MTHFR
An Important Genetic Test
August 8, 2020
Methylene TetraHydroFolate Reductase known as MTHFR is an important genetic test that you have probably never heard of. Sometimes covered by insurance, this $20 test can make a huge difference in predicting health problems and easily treating some of them that you already may have. This gene mutation has been indicated in depression, fatigue, schizophrenia, cancer, Alzheimer’s, autism, fibromyalgia, miscarriages, pulmonary embolisms, atrial fibrillation, and many more medical problems. It is a rate limiting step for the breakdown of homocysteine which can be a marker for cardiac disease and is associated with low levels of vitamins B6, B12, and folate as well as renal disease. Think of how simple it would be to know if you have this enzyme deficiency and all you would need to do is take a better form of folate to prevent or correct a disease which would usually require a prescription medicine.
This enzyme is needed to convert to the activated form of folate called 5-MTHF. It is the methylated form that which crosses your blood brain barrier and what keeps your brain chemistry normal. It is responsible for the production of your neurotransmitters. (serotonin, melatonin, dopamine, epinephrine, norepeinephrine) Yes, for those of you who suffer from anxiety and depression and other mental illness, what if a simple form of a vitamin could be the answer? Wouldn’t you check the lab and replace it before you took a pharmaceutical drug to affect your brain chemicals? Your short term memory, concentration, and sleep could improve. Your mood swings could stop. It may help homocysteine levels and gout. So many things are affected by your vitamin health especially folate, that it’s just too long to list.
A few important notes:
If you suffer from any of the above ask your doctor to order this level and then properly supplement with L-5MTHF (with methyl-B12 and magnesium). I do not, however, recommend taking this supplement on your own without a doctors advice.