Thinking about the report I found at one point of a tribe in south america that would crush up and snort the tips of their poison darts when their preferred psychoactives weren't available (ayahuasca, etc)
I managed to find the compounds they were ingesting in this case, it turns out the frog secretion commonly used in many poison darts binds to the opioid receptors creating a potent but atypical sedative/analgesic effect, likely potent enough to kill an animal but not a human
It's also possible that the tribe did this semi-frequently and had developed a tolerance to the effects, similar to that seen with the practice of rubbing kambo into skin, another frog secretion which contains similar compounds
There was another really incredible report I heard of a tribe where the shaman would discover new useful botanicals by taking brugmansia (deleriant similar to datura) then wandering into the rainforest for days
He would fall asleep under a specific tree that was hewn out by a species of ant that puts off this black secretion all over the base lf the trunk, which was considered to be a portal to an alternate realm, similar to the irish legend of "fairy rings"
The shaman would sleep there for a few days, during which time he would be visited by spirits who would give him a new plant and instruct him on its uses, then when he awakened he would find said plant in his hand and return to his people to pass on the info
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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