Mind Body Soul and Genetics – What is MTHFR?

I hope you’re coping with the silly season.  We’ve been very busy in the shop and the clinic again this week.  And lots of people are discovering us for the first time.  I often say to people who have lived in the area for a long time and have only just found us that people find us when they’re ready.I must confess we do a lot of “out there” things at Simply Natural like Channelling Evenings, Psychic Readings and Crystal Light Therapy (with more to come in 2017).  But I also love science and evidence based therapies for all aspects of health and well-being.  I don’t believe we should be separating the mind, the body and the soul. Our state of wellness depends on the health of all three.One intriguing piece of the health puzzle when it comes to your physical and mental health is your genetic make-up.  A few weeks ago I mentioned a particular gene variation called MTHFR that can lead to a whole range of both physical and mental health problems.  Our new Integrative Pathologist Tania Delahoy explains……MTHFR: What’s all the fuss about?
“What on earth is MTHFR?” or as we scientists like to call it “The Mother F**ker Gene”.

Well if you don’t eat enough leafy greens like your Mum told you to, you can become low in folate which is a really important B group vitamin (and if you are vegetarian or vegan then you won’t be getting Vitamin B12 from animal food products), which in turn can lead to a whole heap of health issues.

Sometimes you are just not getting enough of these nutrients in your diet BUT sometimes your tummy is not as healthy as it could be so you can’t digest and absorb those vitamins AND then on top of that your body might not be able to make them into the active form that your body needs to do it’s jobs properly which is where MTHFR comes in. MTHFR is the one of the body’s important enzymes that converts folate from your food into its active form so the body can use it. When you have a variation in the genetic code for this enzyme, it does not work properly which means that you can become low in folate/Vitamin B12.

First off being low in Vitamin B12 and Folate can make you feel really tried and run down and it can also led to a whole heap of other not so nice of issues including anxiety, depression, fertility issues, recurrent miscarriages, neural tube defects like spina bifida, increased risk of certain cancers, increased risk of cardio vascular disease including heart attacks and strokes. Phew! Now that is getting serious!

So when I see blood cells during microscopic blood analysis like in the photos below, I have a chat to my patients about having MTHFR testing.  It is a simple finger prick and because it’s a DNA test it’s accurate as and the results are back in within two weeks. Topping up with the correct type of B group vitamins specific to your needs as prescribed by your natural health care practitioner is generally all that is needed to manage any issues and put preventative care in place. Simple! And the bonus is you should feel like a bunch of fluffies within around three months!

So what are all the exciting changes I see in your blood under the microscope when you are low in Vitamin B12 and Folate.

Oval shaped red cells, remember they should be round not football shaped!

A Neutrophil (an important type of white cell in out body) with more than 3-4 segments, this one has 5 which tells me this person is low in B12/Folate

And like me if you are really fascinated by this topic, a great Australian website for further reading on MTHFR is www.mthfrsupport.com.au  or call on 98427033 to book an appointment with me for blood testing.

by Tania Delahoy

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