What happens if homocysteine is high?
High homocysteine levels in the blood can damage the lining of the arteries. High levels may also make the blood clot more easily than it should. This can increase the risk of blood vessel blockages. A clot inside your blood vessel is called a thrombus.
How do I lower my homocysteine levels?
We know that folic acid, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12 are all involved in breaking down homocysteine in the blood. Therefore, increasing your intake of folic acid and B vitamins may lower your homocysteine level. A good source of folate can be found in fruits and vegetables (especially green leafy vegetables).
What causes homocysteine levels to be high?
Many factors are thought to raise levels of homocysteine; among them are poor diet, poor lifestyle especially smoking and high coffee and alcohol intake, some prescription drugs, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and poor thyroid function.
What is considered high homocysteine?
Most laboratories report normal homocysteine levels in the blood between 4 and 15 micromoles/liter (µmol/L). Any measurement above 15 is considered high. Any measurement below 12 is considered low. Optimal homocysteine levels are below 10 to 12.
Does B12 lower homocysteine levels?
Supplementation with vitamins B9, B12, and B6 appears to decrease the homocysteine levels and potentially contributes to stroke prevention although direct evidence is lacking [12, 13]. Vitamin B12 deficiency can be detected in 10–40% of the general population and may contribute to stroke and cognitive decline [14, 15].
Does fasting lower homocysteine?
As an individual trait, hyperinsulinemia was weakly associated with variation in homocysteine levels. Subjects with a fasting insulin level >94 pmol/l had slightly higher adjusted mean homocysteine levels (9.8 μmol/l) compared with those below this threshold (9.4 μmol/l, P = 0.04).
Does homocysteine increase with age?
Homocysteine levels increase with age, are higher in men than in women (9), and are influenced by renal function (10). Renal impairment raises plasma homocysteine levels by reducing homocysteine clearance (11).
What medications cause high homocysteine levels?
Drugs such as cholestyramine and metformin interfere with vitamin absorption from the gut. Interference with folate and homocysteine metabolism by methotrexate, nicotinic acid (niacin) and fibric acid derivatives, may lead to increased plasma homocysteine levels.
What is the best supplement for homocysteine?
The good news: Homocysteine can be lowered easily and inexpensively with a trio of B vitamins — B6, B12, and folic acid.
How do I get rid of homocysteine naturally?
Studies show foods containing folic acid may lower homocysteine. Try beans, leafy green vegetables, citrus fruits, beets, and wheat germ. A controlled trial showed that eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables containing folic acid, beta-carotene and vitamin C effectively lowered homocysteine levels.
What causes elevated homocysteine?
Most commonly, an inadequate intake of B vitamins in combination with genetic factors can affect the body’s absorption and use of folic acid, which causes homocysteine levels to spike. Some other causes of elevated homocysteine levels include both stress and coffee consumption.
What does elevated homocysteine mean?
Elevated Homocysteine. What Is Elevated Homocysteine? Homocysteine is an amino acid and breakdown product of protein metabolism that, when present in high concentrations, has been linked to an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes. Elevated homocysteine levels are thought to contribute to plaque formation by damaging arterial walls.
What causes low homocysteine levels?
Low Homocysteine Levels Causes. 1. Low Protein Intake. 2. Low Sulphur Intake. If there is low sulfur in your body, the homocysteine will break to provide cysteine for the body; this will reduce the homocysteine reserves.
Why would homocysteine be high?
High homocysteine levels may be caused by a deficiency of folic acid or B vitamins in the diet, kidney disease, hypothyroidism, psoriasis, systemic lupus erythematosus, or medications such as methotrexate or phenytoin. Genetic variants may also cause hyperhomocystinemia.
