Mastering Nutrition

Should you be more concerned about overall fat intake or saturated fat intake with familial hypercholesterolemia? Question: "I have familial hypercholesterolemia, as well as a mutation in my Lp(a). I listened to your 2016 podcast regarding FH and have implemented a low-fat diet and am in the process of fixing thyroid issues. My question is, can you please further explain whether I should be more c...

How would you address normal TSH, but low T4?  Well, the first thing I'd do is I'd look at your T3. For those of you who aren't familiar with thyroid hormones, TSH tells your thyroid to make thyroid hormone. T4 is the precursor. T3 is the active hormone.  If your TSH is normal, that means that your pituitary is receiving the proper messages from your thyroid gland. But if your T4 is low I would as...

"What do you think is the best clinical way to monitor COMT function if you have already tested for SNPs?"   One way you can look at it is through the DUTCH test — which is at dutchtest.com — it's a dried urine hormone testing platform, they have a methylation index that is based on the methylation of estrogen. For example; the main significance of COMT, is related to long-term risk of estrogen-re...

Supplements that may lower anxiety at night and improve heart rate variability during sleep I don't know enough about the HRV, the heart rate variability, to comment on improving that specifically. Heart rate variability is largely related to recovery from stress. So, I know the Oura ring tracks heart rate variability during sleep.  The main application that I'm familiar with HRV for is recovery f...

Nutritional causes of low white blood cells and possible solutions? The absolute first thing that I would always think of when I see low white blood cells is copper.  So, generally copper deficiency at its most sensitive is going to cause neutropenia; which is low neutrophils, but it can cause low white blood cells across the board. I'm not saying there aren't other things, but that's going to be...

So, deep sleep is, primarily what's going on in deep sleep is that all of your biogenic amines, which are most of the neurotransmitters that you make from protein with the possible except — like depending on how you classify it, you could say ultimately you make melatonin from protein, but it's not a biogenic amine. Biogenic amines, which are the catecholamines — all are basically shut off. They'r...

On May 25, members of the CMJ Masterpass joined me, Chad Macias, Danny Lennon, and Alex Leaf in a live Zoom meeting to ask us anything about sports nutrition, and here's the full recording! We talk about things like: Is there a risk of depleting histidine with beta-alanine supplementation? What's the best form of fuel to use during a workout? Candy, or something else? Nutritional strategies for re...

On May 10, members of the CMJ Masterpass joined me and Dr. Carrie Jones in a live Zoom meeting to ask us anything about hormones, and here's the full recording! We talk about things like: What time of day is best to take T4 and/or T3? How to use pregnenolone to manage perimenopausal insomnia? Is insomnia different between people who are and aren't on HRT? Estrogen's effect on the kynurenine pathwa...

This is part 2 of the pantothenic acid Mastering Nutrition podcast. Pantothenate is also known as vitamin B5! It supports your mood, mental health, skin clarity, energy, sleep, and comfort. Alex Leaf and I team up again, this time to how to get B5 from foods and supplements, and how to know when you're getting enough. When you aren't getting enough, you may suffer from fatigue, apathy, discomfort,...

On March 8, members of the CMJ Masterpass joined me in a live Zoom meeting to ask me anything about nutrition, and here's the full recording! We talk about things like: What to do if zinc causes nausea?  When on a ketogenic diet, it is a problem if ketones are going up to 5 to 6 millimoles per liter? What if I'm on a ketogenic diet, and I can't get my ketone levels up higher than 1 millimole per l...

Got any strange, unresolved health problems? 🤭 High-dose riboflavin might help!  MIGHT. 😬 This episode is a shot in the dark, but covers how high-dose riboflavin could help with a lot of mystery issues. This episode is brought to you by Vitamins and Minerals 101. This is my new, free, 30-day course that covers the basics of each nutrient, including why it's important, how to get it from food, ho...

Got migraines? 😣 You may need a LOT of riboflavin! 😮 This episode covers what dose to use, and how to time the dosing. This episode is brought to you by Vitamins and Minerals 101. This is my new, free, 30-day course that covers the basics of each nutrient, including why it's important, how to get it from food, how to know if you need more, when you should think about supplementing, and concerns...

