Homocysteine Tips

8 easy dietary changes that will help to lower homocysteine levels

1. Eat less fatty meat, more fish and vegetable protein eat no more than four servings of lean meat a week; fish (not fried) at least three times a week; and if you’re not allergic or intolerant, a serving of a soya-based food, such as tofu, tempeh or soya sausages, plus beans, such as kidney beans, chickpea hummus or baked beans, at least five times a week.

2. Eat your greens have at least five servings of fruit or vegetables a day. This means eating two pieces of fruit every single day, and three servings of vegetables. Vary your selections from day to day. Make sure half of what’s on your plate for each main meal is vegetables.

3. Have a clove of garlic a day either eat a clove of garlic a day, or take a garlic supplement every day. You can take garlic oil capsules or powdered garlic supplements.

4. Cut back on tea and coffee don’t drink more than one cup of caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee or two cups of tea, in a day. Instead choose from the wide variety of herbal teas and grain coffees available.

5. Limit your alcohol limit your alcohol intake to no more than half a pint of beer, or one glass of red wine, in a day. Ideally, limit your intake to two pints of beer or four glasses of wine a week.

6. Reduce your stress if you are under a lot of stress, or find yourself reacting stressfully much of the time, make a decision to reduce your stress load by changing both the circumstances that are giving you stress and your attitude. Simple solutions abound: you can do yoga, meditation and/or exercise, or see a counsellor if you have some issues to resolve. These steps can make all the difference.

7. Stop smoking if you smoke, make a decision to stop, and seek help to do it. There is simply no safe level of smoking as far as homocysteine and your health is concerned.

8. Supplement a high-strength multivitamin every day. Excellent-quality multis are available in the market to keep your homocysteine levels in check, you’ll need one that gives at least 20mg of b6, 200mcg of folic acid and 10mcg of b12. This diet, lifestyle and supplement plan has the potential to halve your homocysteine score in weeks. If it's high, then you may need to supplement additional nutrients, as outlined in the table above. The goal is to bring your score to below 6 or 7 if you are over 50. Your homocysteine score is probably the best objective measure of whether you are achieving optimum nutrition for you.

Summary: keeping your homocysteine levels low

• Test your homocysteine level. 
• If it’s above 6, supplement the levels of homocysteine-lowering nutrients given in the table above. 
• Also take a high-strength multi-vitamin giving at least 20mg of b6, 200mcg of folic acid and 10mcg of b12, even if your h score isn’t above 6. 
• Follow the h factor plan as shown above. 
• Re-test yourself every three months until your homocysteine is below 6.

Homocysteine is found to be resposible for severe hardening of arteries despite of normal cholesterol level thus increasing the risk of developing heart disease.

What is homocysteine?

It is an intermediate by- product that we produce when our bodies break down an essential amino acid called methionine. Methionine is found in large quantities in meat, eggs, milk, cheese, white flour, canned foods and highly processed foods. Our body need methionine to survive. Our body normally convert homocysteine into either cysteine or back to methionine again.

Cystenine & methionine are benign products and are not harmful in any way, but the enzymes needed to break down homocystine into cystine or back to methionine need folic acid, vitamin b12 and vitamin b6 to do their job. If these vitamins are deficient then levels of homocysteine in the blood begin to rise and so as the risk of developing heart disease.

Going vegetarian and eating lots of fruits and vegetables to fulfill the requirement of vitamin b group is easy way to keep your heart healthy.

How many of us know that a deficiency of Vitamin B6, also known as pyridoxine can make you susceptible for heart disease, brain degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s as well as muscle pain, depression and dragging fatigue?

Vitamin B6 is one of the most crucial vitamins for health and it’s a part of the vitamin B complex family. Now, all B vitamins, including vitamin B6, play an important role in a number of life-altering physical and psychological functions. All of them have a vital role to play in helping to maintain a healthy metabolism, nerve and liver function as well as skin and eye health, as well as good amount of energy levels.

