Methyl donors – micronutrients important for DNA methylation 甲基供體 – 對 DNA 甲基化很重要的微量營養素

Aging is known to have something to do with DNA methylation.  A recent study shows that castrated male sheep tend to have methylation of more genes than males that do not receive the surgery.  It seems that methylation is a way to prevent DNA from degradating.

What nutrients or foods may help DNA methylation?  Micornutrients that can serve as methyl donors should be beneficial.  The following are cited from here.

Nutrient: Food Sources

Choline:  Eggs, liver, cauliflower,  flax seeds, lentils, , nuts, broccoli, peanuts, soybeans, wheat germ.

Folate and folic acid:  Cheese, eggs, liver, broccoli, asparagus, fortified breads and cereals, legumes, peanuts, oranges, spinach.  Plant-derived foods – leafy green vegetables should be the major source of this vitamin.

Methionine:  Dairy products,  fish, meat, eggs, poultry like turkey, and rice.  Methionine is an amino acid present in all sorts of protein.  So a high protein food contains generate high methionine.  But the ratio of methionine to other amino acids varies.

Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin): dairy products like cheese and milk, eggs, lean meat and organ meats like liver.  Vitamin B2 is present also in green vegetables like  asparagus, broccoli, and spinach.

Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine): Bananas, fish, grains, legumes, pork, liver, meat, potatoes and poultry.

Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin): Eggs, fish, meat, poultry, dairy products. Vitamin B12 is only present in animal derived foods.

眾所周知，衰老與 DNA 甲基化有關。最近的一項研究表明，與未接受手術的雄性綿羊相比，閹割的雄性綿羊往往具有更多的基因甲基化。似乎甲基化是一種防止 DNA 降解的方法。

哪些營養素或食物可能有助於 DNA 甲基化？可以作為甲基供體的微量營養素應該是有益的。以下內容引自此處。

營養素：食物來源

膽鹼：雞蛋、肝臟、花椰菜、亞麻籽、扁豆、堅果、西蘭花、花生、大豆、小麥胚芽。

葉酸和葉酸：奶酪、雞蛋、肝臟、西蘭花、蘆筍、強化麵包和穀物、豆類、花生、橙子、菠菜。植物源性食物——綠葉蔬菜應該是這種維生素的主要來源。

蛋氨酸：乳製品、魚、肉、蛋、家禽（如火雞）和大米。蛋氨酸是一種存在於各種蛋白質中的氨基酸。所以高蛋白食物中含有生成高蛋氨酸。但蛋氨酸與其他氨基酸的比例各不相同。

維生素 B2（核黃素）：乳製品，如奶酪和牛奶、雞蛋、瘦肉和肝臟等器官肉。維生素 B2 也存在於蘆筍、西蘭花和菠菜等綠色蔬菜中。

維生素 B6（吡哆醇）：香蕉、魚、穀物、豆類、豬肉、肝臟、肉類、土豆和家禽。

維生素 B12（鈷胺素）：雞蛋、魚、肉、家禽、乳製品。維生素 B12 僅存在於動物源性食品中。