Great timing Chris, thanks for this special on Moly. Just this Saturday I got blood work finished for plasma aminos and have been perplexed about some of these sulfurs, thinking I need molybdenum.
Why would Methionine be a strong 85%, Glutathione a strong 80%, but Cyst(i)ne sub 20% with no cystathionine activity? My B6/9/12 is great but it would appear to me at least that instead of being recycled into Meth the spent methionine is all going to Taurine which is literally off the charts. All I can think of, besides a full genome test, is that I have too many sulfurs and could use some Moly.
I will at least try your suggestion in the last article about home-testing for it but this has been quite puzzling. Most other aminos are average and I want to start adding substantial protein (urea is 1%) but I'm not sure if that's a great idea until this is resolved.
Bonus, is sulfur acidic? Ketones came out at 10 and I've been burping more than anyone I know. Somehow I believe the two are related but IDK it could be off-topic. Maybe it was an idea worth raising because I read somewhere that Taurine has some functions related to fats.
So here's the update on the Molybdenum test. Short answer is no effect.
First I did a whole week of baseline to play around with what foods/activities do what to urine PH. During this time I stopped eating eggs or any other food that the internet says has molybdenum. Every morning I was between 5.6 and 5.9, then no matter what I ate for breakfast it shot up to 7+ and slowly went down through the day. The #1 thing to tank PH was exercise, 1 hour dropped me 0.5. Alcohol/tobacco didn't put much of a dent, about 0.1 an hour loss but that would have happened anyway. Best thing to increase PH were nuts and seeds. I don't each much fruit, mostly orange juice in the morning.
The results of adding 300mcg molybdenum were that nothing happened. I was kinda disappointed since I was hoping to use this to solve my own issues at the beginning, so I tried again some months later. (last week)
In the interim I had my regular diet which does not include any beans or liverwurst. Average 1 egg per day, half cup milk per day, and 1 ounce pate a few times a week which I suppose is in fact some % liver.
For the second test I ate a lot of sulfurs while continuing to abstain from foods with molybdenum. After 3 days of moly deprivation and confirming that baseline hasn't changed, I ate a whole steak, tried the 300mcg moly, and no change. Then the next day I tried again but with some wine for the sulfites, but again no change. Maybe at 6.0 it was a little lower than usual for that time of the evening, but nothing crazy.
Finally the 3rd day I had a steak + an entire bottle of wine, but by the time I finished it, took the moly, and tested the strip, I couldn't make out what color it really was. It must have been between 5.7 and 6 and 6 would have been expected by that time of day.
I suppose it takes a long time to get low in molybdenum. Or maybe liverwurst is so overpowered that Pate is an adequate alternative.
I'm assuming that supplementing sulfur containing amino acids (Taurine, Cysteine) and Alpha Lipoic acid would also increase Molybdenum requirement, right?
In the Vitamins and Minerals 101 email series you wrote "Many nutritional supplements contain sulfur, such as glutathione, N-acetyl-cysteine, taurine, thiamin (Vitamin B1), pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), lipoic acid, MSM, DMSO, and anything with "sulfate" in the name. These can generate sulfite."
Could you give us a sense of the scale of the sulfite-generating potential of these? My sense is that you may get gram doses of methionine and cysteine from the diet but most of the sulfur-containing vitamins and supplements would likely be supplemented in much smaller doses so as to contribute relatively little to the sulfite-load compared to methionine and cysteine.
Or does the body process these all differently such that even say 100 mg of thiamin might generate the equivalent amount of sulfite as 5 grams of methionine?
I found this paper (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17996229/) showing alpha lipoic acid can increase manganese in the brains (of rats), thereby acting as a pro-oxidant.
100 mg/[kg body wt.day, which seems like a dose humans would never come close to even with supplementation but if this effect is relevant at lower doses alpha lipoic acid can raise manganese in the brain and deplete molybdenum, a double-whammy for sulfur toxicity.
I've been testing urine pH with and without supplemental Molybdenum - no change. I eat some beans and no liver, but apparently am not deficient in M, or at least my body doesn't use supplemental M to detox sulfite and increase Net Renal Acid Load (NRAL).