Role of Vitamin B6 -
Vitamin B6 or pyridoxine has a number of derivatives, including pyridoxal, pyridoxal 5-phosphate and pyridoxamine. And all of these are involved in major body functions like movement, memory, energy use and blood flow. This is the primary reason why a vitamin B6 deficiency can show up in a range of symptoms from physical to psychological, temporary to chronic and serious.
Vitamin B6 also helps your body to

Maintain a healthy nervous system -

1. To make more hemoglobin, blood cells that carry oxygen in blood
2. To provide energy from our food
3. To balance blood sugar levels
4. To act as a natural pain relief
5. To boost mood
6. To create antibodies for self-protection

Preventing a Vitamin B6 Deficiency -
The recommended amount of vitamin B6 for an adult under the age of 50 is 1.3 milligrams. Normally, this amount is easy to get from your diet, assuming you are eating a balanced diet with enough calories. However, the amount the body’s requirement for vitamin B6 jumps up as you age. Experts recommend that adults over 50 get up to 1.7 milligram daily of this vitamin.

As this requirement is not met, older people get more prone to a vitamin B6 deficiency and so do malnourished children and adults. Foods like poultry, pork, nuts and beans contain high levels of vitamin B6 and you can include more of these to get the recommended dose of vitamin B6. However, since vitamin B6 is a water-soluble vitamin, so you need to replenish your body with it daily as it doesn’t get stored in the body.

Symptoms of Vitamin B6 deficiency:

• Lack of energy and chronic fatigue: Vitamin B6 helps supply your body with energy by improving your metabolism. It has a vital role to play in protein metabolism – it helps your body break down the protein that you eat and produce energy quickly. So one very important pointer that you have a vitamin B6 deficiency is when you get fatigued quickly during exercise.
• Brain function decline: Vitamin B6 vitamin helps your brain communicate with other parts of the body more efficiently. So, if you have a decline in muscle efficiency it could be a sign of vitamin B6 deficiency.
• High Levels of amino acid Homocysteine: High levels of amino acid Homocysteine do not cause any symptoms that you can detect by yourself but tests can tell you if you have high levels of this amino acid in your body. And these high levels are directly linked to vitamin B6 deficiency. What high levels of homocysteine can do is cause heart attacks. But vitamin B6 helps keep a check on these levels to reduce your risk for a cardiovascular event.

Other symptoms of vitamin B6 deficiency are:

1. Changes in mood, such as depression, irritability, and anxiety
2. Confusion
3. Muscle pains
4. Fatigue
5. A worsening of PMS symptoms
6. And worsening of symptoms of anemia
7. As vitamin B6 is so important for nerve function, a deficiency is linked with neuro-psychiatric disorders like seizures, migraines, and chronic pain.
8. An increased risk of heart disease and rheumatoid arthritis
9. Higher risk for Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia

How many of us know that a deficiency of Vitamin B6, also known as pyridoxine can make you susceptible for heart disease, brain degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s as well as muscle pain, depression and dragging fatigue?

Vitamin B6 is one of the most crucial vitamins for health and it’s a part of the vitamin B complex family. Now, all B vitamins, including vitamin B6, play an important role in a number of life-altering physical and psychological functions. All of them have a vital role to play in helping to maintain a healthy metabolism, nerve and liver function as well as skin and eye health, as well as good amount of energy levels.

Role of Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6 or pyridoxine has a number of derivatives, including pyridoxal, pyridoxal 5-phosphate and pyridoxamine. And all of these are involved in major body functions like movement, memory, energy use and blood flow. This is the primary reason why a vitamin B6 deficiency can show up in a range of symptoms from physical to psychological, temporary to chronic and serious.
Vitamin B6 also helps your body to

Maintain a healthy nervous system

1. To make more hemoglobin, blood cells that carry oxygen in blood
2. To provide energy from our food
3. To balance blood sugar levels
4. To act as a natural pain relief
5. To boost mood
6. To create antibodies for self-protection

Preventing a Vitamin B6 Deficiency
The recommended amount of vitamin B6 for an adult under the age of 50 is 1.3 milligrams. Normally, this amount is easy to get from your diet, assuming you are eating a balanced diet with enough calories. However, the amount the body’s requirement for vitamin B6 jumps up as you age. Experts recommend that adults over 50 get up to 1.7 milligram daily of this vitamin.

