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In Chapter 1, we said that 4 simple atoms ("Methyl Group") are passed around the body to turn on/off certain chemical reactions ("Methylation Process"), and we discussed this process at the cellular level as DNA Methylation. Thus, "Methyl" is the key word.

There exist a number of players in this process. The first and foremost is the Methyl Group which is 3 hydrogen atoms and 1 carbon atom. Methy Groups are carried by one molecule to a place where a second molecule needs a Methyl Group to begin a chemical reaction.

The second player is the Transfer Molecule that has a Methy Group it is willing to give up. It is this second player which we will look at, in this Chapter 2.

Before we continue, however, we must pause a moment to consider the very stuff of which we are made. One Star Trek alien called human beings, "Bags of mostly water." What is left after you take away the water content of the human body, is a chemical warehouse of building materials. To appreciate the diversity the chemical warehouse offers, let us take a look at what happens to a caterpillar.

The caterpillar spins a thread of silk, attaching itself to the underside of a leaf. Within hours, the outside skin is shed and a fully enclosed pupae or chrysalis emerges. Inside the chrysalis the chemicals that made up the caterpillar change until the caterpillar has turned into a bag of mostly water with a chemical mixture. The chemicals are rearranged in the magical process of methylation until an entirely new structure is formed. In the last picture the Monarch Butterfly can be seen inside the thin skin that was shed minutes later. The same chemicals simply rearranged giving us three entirely different results.

To understand the magic behind this transformation from caterpillar to butterfly, requires us to go to the very beginning - down to the atomic level. Please, do not panic, for a few minutes of concentration, you will gain the secret of transformation....

The basic chemical building blocks that are changed during the butterfly transformation are complex mixtures of molecules called Proteins. Break it down further, you find that proteins are built out of Amino Acids.

Amino Acids are simple molecules made up of atoms. Relax...just think of taking a few marbles (atoms) and putting them in a dish (molecule). In our discussion, we call the molecules "Amino Acids". If you put a bunch of Amino Acids on a tray, we call the tray a Protein. Marbles are atoms, dishes are Amino Acid molecules, and trays full of Amino Acid molecules are Proteins.

The caterpillar's trays were dumped into a big pan that was put on the stove and heated. The dishes melted and the marbles were mixed up in the pot. As the pot cooled, the marbles were rearranged. As the pot cooled further, dishes reformed around the marbles. When the pot is dumped out, an entirely different arrangement of dishes and trays are visible as the butterfly.

This is the magic behind life, how small numbers of chemicals can be changed into different molecules and rearranged into different proteins, to create different forms of life. The key to this magical transformation exits at the atomic level with that simple passing of the Methyl Group from the Transfer Molecule to another molecule, during methylation.

The single most important Transfer Molecule requires the Amino Acid molecule called Methionine. This Amino Acid is an important molecule in many proteins. As such, we can take in Methionine by eating high protein foods such as fish, meat, and dairy products. Methionine should not be supplemented; you should be able to easily have enough Methionine from your foods. (More on this later.)

The Amino Acid Methionine is the basic building block for the creation of the single most important Transfer Molecule commonly called SAM-e. SAM-e takes its Methyl Group and transports it all over the body. In over 400 situations, SAM-e gives up its Methyl Group causing a chemical reaction to be turned on. While each and every one of these 400 events is probably critical to life, only a few have been analyzed.

Critical to understanding the "Dance of the Methyl Groupies" is understanding what happens when SAM-e gives up its Methyl Group. Upon release of the four atoms, SAM-e is converted into Homocysteine. And, as good as SAM-e is, Homocysteine is bad. Before discussing why Homocysteine is damaging to the body, we need to see how the magical architect of the human body, designed a way in which to convert the dangerous Homocysteine back into the lovable SAM-e by way of the Amino Acid Methionine.

Homocysteine can be converted back into the Amino Acid Methionine by adding a few ingredients. The Methionine will, in turn, be converted into more SAM-e.

Folic Acid (or folate) is found in all sorts of farm products such as green leafy and other vegetables, oranges, beans, and whole grains. However, "found" and "farm" are the key words here. The farther away from the farm, the less the amount of potent folic acid remains. Folic Acid deficiencies are so prevalent, it is advisable to supplement Folic Acid daily. The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for Folic Acid is 400 micrograms, although 800 micrograms are being recommended by the researchers into Methylation. In some people, this dosage should be increased. (see http://www.methyl.org for updates on advised dosage levels.)

