I don't trust 23andme. How can I test for MTHFR?

[loess]

I don't trust 23andme or any other for-profit direct-to-consumer services that offer DNA testing, but I need to know whether I've got a MTHFR mutation. Are there any ways to test for this that don't involve handing over your DNA and identity to corporate entities that are actively sharing that information?

 

[danishstargazer]

your info is already out there everywhere anyway so ... i ran my raw data thru genetic genie and that is how i found my MTHFR and other variants.

 

[mostlylurking]

I don't trust 23andme or any other for-profit direct-to-consumer services that offer DNA testing, but I need to know whether I've got a MTHFR mutation. Are there any ways to test for this that don't involve handing over your DNA and identity to corporate entities that are actively sharing that information?

you might be interested in this article: Your "MTHFR" Is Just a Riboflavin Deficiency

there's a video too:

123: Your “MTHFR” Is Just a Riboflavin Deficiency

Chris Masterjohn Lite Episode 123

chrismasterjohnphd.com

 

[Peater]

you might be interested in this article: Your "MTHFR" Is Just a Riboflavin Deficiency

there's a video too:

123: Your “MTHFR” Is Just a Riboflavin Deficiency

Chris Masterjohn Lite Episode 123

chrismasterjohnphd.com

Well that is interesting. Thanks for posting.

 

[Pablo Cruise]

TellMeGen focus' on health rather than family lineage. Tell Me Gen would be better than most for health such as 23 and Me and Ancestry.

 

[loess]

@mostlylurking Thanks. I do supplement with Energin from time to time which in conjunction with food intake, should theoretically cover riboflavin. My primary concern about the MTHFR mutation is that it can get in the way of detoxification pathways that are crucial in the process of treating Lyme and its co-infections. I'm reading some things about high levels of homocysteine being potentially indicative of an MTHFR defect, so I'm going to test for that and go from there.

@Pablo Cruise Thanks. I need to read through TellMeGen's legal policies, but I suspect they're probably similar to 23andMe and Ancestry in that by engaging with their services, you "agree" to your data being shared anonymously for "research purposes". I simply don't trust these claims of anonymity that are found in the fine print.

 

[Zsazsa]

you might be interested in this article: Your "MTHFR" Is Just a Riboflavin Deficiency

there's a video too:

123: Your “MTHFR” Is Just a Riboflavin Deficiency

Chris Masterjohn Lite Episode 123

chrismasterjohnphd.com

?

@mostlylurking Thanks. I do supplement with Energin from time to time which in conjunction with food intake, should theoretically cover riboflavin. My primary concern about the MTHFR mutation is that it can get in the way of detoxification pathways that are crucial in the process of treating Lyme and its co-infections. I'm reading some things about high levels of homocysteine being potentially indicative of an MTHFR defect, so I'm going to test for that and go from there.

@Pablo Cruise Thanks. I need to read through TellMeGen's legal policies, but I suspect they're probably similar to 23andMe and Ancestry in that by engaging with their services, you "agree" to your data being shared anonymously for "research purposes". I simply don't trust these claims of anonymity that are found in the fine print.

You can do a blood test for your MTHFR SNPs, giving your DNA to a local lab instead.

More important than knowing your genes is monitoring homocysteine, which can be elevated even if you have the more beneficial SNPs in case of nutrient imbalances.

 

[mostlylurking]

@mostlylurking Thanks. I do supplement with Energin from time to time which in conjunction with food intake, should theoretically cover riboflavin. My primary concern about the MTHFR mutation is that it can get in the way of detoxification pathways that are crucial in the process of treating Lyme and its co-infections. I'm reading some things about high levels of homocysteine being potentially indicative of an MTHFR defect, so I'm going to test for that and go from there.

@Pablo Cruise Thanks. I need to read through TellMeGen's legal policies, but I suspect they're probably similar to 23andMe and Ancestry in that by engaging with their services, you "agree" to your data being shared anonymously for "research purposes". I simply don't trust these claims of anonymity that are found in the fine print.

I don't trust any gene testing; I think the results could all be going to unsavory characters with ulterior motives.

I had high homocysteine/low glutathione . I've been able to bring my glutathione level up to normal recently. I think that I brought it up via high dose thiamine hcl, but maybe it came up from supplementing with riboflavin? I was/am doing both. I do feel a whole lot better. Elliot Overton mentioned that supplementing with thiamine hcl would bring up glutathione in one of his videos, I think probably the one where he goes over potential problems when trying to take TTFD thiamine, which will cause negative side effects if you're low in glutathione. I have it in my head that homocysteine is "bad" and glutathione is "good", but what do I know....

Here's an article:

Homocysteine: Friend or Foe?

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

I worried about being a poor methylator for about 15 minutes a few years ago after a doctor tried to get me to do some testing for MTHFR, but then I found that Ray Peat doesn't believe in doing anything to "improve"/increase methylation because he believes it is not a safe thing to try to do; you might turn off something like your anti-cancer gene, etc. So I decided to forget about it. I have lots of other health issues to focus on.

Stem cells, cell culture, and culture: Issues in regeneration

Ray Peat

raypeat.com

"Methylation decreases the expression of particular genes, and during the differention of cells in the development of an embryo, genes are methylated and demethylated as the cell adapts to produce the proteins that are involved in the structure and function of a particular tissue. Methylation (which increases a molecule's affinity for fats) is a widespread process in cells, and for example regulates cellular excitability. It is affected by diet and a variety of stresses.

"DNA methylation patterns are normally fairly stable, and can help to account for the transgenerational transmission of acquired adaptations, and for neonatal imprinting that can last a lifetime. But with injury, stress, and aging, the methylation patterns of differentiated tissues can be changed, contributing to the development of tumors, or to the loss of cellular functions. Even learning can change the methylation of specific genes. During in vitro culture, the enzymes of gene methylation are known to be increased, relative to their normal activity (Wang, et al., 2005).

"The phenomenon of "gene" methylation in response to environmental and metabolic conditions may eventually lead to the extinction of the doctrine that "cells are controlled by their genes."​

-end-

I've learned from researching thiamine and thiamine deficiency that thiamine is very important for the body's ability to detox. I've got some heavy metal toxicity and learned that thiamine deficiency will cause problems in detoxing lead and that thiamine has the ability to chelate lead.

Effect of lead poisoning on the thiamine status and function in liver and blood of rats - PubMed

Three groups of Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a thiamine deficient diet, which was supplemented by daily subcutaneous injections of a minimum requirement of thiamine, and treated with lead(II) acetate in different molar ratios to thiamine (1:1, 2:1, 10:1) for 5 and 9 months, respectively. The...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Also, a thiamine deficiency can cause the blood brain barrier to become compromised which increases vulnerability to any toxins in the blood.

I did a quick search for "Lyme disease and thiamine" and found this:

Thiamine for Fibromyalgia, CFS/ME, Chronic Lyme, and SIBO-C - Hormones Matter

Thiamine was the missing link to multiple diseases being present at one time and about why I have been sick my entire life.

www.hormonesmatter.com

This website has several articles about Lyme disease: You searched for lyme disease - Hormones Matter

 

[ironfist]

Tell me about homocysteine. I have one MTHFR gene. When I take methyl b12 I feel horrible.

According to another gene algorithm I used, I should use hydroxocobalamin or adenosylcobalamin.