As this requirement is not met, older people get more prone to a vitamin B6 deficiency and so do malnourished children and adults. Foods like poultry, pork, nuts and beans contain high levels of vitamin B6 and you can include more of these to get the recommended dose of vitamin B6. However, since vitamin B6 is a water-soluble vitamin, so you need to replenish your body with it daily as it doesn’t get stored in the body.

Symptoms of Vitamin B6 deficiency:
Lack of energy and chronic fatigue: Vitamin B6 helps supply your body with energy by improving your metabolism. It has a vital role to play in protein metabolism – it helps your body break down the protein that you eat and produce energy quickly. So one very important pointer that you have a vitamin B6 deficiency is when you get fatigued quickly during exercise.
Brain function decline: Vitamin B6 vitamin helps your brain communicate with other parts of the body more efficiently. So, if you have a decline in muscle efficiency it could be a sign of vitamin B6 deficiency.
High Levels of amino acid Homocysteine: High levels of amino acid Homocysteine do not cause any symptoms that you can detect by yourself but tests can tell you if you have high levels of this amino acid in your body. And these high levels are directly linked to vitamin B6 deficiency. What high levels of homocysteine can do is cause heart attacks. But vitamin B6 helps keep a check on these levels to reduce your risk for a cardiovascular event.

 

Other symptoms of vitamin B6 deficiency are:

1. Changes in mood, such as depression, irritability, and anxiety
2. Confusion
3. Muscle pains
4. Fatigue
5. A worsening of PMS symptoms
6. And worsening of symptoms of anemia
7. As vitamin B6 is so important for nerve function, a deficiency is linked with neuro-psychiatric disorders like seizures, migraines, and chronic pain.
8. An increased risk of heart disease and rheumatoid arthritis
9. Higher risk for Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

Vitamin B9 (Folic Acid) - Deficiency Risk and Symptoms

An adequate intake of Vitamin B9 is important as it helps the body as a to utilise amino acids which are the building blocks of proteins. It helps the body form blood cells in bone marrow and ensures rapid cell growth in infancy, adolescence, and pregnancy. Vitamin B9 plays a crucial role in producing nucleic acids (e.g., DNA), the body's genetic material.

Together with Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12 it also helps control blood levels of the amino acid homocysteine which is associated with certain chronic conditions such as heart disease.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) confirms that clear health benefits have been established for the dietary intake of folic acid (vitamin B9) in contributing to:

• normal blood formation
• normal homocysteine levels (high levels of homocysteine are related to the early development of heart and blood vessel disease)
• a normal metabolism of the immune system
• normal cell division
• normal maternal tissue growth during pregnancy
• normal amino acid synthesis
• normal psychological functions
• the reduction of tiredness and fatigue

In addition, the EFSA has confirmed that supplemental folate intake increases maternal folate status, which contributes to the reduction of the risk of neural tube defects (NTD).

Food Sources

Folate is found in a wide variety of foods but the richest sources are liver, dark green leafy vegetables (broccoli, brussels sprouts and spinach), beans and yeast. Other sources include eggs (specifically the yolk), milk and dairy products, beets, orange juice and whole wheat bread.

Folic acid (Vitamin B9) is a water-soluble vitamin and as such, it is unlikely to reach toxic levels. There is little danger of toxicity when it is taken orally. No adverse effects have been associated with the consumption of excess dietary folic acid.

Folic acid cannot be stored in the body, so you need it in your diet every day. Adults need 200 mcg of folic acid a day. However, if you are pregnant, thinking of trying to have a baby or likely to become pregnant, the NHS recommend that you take a 400 mcg folic acid supplement daily from the time you stop using contraception until the 12th week of pregnancy. This is to help prevent birth defects of the central nervous system, such as spina bifida, in your baby.

Symptoms of deficiency

• tiredness
• irritability and loss of appetite

Severe folate deficiency leads to a condition in which the bone marrow produces oversized immature red blood cells - this is called megaloblastic anemia in pregnant women folic acid deficiency can result in severe or even fatal birth defects such as neural tube defects

How many of us know that a deficiency of Vitamin B6, also known as pyridoxine can make you susceptible for heart disease, brain degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s as well as muscle pain, depression and dragging fatigue?

