Cheerful Juice; the morning after

My late night serving of Cheerful Juice did help my mood after watching the presidential debate but I wasn’t able to go to sleep very easily afterwards. The full teaspoon dose of the free amino acids glycine and methionine left me not only with the cheerful mood and boost of energy but it also left me slightly jittery feeling with a more rapid heartbeat.

This morning I tried a half teaspoon dose and within just ten minutes I’m feeling more cheerful but without the jittery burst of increased energy.

So experimental results for my study group, size n=1, suggest that the 2 to 3 gram dose in a single serving may be safer than a dose of approximately 5 grams in one serving. When free amino acids can act as signaling messenger chemicals within the body or brain then they may also be able to act as excitotoxins in larger doses and overexcite cells possibly to the point of cell death.

Moderation is generally healthiest within biological systems. Many chemicals or nutrients can be safe within a moderate range but then be dangerous when there is either too little or too much. My needs for an external source of the free amino acids dimethylglycine (DMG) and methionine are not normal due to my genetic defect in the gene that is needed to make an enzyme involved in breaking down more complex forms of the free amino acids.

More on the gene defect involved in dimethyl glycine and methionine and a link to the genetic screening test I used is found in this post from March 30, 2016, http://transcendingsquare.com/2016/03/30/methylation-cycle-defects-in-me-genetic-screening-for-research-purposes-only/ . That post is a long list of notes rather than being an essay with a beginning and end, see #3, BHMT/1 (Call – T), Betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase (BHMT), for my notes regarding the specific defect and enzyme that prevents me from being able to fully digest protein foods — since birth — better late than never, I tend to say, but it would be nice for other infants and children to not have to suffer there entire lives due to underlying genetic defects that are now able to be screened for and managed with the use of dietary supplements.

Series on glycine:

  1. Glycine is an Amino Acid with Neurotransmitter Roles, 10/15/2016,  http://transcendingsquare.com/2016/10/15/glycine-is-an-amino-acid-with-neurotransmitter-roles/
  2. Cheerful Juice Lives Up to its Name, 10/20/16,  http://transcendingsquare.com/2016/10/20/cheerful-juice-lives-up-to-its-name/

/Disclaimer: This information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes./