[Daniel]

@Annie Sye,

It would be easier to check if some symptoms he presents remind you of this condition. Symptoms usually present early in life (at the age before 10) or a little later in atypical cases. Symptoms you’re looking for are involuntary muscle movements, speech difficulties, trouble with walking, some people develop vision loss or personality changes. It’s very rare, but since the OAT test showed elevated vitamin B5 and there is evidence that schizophrenia is linked to neurodegeneration I felt like mentioning it.

A high intake of supplements can also cause the elevation of vitamin B5. But if he didn’t take a B5 supplement recently it’s hard to tell if this will show up on the test. I don’t know how long ago this was and how long he took the dose. Vitamin B5 leaves the body quickly, but I have no experience with these dosages. It is however a more common reason for higher levels of B5 in the body.

Vitamin B6 supplement
I often recommend my clients to use B vitamins in a B complex formula. The exception would be vitamin B12. Basic B from Thorne is a product I like. I usually recommend half a capsule per day to start with and see how people feel about that.

I hope this information helps you!

[Daniel]

Hey @Annie Sye,

With vitamin B6 I usually recommend my clients a low & slow approach since it is involved in the production of neurotransmitters. I also would recommend they to use the biologically available form (pyridoxal 5 phosphate). 50 mg B6, although it has been used, is still quite a lot.

I’m not sure why his current vitamin B5 is elevated. There could be some hidden exposure from food sources. It is for example added to beverages or breakfast cereals sometimes. Reading the labels will give you more insight. In rare cases, pantothenic acid (the scientific name for vitamin B5) can also be metabolized badly. This happens in people who suffer from PKAN (pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration). Although observed levels in the OAT are usually higher in the last case, it’s still worth ruling out in his case since he is suffering from schizophrenia.

Fungal overgrowth
The OAT shows indeed evidence of a fungal overgrowth. Arabinose is also elevated and more indicative for Candida. I’m under the impression you might already know some stuff about this topic, so I’ll keep the advice on this topic brief. Just let me know if you need more information. This video helps you choose botanical antifungals if you consider them an option. This handout could also be of use. The mold & mycotoxin course might give you a deeper dive into all things mold related.

Kidney function
Do you know the elevations of this specific marker you refer to? And is this specific marker creatinine by any chance? I’m asking because it might influence how to read the lab reports.

[Daniel]

Hey @Yasmin atassi,

Gene tests are great! They can provide you with insights into your unique strengths and weaknesses. That being said, it’s good to be aware that not even if you have a faster or slower working enzyme because your genetic code is slightly different, it doesn’t mean it determines health outcomes only. What you eat, what you do, stress or shortly the environment in which you move plays a very big factor as well. And that’s good news!

MTHFR/MTR
These genes both play a role in the methylation cycle. Your MTR codes for a variation on an enzyme that works a bit more quickly than average, while your MTHFR is a little slower.

What does that mean?
In the methylation cycle methionine gets converted to homocysteine and back. The enzyme that codes for MTR will speed up the step before making methionine, while the MTHR gene, which helps the conversion of methionine to homocysteine is slowed down. Does this mean your methylation cycle is unbalanced? I don’t know. Measuring values like homocysteine can provide more insight into the actual balance.

If you use a vitamin supplement with B vitamins, you want to ensure you use a methylated version of folate (methyl-folate).

COMT
COMT helps breakdown dopamine, adrenaline and also estrogen. The variation your gene encodes for produces an enzyme that works a little slower. Again, this doesn’t say anything about your balance. Symptom-wise, when you’re experiencing estrogen dominance symptoms, adding a magnesium supplement can help since magnesium is needed for the enzyme to work.

Here you can see a beautiful example where genes don’t determine everything. You could have the fastest COMT encoding gene, but if you’re magnesium deficient, you have functionally a slow-working COMT enzyme.

