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The MTHFR genetic factor plays a key role in why most have trouble healing from their autoimmune diseases.
The MTHFR gene (methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase) has the instructions for making the MTHFR enzyme. The MTHFR enzyme has an extremely important job because it facilitates an action in the body called methylation.
The reason why this is important is because there are about 250 crucial processes in the body that require methylation. Methylation is essential for the right function of nearly all of your body’s systems, and especially your ability to detox.
Methylation is an absolutely critical part of our biochemistry, and if this process isn’t happening right some pretty bad things will happen.
What Can Go Wrong If You’re Not Methylating Properly?
The following is a list of many of the things methylation does and what can go wrong when it’s not functioning at full capacity. Here’s what methylation does:
- Turns genes on and off: Methyl groups are like on-off switches. They turn things off like cancer promoting genes and our stress response. In short, without methylation it will be very difficult to beat cancer and difficult to calm down after a stressful situation.
- Reduces aging: Aging is equivalent to DNA damage. At the end parts of the DNA strands there are things called telomeres that keep the DNA from coming unbound. When we have enough methyl groups, these telomeres can keep the DNA together but when we don’t, they unravel much easier. This means rapid aging.
- Supports glutathione production: Glutathione is the body’s main detoxing agent. Not having enough methyl groups means not enough glutathione which means detoxing will be inhibited. This also involves being even more sensitive to chemicals and heavy metals than the average person, making toxic exposure that much worse. This is why it’s especially important to aid the body in cleansing if you have this gene mutation like I do.
- Helps break down hormones: This is especially important when it comes to removing toxic estrogens. Without the ability to do this efficiently there will be a buildup of too much of estrogen hormones in the body that will lead to estrogen dominant problems like prostate cancer, breast cancer, and fibroids.
- Activates and regulates the immune system: This is a big reason why the MTHFR gene mutation is so commonly associated with those who have autoimmune diseases. If a gene that’s responsible for regulating your immune system is tweaked, it should be no surprise that a dysregulated immune system will be the sure result. This dysregulation of the immune system also effects the building of immune cells which will mean there will be fewer immune cells leading to a weak immune system and a vulnerable host. This helps explain why so many with autoimmune diseases and the MTHFR gene mutation can get bad infections as was the case with my skin fungus infection.
- Gives us energy: The biochemical cycle of methylation leads right into another cycle called the Krebs cycle. The Krebs cycle is where we get our energy from, and involves the production of ATP, L-Carnitine, and other energy chemicals. Therefore having the MTHFR gene mutation can lead to having less energy.
- Breaks down histamine: If you don’t have enough methyl groups, you will not be able to break down histamine. Histamine is the hormone that signals an allergic response, therefore excess histamine will lead to being in a hyper-allergic state and many allergies.
- Repairs cell membranes and myelination of nerves: Can’t remember where you put things often? It could be due to not enough methyls since they are involved in making the myelin sheath of the nerves which allows for smooth transport of chemicals and neurotransmitters.
- Supports neurotransmitters: Neurotransmitters need methyls to work right and not having enough leads to neurological issues. The MTHFR mutation also inhibits the production of your feel-good hormones such as serotonin, melatonin, and dopamine. This may lead to symptoms of depression, insomnia, brain fog, and attention problems.
- Converts water-soluble vitamins to fat-soluble vitamins: Certain systems in our bodies are covered in or contain high concentrations of fat, namely the nervous system and parts of the immune system. Most of the food we eat contains water-soluble vitamins. However, to deliver nourishment to these systems that contain a high percentage of fat, our body needs to convert these water-soluble vitamins into fat soluble ones. Two key vitamins involved are folate (B-9) and B-12. This action of converting key vitamins from water-soluble to fat-soluble is part of the process of methylation. When this is compromised, the nervous and immune systems will be malnourished and have a tendency to malfunction.
