Supplements to Avoid with a Slow COMT
What foods and supplements should you avoid if you know you have a slow COMT polymorphism?
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.
To briefly recap:
Slow COMT polymorphisms can predispose you to things like OCD, obsessiveness, anxiety, addictions, difficulty “moving on,” etc. (Check out my previous articles on this).
and fast COMT polymorphisms can predispose you to things like ADHD, difficulty maintaining focus, difficulty persisting on one task for long periods of time, etc. (I’ll be talking about this more in depth in future articles).
And these tendencies are particularly pronounced when they’re combined with certain other genetic polymorphisms (expect future articles on these combinations, too).
People with Slow COMT polymorphisms can often dramatically improve their symptoms by taking supplemental and lifestyle measure that speed up the COMT enzyme. I’ve written about this extensively in previous articles (here, here, and here)—but suffice it to say that it takes a personalized approach to find the write combinations of supplements and lifestyle measures.
(Also: Check out the Slow COMT Cheat Sheet).
Supplements will often include some combinations of things to increase your concentration of methyl donors (methylated B12, methylated folate, TMG, choline, SAMe, etc.) and things that positively modulate neurotransmitter levels (NAC, etc.).
But another important question is:
What supplements (and foods) should one avoid with a Slow COMT?
The idea is that if you have a slow COMT variant (especially in combination with certain other gene variants), you are already at risk for accumulating the substrates of the COMT gene—catecholamines (including dopamine), estrogens, and other toxic substances.
So you want to do whatever you can to prevent further buildup of these substances. This negative effect can be induced by:
Further inhibiting the COMT enzyme
or
Doing things that increase the substrates of the COMT enzyme.
I’ll be talking just about number 1—things that inhibit COMT—in this article. But number 2 is also a very important topic in its own right and deserves its own future article (coming soon).
What things further inhibit the COMT enzyme?
And, as it turns out, there are some natural compounds—present both in foods and supplements/vitamins—that have the potential to slow the COMT enzyme.
Near the top of that list is Quercetin.
Quercetin is a natural compound present in many foods, things like:
Onions (especially the skins)
Apples (also in the skins)
Oregano
Capers
Berries
Grapes
Cherries
Citrus fruits
Broccoli
Green tea
Coffee
and more…
The first four foods tend to be particularly high in Quercetin.
Quercetin became particularly popular among the general public during the recent 2020- virus catastrophe because of its potential antiviral effect. A lot of people just started taking Quercetin long-term.
As you may know, I am not a proponent of long-term use of any vitamins unless those vitamins are targeted to your unique health parameters—your genetics, lifestyle, etc.
And Quercetin is one example of that.
Quercetin also has the power to be a very potent inhibitor of the COMT enzyme. So for people who have slow COMT variants (or other genetic variants that lead to buildup of catecholamines and estrogens), Quercetin can actually produce more harm than good.
It has the potential to actually worsen the OCD, obsessiveness, anxiety, addictions, difficulty “moving on,” etc. that so many people with Slow COMT variants experience.
Does this mean that I need to avoid food thats are high in Quercetin if I have a Slow COMT?
In short: No.
Food sources of Quercetin are not nearly as high in Quercetin as supplements, and the dose that’s in food is really not high enough to cause enough inhibition of COMT to cause any issues in this regard.
What you do need to consider (and remember that none of this is official medical advice) is to avoid supplements containing Quercetin if you have a slow COMT variant, or just use them in moderation and as necessary for your specific conditions.
What other supplements have the potential to do this?
While Quercetin is one of the more potent natural inhibitors of COMT, it’s not the only one.
Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is also a relatively potent inhibitor. It’s present in high amounts in green tea and also can be consumed as a supplement. Excessive amounts of green tea also tend to be not the best option for people with slow COMT variants for other reasons (more on that in the future).
Rhodiola—often used to reduce “stress”—also tends to either inhibit other enzymes similar to COMT, which will lead to a similar catecholamine-accumulating effect. For that reason, people with slow COMT variants generally want to avoid or limit Rhodiola supplementation.
There are other non-supplemental things that should be avoided for people with slow COMT variants. I’ll be writing more on that in the future.
And if you’d like to work with me one-on-one (and live in one of the US states in which I am licensed), feel free to reach out.
More coming soon…
Keep in mind that this is not official medical advice. No doctor-patient relationship is established through this article or through any other information provided on this website.
