Mastering Nutrition

Should you be more concerned about overall fat intake or saturated fat intake with familial hypercholesterolemia? Question: "I have familial hypercholesterolemia, as well as a mutation in my Lp(a). I listened to your 2016 podcast regarding FH and have implemented a low-fat diet and am in the process of fixing thyroid issues. My question is, can you please further explain whether I should be more concerned about overall fat or saturated fat intake?" To be clear, I am not treating anyone here. I am not a medical practitioner, so I am not treating the disease of familial hypercholesterolemia and this is just educational in nature.  As a general principle, if I'm thinking about familial hypercholesterolemia —  I would be thinking more about saturated fat, with that said, I would be testing it. First it depends on the specific saturated fatty acid, but saturated fat relative to other fats raises cholesterol levels. There are people that dispute that, but the data is super clear. This does not mean that everyone should lower their saturated fat intake because most people can probably accommodate that, right? Most people have a working system to regulate their cholesterol levels. The thing is with the familial hypercholesterolemia, that system is broken, so you become hypersensitive to all the things that do have some effect. You will be hypersensitive to the fact that saturated fat raises cholesterol levels more so than other fats do — but I think it's more to the root of the problem, based on how these things regulate LDL receptor activity, which is what clears cholesterol from your blood and which is what is broken in familial hypercholesterolemia.  I think a lower-fat, higher-carbohydrate diet is more relevant to the root mechanism.  How do you test this? So, standard lipid panels are dirt cheap, and it is not hard to convince your doctor to order them. You don't need to get fancy. You don't need the NMR and all that other stuff. I'm not saying it doesn't have its place, but if you want to do dietary tests to see what are the big factors affecting you, you just run these standard tests every couple of months and you pick a diet to go on and stay on it for 4-8 weeks and then see what the results are. So, you do the low-fat diet where most of your fat comes from coconut, which is the Kitavan diet, where they don't have heart disease. You can try that for 4 or 8 weeks, and then look at your cholesterol levels. Next you do the low-fat diet where most of your fat comes from olive oil, which is a more of a Mediterranean approach. You can try that and see what that does to your cholesterol levels. You tailor your diet to your own response —  because I can predict what will generally happen, but the individual person is going to have so many different genetic and other factors, that influence what they're responsive to that they just need to test it out. 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.

How would you address normal TSH, but low T4?  Well, the first thing I'd do is I'd look at your T3. For those of you who aren't familiar with thyroid hormones, TSH tells your thyroid to make thyroid hormone. T4 is the precursor. T3 is the active hormone.  If your TSH is normal, that means that your pituitary is receiving the proper messages from your thyroid gland. But if your T4 is low I would ask; is your T3 normal or high? If your T3 is high, then you're probably just converting it very rapidly. If your T3 is low —  then even though your pituitary appears to be receiving the right signals, you're not making enough thyroid hormone. In fact, it would become unclear whether your pituitary is actually making the right signal because if your T4 and your T3 are low, your TSH should be high because your pituitary should be saying, "wait a second, T4 and T3 are low, so I need to make more of the message, TSH, to tell the thyroid gland to kick into gear." If T4 and T3 are both on the lowish side and the TSH is normal. I would then look to the pituitary. In terms of nutritional issues, I think the big things that you're looking at are calories, carbohydrate, and body fat — because the pituitary is overwhelmingly asking the question, do I have enough energy in the short term and the long term to engage in the health-promoting, long-term investments that thyroid hormone governs?  Those are many, like all the biological peacocking, like making nice hair, and making nice skin, and making things look nice. It’s also protecting your tissues from damage. Then the big, thing is if you're in the right age bracket, is fertility. So, if your pituitary is not making as much TSH as it should, then that's basically saying your brain perceives that you don't have enough energy on hand, and that means either your body fat's too low, your calories are too low, or your carbs are too low —  because those are the big signals that your brain is going to use. As mentioned int the Nutrition in Neuroscience series that I did all of these releasing hormones that govern the endocrine system require copper, vitamin C, zinc, and glycine.  So bottom line is; look at is body fat, calories, and carbs. But the next layer to peel back would be; vitamin C and copper especially, and zinc and glycine in the background. 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.

