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Dimethylglycine (DMG) has one less methyl group than Betaine (TMG)

In the last post I mentioned that I started taking a specific form of an amino acid after I had found out that I have a genetic defect but that I didn’t really know how much might be necessary per day. The difference in my genes affects my ability to convert betaine the common name for trimethylglycine, into a more usable form called dimethylglycine. Betaine has one more methyl group than DMG. It is also called vitamin B15.  Methyl groups are important for many things including preventing cancerous changes from occurring in the genetic structure of cells. [1]

What I didn’t know was how much might be necessary for me to take for daily health. A reference suggested that two grams per day is a minimal daily goal but that up to ten grams per day may be more optimal for health – not enough information is available about that however.

Two to ten grams per day is a specific number. I was taking two 100 milligram tablets per day. Two hundred milligrams is 1800 milligrams less than two grams – so I let my fingers doing the walking and found a bulk supply which I will be able to spoon into something liquid and just drink or eat. The switch will also save me a significant amount of money.  [2]

The bottle of sixty 100 mg tablets provided 6000 milligrams / 6 grams of DMG at a price of $7.64 which I would use in one month. That seems inexpensive but it only provides 200 mg per day not 2 grams which is 2000 milligrams. At that level of use the bottle would last three days. At 10 grams per day I would need more than one bottle per day. The one kilogram bag supplies 1,000,000 milligrams for $65.96. If I use 2 grams per day the bag will last me 500 days or 100 days if I tried to use 10 grams per day. (2 grams of powder is roughly less than one teaspoon, there’s about 5 grams of liquid in a teaspoon but you would need to know the density/weight/mass of a powder to be able to calculate how many grams of a powder would fit in a teaspoon [3])

The genetic defect is in the gene that produces an enzyme that helps break down betaine/trimethylglyine into dimethylglycine and it is also involved in methionine metabolism but that is a different supplement/different topic. The gene is BHMT/1 (Call – T), and the enzyme it encodes for is Betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase (BHMT). See point #3 in the following post: Methylation Cycle Defects – in me – genetic screening “for research purposes only” . The post includes the link to the company that provides the genetic screening tests ‘for research purposes only’ (in other words: it can not be claimed to be ‘for diagnostic purposes’ legally at this stage of research and federal regulations).

The screening panel was developed to screen for defects that have been found to be more common in patients with autism. It was created by a scientist with a PhD and experience in genetics rather than an MD. The company provides nutritional information and possibly supplements but I haven’t spent enough time looking at the information to provide any review or opinion. I looked up information about my defects (11 out of 30) on my own. My notes are included in the linked post, it is not written as an essay type article with a beginning and end, it is a long list of notes for each defect*/gene allele/anomaly.

*Some gene differences are not negative as the word ‘defect’ suggests; allele is the word used in genetics for all the many known variations of one gene, there can be many slightly different forms with effects that might be good, bad, or cause no difference in health.

Nutrigenomics is an new area of science which specializes in providing individualized dietary counseling based on a person’s specific genetic structure. A person with typical genetic structure wouldn’t need to consider such a high dose of Dimethylglycine.

If the concern however is glyphosate substituting for glycine within proteins, then assuring that the body has a plentiful supply of the right kind of puzzle pieces (glycine) could help the body build more functional proteins, as repair and growth occurs every day. Glycine is an essential amino acid and and is not considered dangerous in isolation to my knowledge. (Aspartic acid and glutamate are also free amino acids and they can e dangerous in quantity to the brain as they can activate cell function and cause overwork to the point of cell death, hence the nickname excitotoxins – they are used in the food supply in a popular artificial sweetener and as a flavoring agent in substances such as MSG.)

/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./

  1. http://naturalhealingretreats.com/products/essential-vitamins/vitamin-b-15-dimethylglycine-dmg/
  2. https://www.amazon.com/BulkSupplements-N-Dimethyl-Glycine-Powder-Kilogram/dp/B00GI24VNG/ref=sr_1_12_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1474328044&sr=8-12&keywords=dimethylglycine&th=1
  3. https://www.reference.com/food/many-grams-make-teaspoon-cfafd9ead940e296
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Glyphosate was found in vaccines; and tips for reducing dietary exposure

The nonprofit organization Moms Across America paid to have five types of vaccines tested in an accredited laboratory for the presence of the herbicide glyphosate. The chemical, which was originally patented as an antibiotic and mineral chelator, has never been tested or marketed as an injectable drug. Vaccines are injected directly into the blood stream which bypasses the protection of the gastrointestinal system.