Got anemia? 🙋🏽🙋🏼‍🙋‍♀️🙋🏿‍♀️ You may need more riboflavin! 😮 This episode covers how to know if your iron-deficiency anemia could be helped by riboflavin, and what to do about it using food and supplements. This episode is brought to you by Vitamins and Minerals 101. This is my new, free, 30-day course that covers the basics of each nutrient, including why it's important, how to get it from...

What's the best riboflavin supplement? 🤷‍♂️ For years I thought it was riboflavin 5'-phosphate, also known as flavin mononucleotide (FMN). In this episode, I explain why I know believe it is plain old riboflavin. This episode is brought to you by Vitamins and Minerals 101. This is my new, free, 30-day course that covers the basics of each nutrient, including why it's important, how to get it from...

This episode covers the best blood test to use for assessing riboflavin status. This episode is brought to you by Vitamins and Minerals 101. This is my new, free, 30-day course that covers the basics of each nutrient, including why it's important, how to get it from food, how to know if you need more, when you should think about supplementing, and concerns for special diets or special populations....

Here's how to get RIBOFLAVIN from FOOD. 🍲 😋 This episode covers how to figure out how much you need, and which foods to get it from. This episode is brought to you by Vitamins and Minerals 101. This is my new, free, 30-day course that covers the basics of each nutrient, including why it's important, how to get it from food, how to know if you need more, when you should think about supplementing,...

Pantothenic acid is vitamin B5. You use it to make coenzyme A, a molecule that is central to energy metabolism, most famous for forming acetyl CoA, which lies at the intersection of all anabolic (building up) and catabolic (breaking down) reactions. Alex Leaf and I team up again, this time to tackle B5. This is what happens when you don't have enough: You get fatigue apathy, discomfort, uneasiness...

Losing weight? Leaning out? Slimming down? 🙋🏽🙋🏼‍♂️🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️🙋🏿‍♀️ Hitting the gym? Doing cardio? Gettin' yo fat-burnin' on? 🙋🏽🙋🏼‍♂️🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️🙋🏿‍♀️ You might need more riboflavin. 😬 This episode covers by how much, and how to get it from food. This episode is brought to you by Vitamins and Minerals 101. This is my new, free, 30-day course that covers the basics of each nutrient, includ...

Eating keto? Low-carb? High-fat? 🙋🏽🙋🏼‍♂️🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️🙋🏿‍♀️ You might need more riboflavin. 😬 This episode covers how much more you'd need and how to get it from food. This episode is brought to you by Vitamins and Minerals 101. This is my new, free, 30-day course that covers the basics of each nutrient, including why it's important, how to get it from food, how to know if you need more, when y...

Have a fungal infection? Here's how the combination of tanning beds and riboflavin might help. This is speculative, but worth trying for many people. Make sure to talk to your doctor about any infections you have and anything you're doing to treat them. Tune in for the details! This episode is brought to you by Vitamins and Minerals 101. This is my new, free, 30-day course that covers the basics o...

Do you sunbathe or use tanning beds? If so, you might need more riboflavin. Tune in for the details. This episode is brought to you by Vitamins and Minerals 101. This is my new, free, 30-day course that covers the basics of each nutrient, including why it's important, how to get it from food, how to know if you need more, when you should think about supplementing, and concerns for special diets or...

Riboflavin is the ultimate fat-burning nutrient. 🔥 Could you need more of it? This episode covers the signs you could need a just a little more, and what it would look like if you started running real low. This episode is brought to you by Vitamins and Minerals 101. This is my new, free, 30-day course that covers the basics of each nutrient, including why it's important, how to get it from food,...

Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here: https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/ask-us-anything-about-gut-health Chris Masterjohn, PhD, is the Founder and Scientific Director of the  mitochondria test Mitome .

Niacin is great! BUT… It can hurt your liver. 😟 This episode covers a protocol to make sure niacin doesn't hurt your liver. It covers the specific form you take, your health history, the dose, and what to take it with to protect your liver. This episode is brought to you by Vitamins and Minerals 101. This is my new, free, 30-day course that covers the basics of each nutrient, including why it's i...

Ugh, the NIACIN FLUSH! 🥵🥵🥵 This episode covers what to do and what NOT to do to avoid it. It covers slow-release niacin, extended-release niacin, inositol hexanicotinate, niacinamide, aspirin, and waiting it out. This episode is brought to you by Vitamins and Minerals 101. This is my new, free, 30-day course that covers the basics of each nutrient, including why it's important, how to get it fr...