There are many obscure essential minerals out there – all of them, despite their obscurity, so incredibly important for the optimal functioning of our bodies (at the right quantities, of course). Molybdenum is one of those obscure minerals, and also very valuable for some with migraine.
This mineral is hard to pronounce and not nearly as popular as good ol’ magnesium for migraine. Magnesium can be taken in much larger quantities (milligrams) than molybdenum without dire effects (although it can lower sodium). Molybdenum, on the other hand, comes in microgram quantities. It is always important to consider that any mineral in microgram doses is probably pretty powerful, and not needed in large quantities.
I’ve been studying molybdenum especially as it relates to its important role in sulfur metabolism. Sulfur intolerance issues are common in some (but by no means all) migraineurs, and molybdenum is needed to help the body to convert sulfites into sulfate.
Molybdenum is also a powerful copper antagonist, and so is very helpful for those with elevated copper levels. With currently five “copper-toxic” migraine clients right now (three of them in Australia), I’m suggesting molybdenum more than usual. Up until now, the majority of my clients have had low copper, or scrambled copper metabolism from heavy metals like mercury.
While I’ve seen good results so far with my copper toxic clients on molybdenum, there are a few clients who are not overtly copper toxic but who seem to have sulfur sensitivities. I decided it was time for me to try molybdenum out myself so as to have a more intimate understanding of this mineral’s power, especially for how it might affect someone taking it who has lower copper.
For me, “research” never means just reading and analyzing – it means actually ingesting minerals.
Getting to know a mineral on a somatic, cellular, and intimate level is very important in my line of work doing mineral balancing. Although my metabolism may be quite different than the clients I serve, nevertheless I very much value the first-hand, personal understanding that I get from ingesting a mineral – ideally before I ever suggest it to anyone.
What I have been able to discover by doing mineral experiments in an alert way, with a mind to that mineral’s properties, has been very illuminating, especially in the case of molybdenum, which had quite dramatic effects in my body!
Clues to molybdenum’s power
Prior to studying mineral balancing, when I heard the word “molybdenum”, I thought of the ugly Molycorp molybdenum mines in my home state of New Mexico that had polluted the Rio Grande and Red River watersheds where they met at their confluence in the small town of Questa.
The mine at Questa is a prime example of the negative effects of mining in New Mexico, as the boom-and-bust cycle impacted the economy in unpredictable ways, all while degrading the local ecosystem and the physiology of those who lived there.
The molybdenum tailings and pollution not only changed the color of the river, it also had a profound effect on the health of the nearby animals – including humans. Local resident Roger Herrera reported that black calves were turning white and their hair was drying out and falling off, as reported in the High Country News. Children were also getting white hair and white stripes on their nails, consistent with copper deficiencies caused by excess molybdenum and other heavy metal contamination.
Clearly, too much of this mineral is not a good thing, but then again, too little can also cause problems.
Why take molybdenum?
After reading Dr. Greg Nigh’s new book “The Devil in the Garlic”, I started to get much more intrigued by molybdenum. Dr. Nigh has successfully helped many patients out of his Portland clinic, Immersion Health, to overcome symptoms associated with molybdenum insufficiencies and problems with sulfur metabolism and small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO).
Dr. Nigh points out in his book that a buildup of sulfite in the bodies of those with challenged sulfur metabolism can lead to increased histamine levels and also migraine symptoms, among others. Lowering sulfite levels and helping to optimize sulfation pathways is therefore a big focus of his protocol, and he does so in part with the help of molybdenum.
I have many clients that cannot eat garlic or onions without it triggering a migraine, so supporting their sulfation with molybdenum could be beneficial. Molybdenum can also be helpful in lowering levels of mycotoxins and in combating candida infections (this makes sense as molybdenum lowers copper and candida symptoms are often a sign of high copper). Molybdenum levels also play a role in hot flashes during menopause, with many women’s hot flashes resolving on molybdenum.
I started thinking about my past history being triggered with migraine by red wines, presumably because of the high sulfite levels of the wines (although this is no longer a problem). I’m also keen to support my sulfation pathways for other reasons. I know my phase 2 pathway (glucuronidation) is compromised because my liver hurts when I stop doing the things I do to support this pathway. I figured supporting my phase 1 (sulfation) pathways with a small amount of molybdenum (a very modest nudge!) might in turn help to optimize my phase 2 pathways. I was looking for a reason to try molybdenum out.
