HOMOCYSTEINE-THE ESSENTIAL TEST

C. Norman Shealy, M.D., Ph.D.

I have seen scores of patients who have had coronary bypass surgery, one of the most useless surgeries in the world, but they had not had the most essential blood test-homocysteine. Homocysteine is a dangerous byproduct of methionine metabolism, which interferes with the essential methylation process, critical for many health functions!

Elevated homocysteine leads to

• Coronary artery disease and heart attack
• Stroke
• Cancer
• Birth defects
• Accelerated aging
• Depression, fatigue, memory problems
• Diabetes
• Migraine
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Parkinson’s disease
• Alzheimer’s
• Macular degeneration
• Hearing loss

If your physician has not ordered a homocysteine test-and the vast majority do not, INSIST that it be done ASAP. If you live in one of the 12 states where you can order your own blood tests, do so NOW. Incidentally, lab values above 6 micromoles per liter are associated with all the diseases listed above. And interestingly vegans are even more likely than omnivores to have elevated homocysteine. And, as expected, smokers have higher levels of homocysteine!

Drugs that raise homocysteine:

Caffeine, Cholestyramine, fenofibrate, Fiorinal®, levodopa, methotrexate, metformin, phenytoin, pyrimethamine, sulfasalazine

Reducing homocysteine

• Methyl folate, 1000 mcg
• Methyl B 12, 1000 mcg
• B 6, 25 mg
• Vitamin C, 2000 mg

If these are not adequate, add:

• Quadruple B 12 and methyl folateThen, if needed:
• Omega-3’s 3000 mg
• Trimethyl glycine, 6 grams
• Taurine, 3 grams
• N- acetyl cysteine, 600 mg
• Choline, 1000mg
• Riboflavin, 10 mg

This is an ESSENTIAL life-saving test!!