masterpass/2200/buy?coupon=LITE10

Here are the recent episodes on GABA:

Face your Fears with GABA: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2019/01/29/face-fears-gaba/

Courage, Not Confidence, For Facing Fears: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2019/01/31/courage-not-confidence-facing-fears/

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Question: How to avoid losing nutrients in fat thrown out from an organ meat blend

I don't think you're going to lose that many nutrients because the 25% fat, 75% lean ground beef mixed with those organs, most of that fat is coming from the marbling of the beef. That's not coming from the organ meats. Most of the nutrients in the organ meats, and they're not in marbled fat they're in cells and stuff.

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, a private discussion group, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass/ and use the code QANDA to get 10% off the membership for life.

From now through March, I will be working full-time on finishing my Vitamins and Minerals 101 book, while reserving a portion of my time for consulting clients. You can pre-order my book at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/book. You can sign up for a consultation at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/consultations.

DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

This is a quick note to let you know that I changed the name of the show from "The Daily Lipid" to "Mastering Nutrition" and to explain why I did it.

Short Answer: It requires more frequent dosing and has some risk of hypercalcemia, and it would be best to make sure you have adequate D and magnesium and aren’t overdoing anything that could deplete D, such as other fat-soluble vitamins, first.

Watch the video or listen to the podcast with the links below. You can obtain a full transcript of the episode by signing up for the Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

Please consider supporting my work by making a purchase using these links at one of my affiliates: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/foursigmatic, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/paleovalley, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/seekinghealth, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestralsupplements, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/magicspoon, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lmnt 

Plenty more at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/support!

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

“Anaplerosis” means “to fill up” and refers to substrates and reactions that fill up a metabolic pathway as its own substrates leak out for other purposes. The citric acid cycle is a central example of this because its intermediates are often used to synthesize other components the cell needs. On a mixed diet where carbohydrate provides much of the energy, pyruvate serves as the main anaplerotic substrate. During carbohydrate restriction, protein takes over. Fat is the least anaplerotic of the macronutrients because the main product of fatty acid metabolism, acetyl CoA, is not directly anaplerotic. There are several very minor pathways that allow some anaplerosis from fat, but they are unlikely to eclipse the need for protein to support this purpose during carbohydrate restriction. Thus, carbs and protein are the two primary sources of anaplerosis. This means carbs can spare the need for protein, and that protein requirements rise on a carb-restricted diet.

For the full lesson, go to chrismasterjohnphd.com/mwm/2/16

Sign up for MWM Pro for early access to content, enhanced keyword searching, self-pacing tools, downloadable audio and transcripts, a rich array of hyperlinked further reading suggestions, and a community with a forum for each lesson.

I currently use a Germ Guardian, but for about a decade I used this method, which is half the initial cost and one fifth the long-term maintenance costs.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

In part 1 we covered what niacin is and why you need it. Here’s part 2, where Alex Leaf and I cover blood tests, foods, and supplements!

• How much do we need? The RDA has some flaws, including claiming women need less than men, when all the evidence shows women need *more* than men.
  
• Why eating enough protein is so essential, yet so unreliable as a way of boosting niacin status.
  
  
• How the niacin in your coffee, seeds, and grains is all locked up and unavailable, and how to release it through proper preparation. Do you drink light roast or dark roast? You may either hate or love this episode… or you might just switch coffees.
  
  
• Should we take high-dose niacin to lower cholesterol? Alex has a theory on how we can do that without getting diabetes. 😬
  
  
• High-dose niacin can cause liver failure and can kill lab mice. But Alex and I know how to steer clear of that problem!
  
  
• NAD-boosting supplements are the new darling of the anti-aging industry. But should we take nicotinamide riboside (NR), nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), or should we endure all the whole-body burning 🔥 that the folks injecting NAD+ are so hyped up about? We discuss the promises and problems of these approaches.
  
