If I could only recommend someone one supplement, it would be magnesium
If I could only recommend two, the second would be thiamine
For magnesium the magnesium chloride and magnesium glycinate forms work best, magnesium taurate is good as well
For thiamine I'd start with thiamine hydrochloride, then upgrade to benfotiamine if you react well to it
The only other nutrient the majority of the population would likely benefit from would be vitamin K2, specifically in the MK-7 form
Beyond that, it becomes largely dependent on individual biology
Some of the research we have on the use of different vitamins suggests that more isn't better from a supplementation standpoint, and that too much of the wrong nutrient may actually increase all cause mortality
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Allopregnanolone injections are approved for treatment of postpartum with good results, though they can be overly expensive and cause sedative side effects
De-coppering therapies also show good results in some studies, specifically increasing metallothionein expression with zinc
Other nutrients that may increase metallothionein include NAC, manganese, B6, and vitamins C + E, increasing glutathione may also be useful
If free copper is present it's important to be careful not to clear it too quickly, as dumping excess copper can caused many side effects
Methylation levels correlate directly with levels of serotonin and dopamine
When methylation is increased, their reuptake back into the neuron is reduced, so both neurotransmitters stay active at their receptors longer, while in undermethylation they are cleared too quickly
This is due to the effect that methylation has on serotonin and dopamine transporters, neurotransmitter production may not change at all, but their activity can be altered
Methylation issues occur in a significant portion of the population and are a huge factor in mental illness
Undermethylation symptoms may include: low pain tolerance, high libido, addictive personality, excess tears/saliva/mucus, elevated histamine, seasonal allergies, addictive personality, perfectionist/OCD tendencies, inner tension, intrusive thoughts/rumination, and calm affect
I often get the impression that many people find biochemistry off-putting because the terminology is unfamiliar, but really it's not as complex as it sounds
Here are the definitions of a few terms I commonly use as an example:
Upregulation = an increase in the number of receptors, or production of signalling molecules like hormones or neurotransmitters
Neurogenesis = the creation of new neurons or connections between neurons
Epigenetics = the regulation of how genes are expressed, almost like a bookmarking system that highlights or limits the expression of certain genes
Anabolism = the process of synthesis or building up in biology
Catabolism = the process of metabolism or breaking down in biology
Unbound iron in biology triggers a cascade of ROS formation known as a Fenton reaction, which ends in the creation of hydroxyl radicals (some of the most damaging free radicals possible)
This is why the body works to keep iron bound at all times, to protect itself
Iron metabolism is the body relies heavily on copper as an electron donor/acceptor, converting iron back and forth from the soluble ferrous form to the insoluble ferric form
This allows free iron to be absorbed and transported in the ferric form so it doesn't oxidize
Iron is then converted back to the ferrous form to be loaded into different protein structures, for example hemoglobin, where it acts as an oxygen transporter
Retinol is used to synthesize transferrin, which transports and clears free iron
Pine pollen is thought to work as an adaptogen primarily through its content of phytoandrogens (androsterone, androstenedione, testosterone, etc)
These androgens are not well absorbed orally, making pine pollen only weakly androgenic, however, I believe I have a solution to this
There are only two viable methods for the absorption of the hormone component of pine pollen
1. Topical application as a gel or something similar (I found only very expensive one example of this) 2. Sublingual absorption, which is far as I can tell has never been optimized
It's fairly simple to use a tincture or something similar sublingually, but sublingual androgen absorption is still very limited unless they're complexed with an absorption enhancer
The best compound for this purpose seems to be hydroxyproply-beta cyclodextrin (HPBC)