High Cholesterol?

High Cholesterol and High Homocysteine?

Both markers are an indication of cardiovascular risk. Left unchecked high homocysteine can lead to conditions such as neurovascular diseases ie: Alzheimer’s, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, depression, and diabetes.

Phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase or PEMT is an enzyme that encodes to make a product called phosphatidylcholine (PC) through a methylation reaction.

PEMT makes sure you get enough choline in the absence of food sources. It’s expressed mainly in the liver and accounts for 30% of liver PC production. Choline and PC are essential for

·       Fat transport and metabolism

·       Heart and brain health

·       Cell membranes and cellular communication 

Estrogen is the main stimulator for this PEMT activity; therefore, women have a higher risk of these variants.  This is especially important post-menopause as estrogen production reduces, the risk of cardiovascular events increases. If you also carry the PEMT SNP (r7946) then you are at an even higher risk, and you should be keeping an eye on your homocysteine and cholesterol levels regularly.

The role of homocysteine is to be converted into methionine which then makes SAMe, which you may have heard about, especially in mood disorders. For SAMe to start the methylation process, we need the presence of PEMT which allows PC to become choline. Choline then oxidises to betaine, and this allows Homocysteine to pass through and be appropriately used and the cycle starts again.

As our bodies are incredibly clever there are a couple of other ways your body can use homocysteine. One is via the B12 and folate pathway, which is clearly dependent on both being available and functioning. The other is via the trans-sulfuration pathway. And this is dependent on zinc and vitamin B6.

If you are deficient in the folate and B12 pathway your body relies on choline to do most of the work. If there is not enough choline it will be sequested from the liver. This can leave a choline deficient liver that cannot break down cholesterol and therefore leads to higher LDL’s. Which can impact your overall cholesterol levels. This choline deficiency can also lead to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

So high cholesterol, high homocysteine and non-alcoholic fatty liver can all be related.

Does it sound like a complicated process?

I know the above is a bit sciencey, and it just about one gene or one SNP. Diet and lifestyle will always be a critical factor, as these will influence how your genes are expressed.

But if you are suffering from any of these conditions then it would be a good idea to get some testing done to see whether you carry any of the relevant SNP’s.

Homocysteine is a nice easy, cheap test, that gives us a bit of insight as to how your body is methylating. It is a problem if it is either high or low. High levels are indicative of inflammatory conditions, while low can be associated with mood and hormonal issues.

But if you need some help to sort through these subjects, book a free 15-minute Discovery call.