Folates Are Serotonin Reuptake Promoters

ddjd

Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2014
Messages
6,678
For people who don't know, Dr. William Walsh wrote Nutrient Power, he's a scientist paving the way for nutrition-based psychiatry and nutritional medicine. He's studied 30,000 patients with mental disorders, and created a database of more than three million chemical assays during his clinical and research work.

His work focuses on methylation but he's actually more peaty than you would expect, he advises against using SSRI's in most cases and explains that serotonin is largely not relevant when dealing with depression. He also thinks SSRIs are to blame for a lot of the mass school shootings in the US.

Anyway, here's a excerpt from a podcast where he explains how folates are actually serotonin promoters (reducing serotonin further!)
https://myersdetox.com/transcript-129-nutrition-and-the-mind-with-dr-william-walsh/

"
William Walsh: I have to say that’s not true of most undermethylators. It’s only true of undermethylators who have a brain chemistry problem. And that’s a very small percentage. Eighty or ninety percent of undermethylated people thrive on folic acid. They thrive on vegetables. They do. But ifthey have a tendency for low serotonin activity, they need to be careful.

Wendy Myers: So then I need to be careful about eating the green leafy vegetables.

William Walsh: Yeah, because they’re loaded with folate and folate has this powerful effect epigentically that affects reuptake, affects serotonin and dopamine reuptake.

Wendy Myers: Yeah.

William Walsh: Folic acid and all folates are wonderful serotonin reuptake promoters. They really enhance reuptake.
"
 

Peata

Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2013
Messages
3,402
I'll have to look into this. I've been taking 400 mcg. folate for a year now.
 

SOMO

Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2018
Messages
1,094
Folic Acid =/= Folate

I stopped taking a generic One-a-Day-Men's Multivitamin, because of the Folic Acid (it had Folic Acid instead of Folate.) Haven't noticed much of a difference either way, but supposedly Folic Acid can get "stuck" in the body.

Supplementing with folic acid or folate may interfere with methylation, but I'm fairly certain a healthy diet otherwise would make it so folic acid supplementation would be a net gain.
 

High_Prob

Member
Joined
Mar 23, 2016
Messages
391
For people who don't know, Dr. William Walsh wrote Nutrient Power, he's a scientist paving the way for nutrition-based psychiatry and nutritional medicine. He's studied 30,000 patients with mental disorders, and created a database of more than three million chemical assays during his clinical and research work.

His work focuses on methylation but he's actually more peaty than you would expect, he advises against using SSRI's in most cases and explains that serotonin is largely not relevant when dealing with depression. He also thinks SSRIs are to blame for a lot of the mass school shootings in the US.

Anyway, here's a excerpt from a podcast where he explains how folates are actually serotonin promoters (reducing serotonin further!)
https://myersdetox.com/transcript-129-nutrition-and-the-mind-with-dr-william-walsh/

"
William Walsh: I have to say that’s not true of most undermethylators. It’s only true of undermethylators who have a brain chemistry problem. And that’s a very small percentage. Eighty or ninety percent of undermethylated people thrive on folic acid. They thrive on vegetables. They do. But ifthey have a tendency for low serotonin activity, they need to be careful.

Wendy Myers: So then I need to be careful about eating the green leafy vegetables.

William Walsh: Yeah, because they’re loaded with folate and folate has this powerful effect epigentically that affects reuptake, affects serotonin and dopamine reuptake.

Wendy Myers: Yeah.

William Walsh: Folic acid and all folates are wonderful serotonin reuptake promoters. They really enhance reuptake.
"

This is a cool find @Joeyd : If what Walsh is saying is true then Folates are acting like a Serotonin Reuptake Enhancer/Promoter (Tianeptine) and depleting Serotonin by increasing its reuptake (instead of inhibiting the reuptake like an SSRI)...Very cool
 
Last edited:
OP
ddjd

ddjd

Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2014
Messages
6,678
This is a cool find @Joeyd : If what Walsh is saying is true then Folates are acting like a Serotonin Reuptake Enhancer/Promoter (Tianeptine) and depleting Serotonin by increasing its reuptake (instead of inhibiting the reuptake like an SSRI)...Very cool
Exactly! I thought it was great news for us peaters
 

Dobbler

Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2016
Messages
680
If you guys try experimenting with folate then go with methylfolate. Its the final and most active form of folate that doenst require any converting further like folate/folic acid.
 