Acne and your genes
You’ve got some other gene variations that could influence your acne as well. The BC01 gene turns precursors of vitamin A found in plants into the bioactive form of vitamin A. Your variation works a little less efficiently. Therefore providing your diet with vitamin A from animal sources (for example liver) would be recommended. Vitamin A plays an important role in the skin and often helps improve acne symptoms.

Some genes related to inflammation are a little slower as well. For example, the variation of the FADS1 gene which you carry, encodes for a slower-working enzyme. FADS1 is involved in the metabolism of omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids. A slower working FADS1 is associated with higher inflammation. Is this the case with you? I don’t know. But adding Omega 3 in your diet is more important than for people with a faster working gene.

The gene that helps breakdown lactose works slowly as well. Therefore lactose-rich products (like milk products) will create more inflammation in your unique case. A lactose-free diet will likely benefit you (and possibly reduce acne as well). For gluten, this DNA profile shows a similar story.

Your vitamin D gene profile also shows a few variations. This means it’s harder for you to convert vitamin D to its bioactive form. This can be overcome by adding vitamin D to your diet, using a supplement or prioritising a walk in the sun. Magnesium is also an important nutrient since it helps to convert the precursors of vitamin D to its bioactive form as well.

Vitamin D helps to reduce inflammation as well.

In the detoxification section, you can see a deletion of a gene that is involved in detoxification (GSTM1 gene). This deletion doesn’t mean you can’t detoxify, however, a lifestyle that is low in toxins might be more beneficial to you than someone who has the GSTM1 gene.

I hope this information helps you to make some educated choices!

[Daniel]

Hey @Annie Sye,

In this article, we’ve put some pros and cons of the most used non-toxic pots and pans that can help you choose better equipment for the kitchen. It is my experience that using more oil will help prevent sticking food to the bottom of your pan as well.

I hope this answer helps!

[Daniel]

Hey @Nathalie Khoury,

Full reports will always give us more detailed information.

Personally, when it comes to children, I like to work with food-based options as much as possible. In the library of B Better, you can also find a supplement protocol for children. Just click here!

[Daniel]

Hey @Nathalie Khoury,

I often recommend to my clients a mix of Vitamin A Palmitate (this is the form of vitamin A found in animal foods like liver, eggs and cheese) and Beta Carotene (this is a precursor of vitamin A found in plants). This supplement from Klaire Labs is a liquid form that you could try.

The benefit of animal-based vitamin A is that it’s ready to use by the body. Beta carotene needs to be converted and due to genetics, not everyone is equally good at that.

Elderberry drops have some (limited) research backing up that they can ease fever symptoms in children. The benefits seem to be the greatest when started within 24 to 48 hours after the symptoms begin. You could try and see if it benefits your child.

The second part of your question is not easy to answer. I like my clients to be higher in the reference range when it comes to vitamin B12 (above 600 ng/ml). This video dives deeper into details about measuring vitamin B12. I think you will find it interesting.

High levels of vitamin B12 like yours I haven’t seen without the use of supplements though. I do think it is important that you find out what would cause these high levels. It can be as simple as changing your food pattern. Check the labels of your foods as well. Perhaps some of the foods you are consuming contain a hidden source of vitamin B12.

Vitamin B12 is stored in the liver. In some cases, it can happen that the cells of the liver get damaged and vitamin B12 is spilt in the blood. This can also cause elevations in serum levels. It is less likely, but it happens. If you are experiencing symptoms, ask your doctor if he can rule out liver problems.

Another possibility is the units in your labs. You mentioned 2 different values. Do they have the same units? Sometimes serum B12 is measured in ng/ml and sometimes B12 is measured in pmol/l. Those numbers cannot be compared 1 on 1. Although your B12 went up, without units it’s hard to understand how much the elevations exactly are.

I hope this answer provides you with some clarity!

[Daniel]

Hey @Naveed Aslam,

I’ve touched on this in your other question, but in short, sure! Chronic stress can cause low testosterone. The body prioritizes survival above reproduction!

