Why Skin Health is the Ultimate Test of Longevity
If you or anyone you know has a history of heart disease, depression, Alzheimer’s disease, ADHD, diabetes, insomnia or autism, these are just some of the conditions that have been linked to faulty methylation. If you are pregnant, or thinking of becoming pregnant, then supporting methylation to prevent neural tube defects (and actually lots more!) is super-important too. It’s the reason your doctor tells you to make sure you’re getting enough folate (or folic acid).
Methylation is a process that happens in every cell of our body. Here are some of the ways we use methylation:
• Cell division and renewal
• Healthy immune cells
• Synthesizing and clearing adrenaline
• Detoxification in the liver (and elsewhere)
• Producing energy for cells to use in chemical reactions
• Clearing out excess estrogens and histamine
• Regulating how our genes get expressed
Don’t miss that last one! Methylation is one of the ways that the body makes sure the right genes are turned on, and the ones that we don’t want get turned off. This has really far reaching implications for just about everything that happens in the body. It also means that even if we have a gene that predisposes us to a disease like Alzheimer’s, we can help that gene to stay silent by supporting healthy methylation.
MTHFR
You may have heard about the MTHFR gene. MTHFR stands for methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase, an enzyme that converts folate into the active form (5-mTHF) that can be used to make S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe). SAMe is a fantastically versatile compound and used in most methylation reactions. A well-functioning MTHFR gene also helps to keep homocysteine within normal levels. Homocysteine is a compound that may have come onto your radar if you have heart disease since higher levels have been associated with worse outcomes if you have this condition.
If you already know what MTHFR is, perhaps you know that you have a variant of this gene such as C677T or A1298C. If you have two copies of the C677T gene (this means you are homozygous for this variant) then the MTHFR enzyme’s activity can drop by 70-75%. If you have one copy of this gene (heterozygote) then activity can be reduced by 33-35%. If you have two copies of the A1298C variant you may lose 39% of MTHFR activity.
Treating Methylation Deficits
Most often, treating methylation deficits involves adding supplemental nutrients such as natural folates (5mTHF), B12 and betaine to help overcome the lagging enzyme activity. We know that this approach can work well, and maybe it has for you.
However, this doesn’t work for everyone. Many individuals can actually experience an increase in symptoms, especially those related to anxiety, nervousness and depression. If this has happened to you, then you may be wondering where to go from there.
If you don’t tolerate methylation supplements, and actually even if you do, it is really important to get your diet and lifestyle dialed in too. With supplementation, we can run the risk of pushing methylation activity too far the other way and actually promote a state of excess methylation which research is showing can be detrimental too.
What we want is balance—not too much, not too little. Just right. And there is actually a way to do that with food-based nutrients, superfood methylation adaptogens, specific eating patterns, sleep hygiene, stress management, and exercise. Your functional medicine practitioner should also be looking at areas of excessive SAMe drain, which can reduce the amount of SAMe available for healthy functions. Inflammation, oxidative stress, environmental toxins and gut health can all have negative effects on methylation activity and must be considered as well.
Who should be Screened for Methylation Deficits?
Supporting healthy methylation is actually a good anti-aging strategy, since we tend to lose methylation capacity as we age. Methylation should therefore be on all of our radars! It’s certainly on mine.
More specifically, I recommend that anyone with the following conditions (or with a family history of these concerns) ask their practitioner to order the MTHFR genetic test, or have your full genetic profile done through www.23andme.com.
• ADD/ADHD
• Addiction
• Allergies
• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Anxiety
• Asthma
• Autism
• Behavioral disorders
• Bipolar disorder
• Cancer
• Chemical sensitivity
• Chronic fatigue
• Cleft palate
• Dementia
• Depression
• Diabetes
• Downs syndrome
• Fertility issues
• Fibromyalgia
• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• Insomnia
• Multiple sclerosis
• Neuropathy
• Parkinson’s Disease
• Pre-pregnancy and pregnancy
• Schizophrenia
• Thyroid disease
High levels of homocysteine, or low levels of folate and vitamin B12 are other flags to potentially-impaired methylation. If you’re working with a functional medicine practitioner, they will be able to order additional tests that provide an in-depth look at methylation activity such as SAMe, SAH and SAMe:SAH ratios, expanded nutrient status, and genome analysis.
Contact our clinic for support for healthy methylation, or you can learn more in my new book Younger You.
ps-I really liked this article on methylation from Dr. Jill Carnahan
Methylation Adaptogens
How to balance your methylation support program to avoid excessive methylation and optimize long-term health outcomes
Download your free copy of our new, free methylation download.
In this PDF, you will learn how you can optimize your methylation support program using methylation ADAPTOGENS + enjoy a free bonus adaptogen recipe.
13 Comments
You actually make it seem so easy with your presentation but I in finding this matter
to be actually something which I feel I’d by no means understand.
It kind of feels too complex and very broad for me.
I’m having a look forward in your subsequent submit, I will
try to get the cling of it!
