Questions on Vitamin D, Fatty Liver, HbA1c vs CGM, Turmeric and Testosterone, Fasting, and B6 Markers
Here is your early access to the next three months of Q&A Files!
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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.
What's the difference between 25(OH)D and 1,25(OH)2D when it comes to the VDR?
Short answer: 25(OH)D is 1000 times weaker at activating the VDR than 1,25(OH)D, but 1000 times more abundant. This is why I advocate measuring both, and ultimately believe we need to create a calculated index of “biological vitamin D activity” from them.
Reversing Fatty Liver: How Long Does It Take?
Short answer: You should be able to see changes on imaging within a few weeks if your approach is working well, but ultimately this is entirely dependent on how negative your “delta fatty liver = (fat in) - ((fat out) + (fat burned))” equation is.
What if my A1C says I'm diabetic but my CGM says I'm fine?
Short answer: Trust the CGM. HbA1c is confounded by red blood cell turnover and fructosamine 3-kinase activity.
Will reishi, turmeric, or curcumin tank my testosterone?
Short answer: Probably not. Animal studies showing a difference use huge doses in an unrealistic context. Human studies show they don’t at doses used. Human effect on PSA is vulnerable to regression to the mean and thoroughly unconvincing.
The 3 Phases of Fasting: And How to Get Kicked Out of Each One
Short answer: 4-6 hours after a meal the small intestine is emptied and the insulin-to-glucagon ratio declines; 25 hours after, hepatic glycogen is emptied; 5 days later the brain is adapted to ketones and gluconeogenesis reaches its minimal level. Moving from one to the other cannot occur with a small piece of signaling like the bite of an apple. It requires the preponderance of signaling.
Why do my urinary B6 markers say I'm deficient if I'm supplementing and my plasma levels are high-normal?
Short answer: Low or low-normal alkaline phosphatase may raise the plasma B6 level over the cellular level. Tryptophan metabolites in urine reflect the B6 requirement for the kynurenine pathway, and this requirement increases with more estrogen, more inflammation, or a higher protein intake.
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 | April 13, 2022
Fat-soluble vitamins, prenatal nutrition, mixing glycine with aspirin, supplementing with alpha-ketoglutarate, nausea in pregnancy, and more.
The questions include:
How to balance vitamins E and K
What prenatal vitamin do I recommend?
Why does my smoothie make my hands cold?
What type of choline to use?
Is there an interaction between glycine and aspirin?
What supplements can be used in the fasting state?
How to manage protein intake within a small eating window on an intermittent fasting regimen?
Looking at a study on calcium alpha-ketoglutarate supplementation.
Should I take vitamin D for COVID if I easily get hypercalcemia from it?
What to do about nausea in pregnancy?
Brief questions on restless legs, exercise during fasting, puffy eyes, and health effects of spicy foods.
Ask Me Anything | June 16, 2022
SIBO; CGM/HbA1c conflicts; vitamin C, copper, and histamine; reishi, curcumin, and testosterone; magnesium problems; vitamin toxicity; fat malabsorption; tinnitus; baking glycine; much more.
The questions include:
What to do about persistent SIBO?
Are there toxicity concerns for intravenous B vitamins?
Should zinc be taken apart from oral rehydration salts?
Why would magnesium cause erratic heartbeat, bad dreams, and tinnitus?
How do you know if you have low stomach acid?
What is a good sweetener to replace granulated sugar?
Do I need to eat foods with calcium every day?
What bread do I eat?
Should you take vitamin D for COVID prevention if you have a history of hypercalcemia?
What to do about extreme CFS, depression, anxiety, and brain fog when nothing seems to work.
Why balance K2 with vitamin E rather than K1?
Ask Me Anything | July 13, 2022
Glycine problems, deficiency signs when lab tests are normal, the 3 phases of fasting & what kicks you out, lipoic acid & methylation, sulfur SIBO that always comes back, heat intolerance, and more.
The questions include:
How do I know if my digestive enzymes are helping or hurting?
Why does high-dose glycine give me these terrible symptoms?
How to know if my magnesium is messing with my calcium?
Why do I have vitamin A symptoms when my lab tests are normal?
What is my favorite web site for finding enzymatic cofactors?
Potassium citrate vs potassium chloride
Major problems with B vitamin supplements
Is food sensitivity testing useful?
What nutrients might help with dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase deficiency?
Does lipoic acid hurt methylation?
Sulfur SIBO that just won’t go away.
Using lactate, pyruvate, and ketone ratios to indicate the NADH/NAD+ ratio.
Helping bile flow without pharmaceuticals.
Managing pernicious anemia.
Do we really need to meet the RDA for calcium?
Could stretch marks be a sign of copper toxicity?
When iron saturation is driven by low binding capacity.
How do I know if I need methyl-free Bs?
What causes heat intolerance?
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
The 'short answers' paired to each are fantastic. Some things I want to delve into, but other times I just want your 30 second hot take. 🔥
I have been following you for years now and am so glad you are also on substack...... you are a rockstar!!!!