[Daniel]

Hey @Naveed Aslam,

I’m not 100 percent sure what your endocrinologist is trying to find out, therefore I will give you some testosterone basics. My main focus will be on what to measure if your endocrinologist wants to rule out

low testosterone or

prostate issues

Testosterone basics:

There are different forms of testosterone in the body. Most doctors will usually measure total testosterone and free testosterone. Free testosterone is the unbound hormone that has the most influence on your body, but that’s usually a very small percentage of the total testosterone (1-3 percent!)

SHBG
Testosterone can be bound to proteins. Sex Hormone Binding Globulin or SHBG for short binds very tightly to testosterone. It can be high or low because of other hormone imbalances (insulin resistance and thyroid hormone imbalances for example)

SHBG can therefore be an insightful marker.

DHEA

The body makes androgens from a precursor hormone called DHEA. DHEA is to create other hormones as well (like estrogen). Since DHEA is a precursor it can be an insightful marker.

Luteinizing Hormone
If testosterone is low, this could be caused by a problem in the testicles (this is called primary hypogonadism). In this case, the brain is “yelling” to the testicle to make testosterone by secreting a hormone called LH (Luteinizing Hormone). High values of LH and low testosterone values can therefore indicate this is a brain problem… and the most common reason for that is stress and sleep problems.

PSA

PSA or Prostate Specific Antigen is often used to assess prostate issues. I’ve written about it before in a different post (just click here). The risk is usually determined by measuring the ratio between total PSA and free PSA.

Summary
The endocrinologist might have a certain goal in mind, but to evaluate testosterone levels or possible problems with prostate health here is a summary of the values that I’ve talked about:

Total testosterone

Free testosterone

SHBG

DHEA

LH

Total PSA/free PSA ratio

I hope this information will be of use!

[Daniel]

Hey Naveed Aslam,

Part of your question didn’t came along, so I’ll answer your question the best way I can. If you have a dust mite allergy, your immune system thinks dust mite proteins are harmful invaders. It tries to get them out of your body by releasing histamine, which causes dust mite allergy symptoms. Reducing the amount of allergens will help reduce the symptoms. Easy practical things he can do are:

he can ventilate areas by opening windows once a day

Washing sheets, blankets and pillowcases at 60 degrees (this will kill dust mite)

Using hypoallergenic pillows

Vacuum and clean the house every 2-3 days

Remove dust

Remove carpeting if that’s an option

Flushing sinuses with a prepared saltwater solution (saline) can help reduce thickened mucus in the sinuses by flushing out irritants. If you’re making the saline solution yourself, make sure the water is contaminant-free by using distilled or boiled water.

Some supplements can help with the histamine produced by the immune cells. Usually, I recommend my clients to use between 500-1000 mg of Quercetin daily for a few weeks and see if this helps reduce symptoms. Bromelain can increase the absorption of Quercetin. Quercetin Supplements combined with bromelain can therefore be beneficial. Be aware though: Quercetin is contraindicated in people using antibiotics, and blood thinners. If your brother uses one of these medications he should NOT be using quercetin.

Stinging nettle leaves can make histamine receptors less sensitive and help as well. Because its mode of action is different from quercetin, the 2 can be a powerful combination.

Nutrients that support the immune system could play a helpful role as well. The most important nutrients are vitamin D, vitamin A, B vitamins, zinc and vitamin C.

I hope this helps!

[Daniel]

Hey @Toujan Al Shurafa,

Elevations in antibodies usually mean there is some form of auto-immune activation. What kind of auto-immune issue the test doesn’t tell, but a doctor could help you there.

From a functional medicine perspective, the next step is finding out what could contribute to the development of auto-immune disease. There is a great movie in the B Better library that goes in-depth on what these thyroid markers mean and what other tests you could consider.

Just click here!

