Listen to what Dr. Rostenberg has to say about how blood sugar and digestion impact the methylation cycle. If you ever suffer from anxiety, depression, insomnia, moodiness, fatigue, etc. you need to pay close attention to your blood sugar and insulin levels. You’ll see in the video how having insulin and blood sugar swings will sabotage your best efforts at getting your methylation cycle balanced. We now know that skipping a meal, getting too hungry, not eating enough, etc. can actually kill our brain cells and cause neuro-inflammation. Low blood sugar is a phenomenal stress to the central nervous system and without it, our brain gets foggy and inflammed – sound familiar?
When you first get started working on balancing your methylation pathways, there are some primary issues that need to be addressed. It is important to make sure that we balance our blood sugar, digest our food correctly, eliminate toxins on a regular basis, and help our immune system to kill pathogens. All of these systems need to be working correctly while we take methyl support nutrients. The reason why is that methyl nutrients stimulate our biochemistry. If we have digestive, immune or blood sugar issues and we just dump methyl support on top of that our results will be less than satisfactory – and it may even make you sick!
Just taking Methyl Folate and B12 for MTHFR problems without fixing these underlying health issues in this video might make you feel worse. Having SNPs like ACE, GAD, MAO and COMT makes a person more susceptible to the effects of blood sugar issues because these people over-produce stress hormones. Some people can skip meals all day long and never miss a beat. Other people, like those with methylation imbalances, will feel and act like a totally different person. It is fair to say that low blood sugar is miserable and should be avoided at all costs! Remember glucose is necessary to fuel our bodies and our brain, if it drops too low, it doesn’t matter what your SNPs are…you’re body will react negatively whether you know it or not.
Common Symptoms of Low Blood Sugar:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Aggressive behavior
- Moodiness
- Physical weakness
- Fatigue
- Rapid heart beat
- Tremors
- Nausea
- Dizzyness
- Blurred Vision
- Lack of appetite despite hours of fasting
- Excessive hunger
- Sweating
- Inability to sleep through the night, waking up sweating and/or hungry
Without blood sugar balance, you cannot digest your food and your liver doesn’t have glucose available for Phase II detoxification. This means you may become malnourished due to low stomach acid. It also means that since glucoronidation is slowed in the liver, the body will detoxify fewer molecules of estrogen, bilirubin, drugs, and other toxins. You may even see people develop other hormone imbalances like hypothyroidism and estrogen dominance because of the blood sugar problem. The body needs glucose to detoxify, repair and fuel itself. So without even discussing glutathione and detox problems like GSTM, GSTP, or CYP enzymes, it is easy to see how low blood sugar can slow detoxification. This is why blood sugar is important for everyone who is interested in optimizing their health.
The bottom line is that blood sugar balance is critical for anyone with methylation imbalances. Missing a meal now, means there will be less digestion happening at the next meal. This will reduce the amount of nutrition absorbed from the GI tract and make it even harder to have balanced methylation going forward. If you suffer from any of the symptoms shown in the video or listed above, then blood sugar is a likely culprit. Treating SNPs is a big part of it, but to succeed in our efforts, we need the BIG PICTURE approach.
Supplements are necessary because they provide our body with nutrients we depend on for life. But fixing the blood sugar and digestion is the FIRST thing to do in every case! If you would like help with your blood sugar swings and digestion to help your methylation cycle, please contact Dr. Rostenberg at Red Mountain Natural Medicine today. Phone 208-322-7755. Email redmountainclinic@gmail.com.
Now it is your turn…
Do you have any issues with methylation nutrients causing symptoms?
Do you have a blood sugar issue discribed above?
What success have you had in treating your blood sugar problem? Has eating frequently helped you?
Please leave a comment below!
Thank you for sharing these insights about blood sugar and methylation. I was recently diagnosed with MTHFR (677 and 1298), and have begun taking folate. In the first 10 days I felt terrible, with migraine headaches and fatigue. Things have improved now, though I have had to cut back the dosage.
