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https://x.com/Helios_Movement/status/1908088357659259023

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George Ferman

@Helios_Movement

Mar 31

POMC 101 👇 (if you've been exposed to mold, have autoimmune issues, low libido or any hormonal issue and skin issue you need to know these)

POMC is a precursor polypeptide primarily produced in the pituitary gland, the skin and the hypothalamus.

I like to call it a “master precursor” even though it’s incorrect because it gets cleaved into crucial peptides like a-MSH, ACTH, CLIP, Gamma-MSH and beta-endorphin by enzymes like prohormone convertases (PC1/3 and PC2).

Its expression and upregulation is influenced by a variety of physiological, environmental and molecular factors one of them being: UV light exposure (especially UVB (280–320 nm)) that stimulates POMC expression in keratinocytes and melanocytes in the skin (up to 30% increase).

When UVB light penetrates the skin, it causes DNA damage in keratinocytes, activating the tumor suppressor protein p53 and UVA (320–400 nm) activates photoreceptors like neuropsin (OPN5) which further enhances POMC expression.

Now when it comes to the key cleavage products of POMC we have:

1. Alpha-MSH (Melanocyte-Stimulating Hormone)

This one is expressed mainly in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus and nucleus tractus solitarius of the brainstem and stimulates melanocytes to produce eumelanin, inhibits pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, TNF-alpha, improves our libido (melanotan I and II Synthetic analogs of α-MSH), regulates our appetite, and supports our immune system and brain.

A quick note in order to understand how important these are, is that low alpha-MSH levels are observed in 85% of autoimmune patients and 90% of mold-exposed patients.

2. ACTH (Adrenocorticotropic Hormone).
This one is produced and secreted by the anterior pituitary gland and stimulates the adrenal cortex through MC2R to produce and release cortisol (just like all hormones, cortisol follows a circadian pattern and should peak in the morning).

3. Beta-Endorphin
This is mainly produced in the pituitary gland and as an endogenous opioid, it plays a key role in pain relief and reward systems.

4. Gamma-MSH (gamma-Melanocyte-Stimulating Hormone).

This is produced in the pituitary gland that primarily acts on melanocortin receptors (especially MC3R) in the brain and peripheral tissues, regulates cardiovascular function, aldosterone production in the adrenal glands and inflammation.

5. CLIP (Corticotropin-Like Intermediate Peptide) This is also produced by the pituitary gland and modulates insulin secretion by affecting beta cells and it might have have neuromodulatory effects.

Now as stated, the expression and upregulation of POMC is influenced by a variety of physiological, environmental and molecular factors.

Some other ones are:
-The HPA axis
-Hormones like leptin
-The circadian rhythm
-Temperatures
-Nutrients like tyrosine
-Inflamation

So, in order to optimize POMC focus on:
1. Morning sunlight exposure (10–30 minutes).

2. Managing stress (it can reduce alpha-MSH production by 25% in animal models)

3. Minimizing blue light at night.

4. Cold exposure (in mice it can increases POMC expression by even 25%).

5. Managing stress to prevent ACTH dominance.

6. Supporting nutrition with tyrosine, vitamin C, zinc and copper in order to enhance prohormone convertase activity

Read 4 tweets

George Ferman

@Helios_Movement

Mar 30

Ensuring proper levels of vitamin D is one of the most sure ways to:

-Improve thyroid function and metabolic health
-Prevent autoimmune diseases
-Prevent muscle waste
-Improve steroid-driven hair loss
-Treat fatigue
-Improve insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes
-Improve low testosterone
-Improve calcium absorption
-Support the immune system
-Fight allergies
-Improve skin conditions
and more.

Here's what you need to know.
Thread🧵

*Standard disclaimer that nothing in this thread should be used as a substitute for medical advice.

It's George.

Vitamin D is a hormone-like vitamin that controls about 3% of your entire genome (roughly 1,000 genes), is a cellular multitasker that affects everything from detoxing xenobiotics, insulin, leptin, testosterone, progesterone, skin health and gut health all the way to bone health, muscle building, heart health, brain health, our blood pressure, fertility and immunity.