  
• Why you should match glycine to one form of niacin and trimethylglycine (TMG) to all of them.

This episode is brought to you by Ancestral Supplements' "Living" Collagen. Our Native American ancestors believed that eating the organs from a healthy animal would support the health of the corresponding organ of the individual. Ancestral Supplements has a nose-to-tail product line of grass-fed liver, organs, "living" collagen, bone marrow and more... in the convenience of a capsule. For more information or to buy any of their products, go to https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestral

This episode is brought to you by Ample. Ample is a meal-in-a-bottle that takes a total of two minutes to prepare, consume, and clean up. It provides the right balance of nutrients needed for a single meal, all from a blend of natural ingredients. Ample is available in original, vegan, and keto versions, portioned as either 400 or 600 calories per meal. I'm an advisor to Ample, and I use it to save time when I'm working on major projects on a tight schedule. Head to https://amplemeal.com and enter the promo code “CHRIS15” at checkout for a 15% discount off your first order.”

In this episode, you will find all of the following and more:

Niacin Part 2 Show Notes

00:38 Cliff Notes

01:35 Recap of Part 1

15:32 Markers of niacin status

17:32 Methylated metabolites of niacin in the urine as a marker of niacin status

19:05 Caveat to using methylated metabolites of niacin in the urine as a marker of niacin status

20:16 Erythrocyte NAD(H)/NADP(H) ratio, the “niacin number,” as a marker of niacin status

22:55 Caveat to the niacin number as a marker of niacin status

28:34 Critique on how the RDA for niacin was established

40:12 How protein intake affects the dietary requirement for preformed niacin

42:48 Estrogen regulates the synthesis of niacin from tryptophan.

43:35 In men in particular, niacin synthesis from tryptophan might just be a way to clear excess tryptophan.

45:31 General discussion about protein requirements

49:46 How different forms of food processing, such as nixtamalization, fermentation, and sprouting, increase the bioavailability of niacin

52:51 Niacin in coffee

53:52 Niacin in nutritional yeast

54:16 Dietary sources of niacin, divided into five tiers

59:57 Niacin in herbs and spices, including spirulina

01:03:46 The contribution of the microbiome to niacin status is not well studied.

01:04:56 Where we would expect to see niacin deficiency

1:05:38 Risk factors for niacin deficiency include Hartnup’s disease, megaduodenum, intestinal malabsorption, carcinoid tumors, certain drugs, alcoholism, HIV/AIDS, and deficiencies of iron, riboflavin, and B6.

01:09:52 Risk factors for suboptimal niacin status include a diet based on unprocessed whole grains, a diet based on sugar and fat, a diet low in non-collagen protein, any form of cellular damage, and low ATP levels.

01:14:42 How metformin and berberine could affect niacin status

01:17:28 The effect of leucine and muscle growth on niacin status

01:19:54 The prevalence of inadequate niacin intake and niacin deficiency

01:24:00 Contributors to niacin toxicity

01:25:08 The use of nicotinic acid to benefit blood lipids and reduce heart disease risk

01:31:14 Potential side effects of taking nicotinic acid to manage blood lipids include the flushing reaction, liver harm, and increased diabetes risk.

01:34:22 The mechanism behind high-dose nicotinic acid-induced insulin resistance and how you could mitigate it

01:48:01 Rodent studies of nicotinamide riboside supplementation

01:50:58 Human studies of nicotinamide riboside supplementation

01:56:32 Why the rodent studies of nicotinamide riboside supplementation look more promising than the human studies

02:04:16 What is the probability that someone would get longevity benefits from supplementing with nicotinamide riboside?

02:05:15 Whether or not Alex and Chris will start supplementing with niacin after doing the research for this podcast

02:06:17 Should someone with hypercholesterolemia consider taking nicotinic acid? How should they manage the side effects, and which form is best?

02:10:53 Does it matter if niacin is taken with food?