Note: Folic Acid should be kept refrigerated. Folic Acid may be kept inactive when taken with iron or Vitamin C. If you supplement Folic Acid, also supplement Vitamin B12. There is not a toxic buildup of Folic Acid when there is sufficient B12 available. Normal dosage: 400-800 micrograms per day

In addition to the Folic Acid, we need B12 and a variety of enzymes. Enzymes are chemical catalysts that make things happen, like the way heat can make a pot boil. While we are not going to talk about the enzymes, it is critical that we look at Vitamin B12's role in the Methyl Dance of the Groupies.

Vitamin B12 can be found in meat, fish, and chicken. But, because B12 becomes increasingly more difficult to absorb as we grow older, supplementation is normally required.

Note:

• Alcoholics, vegetarians, and the elderly are also candidates for B12 supplementation.
• The normal dosage ranges from 100-500 micrograms. Supplemented dosages range from 250-500 micrograms per day.
• It is recommended that you take a Vitamin B12 tablet that is absorbed after being placed under the tongue (sublingual tablet).
• B12 can be made inactive with a trip to the dentist and a dose of nitrous oxide or laughing gas.

In a perfect world, sufficient levels of Vitamin B12, Folic Acid, and the enzyme mix will manage the creation of SAM-e from Homocysteine through the Amino Acid Methionine. It would seem, however, that the world is not perfect. If it was, the human body would not have required development of another separate pathway to transform the dangerous Homocysteine.

The second way in which the body manages Homocysteine levels begins with a "quasi vitamin" called Betaine. Like SAM-e and Vitamin B12, Betaine is a Transfer Molecule for Methyl Groups.

Betaine is also known as TMG for Trimethylglycine. (Glycine is the simplest Amino Acid and is transporting three Methyl Groups.) Betaine gives up one of its Methyl Groups to Homocysteine which is transformed into the Amino Acid Methionine for further conversion to SAM-e.

So what we have in the Dance of the Methyl Groupies are the following dancers:

• Methyl Group - never without a partner (atoms of 3 Hydrogen and 1 Carbon)
• SAM-e (Transfer Molecule for the Methyl Group)
• Homocysteine (results when SAM-e gives up its Methyl Group)
• the couple Folic Acid and B12 (Transfer Molecules for a Methyl Group)
• Betaine (Transfer Molecule for a Methyl Group)
• Methionine (Amino Acid that is converted to SAM-e)

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  THE DANCE OF THE METHYL GROUPIES...

The dance floor is exceedingly small, not more than the size of a single cell. If something goes wrong, the dance can get down-right rowdy. Based upon studies we will cover in a later chapter, if you are over 30 and not getting a full farm-fresh food supply or correctly supplementing your diet, your dance floors may resemble the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

We will cover a few specific health concerns that appear effected by the buildup of Homocysteine later. But, as we continue our journey into the Methyl Manual, it is advisable that we begin preparing our bodies for rebirth. This is not in the metaphysical sense, this is a physical fact. Every cell in your body will die before six months have passed. Some cells will die and be replaced, many times over.

It is believed by some, that the human body has a life expectancy of 120 years. But, like other machines, most just outlast the warrantee. The warrantee expires at menopause for women and "middle age" for men. Nature's only concern is continuation of a given species. After the "childbearing years", when hormonal changes upset the machine, our bodies begin to undergo the dreaded process of aging.

And, what is aging? It looks more and more that aging is a slow down of the Methylation Process and the buildup of Homocysteine. Like a computer that has given the "fatal error" message, we need to "reboot" the system. Like an older model car, we need to flush out the radiator, change the oil, replace the break pads. And, we need to restart the car.

Now, you can start a car by using the key to turn the ignition; or, you can bypass the ignition and "hot wire" the starter. In the complex automobiles we now drive, the ignition is normally tied in with other systems. When we supplement our bodies with SAM-e, we are "hot wiring". I recommend that we use the key and turn on the ignition, to get started and to ignite any other tied-in systems.

And, what is the key? Well, what is old? A raison is an old, dried up grape. A prune is an old, dried up plume. An old geezer is an old, dried up human being. The common ingredient is "dried up".

Remember, we are "bags of mostly water". When we loose water in the bag, we begin to "dry up". One estimate I heard, was that 70% of all diseases can be tied to a deficiency in water. Whether this is true or not, I cannot say. But, it seems right, when you think about how the body works. We eat, we digest, we eliminate. Not any different than a caterpillar.