"What do you think is the best clinical way to monitor COMT function if you have already tested for SNPs?"   One way you can look at it is through the DUTCH test — which is at dutchtest.com — it's a dried urine hormone testing platform, they have a methylation index that is based on the methylation of estrogen. For example; the main significance of COMT, is related to long-term risk of estrogen-related cancers.     Acute symptoms are primarily going to manifest in the brain in the relation between COMT and dopamine.    The higher your COMT activity, the more flexible your brain.    The lower your COMT activity, the more rigid your brain.    If your nutrition is straight and you don't have a psychological disorder, that's just a personality trait.   They call this the worrier/warrior, phenotype.    High COMT activity; you don't worry as much, like a warrior who picks his battles, wins, and repeats. There is nothing to worry about, the only concern is victory.   If you are a low COMT activity; you're not a warrior, you're a worrier. You think about all the possible ways something could go wrong. Instead of moving forward with an image of invincibility, you struggle to move at all, like a deer in the headlights.    But that's the extremes. Within most of the population, it's just a personality trait.    So, you really look at, how is your mind operating? If your mind is getting stuck on stuff, low COMT. If your mind is racing around to different things, high COMT. If that's just your personality, don't worry about it. But if it’s starting to interfere with your life, then that’s where it matters.    Low COMT, focus on methyl donors: B12, folate, choline, betaine, some of the other assisting B vitamins.    High COMT, focus on  methyl buffers: Glycine.    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/  Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

Supplements that may lower anxiety at night and improve heart rate variability during sleep I don't know enough about the HRV, the heart rate variability, to comment on improving that specifically. Heart rate variability is largely related to recovery from stress. So, I know the Oura ring tracks heart rate variability during sleep.  The main application that I'm familiar with HRV for is recovery from stress, especially from exercise. So anything that supports recovery — mainly is rest, is going to support that. Getting enough carbohydrates to support your high-intensity exercise is going to be another thing. In general, nutrient density across the board is going to be supportive of recovery, and enough calories.  Now, lower anxiety at night before or during sleep I think is a whole different story.  You might have anxiety because you have not recovered well from your exercise.  Maybe your cortisol is running high.  But it could be for totally different reasons, and that's a giant can of worms that I don't think really can be unpacked in an umbrella answer. I think that's kind of something that needs to be very individualized because it requires 10, or 15, or 20 follow-up questions. But some of the first things that I would think about would be what are you doing to psychologically wind down? The fact is that this is not all about nutrition. It's not all about light hygiene. It's also about psychology. So, is your anxiety at night driven by overthinking? If so, what are you overthinking about? You may need to start a psychological wind down routine if this is your issue.  And then, there are so many other potential causes of anxiety that you really have to address it on a case-by-case basis, but those are the top things that I think about. 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.

Nutritional causes of low white blood cells and possible solutions? The absolute first thing that I would always think of when I see low white blood cells is copper.  So, generally copper deficiency at its most sensitive is going to cause neutropenia; which is low neutrophils, but it can cause low white blood cells across the board. I'm not saying there aren't other things, but that's going to be the number one thing that I jump to first when looking for low white blood cells. Solutions, well, I'm not going to assuming it's copper. What I'm going to say is, do we have copper here? So, the first thing is testing serum copper, or serum ceruloplasmin. Which are the two most important markers of copper status.  Is the individual eating copper-rich foods?  Top Tier: Liver, oysters, shitake mushrooms, spirulina, and cocoa powder. Second Tier: All other organ meats other than liver, all other mushrooms besides shitake, all other shellfish besides oysters.  Third Tier: Legumes, and potatoes.  First I want to know if they are eating any of the top two tier copper-rich foods. If the answer is no, then I'm not going to wait on the serum copper and serum ceruloplasmin. I would suggest increasing the copper-rich foods because there is absolutely no harm in modifying the foods you eat to ensure you’re getting some in there.  You don't really need the testing to do that. But I would definitely get the testing before I would start doing any bigger interventions than that. For example, I'm not going to start that person on a copper supplement if I don't have good data backing up copper deficiency. 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.

