MTHFR – It’s not what you think!

WHAT IS MTHFR?

MTHFR is the abbreviation for methylene-tetrahydrofolate reductase.  We’ll just go with MTHFR to make it easy!  Standard blood or saliva is used to test for the two potential gene variations: C677T and A1298C. 

• MTHFR C677T heterozygous = 1 SNP ( one gene variation) 
• MTHFR C677T homozygous = 2 SNPs (two gene variations) 

Theoretically, the more SNPs you have on the MTHFR gene, the slower the MTHFR enzyme is going to work. Let me explain. The MTHFR enzymes are like highways. Picture this: You know how easy and stress free it is to travel with barely any traffic on the roads. All the lanes are open, no obstructions, and you can travel at the maximum speed. This is the equivalent of having no SNPs on MTHFR or any other gene for that matter. Nutrients and substrates can flow through easily and produce the products it’s supposed to.

Now imagine that highway being busy. Travel times are a bit slower and the lanes a bit fuller. This would be the equivalent of having one SNP, or being heterozygous, MTHFR.

So now imagine rush hour traffic. You’re not going anywhere. The highway has turned into a giant parking lot. This is the equivalent of being homozygous MTHFR, or having two SNPs on a gene. Now the enzyme has limited capacity to move everything through that it needs to which may lead to a “pile up” and possibly a deficiency at the end of the road.

THE MTHFR ENZYME’S ROLE

When you eat food that contains folate – such as leafy green vegetables and eggs – the folate has to go through several steps to end up as an ‘active’ folate called 5-MTHF.  The MTHFR enzyme is the last step in the process to make this active folate. The slower this enzyme works, the longer it takes to make active folate, and this can slow the whole methylation cycle down.

The folate cycle is the very first part of methylation. If you are not eating foods high in natural dietary folates, or eating more processed foods containing fortified folic acid, then your body doesn’t really have much to work with. You’ve got to give your body good quality foods to make the process successful.

I HAVE MTHFR – NOW WHAT DO I DO?

The simple answer is to take some methyl folate supplements in the form of 5-MTHF or folinic acid and eat foods with folate to help your body process it. I’m not going to tell you EXACTLY what supplement to take because I do not believe it will be in your best interest without knowing more about YOU. You are, after all, unique! Talk to your health care provider if you have concerns. The more you know about your health, the better you can manage it.