But, we can only eliminate successfully if we have sufficient water content to keep everything flowing. We tend to drink coffee, tea, soft-drinks, and anything other than water. The first thing we have to do in rebirthing ourselves is to fill the bag with water. THINK WATER. And, think a gallon per day.

While making the coffee, drink a glass of water (or at least half a glass). (While made with water, coffee and teas can be diuretics, causing you to flush water out of your body.) Take a bottle of water to work and keep it in front of you. Refill it until you have taken the equivalent of three more glasses. Drink a glass of water before each meal. If you drink another glass or two before bed, you will have your gallon. Not that bad. Some people have to maintain a similar regime where water is replaced by pills...probably because they did not drink enough water.

Now that we are THINKING WATER, let us turn our attention back to restarting the system. The key is water and it is in the ignition. To turn on the ignition, we need to add the elements which will change Homocysteine back into Methionine. In my opinion, the safest way to begin taking control over your own bio-molecular health is to take the following supplements before you do any thing else:

Multivitamin/multi-mineral Dietary Supplement which may or may not have most or all of the following list. Check the level in the multivitamin/multi-mineral to determine if further supplementation is required. Zinc - required for many phases of the Methylation Process which will be discussed later. 20-50 milligrams per day. Folic Acid 400 - 800 micrograms/daily seems to be the agreed upon dosage for folic acid. However, folic acid must be taken with Vitamin B12 , preferably as a sublingual tablet. Methyl Magic recommends 250 - 500 micrograms per day while Methylation Miracle considers 100 - 500 micrograms to be the range. Betaine The smaller and more athletic your build, the less Betaine you will need. Methyl Magic recommends 750 - 1,000 milligrams per day while Methylation Miracle considers 250 - 1,500 milligrams in divided daily doses to be the range. IF YOU HAVE A HISTORY OF ULCERS OR GASTRITIS DO NOT TAKE BETAINE OR TMG WITHOUT CONSULTING YOUR DOCTOR.

There are tests to determine the Homocysteine levels and tests are being developed for determining SAM-e levels. But, my reality tells me few of us will actually get our self to a Medical Clinic where such expensive testing can be conducted. More likely, we will simply self-medicate ourselves, based upon the advice of the "authorities".

I am not an authority except about this chapter of The Methylation Manual. At this point in my on-going studies, I recommend cleaning up the Homocysteines by converting them back to Methionine and eventually SAM-e. To do this, the first step is to build up the Transfer Molecules that can convert Homocysteine to Methionine, namely Folic Acid, B12, Betaine, with Zinc.

We are, of course, in the process of simplifying a very complicated process. There are enzymes, trace elements, minerals and other chemical factors that impact on our overall health and the Methylation Process specifically. By taking a good therapeutic multivitamin and mineral dietary supplement most of the supplements you need will be acquired.

But, we are talking about the Methylation Process and we need to think about our chemical dancers in a different way, than just a dietary supplement. The dancers are part of a very basic process upon which life depends.

Folic Acid, for instances, is supposedly made inactive when taken with Vitamin C or iron. Yet, in a multi-vitamin all three are added. Be safe and take supplemental Folic Acid. And, take it with Vitamin B12 supplements. B12 is just too important and too delicate a chemical to be ignored. Be safe and supplement both Folic Acid with B12.

Betaine can be obtained from many sources, including plants and animals. The problem is knowing if there is sufficient Betaine within the foods. Betaine requires supplementation when attempting to boost the Methylation Process. The dose of Betaine should be based upon your size and type body. The smaller and more athletic your build, the less Betaine you will need.

Betaine comes in two forms. Betaine/TMG is extracted from sugar beets without use of alcohol or any solvents. For those with deficiencies in stomach acid, Betaine HCL should be considered. Symptoms of stomach acid deficiency includes bloating, belching or gas after eating. Take a stomach acid screen if you have these symptoms. Check with your doctor.

For those of us who hot-wired with SAM-e, do not worry. Just make sure you supplement the vitamins. At the worst, you caused your body to go into an intense detoxification. I will recommend that you take no more than 400 mg of SAM-e based upon the recommended vitamin supplements given above. SAM-e is more that just a dancer in the Methylation, as we will see.

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Methyl Manual February 15, 2000