I have noticed big swings in urine pH from diet changes. Eating foods high in organic acids like tart apples and orange juice makes a big difference.
Could there be a scenario in which home-testing with PH does not show a deficiency, but Molybdenum supplementation still benefits testosterone production?
“it dramatically enhances the metallothionein response to mercury, so it could interact with heavy metals to chelate zinc and copper.”
I thought MT used Zinc and Copper to chelate mercury - why would enhanced MT response to mercury chelate our Zinc and Copper? Or is this alluding to them being used up by MT, in the process of chelating Mercury?
Gaat dit en ook Kindle beschikbaar vanuit Holland? Heeft u toevallig ook een nederlandse vertaling? Ik wil al heel lang molybdeen aanschaffen , echter nog niet gedaan vanwege onzeker over dat ik er dan ook koper en zink bij moet nemen waarschijnlijk. Heb het vermoeden dat mijn zwavelpaden niet optimaal werken. En ik eet ruim vlees ennelke dag kool (ivm salycilaat en oxalaat, histamine in andere groentes). En wat kost een abonnement bij u?
In reply to Ali---Well I actually don't know. But I always thought it could be an indication of excessive oxidative stress from some process metals or other toxic or pathogenic exposure possibly straining glutathione production and using up molybdenum... not withstanding genetic (or acting dirty - hat tip Dr Lynch for this expression) SNPs in various related pathways... but Masterjohn points to a dietary connection of excess sulfur based amino acids from a carnivore diet, if I am reading him correctly. But as it turns out the professional I consulted with Dr Nuzum was correct in his assertion as an hair trace mineral analysis - htma - did show excessive mercury and cadmium. He said these metals compete for the same receptor site and that this could explain why my loved one seems stirred up when she takes NAC, a precursor that is sulfur based to glutathione. As it would be dislodging mercury from this receptor site potentially. So I give my loved one binders... and have asked about xeolite attenuating ... molybdenum deficiency related to a heavy metal exposure... but I haven't heard anything.
It also turns out that my loved one did have low molybdenum on her htma analysis too. I do supplement her with molybdenum in a multi and if I give her NAC.
I think I will check her progress with a repeat test since it has been about a year since she had one.
Also I think molybdenum has shown some potential in breast cancer research iirc.
the practice of teasing a topic, molybdenum in this case, and then hiding the most important info behind an "upgrade to paid" button is not nice, but hey, we all need money, me too. But coming from someone whose book (Vitamins and Minerals 101) I bought in a pre-release version what, 4 years ago? 5? and never got it, it makes me increasingly angry and I feel screwed
I should add though that you do have access to the molybdenum lesson (the version for book pre-orders has moved and you need to email support@chrismasterjohnphd.comt to be added to it) which covers what you are looking for.
I'm very sorry about the book situation. You are welcome to a refund, with interest if you would like. Please email support@chrismasterjohnphd.com for a refund.
Why people might be deficient in molybdenum for instance? Heavy metal toxicity... with mercury or cadmium? I askrd this question to an expert and his first reply was heavy metal toxicity to those specific metals lower sulfur... and this affects molybdenum too if I understood correctly.
What whole food or supplemental substances food can or might attenuate... a deficiency due to this possible exposure? What other things might cause a molybdenum deficiency?
Such as I found it interesting to note that molybdenum is found in zeolites.
Might zeolite help attenuate a deficiency or a surplus?
Great timing Chris, thanks for this special on Moly. Just this Saturday I got blood work finished for plasma aminos and have been perplexed about some of these sulfurs, thinking I need molybdenum.
Why would Methionine be a strong 85%, Glutathione a strong 80%, but Cyst(i)ne sub 20% with no cystathionine activity? My B6/9/12 is great but it would appear to me at least that instead of being recycled into Meth the spent methionine is all going to Taurine which is literally off the charts. All I can think of, besides a full genome test, is that I have too many sulfurs and could use some Moly.
I will at least try your suggestion in the last article about home-testing for it but this has been quite puzzling. Most other aminos are average and I want to start adding substantial protein (urea is 1%) but I'm not sure if that's a great idea until this is resolved.