Vitamin B6 is one of the most crucial vitamins for health and it’s a part of the vitamin B complex family. Now, all B vitamins, including vitamin B6, play an important role in a number of life-altering physical and psychological functions. All of them have a vital role to play in helping to maintain a healthy metabolism, nerve and liver function as well as skin and eye health, as well as good amount of energy levels.

Role of Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6 or pyridoxine has a number of derivatives, including pyridoxal, pyridoxal 5-phosphate and pyridoxamine. And all of these are involved in major body functions like movement, memory, energy use and blood flow. This is the primary reason why a vitamin B6 deficiency can show up in a range of symptoms from physical to psychological, temporary to chronic and serious.
Vitamin B6 also helps your body to

Maintain a healthy nervous system

1. To make more hemoglobin, blood cells that carry oxygen in blood
2. To provide energy from our food
3. To balance blood sugar levels
4. To act as a natural pain relief
5. To boost mood
6. To create antibodies for self-protection

Preventing a Vitamin B6 Deficiency
The recommended amount of vitamin B6 for an adult under the age of 50 is 1.3 milligrams. Normally, this amount is easy to get from your diet, assuming you are eating a balanced diet with enough calories. However, the amount the body’s requirement for vitamin B6 jumps up as you age. Experts recommend that adults over 50 get up to 1.7 milligram daily of this vitamin.

As this requirement is not met, older people get more prone to a vitamin B6 deficiency and so do malnourished children and adults. Foods like poultry, pork, nuts and beans contain high levels of vitamin B6 and you can include more of these to get the recommended dose of vitamin B6. However, since vitamin B6 is a water-soluble vitamin, so you need to replenish your body with it daily as it doesn’t get stored in the body.

Symptoms of Vitamin B6 deficiency:
Lack of energy and chronic fatigue: Vitamin B6 helps supply your body with energy by improving your metabolism. It has a vital role to play in protein metabolism – it helps your body break down the protein that you eat and produce energy quickly. So one very important pointer that you have a vitamin B6 deficiency is when you get fatigued quickly during exercise.
Brain function decline: Vitamin B6 vitamin helps your brain communicate with other parts of the body more efficiently. So, if you have a decline in muscle efficiency it could be a sign of vitamin B6 deficiency.
High Levels of amino acid Homocysteine: High levels of amino acid Homocysteine do not cause any symptoms that you can detect by yourself but tests can tell you if you have high levels of this amino acid in your body. And these high levels are directly linked to vitamin B6 deficiency. What high levels of homocysteine can do is cause heart attacks. But vitamin B6 helps keep a check on these levels to reduce your risk for a cardiovascular event.

Other symptoms of vitamin B6 deficiency are:

1. Changes in mood, such as depression, irritability, and anxiety
2. Confusion
3. Muscle pains
4. Fatigue
5. A worsening of PMS symptoms
6. And worsening of symptoms of anemia
7. As vitamin B6 is so important for nerve function, a deficiency is linked with neuro-psychiatric disorders like seizures, migraines, and chronic pain.
8. An increased risk of heart disease and rheumatoid arthritis
9. Higher risk for Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

Vitamins and minerals can help you to lower your chances of developing heart diseases. But you may fall short of the appropriate quantity of these ingredients. Hence, multivitamins are used to fill in these gaps in your diet.

Multivitamins are basically supplements that contain several vitamins and minerals along with other components. They are available in different forms such as pills, tablets, powder and capsules.

In order to include them properly in your diet, you need to know their details.

Here are some supplements that will keep your heart healthy –

• Omega 3 fatty acids

These polyunsaturated fatty acids are found in walnuts, flaxseeds, and certain fishes like sardines, salmon and tuna. As the body does not produce them naturally, you need to consume them separately. These are great for the proper functioning of your heart. This is because the Omega-3 fatty acids help in lowering triglycerides production. High levels of this substance can lead to diseases such as coronary heart disease, heart attack and stroke.