The World Health Organization has advised that glyphosate is a probable carcinogen and it may affect hormones which would make it dangerous potentially for pregnant women and their expected infants:

“Honeycutt continues, “The public must know that their vaccines likely contain glyphosate, a toxic weed killer, which is acknowledged by the EPA as a “reproductive effector” ( i.e.: endocrine disruptor) which “can cause liver and kidney damage” and has been shown to be a neurotoxin. The WHO has deemed glyphosate a probable carcinogen.” – Moms Across America

The MMR II vaccine by the Merck company was found to have the highest level of glyphosate, 25 times more than what was found in the other four types of vaccines that were tested: “had levels up to 25 times higher than the other vaccines, at 2.671ppb.” The MMR II vaccine has been associated with autism as an adverse reaction (possibly due to an encephalitis reaction which then leads to the more extreme brain damage seen in patients with autism).

This supports the theory discussed by Professor Seneff, that glyphosate may be in vaccinations due to the use of animal products in the gelatin based Petri dishes in which the antigens for the vaccinations are grown. The theory suggests that glyphosate is similar enough to the amino acid glycine that it may be being built right into the protein structure of the animals body parts which include the collagen that is used to make gelatin. The glyphosate would be acting like a puzzle piece that kind of fits in one side of the protein but has the wrong shape on the other side of the puzzle piece so no other pieces of the puzzle can be added afterwards. One part of glyphosate would fit well into the protein structure but then another part wouldn’t be able to do what glycine does – which is donate methyl groups – which can help protect against cancer.

Some genetic canaries in the coal mine, such as myself, may have errors in the methylation cycle that disrupt the glycine function without needing any help from glyphosate. While filling my vitamin boxes for a week’s supply I was reminded that one of the supplements I added after getting my genetic methylation cycle results is . . . DMG . . . which is Dimethylglycine. I’ve been taking one of the capsules in the morning and one in the evening — but there is no guidance for how much of it I might need with my particular genetic defect.  My favorite phrase – or least favorite: “More research is needed.” Current information available suggests 2 grams of glycine per day may be a typical amount provided by the diet but ten times that amount may increase health benefits, no toxicity upper limit has been set; https://draxe.com/glycine/

Professor Seneff included tips for how to possibly reduce your exposure to glyphosate and some strategies that have been used on farm animals who were made sick by acute exposure to glyphosate.

Professor Seneff’s slides for her discussion lists”Some Important Nutrients“:

  • Curcumin
  • Garlic
  • Vitamin C
  • Probiotics
  • Methyl tetrahydrofolate – (this is the bioactive form of folic acid)
  • Cobalamin
  • Glutathione
  • Taurine
  • Epsom salt baths  [My how to tips for Epsom salt baths]

She also recommends:

  • “Get Grounded” — ie work on general lifestyle and stress reduction strategies;
  • Eat organically grown foods whenever possible;
  • Eat foods containing the mineral manganese; (as glyphosate is a mineral chelator which may limit manganese’s availability for essential functions.) She mentions a few foods and shares an image which appears to include: organic whole grains, seeds, organic tofu and other beans, shellfish, tea, dark green leafy vegetables. This list provides more information — for example cardamom and pumpkin pie spice are sources of manganese:  http://nutritiondata.self.com/foods-000126000000000000000.html
  • Eat foods containing sulfur; (and/or take the Epsom salt baths which would supply magnesium and sulfur.) She mentions a few foods and shares an image which appears to include: beer, cabbage, organic eggs, especially the yolk, crab, shrimp and scallops, cheese, onions, garlic, organic liver, chicken, and something I’m not going to try to guess. Based on this list of the sulfur content of many foods the image may include a picture of dried apricots:  http://apjcn.nhri.org.tw/server/info/books-phds/books/foodfacts/html/data/data5g.html

Professor Seneff speaks very quickly, I may have missed some of her tips for trying to protect yourself from exposure to glyphosate.