Bonus, is sulfur acidic? Ketones came out at 10 and I've been burping more than anyone I know. Somehow I believe the two are related but IDK it could be off-topic. Maybe it was an idea worth raising because I read somewhere that Taurine has some functions related to fats.
So here's the update on the Molybdenum test. Short answer is no effect.
First I did a whole week of baseline to play around with what foods/activities do what to urine PH. During this time I stopped eating eggs or any other food that the internet says has molybdenum. Every morning I was between 5.6 and 5.9, then no matter what I ate for breakfast it shot up to 7+ and slowly went down through the day. The #1 thing to tank PH was exercise, 1 hour dropped me 0.5. Alcohol/tobacco didn't put much of a dent, about 0.1 an hour loss but that would have happened anyway. Best thing to increase PH were nuts and seeds. I don't each much fruit, mostly orange juice in the morning.
The results of adding 300mcg molybdenum were that nothing happened. I was kinda disappointed since I was hoping to use this to solve my own issues at the beginning, so I tried again some months later. (last week)
In the interim I had my regular diet which does not include any beans or liverwurst. Average 1 egg per day, half cup milk per day, and 1 ounce pate a few times a week which I suppose is in fact some % liver.
For the second test I ate a lot of sulfurs while continuing to abstain from foods with molybdenum. After 3 days of moly deprivation and confirming that baseline hasn't changed, I ate a whole steak, tried the 300mcg moly, and no change. Then the next day I tried again but with some wine for the sulfites, but again no change. Maybe at 6.0 it was a little lower than usual for that time of the evening, but nothing crazy.
Finally the 3rd day I had a steak + an entire bottle of wine, but by the time I finished it, took the moly, and tested the strip, I couldn't make out what color it really was. It must have been between 5.7 and 6 and 6 would have been expected by that time of day.
I suppose it takes a long time to get low in molybdenum. Or maybe liverwurst is so overpowered that Pate is an adequate alternative.
I'm assuming that supplementing sulfur containing amino acids (Taurine, Cysteine) and Alpha Lipoic acid would also increase Molybdenum requirement, right?
Yep
In the Vitamins and Minerals 101 email series you wrote "Many nutritional supplements contain sulfur, such as glutathione, N-acetyl-cysteine, taurine, thiamin (Vitamin B1), pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), lipoic acid, MSM, DMSO, and anything with "sulfate" in the name. These can generate sulfite."
Could you give us a sense of the scale of the sulfite-generating potential of these? My sense is that you may get gram doses of methionine and cysteine from the diet but most of the sulfur-containing vitamins and supplements would likely be supplemented in much smaller doses so as to contribute relatively little to the sulfite-load compared to methionine and cysteine.
Or does the body process these all differently such that even say 100 mg of thiamin might generate the equivalent amount of sulfite as 5 grams of methionine?
I found this paper (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17996229/) showing alpha lipoic acid can increase manganese in the brains (of rats), thereby acting as a pro-oxidant.
100 mg/[kg body wt.day, which seems like a dose humans would never come close to even with supplementation but if this effect is relevant at lower doses alpha lipoic acid can raise manganese in the brain and deplete molybdenum, a double-whammy for sulfur toxicity.
Do you think this is a concern for humans?
unrelated, but what is the rationale behind using NAC, & how do you know if youd benefit from it?
I've been testing urine pH with and without supplemental Molybdenum - no change. I eat some beans and no liver, but apparently am not deficient in M, or at least my body doesn't use supplemental M to detox sulfite and increase Net Renal Acid Load (NRAL).
I have noticed big swings in urine pH from diet changes. Eating foods high in organic acids like tart apples and orange juice makes a big difference.
Could there be a scenario in which home-testing with PH does not show a deficiency, but Molybdenum supplementation still benefits testosterone production?
Why don't you do a htma to see if you are low in molybdenum
Great post! I love eating lentils and split peas often for molybdenum, manganese, folate and some other nutrients.
Would you say the most important nutrients for night blindness are molybdenum and vitamin A?
Generally vitamin A and zinc. But if you're deficient in something else with night blindness I wouldn't be surprised if whatever that was fixed it.