I figured I’d go very low and slow (as I always do with minerals) and take just 1/4 of a cut down tablet of 150 mcg molybdenum (MoZyme Forte brand) for a total of 37 mcg per day. Seeing on my HTMA results that I was actually fairly high in molybdenum (at .004 mg/%), I still chose to try a small amount of molybdenum to just see if I could get any somatic sense for the properties of this mineral before suggesting it to anyone else already low in copper with sulfur issues.
Another reason for my molybdenum experiment despite my already higher molybdenum and lower copper levels is this: an HTMA report can only tell you what the absolute mineral levels are – and not whether your body is able to utilize that mineral efficiently in enzymatic processes.
As an example, I have sufficient manganese but benefit from a bit more of it, presumably because the manganese-dependent enzymes in my system are not working optimally, probably due to genetic SNPs and other nutrient deficiencies.
Finally, the need for a mineral is determined by how much demand for the mineral there is in the system – ie, someone with a high pool of body sulfite from hydrogen sulfide overgrowth in the small intestine may benefit from more molybdenum even if their lab molybdenum levels are at normal levels, and not deficient.
Being already low in copper, I was curious to see if I would notice any major copper deficiency symptoms, and my hope was that the small experiment would be either uneventful, or insightful.
It’s quite incredible what this small amount of molybdenum did to my system.
Within a day of taking 37 mcg molybdenum, I noticed myself having a hard time getting up the relatively small hill in our backyard between my office and my house without being fatigued and terribly winded. I grew irritable and my mood was very low. Three days after having taken only two doses the two days prior, my muscles ached and I started to feel pressure in both my ears.
I had felt strange pressure changes in my ears years past when I had migraines, and I’ve observed that ear pain, auditory processing issues (like deafness or hypersensitivity to noises), and general congestion in the ears is very common in those with migraine. On this small dose of molybdenum, both of my ears were sore and felt like they were going to develop ear infections at any moment (I have never had an ear infection in my life).
On the third night, my jaw started to go out of alignment. My joints popped and the connective tissue in my body, especially in my tendons, seemed to be very lax and compromised. I even felt chills in my body, and developed a headache. It wasn’t a migraine – it wasn’t sharp, and it didn’t progress, it just stubbornly sat there in the back of my head (not where I used to get migraines).
I even started to wonder if perhaps I had a viral or bacterial infection, as I initially doubted that so little molybdenum could have such profound effects so quickly – but no-one around me was sick. And after only two doses of molybdenum I had to admit that it was very likely this small amount of molybdenum that had thrown my system so out of whack.
There was only one way to find out if the molybdenum had been the culprit, and that was to seek to reverse the experiment by replenishing my copper supplies. Within one hour of having taking 4mg of copper all symptoms had subsided, and I was able to easily hike up the hill from my office to my house without being winded.
I slowly went through every single HTMA report of every client I’ve had and the pattern was pretty consistent: those with a naturally-high amount of molybdenum in their system had very low copper and iron levels. Those with very high copper and iron levels had lower molybdenum levels. And looking through my repeated HTMA reports for my own hair, I confirmed that at the times when I was supplementing the most with copper, my molybdenum levels went down from high to normal (from .004mg/% to .001 mg/%).
What this experiment taught me
This experiment confirmed the logic of my overall approach with minerals: always start on low doses, always take minerals with a keen eye to how you feel on them (bodywisdom trumps all), ideally away from other supplements so you know what’s causing what (ie, don’t take minerals in a multivitamin), and always do so with mineral dynamics in mind.
This experiment also taught me that molybdenum toxicity symptoms are synonymous with copper deficiency symptoms. Molybdenum can cause anemia quite rapidly in those who are already low in copper, since copper helps to bring iron into the cell via ceruloplasmin.
The exacerbation of my connective tissue problems showed me just how important copper is to my connective tissue health (which in turn affects EVERY system of the body – as connective tissue integrity is one key leverage point for health in general). Anyone with connective tissue disorders (including temporomandibular joint disorders, very common in those with migraine) will want to consider their copper and molybdenum status.