• L-Carnitine

L-Carnitine is an amino acid that helps in converting the fats you consume into energy. It helps in maintaining the blood glucose levels in your body. Furthermore, it is beneficial for patients suffering from congestive heart failure and insufficient oxygenation in their heart. L-Carnitine helps in reducing the damage caused due to these conditions. The acid also helps in reducing the symptoms of angina and complications caused due to a heart attack.

You can get it from foods supplements or foods such as cheese, meat, milk and beef.

• Coenzyme Q10

This substance is found in the cells of your body. The cells use this to produce the energy required for cell growth. It also acts as an antioxidant that is found in foods such as soybean, peanuts, beef and sardines. It protects the skeletal muscles. The substance is said to be beneficial for patients who have suffered from a heart failure, it helps by boosting energy and speeding up their recovery.

• Magnesium

It is a mineral found in green vegetables, and fruits like avocado and banana, legumes, nuts and spinach. They also come as supplements in the form of magnesium citrate and magnesium gluconate.

Maintaining the sufficient levels of magnesium helps to maintain the blood pressure, cholesterol, and prevents the building of plaque in the arteries. Furthermore, it helps to prevent hardening of the arteries and calcification of the soft tissues.

• Folic acid

This is also called Vitamin B9 and is found in broccoli, asparagus and Brussels sprouts. This regulates the amount of homocysteine in the blood. This is beneficial for reducing the risks of blood clots that may be caused due to homocysteine.

It is best to consult a doctor before including a multivitamin or supplement in your diet as they may have side effects.

If you are feeling lethargic or lazy, it’s time that you get a sufficient amount of vitamin B12 in your regular diet. Vitamins are wonderful gifts of nature to keep your organs and body healthy and active. Your brain stops functioning properly in case of vitamin B12 deficiency. Not just that, it has a wide range of health benefits. It keeps you moving and energetic in life. In fact, for a healthy life, you must make it an indispensable part of your existence. Most of us often forget to take a vitamin-rich diet and depend on junk food a lot. This dependency on fast food leads to vitamin deficiency. According to a report, about 40% of Americans are tested with low vitamin B12 levels.

This is not good for a healthy life. Thus, it is advisable that you take care of your diet. But prior to that, you must know why vitamin B12 is so essential. Well, here’s all that you get from vitamin B12:

1. Provides energy - Vitamin B12 is needed for energy supply. It generates energy in your body and takes away laziness from you. Your cells stay happy and healthy with the intake of vitamin B12. It balances your life by providing you with the right amount of energy.
    
2. Saves your heart - The cardiovascular system requires vitamin B12 for proper functioning. It removes harmful protein homocysteine from the bloodstream. This compound can damage arteries and cause inflammatory and heart diseases.
    
3. Strengthens your bones - Researchers have found that patients with osteoporosis have greater amounts of homocysteine in the blood. They have lower amounts of vitamin B12 in their bodies. Thus, sufficient intake of vitamin B12 protects bones. They help in calcium absorption and keep bones healthy.
    
4. Prevents nerve damage - Vitamin B12 safeguards your nerves by keeping them away from toxins and free and harmful radicals in the bloodstream. They form a covering on the nerves called myelin sheaths. Nerves get damaged completely or partially without these covering.
    
5. Keeps you away from depression - It regulates your mood by the production of a chemical called serotonin. Deficiency of vitamin b12 makes you feel lonely, irritated or frustrated always.
    
6. Protects health of brain - Researchers believe that Alzheimer’s patients have poor B12 levels in the blood. This vitamin helps in protection of nerve cells and their coverings. They also protect the myelin sheaths of brain cells. An adequate amount of vitamin B12 in the body keeps you away from dementia.

Is Vitamin B12 Causing Your Acne?
It’s a common belief that vitamins are essential for glowing skin and shiny hairs. But are you aware that excess of vitamin B12 can trigger acne breakouts and leave you with a dull skin? Well, you have read it correctly. Recent studies have revealed that too much vitamin B12 can worsen acne. To get a better understanding of the matter, it is best to know more about vitamin B12.