Methyl folate and B12 and other quality nutrients like that should leave you feeling better. Often patients experience bad reactions to supplements, and asking the question WHY has led me to discover that the GUT is the source of the problem. A bad reaction to folate and B-vitamins means there is an unhealthy small-large intestine environment that is disrupting the absorption of those nutrients. I help people rebalance their gut quickly so they can move on and start enjoying the benefits of the methylation support. I do work with patients all over the world and am available for consults if you feel they would benefit you. email: redmountainclinic@gmail.com. – Dr. Rostenberg
My husband is compound hetero and recently had labs by our PCP (he sees an ND for MTHFR) and his glucose was 111, A1C was 5.7, BUN19, Creat 1.16. I am interested in thoughts of how to clean up these labs, I am afraid his sugar is causing renal issues, unbeknownst to us, could have been going on for a while. ND put him on a Liver detox liquid hoping to clear the insulin resistance but I am still concerned
Hi Stacey,
Thanks for reaching out and posting your comment! I would encourage you to dip deeper into insulin resistance. Treating the liver may help somewhat, but at the core of the problem is usually a leaky gut, food allergies, imbalanced diet, low vitamins and minerals, and genetic imbalances to top it all off. What you are seeing with labs like your husbands is that if nothing is changed then his blood sugar will worsen. Alzheimers is now the 6th leading cause of death and it is referred to in the literature as “type 3 diabetes”. So you are absolutely correct to take this seriously.
You are on the right track looking at methylation and genetic polymorphisms. In the grand scheme of things preventing and reversing diabetes naturally is very possible and happens all the time. You just have to have the right plan and work with proven tools like the ones we use in my office. I am inviting to you contact me at my office in Boise. If you would like my help in supporting your husband’s health and reversing his blood sugar issues then call 208-322-775 or email redmountainclinic@gmail.com. I work with patients like this every day from all over the world. The good news is that your husband has a wife like yourself who cares enough to search for better answers. Just know that your husband will be better! – In Health, Dr. Rostenberg
I’m not a health professional, but it seems to me that recommending methylfolate and methylcobalamin to anyone without knowing all their SNPs is risky. I have several SNPs for which “avoid methyl donors” is the appropriate advice.
My own Doctor tested me for MTHFR (good for him!!) and that’s all (bad for him!!) and then went on to authoritatively recommend these methyl vitamins (unconscionable of him!!). Predictably, the problems I was hoping he’d help me with worsened considerably.
Fortunately, I had sense enough to listen to my body, trust its authority on the subject, and stop taking them. But it was only later, when I got the REST of the genetic data and some of the profiles available for them, that I discovered WHY they made me feel so much worse. So IMO any health practitioner who tests ONLY for MTHFR and ignores — or doesn’t even look — for anything else is not serving his patient well at all. Same for advice from anyone that only considers MHFR.
Hi Patricia,
Thank you for reaching out and posting a comment! Your story is a common one, esp. in my office. People come to me after they had terrible reactions to methyl groups like folate, b12, TMG, etc. We say in our office that “anything can cause anything”. People do in fact die of a broken heart so even emotional trauma can change the physical body. When we talk about supplements, they are powerful fertilizer that acts like cellular rocket fuel. When people have bad reactions to vitamins, it usually means there is some other issue that isn’t being addressed within the person – leaky gut, food allergies, hidden infections, etc. The genes play a huge, huge role in this as well. You are on the right track to listen to your own instincts for the body has a great deal of wisdom. Its just that we are trained to ignore it. Hope that helps.
Dr. Rostenberg
I have been suffering now for three years with MTHFR gene mutation and other smps I’m having a hard time keeping my blood sugar up I do not understand what’s going on I have looked high and low for a doctor to help me and where I live in the country there is no one I ran across this website and was wondering if there is a way that you would be willing to consult with me and try to help me get my life back. It’s just me and my husband we’re older and we just can’t keep up with everything I am so fatigued I have also been on ativan 0.5 milligrams taking two a day for several years. I’ve also been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s my muscles and Joints seem to ache all the time I have absolutely no energy I am so fatigued. I am hoping that I have found the person that can help me. Thank you
i have a blood disorder that causes my blood to clot easily. It has to do with mother and the c677t and a1298c genes. I am taking homecystine factors and adrenal vitamins as well as d3 fish oil garlic and vitamin e. I also take xarralto to prevent clotting. How can improve my diet to help?