It does this by greatly affecting calcium absorption (without enough vitamin D, you’d only absorb 10-15% of dietary calcium), the renin-angiotensin system, beta cells in the pancreas, the parathyroid hormone (PTH), dopaminergic neurogenesis and differentiation, osteoblasts and steoclasts, aids in the production of antimicrobial peptides like cathelicidin and defensins, the CYP2R1, CYP27B1 and CYP24A1 enzymes, affects claudin 2, 5 , 12 and 15, it lowers pro-inflammatory signals (like IL-6 and TNF-alpha) and boosting anti-inflammatory ones (like IL-10).

So let’s say that you don’t get enough vitamin D and this negatively affects claudin 2, then this alone can negatively impact all types of IBD for example.

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George Ferman

@Helios_Movement

Mar 28

If you want to successfully treat and prevent the occurrence of any health issue no matter if it's:

• Alzheimer’s
• A gut issue
• Eczema
• Tinnitus
• High blood pleasure
• Diabetes
• Low libido
• Hair loss
• And even unfortunately cancer
you need to truly understand what melatonin is and how to optimize its endogenous production.

Thread🧵

*Standard disclaimer that nothing in this thread should be used as a substitute for medical advice*

Melatonin, chemically known as N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine, is classified as an indoleamine that is derived from the amino acid tryptophan.

Now technically speaking, since it is synthesized in many non-endocrine organs and doesn't target a specific organ it’s not a hormone (Melatonin fits this in the pineal context only).

As you will see at the studies that are presented at the end of this, melatonin is crucial for our immune system, gut health, skin health, brain health and is even linked with erectile dysfunction.
.

But it’s not hard to understand why.

For example, melatonin as an amphipathic free radical scavenger (it has hydrophilic and hydrophobic nature and this dual solubility gives it broader reach (it goes through membranes and blood alike for example)), neutralizes free radicals like superoxide, hydrogen peroxide and the brutal hydroxyl radical.

So it’s a multi functional antioxidant. Not only that but melatonin is a sacrificial electron donor (it neutralizes radicals directly) so it has little to no pro-oxidant activity.

Then when it comes to brain health it reduces amyloid-beta production by inhibiting β-secretase (BACE1) (an enzyme that cleaves amyloid precursor protein (APP) into Aβ) and enhancing Aβ clearance by upregulating enzymes like neprilysin.

It enhances the levels of GSH plus the expression and activities of the GSH-related enzymes including γ-GCL, GPxs and GSR or to put it simply, melatonin also regulates glutathione production and especially in the CNS.

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George Ferman

@Helios_Movement

Mar 26

You don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on fancy supplements that don’t really work.

Here are ten dirt cheap supplements that can have a positive impact on your health and could be more effective than expensive ones.

Thread🧵

*Standard disclaimer that nothing in this thread should be used as a substitute for medical advice*

Note: This is about supplements indeed but if you do not get sunlight, exercise, eat whole foods, try to avoid vices such as excessive alcohol consumption and so on, then supplements will not save you.

Plenty of foods have more benefits that not only compared to the supplements at a low/medium price point but a very high as well. If a supplement, had the history and benefits of kefir for example, it would sell a lot. It’s just that you can only make so much profit from foods. I can’t sell you for example a $30 bottle of kefir yet i can very easily sell someone a $30 bottle of probiotics.

The right supplements CAN be useful and maybe even life saving. I am not dismissing them. At all. This is why we will talk about them.

This is just about having the right priorities.

Now let's talk about the supplements (not presented by order of importance).

Number 1: Taurine (especially if you were vegan or battled a candida overgrowth recently).

Don't let energy drinks give a bad reputation to taurine.

This very cheap supplement could do more for your:

-Mitochondria (did you know that ATP generation can drop up to 25% if we don't get/produce enough taurine?)
-Blood sugar levels
-Fertility
-Liver
-Heart
-Kidneys
-Gut and issues such as SIBO
-Eyesight
-Recovery
-Brain/mood

Than most of the fancy supplements.