The fact that my ears got so sore is also interesting, as molybdenum raises uric acid levels, and uric acid crystals can build up in the ear canals. It’s also been known for quite a long time that there’s an association between higher uric acid levels and migraine.
Molybdenum toxicity can cause serious damage and this mineral should not be supplemented at the normal higher doses provided in most pills, or without some level of understanding of your own mineral status. As a case in point, this man went into a deep state of psychosis and hallucinations after just 1 week on molybdenum.
Molybdenum is a hard-core mineral, and the experience I had from only two days on it was similar to that reported by other people who were presumably low in copper going into their molybdenum supplementation.
For those with copper toxicity, candida issues, and compromised sulfation, however, molybdenum may be hugely supportive – so don’t let my firsthand experience as someone with high molybdenum and low copper deter you from investigating it as a possible support if your mineral profile is different than mine.
Clinical nutritionist Jacqueline Aaland says there are straightforward ways to determine if you are likely to have a clogged sulfation pathway and may be supported by molybdenum:
One test for compromised sulfation pathways is If you’ve ever eaten asparagus and had a very strong odor in your urine you may have a problem with the sulfation pathway. In my practice, these are the ones I generally give a molybdenum supplement in order to ease the sulfation pathway into a state of balance. (Source)
The copper/molybdenum ratio, or “copper toxicity” ratio
The copper/molybdenum ratio is considered the “copper toxicity” ratio. It’s a ratio I only use occasionally in reports when someone seems overtly copper toxic. But what this experiment showed me is that this ratio is always worth considering not only as a marker for copper toxicity, but also as a marker for copper deficiency as well (ie, when the ratio of copper to molybdenum is, like mine, very low, molybdenum must be avoided, and this may include reducing intake of high-molybdenum foods like beans).
I have a cu/mo ratio of 300/1, whereas a copper toxic client of mine has a ratio of 7,500/1. Can you guess which person will benefit from molybdenum? My client. And indeed he’s done great on 150 mcg of molybdenum, whereas 35 mcg of molybdenum for just two days seriously compromised my body.
What the HTMA test reveals is accurate and consistent when it comes to predicting a person’s need for molybdenum.
One question I’ve been exploring is which minerals are the best copper antagonists, since too strong of a copper antagonism will cause an unpleasant copper dump, whereas a more gentle copper antagonist like manganese may be more tolerable to those trying to lower copper without exacerbating symptoms.
Molybdenum is a powerful copper antagonist that is generally well-tolerated by those with high copper as compared to other copper antagonists like zinc. My copper-toxic clients can’t handle even the smallest amount of zinc, but do fine on molybdenum. I can’t handle any molybdenum, but do great with some zinc. The reasons for this remain mysterious and something I’m still researching.
Knowing that molybdenum lowers not just copper, but also iron, is really important too, especially for another client of mine, who has both high copper AND high iron.
“Molybdenum, as a component of xanthine oxidase, participates in the reduction of cellular ferric to ferrous ferritin. An excess of either copper or molybdenum, by giving rise to a relatively undissociable Cu-Mo-S complex, may produce a deficit of the metal in marginal supply.” (Source)
Closing Thoughts
Minerals are incredibly powerful substances, and molybdenum taken incorrectly can easily lead to toxicity and serious health problems. A mineral as powerful as molybdenum can greatly help someone or greatly harm them – and is indicated for those with copper toxicity, sulfur sensitivities, and candida. Supplemention should be done at the lowest possible dose and built up gradually, based on symptoms and HTMA labs and with mineral dynamics in mind so as not to cause other mineral imbalances in the process.
Science can tell us so much about mineral dynamics. Intellectual and analytical understanding of chemical properties is also invaluable. But there is nothing quite like a first-hand experience of a mineral. When we combine scientific and analytical understanding with somatic experience, we have the best of all worlds. This to me is the ultimate form of research, leading to the most profound insight. And that is always what I am after.
If you’re interested in mineral balancing and Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis, check out my coaching program, Personalized Mineral Support for Migraine Freedom.