Questions on NAC, biofilms, vitamin C and brain fog, energy metabolism driving autoimmune disorders.

Here is your early access to the next three months of Q&A Files!

In October and November, I will be releasing the following Q&As on all my social media channels, but here on Substack you now have access to them immediately!

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These are snippets from the live Q&A sessions I run once a month with Masterpass members. To access the full recordings and transcripts, become a Masterpass member. You can learn more about it here. Get 10% off the membership fee using this link.

Can NAC hurt your gut health?

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Question: Can NAC Hurt Gut Health When Used to Disrupt Biofilms?

Short Answer: N-acetylcysteine or NAC can be used at a dose of 600 to 2,400 milligrams per day for 5-10 days to disrupt biofilms and make it easier for antimicrobials to kill bacteria. Animal studies suggest that acute doses up to 6 grams do not deplete mucus or cause ulceration, but that an acute dose of 17.5 grams can deplete mucus and cause ulcers within two hours. Human studies suggest that 10 grams per day can be used for 24 weeks with fewer than 1 in 6 people complaining of gastrointestinal side effects. Yet, chronic use of NAC will thin the mucus, disrupt the biofilms used by normal healthy microbiota, and possibly deliver excessive sulfur to certain components of the microbiome. Therefore, I would not use it except for specific, targeted reasons, and I would not use it at a dose higher than needed or for a duration longer than needed.

Why Would Vitamin C cause muscle pain, joint pain, and brain fog?

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Question: Why Would Vitamin C Cause Joint Pain, Muscle Pain, and Brain Fog?

Short Answer: Acutely, vitamin C would likely cause these effects by generating oxalate, which could cause crystals that lead to muscle and joint pain, and could cut energy metabolism in half, leading to brain fog. This vulnerability could result from deficiencies of any of the B vitamins, any of the electrolytes, or of iron, copper, or sulfur; from diabetes, low adrenals, or hypothyroidism; or from any of the hundreds of genetic defects in energy metabolism, only one of which is glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency; or any one of a huge number of toxins that impair energy metabolism. Chronically, vitamin C may increase the harms of iron overload or contribute to copper deficiency. The main ways to manage these latter issues are to take vitamin C away from meals, to maintain good copper status through proper dietary intake, and to treat iron overload with phlebotomy.

How to Find the Root Cause of Autoimmunity?

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Question: How do we find the root cause of an autoimmune condition? One example considered where the root cause is energy metabolism.

Short Answer: Autoimmune conditions are likely driven by deficiencies of vitamins A and D, which contribute to post-infectious autoimmunity by compromising the rhythmic rise and fall of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), and to autoimmunity regardless of infections through impaired suppression of Th17 helper T cells. More broadly, infections and tissue damage are the most likely drivers of autoimmunity onset. However, energy metabolism governs everything through the second law of thermodynamics, which holds that energy must be used to prevent everything from randomly mixing, and this includes randomly mixing the immune defense against pathogens with immune attacks on the host. In this example, we discuss how a respiratory chain disorder would compromise absorption and distribution of zinc and compromise the oxidation of NADH to NAD+, and how both of these would interact with a genetic impairment in acetaldehyde dehydrogenase to prevent the activation of vitamin A to retinoic acid. Autoimmunity thus results as one of many symptoms of vitamin A deficiency driven not by lack of vitamin A, but rather by impaired activation of vitamin A, secondary to impaired energy metabolism.  

The Full Recordings and Transcripts

These Q&A Files episodes are free snippets taken from three recent AMAs. To access the full recordings and transcripts, become a Masterpass member. You can learn more about it here. Get 10% off the membership fee using this link.

Here are the links that Masterpass members can use, as well as a preview of the content contained within them:

Ask Me Anything | May 13, 2023 AMA

Questions on NAC, biofilms, vitamin C and brain fog, energy metabolism driving autoimmune disorders, milk, methylene blue, and more.

The questions include:

• GLA to lower hydroxyhaemopyrrolin-2-one?

• When would I use the StrateGene and Genova Methylation Panel for nutritional testing?

• Energy metabolism as a root cause of gut issues?

• Nutrition for skin healing?

• Nutrition for hypnic jerks?

• Suggestions for snoring or sleep apnea?

• Nutrition to protect against restaurant meals?

• What is the cause of crusty eyes in the morning?

• What causes brain fog?

• How much oxalate should one eat each day?

• Should I be concerned about low alkaline phosphatase?

• What nutrients give tall children to short parents?

• Energy metabolism impairment mimicking Wilson's disease.

• Can taking digestive enzymes reduce our own production?

• Rapid-fire response to non-winners from the question contest.

Click here to see when the next Q&A is or to register for it if you are a Masterpass member. You can learn more about it here. Get 10% off the membership fee using this link.

Thanks to everyone who participated, and I hope you find these useful!
Chris