One of the biggest negative impacts of not being able to methylate properly is the lack of usable folate (Vitamin B9) in the body. The MTHFR enzyme converts the nutrient folate into the usable form called methylfolate. You see, when we eat dietary folate it is not yet usable to the body but needs to be converted to methylfolate in order to be used. This process involves attaching a compound called a methyl group (also referred to as “methyls”) to the folate. If we can’t methylate correctly, then we become partially inhibited from being able to convert folate into its usable form. This is really bad because almost everything good thing that happens in the body involves folate.
Getting Tested
I myself have the MTHFR gene mutation. And I've found that all of the autoimmune sufferers I personally know who have been tested for this gene mutation come out positive. Ask your doctor if they can order the MTHFR gene test. Some of them will order it or refer you to a specialist that can.
If it is not covered by your insurance, you can order the test yourself through MTHFRdoctors.com for $130. It comes with a full report decoding the results of your genetic information.
If you discover that you have this mutation, you may want to encourage your family to get tested also. It is exciting to discover this because there are things that you can do to work around this gene mutation and help your body where it is weak.
You can order the test by clicking this button.
What Can I Do to Counteract My MTHFR Gene Mutation?
1. Avoid anything with folic acid
Folic acid is the the synthetic form of Vitamin B9 folate. Folic acid is not found in nature, nor is it naturally found in the human body. Sounds bizarre right, since this is the common form of folate proscribed by doctors and is found in anything that gets fortified with vitamins. Folic acid actually slows down the chemical process of the folate cycle, by which the body creates the usable form of folate. This goes both for those with the MTHFR gene mutation and those without it. For those who have the mutation, eating folic acid is double whammy and for those who don’t have the mutation, consuming folic acid essentially produces the same effects in the body as if they did have the gene mutation. Yikes!
Not only that, the folic acid that never makes it through the folate cycle floats around in the blood. This has several detrimental effects in the body such as masking B-12 deficiencies for example.
By U.S. and Canadian law, all enriched flour has to be fortified with folic acid. So most store-bought breads, buns, breakfast cereals, pasta, etc. will be slowing down your methylation process. We’ve already looked at this topic in prior chapters, but the folic acid issue is yet another reason to go gluten free. Folic acid is in many supplements and processed foods so this is another opportunity to be a detective and read the labels, avoiding anything which contains folic acid.
2. Maintain good gut health
Gut health plays a huge role in the methylation cycle and, well, virtually everything else in the body. Healing your leaky gut and gut dysbiosis can help your MTHFR situation if you have it.
3. Don’t drink alcohol
Perhaps you feel like I just dropped a bomb on you with that statement, but the fact is that alcohol specifically depletes our B vitamins. I heard a doctor who has the MTHFR gene mutation say that he gets a nose bleed if he drinks wine. There really is no safe limit of alcohol when it comes to physical, mental, and spiritual health. Replace happy hour with healthy hour. Go to the gym, take a warm bath, spend time with family. Drinking alcohol is going to be fighting against any health measures you are currently making in reversing your autoimmune disease.
4. Eat plenty of beans and dark leafy greens to get folate
Folate comes from the word “foliage.” Can you guess why? Because that’s where the folate is. The reason why meat has it is because the animals got it from the plants they ate or ate other animals that got it from plants. The plant foods that have the most folate are the dark leafy greens and legumes — beans, lentils, etc. Make sure you get as much of your folate from these plant-based sources before jumping into supplements. With a gene mutation like this, it may be that a supplement will be needed but trying to get quality dietary sources first is always best.
For those who have the MTHFR gene mutation, even getting large amounts of dietary folate may still not provide enough folate for daily needs, and especially not for healing. I found this was the case with myself. Depending on how much of the gene mutation you have, your ability to put out methylfolate through the foods you eat will be limited by various percentages. Let’s say it’s 50%. You’re eating dietary folate, but because of your gene mutation, you’re actually only getting 50% of what you need. Where are you going to get the other 50% from? Until a way is found to increase the MTFHR process for those with the gene mutation, the next best option for now may be getting methylfolate in a supplement like I do in the Neuro-Immune Stabilizer cream made by Neurobiologix.