Read 13 tweets

George Ferman

@Helios_Movement

Mar 21

Most people's livers are crying for help in the modern day and age (approximately 100–120 million Americans likely have liver issues as we speak).

So here's the most effective strategy for improving the health of your liver.

Thread🧵

Let's start with the boring but necessary basics.

The liver is the second-largest organ in your body which is located in the upper right-hand part of your abdominal cavity underneath your diaphragm, right lung and rib.

It is made up of two main lobes which are made up of thousands of tiny lobules and each is made up of numerous hepatocytes.

These line up and between each row there are small blood vessels that diffuse oxygen and nutrients called sinusoids.

We can divide liver lobules into 3 metabolic zones: zones 1, 2, and 3.

Zone I hepatocytes are specialized for functions such as cholesterol synthesis, b-oxidation of fatty acids, and gluconeogenesis.

Zone II are crucial for liver homeostasis.

Zone III are crucial for detoxifying based on cytochrome P-450, glycolysis and lipogenesis.
Now a portal triad/area/canal/tract or field, is an arrangement within lobules that consists of:

-The proper hepatic artery ( a branch of the hepatic artery) which supplies the left and right lobes of the liver (not only that but the gallbladder and a part of the stomach as well).

-The hepatic portal vein which carries blood from the pancreas, intestines, gallbladder and spleen to the liver. To the liver, not from the liver, the hepatic vein does this, not the hepatic portal vein.

-Bile ducts which are multiple thin tubes that go from the liver to the small intestine which carry bile from the liver and gallbladder, through the pancreas, and into the small intestine.

Now obviously there are more cell types that reside in the liver besides hepatocytes such as kupffer and endothelial cells.

So if you want to be healthy, you're going to need a healthy liver by default.

Some functions of the liver include:

-Detoxification.
-Synthesis of bile salts which break down fats in the small intestine (and carry away waste).
-The conversion of excess glucose into glycogen for storage (glycogen can later be converted back to glucose for energy) and to balance and make glucose as needed. -Lipid and protein metabolism.
-Storing the fat soluble vitamins.
-Phagocytosis.
-Regulating blood clotting.
-Regulating blood levels of amino acids.
-Processing of hemoglobin for use of its iron content
-Conversion of ammonia to urea (urea is an end product of protein metabolism and is excreted in the urine)
-Clearance of bilirubin.

And this is not even the tip of the ice berg.

Read 22 tweets

George Ferman

@Helios_Movement

Mar 18

Before tanking your libido and mood with finasteride, you should know that PGD2 is elevated in balding areas.

What's "PGD2" you ask?
Here are the basics.

Thread🧵

PGE2 stands for "Prostaglandin D2" and is probably the most famous prostaglandin.

From hair loss, high blood pressure, hormonal issues such as low testosterone and cancer all the way to schizophrenia and depression, prostaglandins are involved in the occurrence of all of these.

This might seem too much, but prostaglandins are lipid mediators that affect processes varying from inflammation, uterine contraction and bronchoconstriction all the way to regulating blood flow and clotting.

PGE2 for example mediates inflammation, promotes vasodilation, increases vascular permeability, regulates immune responses such as even fever for example, causes relaxation or contraction of smooth muscles depending on the tissue, is involved in ovulation and fertilization, helps maintain the integrity of the gastric mucosa, helps with the regulation of sodium, stimulates both bone resorption and bone formation through osteoclasts and osteoblasts, it can inhibit certain T-cell functions and these don't even scratch the surface.

So it's quite important.

First one must understand how prostaglandins are even created.

Prostaglandins are derived from arachidonic acid (which is an omega 6 polyunsaturated fatty acid found in cell membranes) that is converted into prostaglandin H2 (PGH2) and then this serves as a precursor for the main prostaglandins PGE2, PGF2α, PGD2 and PGI2.

PGH2 is also the precursor to thromboxanes such as TXA2 (has critical roles in platelet aggregation/blood clot formation, vasoconstriction, the function of the kidneys, bronchoconstriction and more) but not leukotrienes (arachidonic acid is metabolized into leukotrienes by the 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) enzyme).

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