Earlier than we dive into the genetic variants and what they imply, let’s speak about MTHFR itself and its function within the physique when every thing is functioning optimally.
MTHFR, or methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase, is an enzyme that converts dietary folate (from meals like leafy greens) and folic acid (from fortified meals and dietary supplements) right into a bioactive, methylated form known as 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF).
This activated folate acts as a extremely efficient and required methyl donor and performs a key function in a biochemical course of known as methylation—i.e., the switch of methyl teams (easy buildings of 1 carbon and three hydrogen molecules) to and from totally different molecules to assist total well being.*
Particularly, 5-MTHF donates a methyl group to the amino acid homocysteine to transform it to the amino acid methionine (constructing block for proteins all through the physique); and methionine, in flip, might be activated to type S-adenosylmethionine (SAM-e), which travels across the physique donating methyl teams to a wide range of acceptors and serving to regulate the exercise of our neurological, cardiovascular, reproductive, and detox techniques within the course of.
Holistically, this course of or path is called the methylation cycle. And as Ashley Jordan Ferira, Ph.D., RDN, mbg’s vp of scientific affairs, explains, “that first step, bioactive folate donating a methyl group to remodel homocysteine to methionine, is a charge limiting step.”
What does that imply? Ferira shares extra: “It signifies that with out sufficient methylated folate (5-MTHF) round, homocysteine cannot transfer alongside to its subsequent important step. It may possibly construct up, and the remainder of the methylation cycle can be slowed, disadvantaged, or halted. Because it seems, that is an enormous deal to your well being.”*
So what is the huge deal? Methylation is a foundational course of within the physique (i.e., our cells) that takes place roughly one billion instances per second and performs a job in nearly every thing—from conserving homocysteine ranges in test (which is instantly related to our cardiovascular and neurological well being) to manufacturing vital molecules like neurotransmitters and the antioxidant glutathione to influencing gene expression, says useful drugs doctor Robert Rountree, M.D. (Be taught extra about methylation here.)