OP
ddjd

ddjd

Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2014
Messages
6,678
If you guys try experimenting with folate then go with methylfolate. Its the final and most active form of folate that doenst require any converting further like folate/folic acid.
yeah ive been taking it for years. i wouldnt touch folic acid
 

managing

Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2014
Messages
2,262
For people who don't know, Dr. William Walsh wrote Nutrient Power, he's a scientist paving the way for nutrition-based psychiatry and nutritional medicine. He's studied 30,000 patients with mental disorders, and created a database of more than three million chemical assays during his clinical and research work.

His work focuses on methylation but he's actually more peaty than you would expect, he advises against using SSRI's in most cases and explains that serotonin is largely not relevant when dealing with depression. He also thinks SSRIs are to blame for a lot of the mass school shootings in the US.

Anyway, here's a excerpt from a podcast where he explains how folates are actually serotonin promoters (reducing serotonin further!)
https://myersdetox.com/transcript-129-nutrition-and-the-mind-with-dr-william-walsh/

"
William Walsh: I have to say that’s not true of most undermethylators. It’s only true of undermethylators who have a brain chemistry problem. And that’s a very small percentage. Eighty or ninety percent of undermethylated people thrive on folic acid. They thrive on vegetables. They do. But ifthey have a tendency for low serotonin activity, they need to be careful.

Wendy Myers: So then I need to be careful about eating the green leafy vegetables.

William Walsh: Yeah, because they’re loaded with folate and folate has this powerful effect epigentically that affects reuptake, affects serotonin and dopamine reuptake.

Wendy Myers: Yeah.

William Walsh: Folic acid and all folates are wonderful serotonin reuptake promoters. They really enhance reuptake.
"
So . . . it increases dopamine reuptake also? We don't want this do we?
 
OP
ddjd

ddjd

Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2014
Messages
6,678
So . . . it increases dopamine reuptake also? We don't want this do we?
Depends. You could take some Dopamine raising supplements alongside Folate, to lower Serotonin and raise Dopamine overall
 

griesburner

Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2017
Messages
142
if you have many of the overmethylation symptoms, is methylfolate then ok? or is folic acid better in this regard, cause it doenst deliever any additional methyl groups? cause i would like to experiment with a folate supplement but i am not sure which to choose.
 
Joined
Jun 16, 2017
Messages
1,790
if you have many of the overmethylation symptoms, is methylfolate then ok? or is folic acid better in this regard, cause it doenst deliever any additional methyl groups? cause i would like to experiment with a folate supplement but i am not sure which to choose.
I know it's been almost a year since you asked this, but I think a good plan of action would be using methyl folate, since it's easier for the cells to utilize it, and then, maybe at the same time, using a few hundred miligrams of niacinamide to deplete the pool of methyl groups. That way you get folate without having to worry about too much methyl groups.
 
OP
ddjd

ddjd

Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2014
Messages
6,678
I know it's been almost a year since you asked this, but I think a good plan of action would be using methyl folate, since it's easier for the cells to utilize it, and then, maybe at the same time, using a few hundred miligrams of niacinamide to deplete the pool of methyl groups. That way you get folate without having to worry about too much methyl groups.
Niacinamide doesn't deplete methyl groups, only regular Niacin
 
OP
ddjd

ddjd

Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2014
Messages
6,678
If you guys try experimenting with folate then go with methylfolate. Its the final and most active form of folate that doenst require any converting further like folate/folic acid.
Too much Methyl Folate, without enough b12, can cause "Methyl Trap" FYI
 
Joined
Jun 16, 2017
Messages
1,790
Niacinamide doesn't deplete methyl groups, only regular Niacin
-https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/nicotinamide-supplementation-induces-detrimental-metabolic-and-epigenetic-changes-in-developing-rats/2D0BC868E50D39D88EA4EB5A0B98817E
"... excess nicotinamide intake will increase the consumption of limited labile methyl-group resources and may thus affect other S-adenosylmethionine-dependent methylation reactions, presumably including DNA methylation."
 
OP
ddjd

ddjd

Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2014
Messages
6,678
if you have many of the overmethylation symptoms, is methylfolate then ok? or is folic acid better in this regard, cause it doenst deliever any additional methyl groups? cause i would like to experiment with a folate supplement but i am not sure which to choose.
there is also folinic acid, a very good non methylated option. (not to be confused with synthetic folic acid which is not a good idea)
 
Back
Top Bottom