Hi, I have MTHFR 1298 heterozygous and comt as well as other snps. I am wondering what you do for SIBO and leaky gut syndrome? I suffer horribly with muscle pain, anger, depression, anxiety, and other issues. Thank you
Hi Teresa,
Thank you for your comment! SIBO and Leaky Gut are two conditions we see every day in our practice. To successfully heal from SIBO and leaky gut, its important to understand why the condition appears in the first place. SIBO cannot survive in a health gut and so we strive in every case to rebalance and repair the function of the gut. Everyone needs to have a functional stomach, pancreas, gallbladder along with healthy bacteria, slow wave motor complexes, etc. And of course any Candida and aggressive bacteria must be cleansed from the gut as well. We have a powerful, natural toolkit that addresses these aspects of gut function. Once the gut is more functional, individuals with methylation imbalances can then start to address those issues using other protocols in our office. My team and I can help you unvravel this health challenge and get you feeling better, naturally. We can help you optimize your genes, and change your life! – In Health, Dr. Rostenberg
Wow, this is me. Ever since finding out I had celiac disease, my health has deteriorated almost more than when I was eating wheat before my dx! That was 10 years ago – I’m 41 now, 140 lbs, and eat pretty healthily – and I’ve been GF ever since. But over this past decade I’ve slowly developed chronic headaches, migraines at least twice per month, high blood sugar, estrogen dominance/menstral migraines, possible SIBO, and systemic candida. I’m now trying the 10 week Gut Thrive in 5 program (I’m in week 2 and struggling with detox symptoms) to try and address the probable root cause of all of this – leaky gut. I aslo have several SNPs that probably exacerbate these problems. I don’t want this to be me! I have 4 kids and a full time job, and am working on stress management which I KNOW is a big part of this puzzle as well…. Thanks for this great post!
Hi Megan,
Thanks for your comment! It might seem overwhelming at the moment, but people get better and bodies heal. It just takes a focused, concerted effort aiming at the root cause of the problem. Celiac patients suffer because of malabsorption which causes many different types of issues from lack of nutrients inside the body. The good news is that individuals with celiac disease have responded very well to the holistic, natural approach I use in my office every day. Going gluten free helps and is critical to stop the damage; but just stopping eating wheat won’t always fix the issues that have developed over a life-time of gluten-based gut reactions. For that we need to use more powerful tools. Have you looked at the Autoimmune Protocol? That works really well for people healing from celiac disease.
Yours in Health,
Dr. Rostenberg
Dr. Rostenberg
Hv u treated Parkinsons?
Hypoglycemia runs in my family – mom, sister, and even cousins are affected, so it clearly has a genetic component. We also struggle with electrolyte balance, and issues like anxiety and inability to handle stress. I surmise it is bc our bodies are working so hard to control insulin / glucose, electrolytes, and hormones that it doesn’t have many resources left over for neurotransmitter production. In the last few years I have significantly cut down my sugar intake, eliminated alcohol, and I eat every 3-4 hours. I’ve seen a nutritionist and a holistic physician, and I’ve made progress but have not been able to correct the root cause. My insulin is still too strong, I struggle with anxiety, and I’m not sure there are supplements that can help as I seem to have tried everything on the market. I do appreciate articles like these though.
Trying to get to the bottom of night and day sweats, Hashimoto’s, anxiety, adrenal insufficiency, low iron, unbalanced hormones, dysbiosis, candida and high B12. Sounds like a MTHFR gene defect. Although homocysteine levels come back as within range, I am now supplementing with 1000 mcg of L-Methylfolate and 1 mg Methyl-Cobalamin, high potency probiotic, Interfase Plus, Whole Food Multivitamins, Magnesium, high potency Vitamin C, iron and Natural Desiccated Thyroid 60 mg. I am going to discuss this with my GP but don’t expect much co-operation. I am noticing a decline in the amount of night and day sweats so possibly am on the right track. What do you think?
