Coffee vs Tea and Homocysteine

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Plumster
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Re: Coffee vs Tea and Homocysteine

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Thanks, Circular, that's good to hear. May I ask how much methyl you take for each?
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Re: Coffee vs Tea and Homocysteine

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To lower my homocysteine I took Jarrow 'Methyl B-12 & Methyl Folate + P-5-P (B6)'. That's:

B6 1.5 mg/75% RDA
Folate 400 mcg/100% RDA
B12 1000 mcg/16,670% RDA

Once I got my HCY below 7 I started splitting those pills into quarters, because it strikes me as an ungodly amount of B12. That puts my B6 and folate supplementation low, but I suspect I get enough of those in my diet. I should do cronometer to see, but the ultimate test is whether my HCY stays low based on whatever dietary sources I take in, so I'll probably skip the tracking and just test my HCY in a short while and add some back into my supplements if needed.
ApoE 3/4 > Thanks in advance for any responses made to my posts.
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Re: Coffee vs Tea and Homocysteine

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Plumster wrote:I should add that I tried methylcobalamin and methyl folate and did not feel good. But perhaps I started too high.
Hi Plumster, If you don't have variants such as MTHFR or MTR, then the doses for folate and B12 from most supplements are way too high. And yes, they give side effects. You can see a list of folate side effects here, which I've experienced, even with MTHFR.

MTRR helps recycle B12, so the fact your B12 tests high suggests this might not be a factor for you.

There are many different factors in high homocysteine. You can read a bit more to maybe get some other ideas to try at this section in the methylation wiki. It's common for doctors to try folate and B12 first with high homocysteine, because it will usually fix the problem. If it doesn't you just have to look elsewhere. There are two other pathways for recycling homocysteine and you might need other support like B6 or TMG.

Take a look and feel free ask any other questions that come up.
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Re: Coffee vs Tea and Homocysteine

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Thank you, Circular: Why such a low dose for B6? I feel like I might be missing something. I thought the right amount was about 20mg of P-5-P?

SusanJ: Thanks for the info. I plan to take methylfolate 400mg. But I assume I must take methyl B12 with it, right? I assume I can't do Hydroxocobalamin and methyl folate together?
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SusanJ
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Re: Coffee vs Tea and Homocysteine

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You don't need to take methyl B12 necessarily. If your pathway to convert B12 from the diet to the active form is working okay, then you can do hydroxocobalamin just fine. Given you have high levels with supplementing B12, then you will likely be fine.

The methyl forms of both folate and B12 just skip the steps needed to create active forms. You can mix and match as long as they get converted properly. So, I'd just try it, and then do another blood test to see where you land.
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Re: Coffee vs Tea and Homocysteine

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Thank you so much for your thoughts, SusanJ!
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Re: Coffee vs Tea and Homocysteine

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Hi Plumpster, no reason for the low B12 other than I wanted all three in one pill and landed on that one.
ApoE 3/4 > Thanks in advance for any responses made to my posts.
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Re: Coffee vs Tea and Homocysteine

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This is a 2006 study: "Drinking tea is associated with lower plasma total homocysteine in older women"
http://apjcn.nhri.org.tw/server/APJCN/15/2/253.pdf

In Dr. Neal Barnard's Power Foods for the Brain (2013), page 80, he references the 2010 study finding that those with the APOE e4 allele had a 2/3 cut in their risk in developing AD when drinking coffee.
"Caffeine as a Protective Factor in Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease" DOI 10.3233/JAD-2010-1404

It seems that once I get my homocysteine lowered, it may be worth returning to coffee in the mornings. I can't drink anything caffeinated after 1 PM.
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Re: Coffee vs Tea and Homocysteine

Post by Jan »

Roamingseer wrote:Personally, I have a strong response to most coffe, including decaf, that triggers rosacea.
Here is a link to Dr. Greger’s video on homocysteine. Pretty interesting but nothing about tea or coffee.
https://nutritionfacts.org/video/preven ... -vitamins/
Welcome, Roamingseer! So glad you found your way to our site. I very much like Dr. Greger's videos, have followed his site for a long time.

Since you're new, let me point you to our site Primer
It was written by physician member Stavia, and is a very comprehensive reference that answers a lot of questions that might come up for you.

You may have already discovered our site search function, which is the three stacked squares, to the right of your name, at the top of each page. There are voluminous threads and information on the site, and you can pull up information on anything that interests you.

We also have several Wikis on the site, which can be accessed at the same drop down box. The lightning bolt pulls up a list of current topics, and the "eye" pulls up unread posts.

When you have time, we'd love to hear more about you, and have created a dedicated thread for that here: viewforum.php?f=2

Thank you for jumping into a discussion right away, we love participation. And questions. Should you have any, ask away!
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circular
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Re: Coffee vs Tea and Homocysteine

Post by circular »

Roamingseer wrote:Personally, I have a strong response to most coffe, including decaf, that triggers rosacea.
Here is a link to Dr. Greger’s video on homocysteine. Pretty interesting but nothing about tea or coffee.
https://nutritionfacts.org/video/preven ... -vitamins/
This was interesting, although I'm not personally too fond of his presentation style. The only other thing I didn't like about it was the end, where he emphasizes that vegans supplementing with B12 had the 'lowest homocysteine of all', but he doesn't address the corollary: what happens if non-vegans with high homocysteine get enough folate, B6 and B12? I know nothing about him but drew the conclusion he's a vegan diet adherent. It would be interesting to see a study that compares homocysteine in vegans and meat-eating dieters who all get appropriate levels of folate, B12 and B6, whether through diet or supplements, rather than settle with the suggestion that only vegans can have homocysteine below 5. I'm not vegan and mine is 6.9 with supplements. Close enough ;)
ApoE 3/4 > Thanks in advance for any responses made to my posts.
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