In August of this year, 25-year-old bodybuilding mom Meegan Hefford was found unconscious in her apartment, brought to the hospital where she was declared brain-dead, and died soon after. The cause? "Too much protein before competition," according to the New York Post. She had recently doubled her gym routine, started dieting, and begun slamming protein shakes in preparation for an upcoming bodybuilding competition. No one knew she had a rare genetic disorder that would make the breakdown of protein acutely toxic for her until after her death.
Does this tragic case carry lessons for the rest of us without rare genetic disorders? In this episode, I make the answer a definitive YES.
Protein is essential to life and health, but its metabolic byproduct, ammonia, is toxic. Humans dispose of excess nitrogen largely as urea, a nontoxic metabolite of ammonia that can be safely excreted in the urine. Rare genetic defects like Hefford's interfere directly with the production of urea. Other genetic defects that interfere with the use of certain fuels, especially fatty acids and branched-chain amino acids, can indirectly impair the synthesis of urea during metabolic crisis. Impairments of urea synthesis lead to the accumulation of ammonia, with devastating neurological consequences.
Null genes manifest in infancy and are best studied. Partial genetic deficiencies, like Hefford's are often asymptomatic through adulthood until dietary changes (protein supplementation, carbohydrate restriction, fasting) or metabolic demands (intense exercise, illness) force a greater rate of protein catabolism.
There is at least one genetic polymorphism in a urea cycle gene that is COMMON and associated with disease: the A allele of rs5963409 in the OTC gene is present in up to 25-30% of some populations. It impairs ammonia disposal and arginine synthesis and it increases the risk of hypertension and Alzheimer's disease.
Does it impair protein tolerance? It hasn't been directly studied, but it is reasonable to believe that people with this polymorphism may not tolerate protein as well as others, and that arginine supplementation could help.
We need to stop dismissing inborn errors of metabolism as too rare to be relevant and we need to start connecting the dots and learning the lessons they carry for everyone.
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Access the show notes, transcript, and comments here:
https://chrismasterjohnphd.substack.com/p/047-are-we-all-evolved-to-eat-high
Chris Masterjohn, PhD, is the Founder and Scientific Director of the mitochondria test Mitome.