What Is Vitamin B12?
It is one of the most complex vitamins. It has a very complicated chemical structure. It has an organic molecule, surrounding an atom of cobalt. Our body can use three types of vitamin B12. These types are known as cobalamin. We are also prescribed vitamin B12 supplements sometimes by the doctor. These supplements contain Cyanocobalamin, which is easily converted into methylcobalamin and 5-deoxyadenosyl cobalamin in the body. Our body needs vitamin B12 to produce certain enzymes, which are needed for making a detoxifying a substance called homocysteine and haemoglobin production.

Why is vitamin B12 essential for us?
Vitamin B12 is needed for the good health of the cardiovascular and nervous system. It promotes the production of haemoglobin and red blood cells.

According to a recent study, an excess of vitamin B12 in the body triggers the occurrence of pimples or acne breakouts. In the presence of vitamin B12, the acne producing bacteria thrives. Vitamin B12 helps these bacteria to pump out inflammatory substances that cause acne. Vitamin B12 changes the gene expression of the bacteria and causes pimples. They found that vitamin B12 changed the gene expression of the skin bacteria, which could have led to acne-promoting inflammation.

Can you use ointments and lotions with B12 for acne?
There is still no proof that creams or ointments containing vitamin B12 are useful for treating acne. It cannot be confirmed too that these creams help psoriasis. On the other hand, there is no evidence that these creams worsen acne. Therefore, it will be wrong to reject such ointments just because they have vitamin B12. It is advisable to consult your dermatologist for the best remedy.

B12 Deficiency and Acne
Acne can also be caused due to vitamin B12 deficiency. People who use retinoid drugs often need additional B12 injections to prevent homocysteine. Retinoid drugs in the form of pills can hinder in the proper functioning of enzymes, especially cystathionine-beta-synthase. Injection of vitamin B12 ensures better functioning of the enzymes and prevents your skin from any breakout. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can ask a free question.

If you are feeling lethargic, it’s time that you get sufficient amount of vitamin B12 in your regular diet. Vitamins are wonderful gifts of nature to keep your organs and body healthy and active. Your brain stops functioning properly in case of vitamin B12 deficiency. Not just that, it has a wide range of health benefits. It keeps you moving and energetic in life. In fact, for a healthy life, you must make it an indispensable part of your existence. Most of us often forget to take vitamin rich diet and depend on junk food a lot. This dependency on fast foods leads to vitamin deficiency. According to a report, about 40% Americans are tested with low vitamin B12 levels.

This is not good for a healthy life. Thus, it is advisable that you take care of your diet. But prior to that, you must know why vitamin B12 is so essential. Well, here’s all that you get from vitamin B12:

1. Provides energy: Vitamin B12 is needed for energy supply. It generates energy in your body and takes away lethargy from you. Your cells stay happy and healthy with the intake of vitamin B12. It balances your life by providing you the right amount of energy.
2. Saves your heart: The cardiovascular system requires vitamin B12 for proper functioning. It removes harmful protein homocysteine from the bloodstream. This compound can damage arteries and cause inflammatory and heart diseases.
3. Strengthens your bones: Researchers have found that patients with osteoporosis have greater amounts of homocysteine in the blood. They have lower amounts of vitamin B12 in their bodies. Thus, sufficient intake of vitamin B12 protects bones. They help in calcium absorption and keep bones healthy.
4. Prevents nerve damage: Vitamin B12 safeguards your nerves by keeping them away from toxins and free and harmful radicals in the bloodstream. They form a covering on the nerves called myelin sheaths. Nerves get damaged completely or partially without these covering.
5. Keeps you away from depression: It regulates your mood by the production of a chemical called serotonin. Deficiency of vitamin b12 makes you feel lonely, irritated or frustrated always.
6. Protects the health of the brain: Researchers believe that Alzheimer’s patients have poor B12 levels in the blood. This vitamin helps in the protection of nerve cells and their coverings. They also protect the myelin sheaths of brain cells. An adequate amount of vitamin B12 in the body keeps you away from dementia. If you wish to discuss any specific problem, you can consult a Dietitian/Nutritionist.

 

Related: You can also check saffola soup if you are looking for a high protein soup (Saffola Fittify Gourmet Hi Protein Meal Soup).