New Leaf Functional Nutrition

12/13/2025

Good advice !

Here's a mindset shift that can help reduce pressure during the holidays:

Instead of naming all the things you *have* to do this season, name what you get to do, says psychotherapist Niro Feliciano. For example: I get to make holiday cards, I get to hang out with my whole family. Shifting how we perceive these activities can turn them from obligations into privileges.

For more helpful ways to make your holidays less frantic, read the story: https://n.pr/4oKi4fP

12/13/2025

Each mineral carries more than a function.
It carries a story, a symbolic language of the body.
It enables our inner electricity and subtle charge.
It connects us to the matter and material.

They shape how we stand, flow, speak, restore, and transform. When we nourish ourselves with the full spectrum of minerals, we’re not just feeding biology but also nourishing archetypes, rhythms, and inner truths.

This is the beauty of nutrition to me:
every molecule is both matter and metaphor.
A functional message and a spiritual sign.
A bridge between the physical and the poetic
that lives inside each of us.

Which mineral do you feel you need most right now? ✨

12/11/2025

12/11/2025

This, right here - the biochemistry of why I recommend multiple nutrients - they work together vs single. And professional brands understand the evidence-based way of combining “body-ready” forms of nutrients so they work despite genetic differences

Methylation is your body's on/off switch for health

Methylation is how your body moves tiny chemical tags (methyl groups, “CH₃”) onto DNA, proteins, and neurotransmitters. It’s like flipping switches that control mood, energy, detox, and gene expression.

🔹 The Two Primary Cycles

Folate Cycle: Folate (B9) is converted into methyl-folate, the form that can donate methyl groups. This depends on enzymes like MTHFR, and cofactors such as B2, B3, and B6.
💡 Example: People with MTHFR variants may need methyl-folate supplements because they convert folic acid less efficiently.

Methionine Cycle: Methionine (from protein) is turned into SAMe — the body’s “methyl donor.” SAMe hands off methyl groups to hundreds of reactions, from neurotransmitter balance to DNA repair.
💡 Example: SAMe is sometimes prescribed in Europe as a mood support supplement because of its role in serotonin and dopamine metabolism.

🔹 The Recycling Link
Folate and methionine cycles connect through B12 and zinc, which help transfer methyl groups from folate into the methionine cycle.
💡 Example: If B12 is low, homocysteine builds up — a lab marker often linked to cardiovascular risk.

🔹 Cofactors Matter

B vitamins (B2, B6, B9, B12): Run the cycles.

Magnesium & ATP: Provide energy for the reactions.

Zinc & Selenium: Help enzymes work and support antioxidant defenses.
💡 Example: Magnesium deficiency can slow methylation even if folate and B12 intake are adequate.

🔹 Why It Matters

Efficient methylation = steady neurotransmitters, healthy detox, stable DNA, resilience against stress.

Blocked methylation = fatigue, mood changes, high homocysteine, poor detox.
💡 Example: This is why “methylated” B vitamins (methylfolate, methylcobalamin) are included in many advanced supplements.

Methylation isn’t one reaction - it’s a nutrient-driven relay between folate and methionine cycles. With enough B vitamins, magnesium, zinc, and methyl donors, your body keeps the switches flipped in the right direction.

12/11/2025

Easy, healthy & gf!

12/10/2025

Many widely used medications could take a toll on the gut microbiome and digestive health when used long-term. Awareness and prevention may help safeguard your gut.

12/10/2025

A new study looked at how different cooking times affect the nutrients in orange-fleshed sweet potatoes. Steaming for 15 to 45 minutes helped protect the structure and antioxidant capacity of the flesh. It kept the color more stable and limited the loss of carotenoids, phenolics, and other bioactives inside the potato. Air-frying for 5 to 15 minutes had a very different effect. Shorter times boosted carotenoids and phenolics in the peel because dry heat increased extractability. But as cooking time approached the higher end, nutrients in the flesh broke down quickly.

The practical takeaway is simple. Steaming is best for preserving nutrients in the soft orange flesh. A short air-fry can enhance antioxidants in the peel as long as the heat exposure is brief.

12/10/2025

12/06/2025

If you drink espresso every morning, you’re going to like what I have to say.

New lab research shows it contains compounds such as caffeine and genistein that can prevent harmful tau protein aggregation in the brain, a process linked to Alzheimer’s.

This doesn’t mean espresso is a cure, but it shows how everyday choices can support brain health.

If you want to dive into the research, you can find my blog post on the topic here: https://drperlmutter.com/another-reason-coffee-lovers-celebrate-espresso-may-defend-brain-tau/

12/05/2025