MTHFR: my micronutrient testing results

I previously wrote about learning that I have a homozygous (from both parents) mutation in my MTHFR C677T gene, and that I was going to a new doctor who wanted to have my blood tested to see which nutrients were actually getting into my cells.

Why is getting tested for nutrients important for people with this mutation? The mutation, which affects 40-70% of the population, impairs a cellular process called methylation, which can create deficiencies in nutrients. This can affect metabolic processes including cell repair, immunity, detoxification, inflammation, neurotransmitter production, and fat processing and result in serious disease.

Health conditions that can be influenced by nutrient absorption include addiction, miscarriages, birth defects, autism, diabetes, anxiety, depression, ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, cardiovascular disease, neurological disease like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, thyroid disease, certain cancers, hypertension, inflammation, migraines, and many more. These health issues are fairly common.

If you could take the right supplements and eat the right foods to recover from or prevent problems, would you do it? I would. When you have your health, life is definitely better. Continue reading

I have an MTHFR mutation! Stay tuned for what that really means.

Last fall, my daughter and I decided to take advantage of a 2-for-1 special offer from 23 and Me, the genetic testing company. We sent in saliva samples to have our ancestry analyzed.

No surprise: I am 100% European. I’m 66% British & Irish, 22% French & German, 10% broadly Northwestern European, and 2% Scandinavian (which was a surprise). Hers was similar, but she was also surprised — she has no Native American blood on her dad’s side, which she’d been told she has.

23 and Me is working on providing more ancestry detail, separating British and Irish (but not Scottish, which I believe I have plenty of), French and German, and Scandinavian into separate countries of origin. Soon we’ll get new reports with this new information.

At that point, we both decided to have our health data analyzed. They’ve already done the analysis, after all. You pay for the health data, and they send you the results immediately.

Screen Shot 2018-03-20 at 8.20.15 PM Continue reading