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/062-niacin-part-2-blood-tests-foods

Are you interested in working with me one-on-one so I can help you better meet your health goals?

Good news! I’m now accepting new clients for both hourly consultations and health and wellness packages.

Here are the core things I’m best at that I would love to do for you:

• Help you develop actionable priorities and an overall strategy for improving your health.
• Discuss your experiences with you and suggest useful tests that you could ask your doctor about.
• Analyze the results of genetic tests, digital food logs, and blood and urine measurements for markers of health and nutritional status. I can then use these analyses to suggest practical strategies that you could implement with proper supervision of a health care professional.

If you want to want to read more about what I have to offer, head over to the main consultations page:

Health and Wellness Consultations With Chris Masterjohn, PhD

Although I have no plans to expire the offer, I suggest you act rather swiftly if you want to book sessions between now and February because the spots available from September through January are limited and will fill up fast. After February, my availability is much more open. 

Once again, here are the links you may need:

• learn more about what I have to offer.
• Book an hourly session.
• Book a health and wellness package.

Whether sooner or later, I look forward to working with you and helping you fulfill your health goals.

If you have any questions about how this works, please do not hesitate to email me at chris [at] chrismasterjohnphd {dot} com.

Question: Why does estrogen regulate tryptophan metabolism?

Chris: I think that it's basically the body trying to make sure that the baby has enough niacin because chronic estrogen exposure would occur during pregnancy. When I was doing my niacin research, one thing that I found is that women seem to need more total niacin than men, but they seem to be better at making niacin from protein. What's really interesting is that the studies that were done that were used to make the RDA, there weren't comparisons in men and women, but two of the studies were men and two studies were in women. The standard deviations, meaning how much variation there was person to person, in how much niacin that they needed to normalize what they were looking at was way bigger in men than it was in women.

This Q&A can also be found as part of a much longer episode, here:
https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/podcast/2019/10/19/ask-us-anything-hormones-dr-carrie-jones-may-10-2019

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

======

DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice.

PLEASE NOTE: As a result of the COVID-19 crisis and the time I am committing to staying on top of relevant research, as well as the high volume of questions I receive, it may take me extra time to respond to questions here. For an up-to-date list of where I respond to questions most quickly, please see the contact page on chrismasterjohnphd.com.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Sign up for the free newsletter: chrismasterjohnphd.com/covid19-updates

Support the service by purchasing a copy of The Food and Supplement Guide for the Coronavirus: chrismasterjohnphd.com/coronavirus

DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical doctor and this is not medical advice. I am also not an infectious disease epidemiologist and I am not speaking on behalf of infectious disease epidemiologists. I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in conducting and interpreting research related to my field. Please consult your physician before doing anything for prevention or treatment of COVID-19, and please seek the help of a physician immediately if you believe you may have COVID-19.

SUBSCRIBE

This series is based on my free daily newsletter, COVID-19 Research Updates. As a result of the time it takes to produce an video or podcast from a newsletter I wrote up, there's a slight delay between when I publish the newsletter and when you watch or listen to this. When you subscribe to the newsletter, you get the latest of my research every single day as soon as it's ready to come out. You get references and links to the sources for all the information, and you immediately get an archive of all the past issues. You can sign up at chrismasterjohnphd.com/covid19-updates

SUPPORT

It would mean the world to me if you support this service by purchasing a copy of my ebook, The Food and Supplement Guide to the Coronavirus. The guide contains my most up-to-date conclusions about what we should be doing for nutritional and herbal support on top of hygiene and social distancing for added protection. Due to the absence of randomized controlled trials testing nutritional or herbal prevention, these are my best guesses for what is likely to work without significant risk of harm, based on the existing science.

Many people have asked why I am charging for this instead of giving it away for free, given that this is a time of crisis and people are in need.