[Daniel]

Hey @Annie Sye,

I understand why you are worried. Unfortunately, I don’t know any substance that blocks THC. According to some research, CBD can slow down the THC peaks because it binds to the same receptors, but as a result, the THC stays longer in the system.

The research however shows mixed results.

The best “cure” is to help him understand that THC can worsen his condition and that he is taking health risks.

Sometimes it could help to understand people’s need for spiritual experiences. What is it he hopes to get out of the experience? Is he seeking some form of healing? Is he seeking deeper insight into himself?

If you know what moves him, you could perhaps find better alternatives that might help him better.

[Daniel]

Hey @Sara Almansoori,

Based on these labs I can understand why you would feel tired. However, the weight loss would be unexpected.

These labs show that your brain tries to activate your thyroid by releasing TSH. It does that by producing a lot of it since your thyroid seems not to respond very well. It’s like your brain is trying to yell to your thyroid gland “Do something!”. That’s why you see elevations in TSH.

The thyroid gland for some reason is not responding to that. The hormones fT4 and fT3 that help run your metabolism are low. Especially fT3 is low, which is the active form of thyroid hormone. fT4 is a precursor for fT3.

This could be the reason why you feel tired, but most people with a slow thyroid complain about gaining weight.

Based on these labs doctors will usually prescribe more thyroid hormones, not less.

Do you know what reason your doctor had to prescribe fewer medications?

[Daniel]

Hey @Reshmika Chandrashekar,

I’m glad you’ve reached out! These labs can tell us quite a bit. Some values on these labs are a bit more subtle and could be easily missed. I will focus on your labs and give you some ideas on what you could do. Since I’m not based in the UAE, I can’t answer all your questions unfortunately.

Iron

Your labs show some signs of low iron. All your iron markers are at the low end of the reference range making it harder to transport oxygen (which is necessary for burning fat). The lab starts with the haemoglobin values. They are on the lower end of the reference range as well. In some cases, people can already experience symptoms of anemia (dizziness, brain fog, poor concentration, tiredness, cold hands & feet, shortness of breath tingling sensations in the arms/legs, etc). Perhaps some symptoms sound familiar. The amount of red blood cells (RBC count) is also on the lower end. This in combination with the suboptimally low hemoglobin makes anemic symptoms more likely.

Iron is also a necessary mineral for optimal thyroid function, but I’ll come back to that.

Reasons why Iron could be low:

Not enough iron in the diet

Problems with absorption (low stomach acid or a chronic simmering infection. In the last case the body tries to sequester iron away from the blood bacteria and viruses use iron as well to multiply)

Iron loss due to: 

Heavy menstrual periods (blood loss causes the body to have to make new quantities of red blood cells quickly episodically, and without sufficient stored iron, the body will struggle to make larger, healthy RBCs).

Recent surgery or injury causing significant bleeding.

Excessive vitamin A supplementation

Thyroid Hormones

Your free T3 and free T4 are at the low end of the reference range as well. There is an overlap in symptoms with anemia. Hair loss, constipation, and thinning of the eyebrows… these are symptoms that differ from anemia. With a sluggish thyroid, you might be more sensitive to cold as well. The difference is that you might feel cold in the entire body instead of the hands and feet only.

Useful follow-up labs to rule out autoimmune issues is measuring your thyroid antibodies. I’ll give you a link to a movie where you can learn all about what thyroid markers paint a more complete picture of your thyroid health. Just click here.

Signs of insufficiencies from certain nutrients are present as well. I’m talking about the next nutrients: zinc, vitamin B6, folate and B12. Using a supplement could be helpful. Make sure the B vitamins are present in the bioactive form by choosing a B complex or a multivitamin containing methylated B vitamins. A good B vitamin complex I often recommend to my clients is Basic B from Thorne.