So, deep sleep is, primarily what's going on in deep sleep is that all of your biogenic amines, which are most of the neurotransmitters that you make from protein with the possible except — like depending on how you classify it, you could say ultimately you make melatonin from protein, but it's not a biogenic amine. Biogenic amines, which are the catecholamines — all are basically shut off. They're probably not zero, zero, but they're almost zero during sleep. Acetylcholine is also shut down during deep sleep, but it pops up during REM sleep. I really don't think this is a supplement issue.  First of all, you definitely don't want to be taking anything that has acetylcholinesterase inhibitors at night.  Non-organic foods have pesticides that are acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. I don't know if that's relevant here dose-wise. Things that improve cognitive function are often acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. So, gingko biloba is one. I wouldn't take that at night. There are drugs that treat neurological problems, especially Alzheimer's, that are acetylcholinesterase inhibitors; I wouldn't take those at night.  I'm on the fence about whether you should take choline at night. I think it's most likely fine to eat eggs at night. If you're taking something like alpha-GPC; I'm not sure. You might want to avoid that at night if you find, particularly if you find that when you're tracking your sleep with an Oura ring your REM is higher than normal and your deep sleep is lower than normal.  But other than that — I would say that methylation support is very important to help lower some of the important biogenic amines. Histamine, for example, is primarily gotten rid of with methylation in the brain and if your histamine levels are high during the day, it might cause anxiety during the night and that could interfere with your deep sleep. Electrolytes are also super important. Calcium, magnesium, salt and potassium. All these things you need to get straight in order for your sleep cycle to be working right. If your cortisol is high at night or other factors of anxiety are high at night you might want a targeted supplement there, like phosphatidylserine — the evidence is conflicting, but has been used to lower the stress response.  I don't think it's a blanket answer to that question. I think it's like figuring out what's the cause of the low deep sleep and working from there. Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here.

On May 25, members of the CMJ Masterpass joined me, Chad Macias, Danny Lennon, and Alex Leaf in a live Zoom meeting to ask us anything about sports nutrition, and here’s the full recording! We talk about things like: Is there a risk of depleting histidine with beta-alanine supplementation? What’s the best form of fuel to use during a workout? Candy, or something else? Nutritional strategies for recovery from soft tissue injuries to muscles, tendons and ligaments from lifting? Is AMPK the primary regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis in muscle, and does it matter? Can riboflavin help with exercise performance? Why the post-workout anabolic window DOES matter, and why you should NOT eat too much protein BEFORE lifting. Take BCAAs, or just eat protein? Should athletes cycle caffeine, and does it matter if they are fast or slow oxidizers? Nitric oxide: does it have important effects by modifying proteins, rather than just affecting blood flow? Is it delayed-onset muscle soreness if it happens all the time? Or is it a pathology? Transdermal carnosine (Lactigo) for fibromyalgia, the role of glutamate and neurotoxicity in fibromyalgia and delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS), and my own experience with using high blood glutamate to identify how acidity was wrecking me after workouts. Maximizing muscle growth and optimizing performance on a low-protein diet. Best time to take Tru Niagen (nicotinamide riboside) and TMG (trimethylglycine), especially the purpose of increasing exercise tolerance. How important are refeeds for dieters? Carbohydrate periodization for endurance athletes? Is there any value to training low during those times where you depend on glucose to either try to train your body to better tap into limited glycogen stores or to try to create a better aerobic response? Besides leucine, what could help increase protein synthesis to prevent sarcopenia in older adults who strength-train regularly?  For muscle growth, what generally applies to everyone? All this and much more! If you’d like to participate in the next Q&A, consider joining the CMJ Masterpass. Use this link to get a 10% lifetime discount: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass/masteringnutrition 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: 02:54 Is there a risk of depleting histidine with beta-alanine supplementation? 08:40 What’s the best form of fuel to use during a workout. Candy, or something else? 19:17 Nutritional strategies for recovery from soft tissue injuries to muscles, tendons and ligaments from lifting? 22:55 Is AMPK the primary regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis in muscle or are there other important pathways that need to be considered and which can be targeted by nutrition in addition to endurance training? 28:43 Can riboflavin help with exercise performance? 39:30 Why the post-workout anabolic window DOES matter. 44:26 Does the form of HMB matter? 49:07 Why you should NOT eat too much protein BEFORE lifting. 54:34 Take BCAAs, or just eat protein? 59:13 Summarizing the things that help with muscle growth. 1:00:28  How should caffeine be cycled if being used to enhance weightlifting performance and/or weight loss? Is there a difference for fast or slow metabolizers of caffeine? 1:04:25 More on caffeine 1:09:30 Caffeine for weightlifters 1:14:30  Nitric oxide: does it have important effects by modifying proteins, rather than just affecting blood flow? 1:20:42 Is it delayed-onset muscle soreness if it happens all the time? Or is it a pathology? 1:24:34 Transdermal carnosine (Lactigo) for fibromyalgia. My own experience with using high blood glutamate to identify how acidity was wrecking me after workouts. 1:30:04 The role of extracellular glutamate and neurotoxicity driving DOMS and fibromyalgia.  1:31:46 Recommendations for maximizing muscle growth and optimizing performance on a low-protein diet. 1:41:59 Best time to take Tru Niagen (nicotinamide riboside) and TMG (trimethylglycine) especially the purpose of increasing exercise tolerance. 1:52:24 How important are refeeds for dieters? 1:54:42 Carbohydrate periodization for endurance athletes. 1:59:12 Is there any value to training low during those times where you depend on glucose to either try to train your body to better tap into limited glycogen stores or to try to create a better aerobic response? 2:08:27 Besides leucine, what could help increase protein synthesis to prevent sarcopenia in older adults who strength-train regularly? Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/068-ask-us-anything-about-sports

