Ferroptosis in autism - oxidative iron risk, pomegranate can help.

Pomegranate got a brief mention in a nice video explanation of ferroptosis and calcium entry into cells during inflammation. The video then goes onto talk about gene differences in metabolism and why getting a screening can help improve health by pointing out any quirks in your nutrient needs or if there are any low function enzymes in critical roles.

The take home point is that pomegranate products would help along with niacin and other Nrf2 promoters.

• Autism Health Summit - Functional Genomics and Autism, Tree of Life Health, (vimeo.com)

Magnesium is needed to try to keep that Calcium Channel closed instead of letting it open easily when we are exposed to EMF or excess glutamate or aspartic acid (aspartame/neotame sweeteners). (vimeo)

In the graphic above we see that EMF energy from our cellphone, laptop, or 5G cell tower, can activate the Calcium channels that allow calcium to enter and lead to over-activity of the cell - whether it is a human cell or a microbial cell within us. EMF is causing increased activity. NMDA receptors also allow calcium entry and can activate the channels if activated by glutamate or aspartic acid. Magnesium would be protective by providing the energy needed to keep the calcium channel closed, like a lock on the door. With magnesium deficiency, there can be much more calcium over-activity. Chronic pain, headaches, muscle cramps, and other symptoms like tinnitus may occur with excess calcium channel activity.

Arachidonic acid is produced from membrane breakdown that the calcium triggered. Endocannabinoids are released by an increase in calcium concentration within the cell and initially they are anti-inflammatory, but the endocannabinoid breaks down into the inflammatory arachidonic acid. Arachidonic acid causes other inflammatory pathways to progress leading to more mast cell activation and more inflammation and NMDA receptor stimulation - hyperinflammation positive feedback loop.

Butyrate or niacin or polyphenols from pomegranate peel or other superfoods can help prevent the mast cell degranulation. My graphic is about this same process and Alzheimer’s dementia or more severe autism spectrum disorder seem to be related risks.

Pomegranate products for the nociceptive pain of histamine excess. (Substack)

Ferroptosis – anemia of chronic infection/inflammation – severe fatigue.

The body will shift iron out of hemoglobin to protect it from suspected pathogens. In severe CoV, the normal response is overactive and can continue in LongCovid. Too little hemoglobin means too little oxygen, and extreme fatigue. Too much iron elsewhere can lead to cell damage from oxidative stress – ‘rust’ caused by electrically active iron. Thread about ferroptosis, with ref and ref and images.

Ferroptosis: past, present and future, (Jie Li, et al., 2020) (ref)

Eating too much, carbohydrates and glutamate seasonings, can greatly increase the risk of ferroptosis – excess free iron and oxidative stress, and lead to increased blood sugar and insulin resistance.

“It is now accepted that nutrient abundance in the blood, especially glucose, leads to the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), ultimately leading to increased oxidative stress in a variety of tissues. In the absence of an appropriate compensatory response from antioxidant mechanisms, the cell, or indeed the tissue, becomes overwhelmed by oxidative stress, leading to the activation of intracellular stress-associated pathways. Activation of the same or similar pathways also appears to play a role in mediating insulin resistance, impaired insulin secretion, and late diabetic complications. The ability of antioxidants to protect against the oxidative stress induced by hyperglycemia and elevated free fatty acid (FFA) levels in vitro suggests a causative role of oxidative stress in mediating the latter clinical conditions. “ (Newsholme, et al, 2019) (ref)

The graphic by Newsholme, et al, 2019, below, (ref), shows the Krebs cycle, also called the Citric Acid Cycle, in the top left:

Oxidative stress pathways in pancreatic β-cells and insulin-sensitive cells and tissues: importance to cell metabolism, function, and dysfunction. (Newsholme, et al, 2019) (ref)

The Islets of Langerhans are cell clusters in the pancreas (on the left side of the image above) involved with producing insulin as needed, (on the right side of image).

More and more sugar, glucose or carbohydrates including fruit (fruit has fructose and glucose), leads to more and more insulin production. Not shown in this image is the effect on fat cells – once overloaded they can become insulin resistant and no longer respond to insulin by taking up the excess glucose in the blood stream – the glucose and the insulin become elevated, excessive.

