
Mastering Nutrition
Welcome to the Mastering Nutrition podcast.
Mastering Nutrition is hosted by Chris Masterjohn, a nutrition scientist focused on optimizing mitochondrial health, and founder of BioOptHealth, a program that uses whole genome sequencing, a comprehensive suite of biochemical data, cutting-edge research and deep scientific insights to optimize each person's metabolism by finding their own unique unlocks.
He received his PhD in Nutritional Sciences from University of Connecticut at Storrs in 2012, served as a postdoctoral research associate in the Comparative Biosciences department of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's College of Veterinary Medicine from 2012-2014, served as Assistant Professor of Health and Nutrition Sciences at Brooklyn College from 2014-2017, and now works independently in science research and education.
Latest episodes

Jul 27, 2021 • 11min
How long does it take environment to change gene expression, epigenetics, and genetics? | Masterjohn Q&A Files #243
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: How long does it take environment to change gene expression, epigenetics, and genetics? Well, generally speaking, environment mediates, I mean, it depends what you mean by environment mediating, right? So environment mediates changes in gene expression through epigenetics, but gene expression is not SNPs. SNPs are produced through mutations in the heritable genome, and then by environment changing, do you mean the production of the mutation that is the SNP for the first time? Or do you mean the change in the proportion of the population? 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.

Jul 26, 2021 • 3min
What does it mean if you're helped by SAMe? | Masterjohn Q&A Files #242
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.

Jul 23, 2021 • 3min
Why would glutathione cause a headache? | Masterjohn Q&A Files #241
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: Why would glutathione cause a headache? Probably sulfur intolerance. I'm guessing that's conversion to sulfite in the gut or something like that. Or production of hydrogen sulfide gas in normal metabolism leading to vasodilation. 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.

Jul 22, 2021 • 3min
Can antioxidants increase homocysteine? | Masterjohn Q&A Files #240
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: Can antioxidants increase homocysteine?An underappreciated reason that homocysteine could be backed up is because you have good antioxidant status. 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.

Jul 21, 2021 • 4min
Why is methylfolate the off-switch for the glycine buffer system? | Masterjohn Q&A Files #239
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: Why is methylfolate the off-switch for the glycine buffer system? The reason is that generally in the fed state, you have lots of incoming methionine. And so you have an excess of SAMe in the fed state. In the fasting state, you have no incoming methyl groups from diet, and therefore the fasted state is the low-methylation state. So fed state, high methylation state, fasted state, low methylation state. You basically shut off MTHFR in the fed state, because in the fed state, which is a high methylation state, the incoming methionine makes you not need any MTHFR activity. 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.

Jul 20, 2021 • 5min
Potassium supplements for salt-sensitive high blood pressure? | Masterjohn Q&A Files #238
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: Potassium supplements for salt-sensitive high blood pressure? So it's best to get potassium from food, if you can. And you want to go through all the medical and health contraindications for potassium supplementation. If you take potassium supplements in doses higher than 100 milligrams, especially if you're going to take high-dose potassium, that is not well-mixed into a meal. Those include diabetes and NSAIDs, especially including potassium-sparing diuretics, but there's a big list of contraindicated medications. 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.

Jul 19, 2021 • 6min
Can a high-protein diet hurt nitric oxide and raise blood pressure? | Masterjohn Q&A Files #237
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: Can a high-protein diet hurt nitric oxide and raise blood pressure? The people with OTC gene do have higher blood pressure because of lower nitric oxide. And they have a problem eating too much protein, but the protein is a problem, because they can exceed the capacity of the urea cycle and generate more ammonia. Whereas the OTC gene being low is what's driving the low nitric oxide to lower arginine production. So you are seeing the combination of this person should not eat too much protein. This person has low nitric oxide, high blood pressure, but I don't think it's the protein that's causing that. I think it's just low arginine synthesis due to low citrulline synthesis. And so they should supplement citrulline to improve their blood pressure. And they probably shouldn't eat too much protein, but I don't think that too much protein is going to be the thing that drives the high blood pressure. 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.

Jul 16, 2021 • 5min
General supplement recommendations for a physically active male in his 30s | Masterjohn Q&A Files #236
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: General supplement recommendations for a physically active male in his 30s I don't make general supplement recommendations. My recommendation for anyone would be do a dietary analysis. See what you're not getting from your diet. Either make up for that with foods or with supplements. If the foods are impractical, do nutritional status testing where it makes sense. Comprehensively, if you have enough financial resources or just where it makes sense based on signs and symptoms, fill in more gaps with supplements on an as needed basis. 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.

Jul 15, 2021 • 5min
For how long does methionine from a meal support methylation? | Masterjohn Q&A Files #235
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: For how long does methionine from a meal support methylation? What I can say much more easily is that methionine is going to effectively run out as the fasting state emerges. Methionine has many fates, right? And so if it all goes into the methylation pool, it's going to be quickly either used for methylation or broken down in the CBS pathway. You are not going to save methionine for the fasting state. 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.

Jul 14, 2021 • 3min
Could collagen hurt absorption of iron from iron bisglycinate? | Masterjohn Q&A Files #234
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: Could collagen hurt absorption of iron from iron bisglycinate? Yes, because the iron bisglycinate is probably going to be absorbed through glycine transporters rather than iron transporters. 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.
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