I had a terrifying reaction to TMG it’s been 2 weeks, my sugar issue is so off now I need to eat every 2 hours it really screwed me up. A very scary experience. I need to eat constantly not feel like I. Going to pass out. Is there any food you recommend and how long can it take TMG to leave the body? Hopefully I haven’t made things worse.
Thank you
I have MTHFR 677and 1298. I take fluconazole and B12 but I can’t stop the sugar. I have cut back but I still have bloating fatigue, brain fog, and stomach weakness.
hi we are in australia BEING TREATED NEARLY 2 YEARS wife has mthfr gene hetroygous gene has statin induced myopathy plus a diabetic w have just started metolfolate plus b12 our hospitals here no nothing on how to fix any info or advice would be greatly appreciated has been pon prenisalone 1000 mgs thgrough iv methotrexate intragam plus privigen we stopped early this year same day genotype testing ordered aklso prescribed azathioprine ( ps not taken WE ARE GOING ALONE WIITH THIS i have rattled the hospital plus our members of parliment THERE IS NO MTHFR SPECIALIST ANYWHERE IN AUSTRALIA PLS CAN YOU HELP US
Hello Ken,
Thanks for your comment! I routinely work with individuals in Australia and New Zealand via phone or Skype. This allows us to come up with a specific treatment plan for each individual. If you are interested in teaming up with my office to help your wife optimize her genes and change her life for the better…then I suggest you contact my office at care@redmountainclinic.com or 208-322-7755. That way we can work with you one-on-one to offer a better level of care and help her move forward.
In Health,
Dr. Rostenberg
hi wife has c667t gene but also diagnosed with necrotyzing auto immune myopathy statin induced and a diabetic whas been given 1000mgs pereniosalone a day for 3 days then porenisalon emethotrexate intragam and privigen plus synthetic folate her ck leve;l on diagnosis was 3675 has been treated over 18 months but pushed ck level to 5500 left hospital this year for 9 months …… admitted to another hospital where it hit 9200 in one and half days days using 60 mgs and azathioprine this is the worst case even seen IN ADELAIDE SOUTH AUSTRALIA your thoughts or any info would be greatly appreciated AUSTRALIAN DOCTORS NO SO LITTLE ABOUT MTHFR ….. AS WE ARE FINDING OUT THANKS KEN AND VIV
Hi Ken,
Thanks for your comment. Sorry to hear about your wife. It sounds like she has been damaged quite severely from the Statin medications. What you describe is consistent with what is called rhabdomyolysis – basically a breakdown of healthy muscle tissue due to the biochemical effects of the drug. That much you probably already know. Her severely elevated CK levels tell you directly that she has a bad case of muscle-damaging reactions going on. It is scary to admit this sometimes but the doctor helping her don’t know what they are doing. Medicine has some good tools, but obviously in this case what they are doing isn’t working. You need to do two things: #1 get in touch with my office immediately and we will find a way to get us on the phone/Skype ASAP. Contact info is care@redmountainclinic.com and 208-322-7755. #2 thing you need to do is start to help treat her mitochondria. This is the part of the cell MOST DAMAGED by statins. The fact she is a diabetic just simply increases the odds that her mitochondrial health is poor. This causes so much damage to the tissues, esp. the muscles and can be a root cause of this prolonged myopathy. There is much that can be done to support improved mitochondrial function, but that is best said during a consultation. Obviously trying to suppress her immune system with medication isn’t working, so looking at the damage caused by the statin at the mitochondria makes sense.
Also, I highly suggest you visit https://www.greatplainslaboratory.com/order-a-test-lp and order a test kit for an Organic Acid Test plus Amino Acids (OAT + Amino Acid Urine Test). This testing is going to be essential for helping your wife and you can order your test kit yourself and it will ship to your door.
In Health,
Dr. Rostenberg
Thank you so much for responding … we really appreciate the time and info plus that personal touch in responding that you have given us you have given us hope now it will l be 2 and half years next month since first diagnosis of wifes condition one doctor who was given he nutrient therapy stated we no more than most doctors and so called specialists herev in S A AUSTRALIA we are pursuing one of our tv stations is very interested in what we have been through WITH VERY LITTLE KNOWN I KNOWLEGE IN THIS PROBLEM