Questions on vitamin D sulfate, synthesis and recycling of BH4, and high-dose iron absorption

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Is It Important to Get Vitamin D Sulfate Specifically From the Sun?

Video

Podcast

Question: Is it important to get vitamin D sulfate specifically from the sun?

Short Answer: It is important to get morning outdoor sunlight as close to every day as possible for your circadian rhythm, and to get some exposure to unprotected sunlight during the day when UV is available, but at doses less than needed to cause reddening, and it is equally important to always avoid burning. There are many reasons for this, and the cholesterol sulfate hypothesis — to which the vitamin D sulfate hypothesis is peripheral — is an interesting and worthy hypothesis but should not be the final arbiter of your sun exposure habits.

What cofactors are needed to synthesize and recycle BH4?

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Podcast

Question: What cofactors are needed to synthesize and recycle BH4?

Short Answer: Zinc, magnesium, potassium, and niacin are the cofactors needed for the synthesis and recycling of BH4. Folate and methylation are not involved, though high-dose folate or folic acid could hypothetically hurt BH4 recycling since both are recycled by dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR).

How Much Iron Can We Absorb At Once?

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Podcast

Question: How much iron can we absorb at once?

Short Answer: High-dose iron will produce more total absorbed iron, but will also leave more in the gut, which could cause constipation or disturb the gut microbiome. If desperate for quick relief, 200 milligrams per day of iron taken in the morning will work faster than lower doses or the same dose taken in the afternoon. For most people, however, I believe it is best to start with 18 milligrams of iron, and only increase it to 27 or 36 milligrams, or higher, if needed. If it is difficult to raise iron with a supplement, try eating a temporary carnivore diet that includes egg yolks but not whites, or at least try taking your iron with a breakfast that matches this description.

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.

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Ask Me Anything | February 15, 2023 AMA

Vitamin D sulfate, synthesis and recycling of BH4, high-dose iron absorption, management of PPI use, low creatine and muscle spasms, detoxing arsenic, iron saturation, and more.

The questions include:

• What nutrients are important for long-term PPI use?

• For how long does transferrin saturation respond to recent iron-rich food?

• Muscle spasms: creatine, creatinine, sodium, and potassium.

• Hematologists ignore iron saturation.

• How to detox arsenic?

• Could folic acid supplements impair BH4 recycling?

• How to increase butyrate?

• More on hematologists and transferrin saturation.

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