MTHFR Genotyping: Are You Methylating Properly?
Are you methylating adequately? Are your genes preventing proper methylation? Inadequate methylation can be the cause of depression, migraines, heart attacks, strokes, infertility, miscarriages, birth defects, cancer and even autism. In people with diabetes, improper methylation can worsen symptoms of diabetic neuropathy or make treatment regimens less effective. FIRST OF ALL: WHAT IS METHYLATION? Simply put, methylation is a chemical reaction that occurs in every cell and tissue in our body. Chemically speaking, methylation is the process of adding methyl groups to a molecule. (A methyl group is a chemical structure made of one carbon and three hydrogen atoms [CH3]) Since methyl groups are chemical inert, adding them to a protein (the process of methylation) changes how that protein reacts to other substances in the body, thus affecting how that protein behaves. Enzymes, hormones and even genes are proteins and the process of methylation affects them all. In some ways, methylation o