5. Supplement with methylated B-12 (methylcobalamin) if needed
The natural source of B-12 is bacteria. The primary source of B-12 rich bacteria is from unwashed organic produce. But for most of us who do not eat from our own gardens anymore, it is hard to get these good natural microbes as we wash our fruits and vegetables before eating. If there is a need to supplement B-12, instead of taking the synthetic B-12 which is cyanocobalamin (which breaks down into B-12 and the poison cyanide in the body), I make sure to get the B-12 in its methylated form, methylcobalamin. This is the kind that is in my Neuro-Immune Stabilizer cream and is also available as an oral supplement from any health food store.
6. Cleanse from time to time
Although I have reversed my autoimmune disease, I still think it is a good idea to cleanse from time to time throughout the year because I know I have this gene mutation which inhibits the natural production of glutathione in my body. This means I do not naturally eliminate and break down toxins and heavy metals as well. So my wife and I will do a 3 - 7 day cleanse once a year in the fall just before cold season begins. My wife and I have both avoided getting the cold and flu for years by doing this. I’ll do a detox enema once a month or every few weeks depending on how I feel. I’ll do a hydrotherapy shower every other week. I’ll drink dandelion tea here and there. If I have the opportunity to use a far-infrared sauna, I’ll enjoy a good sweating from time to time. Simple things like this have helped make up for me having this gene mutation
As a result of this successful work-around I could now counteract my gene mutation. Because of this, I was able to bounce back from having dangerously low levels of vitamin B12 and vitamin D. This saved me from the possibly of having neurological disorders such as depression and brain fog in the near future.
Dental Health
I had lots of dental problems during the years I was healing from the effects of autoimmunity in my body. I had to get cavity after cavity filled despite being a model dental patient. I believe a vitamin D deficiency along with a leaky gut was the reason my dental health went south.
Vitamin D is very important for dental health. Vitamin D is required for your body to absorb calcium and phosphorous, and these minerals are foundational to maintain strong, healthy teeth and bones. Therefore if you’re deficient in vitamin D, you won’t be able to absorb calcium, and it’s likely you’re going to have dental problems. I believe this is exactly what was happening with me. This discovery was hard to come by since my lifestyle lent to plenty of vitamin D. We exercise outdoors often and eat plenty of foods high in calcium and phosphorus.
Why was I deficient? With the MTHFR genetic factor that comes into play with autoimmune diseases, the process of converting vitamin D to its usable form in the cells can become somewhat inhibited. In combination with a damaged gut, other nutrients essential to dental health will also be less absorptive.
Therefore when you’re healing, it is helpful to make sure you’re getting a surplus of vitamins and minerals to compensate for a damaged gut and mutated genes. So besides juicing to get a high concentration of vitamins and minerals, I made sure I was also getting a high amount of vitamin D during my time of healing by daily sun baths in early spring through late fall.
What's incredible is that you can get around 20,000 IU of vitamin D from just 30 minutes of sun exposure to a large portion of your body (within the hours of 10am to 3pm).
I'm careful to make sure I don't burn of course. I made sure to continue my vitamin D intake in the winter with D3 in the special skin cream I was applying.
Thankfully the combination of healing my leaky gut and maintaining a solid dental regimen that eliminated acid and sugar-time exposure in my mouth, it caused me to see my dental health drastically improve. I haven’t had a cavity since then!
The Cleansing Element
One of the processes in your body that is hindered when you have the MTHFR gene mutation is the ability to cleanse. Therefore, I found it helpful to cleanse my body of accumulated toxins throughout my healing process and from time to time thereon for maintenance. The easiest way to help the body cleanse though is to simply halt the toxic load that is constantly being put on it. This was actually the first step for me in healing my autoimmune and ended up being half the battle. There are huge sources of toxins that most people are being exposed to every day even in their own home and don't even realize it.
The Top 3 Toxins Causing Autoimmune Diseases In Your Kitchen
DISCLAIMER
Statements on this website have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Content on this website is not considered medical advice. Results may vary from person to person. Please see a physician before making any medical changes.
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