She includes information about extracts from common plants that can treat glyphosate poisoning including:

“Extracts from common plants such as dandelion, barberry, and burdock can protect from damage, especially if administered prior to exposure.”* (*C Gasnier et al. Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology 2011, 6:3). [https://occup-med.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1745-6673-6-3]

And cows with glyphosate poisoning have been treated with:

“Activated charcoal, bentonite clay, humic and fulvic acids, and sauerkraut juice have been shown to be effective in reducing glyphosate and improving animal health.“** (** H Gerlach et al., J Environ Anal Toxicol 2014, 5:2). [http://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/oral-application-of-charcoal-and-humic-acids-influence-selected-gastrointestinal-microbiota-2161-0525.1000256.pdf]

See the research papers for more detail and a functional medicine professional may be able to help guide individualized treatments with some of the items that are mentioned such as activated charcoal– but seek guidance, professional help is recommended even when using natural treatments.

/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./

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These maps show how closely industry and ill health can overlap

Is illness always random or may it sometimes be due to human caused pollution? Maps of the locations of fossil fuel industry operations and the incidence of asthma attacks  overlap very closely suggesting that pollutants associated with the industry may be causing/correlated with asthma attacks.

Correlation is not proof of causation but it doesn’t disprove causation either. A correlation in data can suggest that it would be worth the time to take a closer look at the data or to do more controlled studies. Or we could save time and possibly reduce asthma attacks by just investing in renewable energy sources instead and leaving the fossil fuel in the ground.

The maps in the following link do make it clear for asthma sufferers where asthma attacks are more likely to occur in the U.S., whether it’s because the air might be safer or easier to breath is a correlation. The following title uses the word ’caused’ which might not hold up in a court of law – but might be true anyway. It can be hard to prove causation or correlation.

The maps of asthma attacks and ozone associated with fossil fuel locations also help show how wind patterns around agricultural communities might reflect agricultural chemical drift and might also show up in patterns of disease occurrence.

Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the 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.

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The herbicide glyphosate is similar to glycine, an amino acid

The herbicide glyphosate was originally patented as an antibiotic and as a mineral chelator (a protein that can bind and transport minerals). It has been in use as an agricultural herbicide since 1975. However it’s use greatly increased in the last ten years since genetically modified Round-Up Ready crops were developed. A professor from Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been researching glyphosate and it’s possible role in the development of autism.

Professor Seneff gave two presentations at an Autism One conference earlier this year. The PowerPoint slides to the lectures are available in links included in the Tweets below, click these links for the pdfs to each video: people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/2016…

The first video includes more information about the chemical similarity between glyphosate and glycine. Glycine is an amino acid that provides methyl groups. Glyphosate is very similarly shaped but has an extra side chain and it wouldn’t provide methyl groups. It is possibly similarly shaped enough, however, for glyphosate to be incorporated into the structure of proteins instead of glycine. It would be like a puzzle piece that fits into another piece but won’t allow any other pieces to be added. Glyphosate may fit in glycine’s spot within a protein but then wouldn’t provide any methyl groups and the extra side chain could interfere with receptor function – like having an extension cord with prongs that no longer can fit into an electric socket because the socket is already blocked with something else.

The risk to health if this is true could be significant. Many proteins contain glycine and any one of them might be important in a variety of ways which glyphosate could disrupt. This is in very early stages of research but the impact could also affect vaccinations because the collagen used to culture material for vaccinations could contain glyphosate instead of glycine if the animals from which the collagen was obtained had been raised with feed containing glyphosate residue.

Zika virus that grew in an environment that contained glyphosate might have it incorporated into proteins instead of glycine which could be making the disease far more dangerous prenatally than it had been in past decades before glyphosate became widely used. Zika infections had not been associated with microcephaly until recently. The second video goes into more detail about how glyphosate could be making Zika more dangerous.

Professor Seneff explains in more detail about the glycine/glyphosate similarity in the first video:

I will get back to this topic after rewatching the videos and taking notes on the recommendations she makes about food and lifestyle strategies for reducing glyphosate exposure or reducing glyphosate levels that may be stored within the body.

9/20/2016 Update: See the following posts for more about glycine and glyphosate:

Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the 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.