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Vitamin Bs: Fuel for you and your microbiome

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  Vitamin Bs are essential for you and your microbiome Vitamin Bs and Parkinson's Disease A recent study hitting the news in 2024 described a link between reduced synthesis of B vitamins from gut bacteria which importantly correlated with an increased risk for Parkinson's disease (PD). As a researcher studying metabolism , identifying new biomarkers and interested in gut health , I was very interested in this work.  Also, having had a parent who suffered from PD, this type of research hit home.  Bacteria in our gut can make folate (B9), cobalamin (B12), thiamin (B1), biotin (B7), niacin (B3), riboflavin (B2), pyridoxine (B6), and pantothenate (B5).   You may know that vitamin Bs are essential to our health, but you might not have known that your gut microbiota need vitamin Bs for growth and they also synthesize them for us.   A deficiency in vitamin B can lead to fatigue, memory issues, depression, and constipation as well as other neurological iss...
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Tryptophan: Metabolism for Mood, Sleep, Gut Health & Energy (a scientist’s view)

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  Let's talk about tryptophan This is one of my favorite small molecules.  You may be familiar about tryptophan because of Thanksgiving turkey with the idea that many people fall asleep after eating turkey, but there is a whole lot more to tryptophan!   One reason people connect falling asleep after eating turkey is because turkey has a lot of tryptophan and importantly, melatonin is generated   from tryptophan.  So eating more tryptophan should make more melatonin.  This is partially true, but lets dive into the metabolism of tryptophan. Melatonin is one of the metabolites that helps us sleep at night, but tryptophan makes many other molecules that are needed for our health, which is why it is an essential nutrient. The metabolism of tryptophan to both serotonin and melatonin begins with breakdown to 5-hydroxytryptophan .  This pathway is shown below to illustrate the process.   There is a lot about tryptophan and our metabolism that...
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