Hi Bill,
Glad to have you on our site.
Our biochemistry can get complicated but it is so fundamental to understanding and addressing the root mechanisms of disease and identifying ways to address them. If you’re new to this topic, I encourage to keep reading around it and stay tuned for new info that we release. It’s a really key one for many health concerns.
My best,
Dr. KF
I loved this. Please don’t ever dumb it down. I want more!
Our 19 year old son has MTHFR C677T ++ AA; S731236 VCR Taq TT AA; RS1801394 MTRR A66G ++ GG. He has not been well for 4 years. His stomach is a mess. He has a lot of pain and nausea. He could not finish high school it was that bad. Have him on B12 Tri-Cobalamin & 5-MtHF Folate. He also has high histamine levels. He is also inflamed. He eats a fairly clean diet but with little vegetables (when he is nauseous finds hard to eat).
Could this mutation be causing his illness?
I loved your article as the breakdown of MTHFR was an easy read.
Thanks for your help.
Donna
Hi Donna, sorry to hear how much your son’s been struggling. Genetics may put him at a disadvantage, but there are a lot of factors to consider. Thanks to growing research in epigenetics, we know that we can modify genetic risk by managing exposures, lifestyle, and diet. I think a full evaluation of his gut function is reasonable, and may be a significant consideration in his presentation.
If you haven’t yet, consider working with a Functionally trained practitioner who can assess all aspects of his condition, including nutritional status, GI function, and fine tuning his supplements. You can find one near you by using the “find a practitioner” button at the Institute for Functional Medicine’s Website – http://IFM.org. I’d like to mention that our nutrition team works remotely and is experienced in managing GI issues and trained in implementing the Methylation Diet and Lifestyle approach. You can learn more here: https://www.drkarafitzgerald.com/our-clinic/nutrition-services/ – Lara Zakaria RPh MSc CNS CN CDN
Love your website. Very informative!
Thank you!
Where can I find a functional nutritionist in my area (South Alabama). I just ordered the 23 and Me package and was going to foundymyfitness.com to get it analyzed, but I would like someone who is trained with your mentality to guide me (and my wife) through it. What is my best resource for that?
When I was in the Navy (25 years), the stress and diet of ship/desert/deployed life contributed to gut discomfort, and the Navy put me on Proton Pump Inhibitors for 20 years. I cycled through a couple of them, but in the end, I had the beginning signs of an immunity disorder, reflux (which I had never had before) and muscle weakness (probably due to magnesium depletion) as well as fatigue and even CDiff. Prevacid was the hardest drug to kick, but I’ve been off it for four years. My mother has dementia and my brother died of pancreatic cancer, and I want to head these problems off at the pass. Winning the battle with diet, exercise, meditation and now sauna, but want to do it more effectively. In South Alabama, it is really difficult to find functional doctors, (especially supported by Tricare, our retired military health care system), so I feel like I’m on an island. Please send me a raft!
Thanks for reaching out Charlie. The best database for functional medicine doctors in here: https://www.ifm.org/find-a-practitioner/
I have recently been diagnosed with PH with no answers As to why. I played hypochondriac by listing 75 years worth of ‘issues. I find that every one of the medical issues I have had would seem to go back to a lack of the vitamins in the B family and also vitamins D. One of my issues is a Johns Hopkins diagnosed double gene mutation MTHFR.
When I have tried to talk to my primary care or my heart and lung Drs they look at me as if I am nuts.
As I live in an area where it is at least a 4 hour drive to a good hospital and I have not been able to find anyone who seems to know anything about vitamins. Can you help me even if it is just recommending a good dr on the Delmarva pinnensular?
Other issues include RA asthma, peripheral neuropathy , epilepsy,vertigo, shortness of breath, artherosclosis, cramping in fingers and ankles, scarlet fever.
It is probably too late for me to turn this around for me but I have 3 daughters in their early 50s that I would like to spare repeat problems for. I know that 2 of the three also have tested positive for MTHFR the third just figures sh is also in the group as her identical twin sister is.
Dear Pam, you might consider starting with a nutrition consult with our team. (email frontdesk@drkarafitzgerald.com) You can also look for a functional doc in your area by going to http://www.functionalmedicine.com. Best of luck to you!
Thanks for this article spoken so well i understand so much more about it now. To be honest i feel relief. Ive been living a holistic life style for along time im an athlete and yet i am not functioning right. My blood test always show high cholseterol high uric acid and excessivly high liver enzyme ive had chronic fatigye multiplke times and i can not loose weight to get into my appropriate weight class for weight lifting and no one looks at it because i look healthy. Ive just been tested for MTHR because my sister had it and just died from liver cancer. turns out i have the gene 6677T i have answers finally now to fix.
thanks so much.
Thanks for the 23 and me mthfr testing I will get that done. Methylfolate and methionine also several flavonoids have done a great job already at reducing my histamine intolerance which I have had for forty years and treated with antihistamines. This has opened up a whole new realm of possibilities. Why have a not heard of this before?