The point in sharing the image is not to suggest you need to understand it all – but to see the complexity – and the basic point – more glucose/sugar leads to more insulin. If that continues over many years the pancreas cells can become damaged from too much “ROS” = Reactive Oxidative Stress (circle in the very center of the image.

An iNOS inhibitor would be helpful. See the lower left corner showing Pro-inflammatory cytokines: TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-1beta, Adipkines, IFN-gamma. The inflammatory cytokines lead to increased activity of the NADPH oxidase system (NOX) which promotes iNOS, which makes Nitric oxide (NO), which helps increase the ROS – reactive oxidative stress when in excess. Nitric oxide can be helpful for health in the correct amounts.

Chalcones are the basic unit of flavonoids that provide a yellow pigment in many flowers. Types of chalcones are found in many plant foods and they have anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory effects. (Muraleedharan KM, et al., 2007) (ref) Chalcone flavonoids may help by inhibiting iNOS, (Young Hoon Kim, et al, 2007) (ref), so less Nitric oxide (NO) is made. In very severe oxidative stress excess nitric oxide may crystallize into a solid mass, disrupting function of cell function.

Chalcones:

“Indeed, chalcones constitute an important group of natural compounds that are especially abundant in fruits (e.g., citruses, apples), vegetables (e.g., tomatoes, shallots, bean sprouts, potatoes) and various plants and spices (e.g., licorice),—many of which have been used for centuries in traditional herbal medicine [29]. ” (Orlikova, 2011) (ref)

Whole licorice root, not the deglycyrrhised form, is a traditional medicinal herb used in Chinese medicine and has been used elsewhere as a herbal remedy. Citrus peel is a very good source of the chalcone called naringenin. Pomegranate peel is also a very good source of chalcones, (ref), and cinnamon is too. (ref)

Anemia of Chronic Inflammation can be a result of excessive ferroptosis.

• See the later half of this post for more info about anemia of chronic inflammation: Artemisinin, arteannuin-b, sgp130Fc, and Covid-19.

• The post also has a link to my unfinished book: Tipping the Clock Towards Health, which is available for sale, updates would be emailed to purchasers. (LeanPub/Tipping the Clock) *Which I have added to but it is still incomplete as of this page update on Feb. 6, 2024.

In researching anti-inflammatory phytonutrients I learned that the same foods that increase the anti-inflammatory Nrf2 pathway also inhibit the inflammatory Nf-Kb pathways. Many foods and nutrients can do both – promote anti-inflammatory Nrf2 and inhibit Nf-Kb. We hear a lot about sulforaphane and broccoli sprouts – research has shown it to be a rich source of Nrf2 promoting power – but there are oodles of other tasty choices:

That led to my learning that circadian chemistry uses the same proteins for the two pathways – so it has to be an either/or choice between the chemical pathways. It is a night/day ‘choice’ of modern life. In more ancient times people didn’t have bright light in the evening or at night. The glow of a campfire doesn’t disrupt circadian chemistry the way bright blue containing light can.

Aim for doing the opposite of the following list:

Vitamin C and iron chelators are needed, and it would also help to avoid iron rich foods in quantity. Some is reasonable, snacking on fortified breakfast cereal or liver and onions would likely be adding to the body’s inflammatory load. Methyl B complex would also be helpful to restore normal red blood cell growth within the bone marrow. Growing more healthy red blood cells is the goal so adequate protein intake is also needed.

Iron chelators:

Quercetin is in citrus peel, EGCG in pomegranate peel or 3 cups green tea per day, Resveratrol, Artemisinin or wormwood as tea, 10 gr/day goal is used to prevent malaria, Hydroxychloroquine, HCQ, or Cinchona bark tea/extract (source of quinine), Lactoferrin, fisetin, or cloves/clove essential oil. (cloves, ref, ref)

More info about this is in the Health Aids for Special Times document:

Health Aids for Special Times – document with link to Spanish translation.

• Health Aids for Special Times – phytonutrients, foods, other aids that may help with removing cellular debris such as a chimeric spike protein, and reduce inflammation. (document)

Health Aids for Special Times (document)

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