Unfortunately, I have not been immune to the effects this virus has had on the economy. My revenue from my other offerings started falling in February, and by mid-March I had days where my revenue was zero. I have three people who work for me full-time, and I am doing everything I can to avoid laying any of them off. By mid-March I had depleted 75% of my emergency fund in order to avoid any layoffs, and without charging for the guide I would not have been able to hold out much longer.

Charging for the guide has allowed me to keep everyone working, replete some of my savings, and devote myself to researching COVID-19 full-time. As a result I now publish this daily COVID-19 series and the free newsletter, am involved in the design of several clinical trials that are in the process of being submitted for registration now, and am able to continually update the guide for free whenever my research warrants it.

By purchasing the guide, you are enabling me to continue devoting my skills to the most important issue we now face. I am genuinely grateful for your contribution. You can purchase a copy at chrismasterjohnphd.com/coronavirus

PLEASE NOTE: As a result of the COVID-19 crisis and the time I am committing to staying on top of relevant research, as well as the high volume of questions I receive, it may take me extra time to respond to questions here. For an up-to-date list of where I respond to questions most quickly, please see the contact page on chrismasterjohnphd.com.

Did you realize even washing vegetables causes loss of folate? Learn everything you need to know to get enough folate from picking the right foods to avoiding loss in the kitchen in this five-minute video.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Here’s 5 rules you need to follow to get enough zinc.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Got blood sugar problems? Glycine might help!

3-5 grams of glycine before a meal helps stabilize your blood sugar after the meal, and 15 grams a day every day helps improve long-term blood sugar stability in type 2 diabetes. Listen to this podcast for the best way to implement this strategy.

To get these episodes free of ads, with transcripts, and weeks or sometimes even months before they are released to the public, along with access to monthly live Q&A sessions, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass. Use the code LITE10 to get 10% off. To make it easier to get the discount, use this link, which has the coupon already activated: https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/cmj-masterpass/2200/buy?coupon=LITE10

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Please consider supporting my work by making a purchase using these links at one of my affiliates: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/foursigmatic, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/paleovalley, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/seekinghealth, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestralsupplements, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/magicspoon, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lmnt

Plenty more at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/support!

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

This analysis of the recent study by the Hazen group at Cleveland Clinic published in Nature Medicine claiming erythritol contributes to cardiovascular disease shows the following:

1. Why elevated plasma erythritol is likely to reflect thiamin deficiency and NADPH depletion from insulin resistance, inflammation, and oxidative stress
   
   
2. Why the in vitro and mouse study blood clotting likely reflects osmotic stress with no relevance to the use of erythritol as a sweetener.
   
   
3. Why I strongly suspect the Hazen group is hiding data, specifically the data that they obviously had a chance to collect and would have clinched their case but appears nowhere in their paper.
   
   
4. Why even though I do not use erythritol as a sweetener, were I ever to think about doing so, the new Nature Medicine paper would play no role in my decision.
   
   

Read the analysis in written form, fully referenced, here:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/erythritol-and-blood-clotting

Short Answer: Measure this against whether it increases your likelihood of burning. If it does, it’s probably a bad thing, but if it doesn’t, or if it lowers your risk of burning, that’s a good thing.

Watch the video or listen to the podcast with the links below. You can obtain a full transcript of the episode by signing up for the Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

Please consider supporting my work by making a purchase using these links at one of my affiliates: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/foursigmatic, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/paleovalley, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/seekinghealth, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestralsupplements, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/magicspoon, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lmnt 

Plenty more at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/support!