Immune function

Just like the amount of red blood cells, the amount of white blood cells is low. We need the same nutrients to produce white and red blood cells. I’m referring specifically to vitamin D, B vitamins, and vitamin A Low RBC and WBC count can sometimes be an indication of mercury present in your body. Do you have amalgam fillings?

Exposure to mercury could also lead to candida overgrowth. In this case, the overgrowth could have a protective function since candida can absorb mercury.

Your eosinophils (a type of white blood cells) are elevated. There can be many reasons for this. Something going on in the gut can be a reason! However, keep in mind that eosinophils can also elevate when you have allergies, athma or are exposed to parasites.

In the case of an infection, iron supplements might make infections worse, so be careful.

Mold

You’ve mentioned it already: since you’re suspicious of mold, I would follow your intuition here. If you can’t get rid of mold at the moment, reducing your exposure to it is a big win. Make sure you vent your home daily. Providing your immune system with the right nutrients is helpful as well. If you’re trying to detox: detoxing should be done when you’re body is in a place of strength. If you’re experiencing a lot of debilitating symptoms, I would recommend you work on these first before you add detoxifying supplements to the protocol.

What you can do to help detoxification is drink a lot of water, focus on food-based approaches and make sure you aren’t constipated.

I get the sense you’ve already explored our mold course, however, if I’m mistaken, I would recommend you watch it entirely. Just click here to get there.

I hope this will help you a step further. Let me know if you’ve got any questions!

[Daniel]

Hey @Yasmin Kottait,

I’m sorry to hear your 13 months is struggling, but you are already doing a great job with the vitamin D, probiotics and vitamin C. With antibiotics, I usually recommend a blend that also contains the protective yeast species S. Boullardii. Yeast is not so much affected by the antibiotics. The drugs do, however, wipe out the bacterial competition which can allow yeast to thrive/surge.

You can find more information on how to choose probiotics HERE if you are unsure if you’ve chosen the right formula.

If you are worried about the coughing: with pneumonia I wouldn’t recommend using something like cough medicine even if it’s natural. The phlegm comes from the longs and coughing helps the body to get rid of the infection.

I’m not exactly sure how long he is experiencing symptoms. Usually with treatment, most types of bacterial pneumonia are cured in 1–2 weeks. During that time, make sure he drinks enough and he gets enough rest!

I hope he gets well soon!

[Daniel]

Hey @KK,

When it comes to workout tips for your son, the most important tips are quite simple: make sure he hydrates well and make sure he replenishes his electrolytes. Listening to his body is also important. If he feels fastly fatigued or sore and tired during his workout he should definitely take it slow. Taking pre-workouts might dehydrate him as well and I wouldn’t recommend them.

If he likes intense workouts and you’re afraid his health might suffer again. You could explain to him that continuously giving it all in the gym might even lead to lesser results. I’m not opposed to heavy workouts, but I do tell my clients that if they start working out after a long break, they risk starting heavier as needed. This is because when you return to your workout routine, you already have the experience of how working out should feel.

However, the body isn’t adapted to this lifestyle anymore.

Another downside is that if he is focussed on building strength and muscles he is going to make progress in the future more difficult.

The body adapts to the way you’re training. If the start is aggressive and the body adapts to this, you need a different training stimulus that ‘shocks’ the muscles into developing more strength and muscle growth. If you’re giving it all you’ve got from day 1, it becomes much harder to shock muscles in the future.

A more easy start will have the benefit that there is more room to shock the muscles and he might see better muscle growth and strength development during the year.

As he progresses in his training, the body will also be better able to handle the stress of intense workouts because the body will try to adapt to his new lifestyle.

He could also pay attention to how he feels after a workout. Once you are done with the strength training workout, you should feel tired, but not exhausted. This might be different if he competes in sports, but if his main goal is to build strength and grow muscles, this is perfect.

Extreme workouts will cause longer recovery times. Being “under recovered” is why a lot of people who work hard in the gym don’t progress in the gym.

I hope these tips will help him to give the results he wants while staying healthy at the same time!