Why Anxiety, Insomnia, and Fatigue May Come from Hidden Iron-Based Catecholamine Overload: “Wired but Tired” Syndrome.

A surprisingly common scenario these days: anxiety, poor sleep, feeling overstimulated yet exhausted, "wired but tired," and daytime fatigue despite restless nights.

Sleep is undoubtedly one of those lingering mystery of modern science. It’s tempting to say that it’s one those “last frontiers”—i.e. those things that we still don’t really understand, despite how much we apparently know—like the trenches of the ocean, or deep outer space…

But, of course, that’s not true.

Methylfolate has dramatically increased in popularity over the past few years. While most multivitamins and B-complex supplements used to contain only folic acid—the synthetic and potentially harmful form that I strongly discourage—many brands now include the so-called "methylated" form of folate instead. This shift is largely driven by the skyrocketing interest in MTHFR gene testing and the assumption that methylfolate is always better.

But is it really?

Multivitamin supplementation is extremely common. Probably somewhere around one in three U.S. adults takes some form of multivitamin on a regular basis, hoping to improve their health. That hope is often directed toward reducing the risk of disease—namely chronic illnesses like Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, and so on—or simply improving day-to-day functioning (i.e., “feeling better”).

The problem is: I do not recommend multivitamin supplementation for the vast majority of people—for the vast majority of multivitamin formulations on the market.

Managing slow COMT variants requires a tailored mix of (balanced) methylation-supporting strategies, neurotransmitter-modulating strategies, and so on. However, these measures may at times clash with those required for the management of sulfur intolerances.

Starting with the most general question—i.e. how much protein should someone with slow or fast COMT function consume—my answer is pretty straightforward…

Generally speaking, if you have a “mutation” in this gene, what that really means is that you have an under-functioning polymorphism that is less effective at breaking down dopamine, estrogen, and other metabolites…

As you may remember from our previous articles, catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) is an enzyme that breaks down catecholamines (most relevantly, dopamine), undesirable forms of estrogen, and other toxic substances in the body…

There is a society-level push to distance humans from human nature.

Consider the claim commonly made by health influencers and media pundits that “just because something is ‘natural’ it doesn’t mean that it’s ‘better.’”

Then just look at the sheer number of articles written…

SAMe is found in virtually every single cell in your body.

It’s involved in producing neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, detoxifying the liver from toxins and alcohol, supporting the gut-brain connection, and even regulating the expression of your own genetic code.

The CBS gene is an incredibly important gene that can affects things like your mood, perceived energy levels, susceptibility to heart disease and cancer, your ability to tolerate high protein diets, and a lot more.

Caffeine (through coffee, tea, or otherwise) has the clear potential to interact with different COMT variants in different ways. I discussed some of this in a previous article, where I covered how caffeine can actually increase the risk of heart attacks in people with slow COMT variants. But what about fast COMT variants…

Pain is a very subjective experience. What barely perturbs one person can be enough to utterly upend another’s life entirely. This applies to physical pain—things like thorn pricks, broken bones, etc.—as well as emotional and psychological pain…

Coffee is not being used as it should. And this is problematic for everyone, but it is especially so for people with specific genetic variants.

Catechol-O-methyltransferase, or COMT as it’s more commonly known, is an enzyme that’s responsible for breaking down a variety of different compounds in the body. This includes things like: Dopamine—an important neurotransmitter…

The spike protein—that protein encoded both by the COVID virus and the COVID vaccine—is a particularly nasty protein. It’s been found to distribute itself throughout the body’s tissues after vaccination or infection, accumulating in various bodily tissues and organs, causing untold harm to the thyroid gland, the brain, the reproductive organs, and more.