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Insulin prevents fat-burning in part by locking fat in adipose tissue and in part by shutting down transport of fatty acids into the mitochondrion inside cells. By downregulating lipoprotein lipase (LPL) at heart and skeletal muscle and upregulating it at adipose tissue, insulin shifts dietary fat away from heart and muscle and toward adipose tissue. By downregulating hormone-sensitive lipase in adipose tissue, it prevents the release of free fatty acids from adipose tissue into the blood. At the cellular level, insulin leads to the phosphorylation and deactivation of AMPK. Since AMPK inhibits acetyl CoA carboxylase, insulin-mediated deactivation of AMPK leads to activation of acetyl CoA carboxylase and the conversion of acetyl CoA to malonyl CoA. Malonyl CoA inhibits carnitine palmitoyl transferase-1 (CPT-1) and thus blocks the transport of fatty acids into the mitochondrion. Nevertheless, all of these steps are also regulated at the most fundamental level by energy status, as covered in lesson 22. Further, insulin stimulates the burning of carbohydrate for energy, as covered in lesson 24. So, is insulin’s blockade of fat-burning sufficient to cause net fat storage, or does this critically depend on energy balance? This question will be answered in the next lesson.

For the full episode, go to chrismasterjohnphd.com/mwm/2/25

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Glutathione is a molecule you make from the protein in your diet that is incredibly important to protecting your liver, thyroid, and lungs. It’s the master antioxidant of the cell, critical to detoxing and cleaning out your system, and plays an especially important role in preventing asthma.

Here are seven natural ways to boost your glutathione status!

This is the link to the glycine database that is mentioned in the episode: http://chrismasterjohnphd.com/glycinedatabase

This is the link to the episode on magnesium status mentioned in the episode: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/2018/08/23/manage-magnesium-status/

This episode is brought to you by Ancestral Supplements. Our Native American ancestors believed that eating the organs from a healthy animal would support the health of the corresponding organ of the individual. Ancestral Supplements has a nose-to-tail product line of grass-fed liver, organs, bone marrow and more... in the convenience of a capsule. For more information or to buy any of their products, go to ancestralsupplements.com.

This episode is brought to you by Testing Nutritional Status: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet. Everything you could ever need to know to optimize your nutrition, all in one place. Easier to find and use than ever before. Get your copy at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/cheatsheet Use the code LITE5 to get $5 off.

To get these episodes free of ads, with transcripts, and weeks or sometimes even months before they are released to the public, along with access to monthly live Q&A sessions, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass. Use the code LITE10 to get 10% off. To make it easier to get the discount, use this link, which has the coupon already activated: https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/cmj-masterpass/2200/buy?coupon=LITE10

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Question: If I use SAMe for depression, what do I need for nutritional balance?

Nutrition wise, I think the most important thing would be to make sure that you have an adequate glycine status. And you know, I don't know what your background is in terms of other issues, but the glycine buffer system, which is how you buffer excess methyl groups, which is what you would have if you take a large bolus of SAMe.

Other nutritional concern would be having enough molybdenum. Generally, you're gonna have enough with 100 mcg a day. If you're eating liver once a week, you probably have enough, but there's no harm in taking like 500 mcg a day, so not really a problem if you want to supplement there just to make sure it's not an issue. 

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, a private discussion group, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass/ and use the code QANDA to get 10% off the membership for life.

For the remainder of 2020, I will be working full-time on finishing my Vitamins and Minerals 101 book, while reserving a portion of my time for consulting clients. You can pre-order my book at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/book. You can sign up for a consultation at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/consultations 

DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Question: How much vitamin C should I take with collagen?

There's no evidence that you need to take vitamin C with collagen. There is a study by Keith Baar, who showed that 15 grams of gelatin, not collagen, but I suspect the collagen is exactly the same, 15 grams of gelatin but not 5 grams, the dose is important, with 50 milligrams of vitamin C taken before exercise improved collagen synthesis in the tendons. They included 50 milligrams of vitamin C because it's made for collagen synthesis, but they don't show that you needed the vitamin C. They just had the vitamin C in there. I don't know if it even matters in that context whether you need the vitamin C. I also have no reason to think that you need 50 milligrams instead of 10 or that 100 milligrams wouldn't work better because they didn't test the different doses. They tested the different doses of gelatin. I see no reason to think a high dose of collagen is any different in this respect.

