Methylation is essential to our metabolism and how we are built to perform biochemically speaking.
It boosts and supports bile production, stress reduction, cognitive function and a lot more. For those of you who think that the MTHFR gene mutation has no consequence right now, think about this… Remember that MTHFR does not make you directly unwell, but cause an exaggerated negative to the environment, like poor diet or lifestyle factors. Remember genes load the gun, but the environment pulls the trigger.
The issues just mentioned are so in our faces right now with stress at its highest ever, in the whole duration of human existence, this being one of the reasons why we have methylation problems. Our ability to properly methylate is reduced and ineffective due to poor nutrient food supply from nutrient deficient soils, meaning we can’t supply our body with the correct nutrients. We are struggling with our environment!
Our bodies are amazing and self-sufficient, because we have the natural raw ingredients to allow the metabolic and biochemical reactions to continue; we have fresh air, exposure to sunlight and so when these are withheld and we are exposed to toxins, we struggle with toxicity, hormone imbalance, poor sleep and erratic emotional feelings and mental health.
Our ageing bodies are not meant to fall prey to crippling diseases and cancer if looked after properly, esp. if the right genes are regulating.
Let’s consider activities that aggravate and limit methylation ability:
• Consuming folic acid which has been added to grain and as they call it enriched the food supply. The problem with this is that it is synthetic folic acid from petrochemicals, and we are almost forced to take it as few people are aware of this subtle problem and the effect that poor methylation has when this occurs.
• Inflammatory diets
• Deficiency of nutrients- we all have this due to our poor food supply
• Oxidative stress through inflammation
• Intoxication by heavy metals and chemicals
• Mental stress- this is something that few people have under control today
Some things we are able to do to counter this:
• Eliminate folic acid from your diet, and since folic acid is added to all refined grains, this may be tricky. Wholewheat grains do not have added folic acid. (I’m not sure about the European supply though)
• Eliminate refined grains. Folic acid is the synthetic version of folate in our body.. Remember our body gets folate (vitamin B9) from green vegetables, beets, whole grain and avocado, where it is converted to methyl folate before it is accessible. If you are using multivitamins, ensure that they don’t contain folic acid but folate instead.
• Activation of your B vitamins to support methylation is suggested, which occurs from natural sources and food. If your food is of poor quality consider vit B supplements in their natural form, not synthetic as found in most grocery food stores.’
Look at your natural health stores for vitamin B supplements in their natural form including:
• Riboflavin – 5’ – Phosphate (vitamin B2, riboflavin)
• Pyridoxal – 5’ – Phosphate (vitamin B6)
• Methylfolate or 5-MTHF (vitamin B9, folate)
• Methylcobalamin (vitamin B12)
The synthetic forms are made from petrochemicals and toxic substances like cyanide.
Speak to your homeopath to be able to add in some homeopathic adjuncts to support methylation.
Proper dietary habits
We always talk about the importance of diet, and no more so important today, because of poor nutrient content and all the synthetic additions to our food.
Toxicity is a common problem today from heavy metals, pesticides, plastics and personal care products. It affects our cognition, energy, immunity, presenting with headaches, brain fog, weight gain and much more. If our bodies get overwhelmed with the toxins, it means our methylation pathways are also overwhelmed. We need to find ways to limit toxin overload including:
• Removing plastic from our environment (gladwrap, plastic containers replaced with glass, no plastic in microwaves).
• No nonstick cookware, rather replace with stainless steel, glass or cast iron.
• No synthetic or artificial fragrances used in your home, as they contain petrochemical derivatives.
• Home water filter to get clear drinking water without pharmaceuticals and heavy metals.
• Avoiding mercury in dental fillings, rather change to composite.
Supporting methylation in today’s toxic environment is a daily task to take good care of our bodies. By changing your habits and being mindful, together with homeopathic support to boost hormones, neurochemicals or detoxification and stimulation of methylation processes, gives you a head start in staying healthy. There are fail safes that should be followed. When supplementing methyl folate there are companion supplements to also be taken for best effect.
I know what you are all thinking! What are the homeopathic remedies that I can use to improve my methylation? I will just use them for better results. There are a few other aspects you need to consider before using the remedies, and that is why you need a practitioner who is knowledgeable in this. For example which polymorphism do you have? C677T or Hetrozygous A1298C has little consequence, while Heterozygus C677T affects folate metabolism a lot.
Compound heterozygous A1298C and C677T is the most severe. You will need different support depending on what polymorphisim you have.
By understanding this you will be aware of where the weakness is! Is it related to estrogen detox? Or ADHD and the nerurochemicals or cardiovascular issues, or leaky gut aggravations? You can now prescribe homeopathically to support these aspects of MTHFR, combining it with diet and supplementation of B vitamins.
The effect of this is that by using the homeopathic support you get an improved balance of the metabolism and health as opposed to just using B vitamins and diet. Depending on the chronicity of the condition you will notice differences within 3-6 months.
