Posted by Larry Hoover on October 31, 2002, at 9:01:47
In reply to Re: SAMe question » Larry Hoover, posted by catmint on October 31, 2002, at 1:55:03
> Larry, what is betaine and how do you know it is better than sam-e
Betaine is an amino acid found in beets (Latin beta). It is also known by its chemical name, trimethylglycine (or TMG). It is sold as its hydrochloride salt (betaine HCl) to improve digestive function, but you don't want that. You want betaine free-base, or anhydrous betaine. I use Source Naturals brand.
Dietary betaine induces the activity of an enzyme that recycles homocysteine into methionine (called, quite logically, betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase), by transferring a methyl group from TMG to homocysteine, making it into methionine.
There is a dominant pathway which does the same thing, involving folate and vitamin B-12, but there are various possible reasons why it might not work right. Anyway, your body needs to recycle homocysteine because it's part of a loop that looks like this:
methionine --> S-adenosyl methionine (SAMe) --> another chemical --> homocysteine --> methionine.
Depressed people often get stuck at homocysteine. Homocysteine is a risk factor for heart disease, and may be the reason why depressed people are predisposed to heart disease. Anyway, the excess homocysteine builds up, while SAMe levels go down. SAMe is necessary for a whole host of biological processes, including the formation of the enzymes that make neurotransmitters.
What you want to do is intervene in this stalled recycling loop, and you can do that in a number of ways. 1. You can take SAMe. The negatives to this are that it increases the homocysteine burden, and it's bloody expensive. 2. Take lots of B-vitamins. This is good for anyone under stress, anyway. However, if your inherent problem is poor utilization of B-vitamins, you might not get the benefits very effectively. 3. Take betaine. It activates an entirely separate process to recycle homocysteine.
You need methionine to make SAMe in your liver. You have to get it from somewhere.
The risks of taking betaine are the same as the risks of taking SAMe (because betaine promotes natural SAMe). There is a risk of developing mania. Personally, betaine induces insomnia. I take little pulses (500 mg or 1,000 mg) no more frequently than every fourth day. That's *my* titrated dose. I know people who take 3,000 mg every day. If you take it, pay attention to your own reaction, and dose accordingly.
There are other benefits of betaine, but that's enough for one message.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:125749
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021025/msgs/125920.html