Let's assume that it's the same. What that means that I'm very confident that you need 15 grams instead of 5 grams when you take it before exercise to increase synthesis of collagen in tendons if that's what you care about. I have no confidence about how much vitamin C you need if you need any. But if you want to do what they did, then I do feel confident that 50 milligrams is enough to get some effect. I just don't know if it's enough to get maximal effect and I don't know if it's necessary at all or in that dose to get that effect.

If it's for joint health and if it's taken before exercise, the timing is important because what you're trying to do is leverage the exercise to get more blood flow of the nutrients to the joints. That's why the timing matters. In that case, you take the vitamin C with the collagen, 50 milligrams is the dose we know works. We don't know if it's necessary, and we don't know if it's optimal. We just know that it works. If you're not taking it for joint health and you're not taking it specifically before exercise, you still need vitamin C. But the timing doesn't matter and pairing it to the collagen doesn't matter.

This Q&A can also be found as part of a much longer episode, here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/podcast/2019/03/30/ask-anything-nutrition-march-4-2019

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

D-lactate is commonly stated to be exclusively a microbial metabolite. 

This is found in assumptions within the medical literature for decades even when it was long-known to be false. 

While D-lactate is indeed made by bacteria, D-lactate is also inarguably and irrefutably produced by human enzymes.

In this podcast, moreover, I will argue the following:

Microbial contribution to D-lactate in humans under normal circumstances is negligible. 

I coin the term “the D-lactate shuttle” to describe a role for D-lactate that should eventually make its way into biochemistry textbooks alongside the malate-aspartate shuttle and the glycerol phosphate shuttle.

The D-lactate shuttle operates alongside these other shuttles to balance the priorities of conserving cytosolic NAD+, reducing cytosolic acidity, bypassing complex I, or generating ATP. It is uniquely useful as a shuttle when there is an absolute deficit of niacin or NAD(H).

D-lactate is an important contributor to gluconeogenesis that could account for up to 11% of it and rival an individual amino acid.

While D-lactate concentrations in human plasma are infinitesimal, when the downstream metabolism of D-lactate and L-lactate are blocked by genetic disorders, the concentrations of the two forms are similar in plasma. This contrasts wildly with the common claim that flux through D-lactate is “minuscule.” Most likely D-lactate is produced in considerable quantities in liver and kidney but is rarely secreted into plasma because doing so would risk neurotoxicity.

D-lactate should be taken seriously for its potential role in Parkinson’s and in neurological problems generally, for its role in diabetes, and for its extremely underappreciated roles in glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, and the respiratory chain.

Oxalate powerfully impairs D-lactate clearance, so D-lactate should be investigated as a potential link between oxalate and autism, and oxalate-lowering strategies should be seen as a way to improve D-lactate clearance and reduce its potential role in diabetes and neurological disorders.

See the sections on riboflavin, zinc manganese, and glutathione in Testing Nutritional Status: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet, as well as Does CoQ10 Deserve a Spot on Your Longevity Plan? and the How to Detox Manganese guide for managing the relevant nutrients.

Read the written version for live links and references:

https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/d-lactate-groundbreaking-research

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DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical doctor and this is not medical advice. I am also not an infectious disease epidemiologist and I am not speaking on behalf of infectious disease epidemiologists. I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in conducting and interpreting research related to my field. Please consult your physician before doing anything for prevention or treatment of COVID-19, and please seek the help of a physician immediately if you believe you may have COVID-19.

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This series is based on my free daily newsletter, COVID-19 Research Updates. As a result of the time it takes to produce an video or podcast from a newsletter I wrote up, there's a slight delay between when I publish the newsletter and when you watch or listen to this. When you subscribe to the newsletter, you get the latest of my research every single day as soon as it's ready to come out. You get references and links to the sources for all the information, and you immediately get an archive of all the past issues. You can sign up at chrismasterjohnphd.com/covid19-updates

SUPPORT

It would mean the world to me if you support this service by purchasing a copy of my ebook, The Food and Supplement Guide to the Coronavirus. The guide contains my most up-to-date conclusions about what we should be doing for nutritional and herbal support on top of hygiene and social distancing for added protection. Due to the absence of randomized controlled trials testing nutritional or herbal prevention, these are my best guesses for what is likely to work without significant risk of harm, based on the existing science.

