When you understand what methylation is, of which MTHFR is one of many genetic variants involved, then you will understand why it is so important.
What is Methylation?
Methylation is responsible for switching genes on and off, neurotransmitter production, hormone production, and much more. Mutations in MTHFR and other variants in methylation can lead to serious health issues that affect the heart, mental health, growth and development, amongst others.
It’s not as simple as supplementing
Since we are all unique and no two people have the same genetic code, what your body needs will be different from what someone else needs. Your code combination will also determine what nutrients you need.
Not everyone with MTHFR needs to supplement with folate because it depends, to a large degree on your diet. If you are eating a healthy, clean diet with lots of whole foods that contain natural folate and your lifestyle factors contribute toward healthy gene expression (such as regular exercise, limiting alcohol, avoiding exposure to food and environmental toxins etc) then your methylation pathway (even with mutations) could be well supported. But on the other hand, even if you are at optimal health, you may still need some additional support. This varies from person to person.
Epigenetics
It is our epigenetics that influences gene expression. Epigenetics is your environment and experiences, including your diet, lifestyle, environment, sleep, stress, emotional state, and even how genes interact with each other.
In the womb, a baby is subject to it’s mothers epigentics. Smoking, drinking alcohol, what she eats, what she breaths in, what she puts on her skin, her level of stress, her emotional state…all of these epigenetic factors influence the unborn baby’s genetic outcome and methylation pathway.
Our genes are set in stone. But the way they behave changes constantly according to your epigenetic factors. This is also why blood tests are very important before supplementing because they tell you the live state of gene expression. A blood test for folate and homocysteine will give you a good idea if your MTHFR needs support.
Prepare your body
Diet, lifestyle, and environment always need to be optimized before supplementing. There would be no point in taking supplements if the body is too unhealthy or sick to cope with them. Pre-existing conditions, low-grade inflammation, nutritional deficiencies and other genetic mutations, can also determine how your body reacts to supplements.
Having any genetic mutations whereby it changes the functionality of the enzyme reduces the speed either too fast or too slow and can have effects, especially when one’s overall health is not good. Sometimes supplements can cause more damage and overburden an already struggling pathway, which is, unfortunately, what happens to many who discover they have MTHFR and behind supplementing before they even know what their baseline is.
Getting a full picture
It is also important when looking at DNA testing, to get a full picture of key biological pathways that work together. Taking into account a full methylation panel, detoxification pathway, oxidative stress, inflammation, genes involved in vitamin metabolism and neurochemical pathways can be very beneficial. Contact me to assist you in recommending DNA testing and providing you with the feedback on your test.
references:
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Murphy SK, Adigun A, Huang Z, Overcash F, Wang F, Jirtle RL, Schildkraut JM, Murtha AP, Iversen ES, Hoyo C. Gender-specific methylation differences in relation to prenatal exposure to cigarette smoke. Gene. 2012 Feb 15;494(1):36-43. doi: 10.1016/j.gene.2011.11.062. Epub 2011 Dec 20. PMID: 22202639; PMCID: PMC3627389.
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Marsit CJ. Influence of environmental exposure on human epigenetic regulation. J Exp Biol. 2015 Jan 1;218(Pt 1):71-9. doi: 10.1242/jeb.106971. PMID: 25568453; PMCID: PMC4286705.
- Al Aboud NM, Tupper C, Jialal I. Genetics, Epigenetic Mechanism. [Updated 2023 Aug 14]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK532999/