On May 10, members of the CMJ Masterpass joined me and Dr. Carrie Jones in a live Zoom meeting to ask us anything about hormones, and here’s the full recording! We talk about things like: What time of day is best to take T4 and/or T3? How to use pregnenolone to manage perimenopausal insomnia? Is insomnia different between people who are and aren't on HRT? Estrogen’s effect on the kynurenine pathway could be keeping you up at night. What about men with high estrogen? Over-the-counter supplements to lower SHBG and increased free testosterone? Mycotoxins Iodine, fatigue, and “detox” reactions. Loss of libido and sexual sensation with the LEEP procedure: could progesterone and vitamin E help? What else? Should I be on testosterone replacement therapy? Supporting hormones with nutrition. Why is early morning waking a characteristic symptom of depression and what other conditions have early waking as a symptom? Causes for night sweats in men? Nutritional advice for breast cancer prevention, and the HRT question. Water retention near menstruation. Why would a woman have no cycle? Why would a woman have an anovulatory cycle? What can be done to reverse hypothyroidism other than taking thyroid hormone? All this and much more! If you’d like to participate in the next Q&A, consider joining the CMJ Masterpass. Use this link to get a 10% lifetime discount: https://chrismasterjohnphd.com/masterpass/masteringnutrition  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  In this episode, you will find all of the following and more: 04:20   Introduction 07:55     Guidance on what time of day it is best to take T4 and/or T3? 10:37     The use of pregnenolone to manage perimenopausal symptoms, particularly insomnia 12:30      Insomnia is different between people who are and aren't on HRT? 14:15       Estrogen and kynurenine pathway 19:02       Aromatizing in Men 21:40       Over-the-counter supplements to lower SHBG and increased free T, boron, zinc, various herbs 24:20      Discussion about Mycotoxin. 28:48     Discussions in Iodine and mild fatigue and detox. 35:14     Discussion on soft tissue calcification. 40:40    Discussion on LEEP Procedure 45:53     Discussion on testosterone 54:30     Suggestions on supplements to assist with delayed onset muscle soreness.  55:48     How does the body make hormones and what nutrients and foods do they need to do this? 59:29     Know more about hormone production. 1:09:00  Why is early morning waking a characteristic symptom of depression and what other conditions have imbalances of early waking as a symptom? 1:17:00   When should you consider increasing progesterone or estrogen. 1:20:30   Causes for night sweats in men. 1:25:00   Dietary nutritional advice for breast cancer prevention, macronutrient ratios, micronutrient intakes, et cetera. Also any thoughts on risks and benefits of HRT in perimenopause relative to breast cancer risk? 1:28:29   Discussions on Methylation 1:34:35   Struggles with water retention around period. 1:39:23   Why would a woman have no cycle? Why would a woman have an anovulatory cycle? 1:45:02   What can be done to reverse hypothyroidism other than taking thyroid medicine?  Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/067-ask-us-anything-about-hormones