Many people have asked why I am charging for this instead of giving it away for free, given that this is a time of crisis and people are in need.

Unfortunately, I have not been immune to the effects this virus has had on the economy. My revenue from my other offerings started falling in February, and by mid-March I had days where my revenue was zero. I have three people who work for me full-time, and I am doing everything I can to avoid laying any of them off. By mid-March I had depleted 75% of my emergency fund in order to avoid any layoffs, and without charging for the guide I would not have been able to hold out much longer.

Charging for the guide has allowed me to keep everyone working, replete some of my savings, and devote myself to researching COVID-19 full-time. As a result I now publish this daily COVID-19 series and the free newsletter, am involved in the design of several clinical trials that are in the process of being submitted for registration now, and am able to continually update the guide for free whenever my research warrants it.

By purchasing the guide, you are enabling me to continue devoting my skills to the most important issue we now face. I am genuinely grateful for your contribution. You can purchase a copy at chrismasterjohnphd.com/coronavirus

PLEASE NOTE: As a result of the COVID-19 crisis and the time I am committing to staying on top of relevant research, as well as the high volume of questions I receive, it may take me extra time to respond to questions here. For an up-to-date list of where I respond to questions most quickly, please see the contact page on chrismasterjohnphd.com.

If you’re trying to get better sleep, should you be upping your carbs, or going keto?

Paradoxically, both of these strategies can help, but for different reasons. In this episode I cover why they can help, how to pick your strategy, and some ways you can gain some more freedom over which strategy to choose.

In this episode I mention the sleep recommendations that I put out last year. They can be found here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/sleep

This episode is brought to you by Testing Nutritional Status: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet. Everything you could ever need to know to optimize your nutrition, all in one place. Easier to find and use than ever before. Get your copy at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/cheatsheet

To get these episodes free of ads, with transcripts, and weeks or sometimes even months before they are released to the public, along with access to monthly live Q&A sessions, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass. Use the code LITE10 to get 10% off. To make it easier to get the discount, use this link, which has the coupon already activated: https://masterpass.chrismasterjohnphd.com/cmj-masterpass/2200/buy?coupon=LITE10

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Please consider supporting my work by making a purchase using these links at one of my affiliates: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/foursigmatic, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/paleovalley, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/seekinghealth, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/ancestralsupplements, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/magicspoon, https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/lmnt 

Plenty more at https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/support!

Question: If you correct a deficiency too fast, can you make it worse?

I think the answer is no. And I definitely don't think that happens, and I've never seen anything to suggest that happens.

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

DISCLAIMER: I have a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and my expertise is in performing and evaluating nutritional research. I am not a medical doctor and nothing herein is medical advice.

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Question: When should tryptophan be taken on a keto diet? Night, day, both?

Presumably you're doing this to try to increase tryptophan getting into the brain. 

The best thing to do is to take it two to three hours away from other protein. 

The second consideration is if you have an allotment of carbs that you concentrate at one time of day, then it would be best to take the tryptophan then. With the caveat being if you’re eating protein with the carbs. In that case it would be best to take it away from the protein + carb meal. 

This Q&A can also be found as part of a much longer episode, here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/podcast/2019/02/24/ask-anything-nutrition-feb-17-2019/

If you would like to be part of the next live Ask Me Anything About Nutrition, sign up for the CMJ Masterpass, which includes access to these live Zoom sessions, premium features on all my content, and hundreds of dollars of exclusive discounts. You can sign up with a 10% lifetime discount here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/q&a

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.