I’m confused by this passage here
“it dramatically enhances the metallothionein response to mercury, so it could interact with heavy metals to chelate zinc and copper.”
I thought MT used Zinc and Copper to chelate mercury - why would enhanced MT response to mercury chelate our Zinc and Copper? Or is this alluding to them being used up by MT, in the process of chelating Mercury?
It doesn’t “use” zinc or copper. Zinc and copper stimulate it. This is how they can induce a deficiency of each other.
MT chelates everything that is positively charged.
Hi hi, ik zou graag de spiekbrief kopen.
Gaat dit en ook Kindle beschikbaar vanuit Holland? Heeft u toevallig ook een nederlandse vertaling? Ik wil al heel lang molybdeen aanschaffen , echter nog niet gedaan vanwege onzeker over dat ik er dan ook koper en zink bij moet nemen waarschijnlijk. Heb het vermoeden dat mijn zwavelpaden niet optimaal werken. En ik eet ruim vlees ennelke dag kool (ivm salycilaat en oxalaat, histamine in andere groentes). En wat kost een abonnement bij u?
Dank.
Kind regards, Patricia (patty on twitter)
Impact of Molybdenum Compounds as Anticancer Agents
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6754869/
In reply to Ali---Well I actually don't know. But I always thought it could be an indication of excessive oxidative stress from some process metals or other toxic or pathogenic exposure possibly straining glutathione production and using up molybdenum... not withstanding genetic (or acting dirty - hat tip Dr Lynch for this expression) SNPs in various related pathways... but Masterjohn points to a dietary connection of excess sulfur based amino acids from a carnivore diet, if I am reading him correctly. But as it turns out the professional I consulted with Dr Nuzum was correct in his assertion as an hair trace mineral analysis - htma - did show excessive mercury and cadmium. He said these metals compete for the same receptor site and that this could explain why my loved one seems stirred up when she takes NAC, a precursor that is sulfur based to glutathione. As it would be dislodging mercury from this receptor site potentially. So I give my loved one binders... and have asked about xeolite attenuating ... molybdenum deficiency related to a heavy metal exposure... but I haven't heard anything.
It also turns out that my loved one did have low molybdenum on her htma analysis too. I do supplement her with molybdenum in a multi and if I give her NAC.
I think I will check her progress with a repeat test since it has been about a year since she had one.
Also I think molybdenum has shown some potential in breast cancer research iirc.
Dr. Lynch created a non existent condition. Genes are not dirty.
Sugar corrects testosterone really nicely - and thyroid and metabolic function
how would you suggest one go about increasing thyroid & metabolic function??
the practice of teasing a topic, molybdenum in this case, and then hiding the most important info behind an "upgrade to paid" button is not nice, but hey, we all need money, me too. But coming from someone whose book (Vitamins and Minerals 101) I bought in a pre-release version what, 4 years ago? 5? and never got it, it makes me increasingly angry and I feel screwed
I should add though that you do have access to the molybdenum lesson (the version for book pre-orders has moved and you need to email support@chrismasterjohnphd.comt to be added to it) which covers what you are looking for.
I'm very sorry about the book situation. You are welcome to a refund, with interest if you would like. Please email support@chrismasterjohnphd.com for a refund.
Why people might be deficient in molybdenum for instance? Heavy metal toxicity... with mercury or cadmium? I askrd this question to an expert and his first reply was heavy metal toxicity to those specific metals lower sulfur... and this affects molybdenum too if I understood correctly.
What whole food or supplemental substances food can or might attenuate... a deficiency due to this possible exposure? What other things might cause a molybdenum deficiency?
Such as I found it interesting to note that molybdenum is found in zeolites.
Might zeolite help attenuate a deficiency or a surplus?
Thank you for all you do.
Molybdenum in foods:
https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/missing-from-the-databases-molybdenum
Heavy metals can cause all sorts of mineral problems, but the chief issue with molybdenum is you need more when you eat more sulfur amino acids.
I think low molybdenum can be a sign of excessive oxidative stress and low glutathione production.
so if u have a molybdenum deficiency with an adequate intake of it, it may be a sign of metal toxicity??