This is part 2 of the pantothenic acid Mastering Nutrition podcast. Pantothenate is also known as vitamin B5! It supports your mood, mental health, skin clarity, energy, sleep, and comfort. Alex Leaf and I team up again, this time to how to get B5 from foods and supplements, and how to know when you’re getting enough. When you aren’t getting enough, you may suffer from fatigue, apathy, discomfort, uneasiness, or pain. You may get numbness and tingling in the hands and feet. You may get depressed, quarrelsome, childish, or want to spend all day in bed. Your pulse may get higher than you’d expect after minor exertion. Your sleep gets trashed. You get muscle cramps and abdominal cramps, you fart more, and when things get real bad you might throw up. The best test for measuring B5 status is urinary pantothenic acid. Currently, the only place I know where to get this is the Great Plains OAT test. Hopefully someone will offer it as a standalone. Blood tests are not very useful. 😔 Official recommendations suggest we only need about 5 milligrams per day. In the podcast we discuss why some people might need GRAMS per day.  ❗❗❗There aren’t ANY supplements on the market that have the major forms of B5 found in food. There is good reason to think that food B5 is superior to supplements such as pantothenic acid and pantethine.❗❗❗ I recommend shooting for 10 milligrams per day from food, and then supplementing more when necessary:  2 heaping tablespoons of unfortified nutritional yeast gives you 10 mg.  2 100-gram servings of roasted sunflower seeds or the livers of chicken, beef, lamb, or veal will give you this, but I recommend limiting liver to two servings per week. 3 100-gram servings of gjetost cheese, black and red caviar, kidney from lamb imported from New Zealand, pork liver (and most products made from it), shiitake mushrooms, or canned grape leaves will do the trick. Most fresh cuts of muscle meat give you enough in somewhere between 3-5 100-gram servings, though some require up to four pounds and the data is pretty messy. Five 100-gram servings of any of the following will work: eggs, duck, goose, emu, fresh salmon or trout, raw avocado, canned chilli, peanuts, peanut butter, cashews, white or portabella mushrooms, liver pate (limit to 5 servings per week), giiblets or heart from chicken or turkey, beef thymus or heart, pork kidney or brain, or lamb brain. The following can give you enough if you eat four pounds of them: whole grains, most natural dairy products besides butter, most seafood that isn’t canned, most beans that aren’t canned, raw coconut, most nuts and seeds, and most processed meats. Here are a few reasons to supplement: One gram of pantothenic acid from sodium or calcium pantothenate has been used for rheumatoid arthritis, and 2-10 grams per day have been used for acne. In acne, a topical cream containing dexpanthenol (a cream-soluble form of B5, the cream usually marketed as wound-healing cream) is combined with the oral dose. 300 mg pantethine 3 times per day lowers cholesterol. These doses appear extremely safe, with only a very small proportion of people experiencing minor side effects even at these very high doses. 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.” More details in this huge podcast! Listen in below! In this episode, you will find all of the following and more: 01:14 Recap of Part 1 06:39 Cliff Notes 14:51 The case for why urinary pantothenic acid is the only legitimate marker of nutritional status and why blood concentration is not a useful marker 28:23 How the Adequate Intake for pantothenic acid was established 29:42 The idea of pantothenic acid balance and comparing it to nitrogen balance 41:38 What I think the recommended pantothenic acid intake should be 45:06 The effect of different forms of food processing on loss of B5 from foods 50:21 Dietary sources of B5, divided into five tiers 54:11 The contribution of the gastrointestinal microbiome to B5 status 01:06:12 Causes of suboptimal status or deficiency of pantothenic acid 01:11:59 Prevalence of suboptimal pantothenic acid status 01:12:32 When I think supplementation with high doses is warranted 01:13:10 What are some of the benefits, besides fixing deficiency, that we might get from supplementing with pantothenic acid or its derivatives? 01:13:26 The use of pantethine as a therapeutic for dyslipidemia 01:23:01 Comparison of pantethine supplementation to high-dose niacin for lowering blood lipids 01:25:33 Topical dexpanthenol for skin health and wound healing 01:29:13 The effect of pantothenic acid supplementation on acne 01:32:42 The effect of pantothenic acid supplementation on sports performance 01:40:58 The effect of pantothenic acid supplementation on hair health 01:42:34 The effect of pantothenic acid supplementation on arthritis 01:48:31 Summary of pantothenic acid supplementation 01:52:28 Is there any reason to use pantothenic acid specifically versus other forms such as pantethine? 01:54:49 Does it matter if you take pantothenic acid in divided doses or all at once? 01:57:08 Does it matter if you take pantothenic acid with food? 01:58:51 Two insightful quotes from papers on pantothenic acid 02:04:08 Pantothenate should be known as the B vitamin that we know the least about, not the B vitamin that we are least likely to become deficient in. Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/066-pantothenic-acid-part-2-foods

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.