News Flash: We all have genetic defects - from colorblindness to an increased risk of heart disease - that run in the family. Most of the time these genetic defects are not a big deal and you live your life knowing that they're just the family traits you've been given.
The problem is that not all of us can afford to live in ignorance of our genetics. For some of us, ignoring genetics can be downright brutal and potentially fatal. That's what I discovered this year and it was simultaneously shocking and surprisingly welcome because I could finally identify the root cause of so many of my health issues!
Before I tell you my story, though, let me tell you my friend's story. She is one of the estimated 40-60% of the population who has a specific genetic anomaly. Maybe you have it, too.
This is my friend, Angie. She regrets living in ignorance of her genetics. She and her husband spent ten exhausting years trying to get pregnant. Through In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), she was finally successful, but what followed was its own kind of nightmare.
Angie's OB told her that she should take a daily prenatal vitamin - one containing 400 mcg of folic acid to help prevent birth defects. She dutifully took her vitamins and as the pregnancy progressed, things got worse.
Angie had to get regular hormone injections during her entire first trimester of pregnancy. During the fifth month, she started coughing like a heavy smoker - but Angie doesn't smoke. Her chest and the area above her lungs would itch like crazy every night. She was told that her body was adjusting to hormonal changes (but in hindsight she learned that it was really her body's reaction to a buildup of inflammation).
Her coughing and wheezing got so bad that she had to stay in bed during the final month of pregnancy. Her pregnant-mom "numbers" looked good, but she was NOT doing well.
At 37 weeks, her blood pressure went up. Also, her lower back started to hurt, but she just thought it was early labor pains.
At 38 weeks, her blood pressure was critically high and she was immediately sent to the hospital. She had pre-eclampsia, her liver enzymes were severely elevated, and she was told that she had HELLP syndrome (which is not unheard of for late-term pregnancies). The only cure for HELLP syndrome is to deliver the baby.
She has no memory of the next four days.
What she found out later is that they intended to attempt a C-section after stabilizing her, but everything was temporarily resolved so well that they opted to give her Pitocin instead. About 8 1/2 hour later, her son, Josh, was born, but she has no memory of that. In fact, they hooked up milk pumps to her and started pumping breastmilk even though she was not responsive.
After "waking up" on the fifth day, she was a walking zombie. Her body did a weird re-bound. She had gained 40 pounds during her pregnancy and lost 50 pounds within the first two months after giving birth. They put her on high blood pressure medication for a while "just to be safe."
This pregnancy literally could have killed her and her son. Thankfully, it didn't. The sad part is that most (if not all) of this could have been completely avoided. Years later, Angie was tested and found to have Heterozygous MTHFR.
Before you get all excited about this acronym that's pronounced by reading off each letter ("M-T-H-F-R"), just realize that it stands for "methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase" and that no one really wants to go around trying to say or spell that name, hence the acronym. (In an effort to avoid a popular, crude term, my daughter, Lindsey, quickly renamed it, "Monday-Thursday-Friday.")
Maybe you're like me. Maybe you're part of an estimated 40-60% of the population that has a genetic defect that has known links to the following issues. Like me, maybe you had no idea that all of these symptoms are connected to a complex genetic defect.
Acne
Anxiety (including severe anxiety)
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Cold hands and feet
Depression (including Bipolar Depression)
Headaches
Heart Palpitations
Hypothyroidism
Inability to tolerate medications as well as others
Insomnia
Irritability
IVF or a lot of medical interventions to go full-term with a pregnancy
Joint Pain
Menstrual cramping
Migraines
Muscle Pain
Nausea
Obesity
One or more children on the Autism spectrum
One or more children with Down Syndrome
Rashes
A strong sensitivity to laughing gas (nitrous oxide)
Sweating profusely when exercising
I've struggled with depression, chronic fatigue, and obesity FOR YEARS. I've had cold hands and feet, and I've had sensitivity to medications and laughing gas FOR YEARS. I have hypothyroidism and I sweat a lot when I exercise (my face goes bright red and people worry that I'm over-exerting myself) and these have been issues FOR YEARS.
It wasn't until February of 2020 that my normal natural remedies were no longer making my symptoms bearable. I reached out to Nurse Rose and asked her for new ideas of what I could do to get some help. She said, "Have you ever thought of getting tested for MTHFR?" At the time, I knew of two people who had it, but I didn't fully realize what it was or what it would mean to me.
I wanted to know what was really wrong with me, so I decided to get tested for MTHFR - the genetic mutation described above - along with dozens of other genetic SNPs (pronounced "snips") through a doctor who uses science and natural treatments to resolve the root cause of a problem.
I took the super-easy test, and while I waited two weeks for the results, I did more research. Dr. Ben Lynch is the doctor who discovered the link between certain genetic SNPs and the domino effects they have in the body, so I read his book, "Dirty Genes." I learned that over two hundred genes are indirectly affected by poorly-functioning MTHFR genes!
Also, I talked to my friends who have MTHFR and I did a bunch of internet research which was admittedly quite overwhelming because the existing information online - at least at the time I did my research - was definitely not in layman's terms. Consequently, I'm going to attempt to simplify a description of what it is in case you know you have (or wonder if you have) MTHFR.
There are three main types of MTHFR:
Heterozygous MTHFR (the mildest and most common version)
Homozygous MTHFR (a bad version)
Compound Heterozygous MTHFR (a very bad version)
It was just my luck that my labs showed that I had Compound Heterozygous MTHFR. This was simultaneously very bad news and very good news. Now I knew what was causing so many issues in my life! But now that I knew I had it, what did it mean?
Just like a diabetic shouldn't consume sugar, the #1 thing someone who has MTHFR should never consume is FOLIC ACID. Folic Acid is the man-made version of Folate - a nutrient found in green, leafy vegetables. In essence, Folic Acid is TOXIC to someone with MTHFR.
Now, picture someone who unknowingly has MTHFR who gets pregnant and goes to see the doctor. The doctor will say the same thing they've always been taught to say: "You should consume 400 mcg of Folic Acid in a prenatal vitamin every day." On the surface, that sounds like sound medical advice because folate is known to help prevent birth defects and folic acid is the chemical version of folate, but since this pregnant mother has MTHFR, and since her body thinks folic acid and folate are close enough, her body allows folic acid to enter the receptors the body specifically has set aside for folate. The folic acid tries to enter and it gets stuck. Now those receptors are clogged and this new mom is unable to absorb folic acid (because it's toxic) NOR folate (because the receptors are clogged with folic acid) and it's fully left up to God to decide if the baby is going to have a birth defect or not.
But wait! There's more... In addition to the 400 mcg of folic acid she shouldn't be consuming in her prenatal vitamin every day, this mom is exposed to more and more folic acid every time she eats anything made with white flour or white rice because the United States government has mandated that all flour and rice must be enriched with folic acid and other synthetic (aka: man-made) "nutrients." This includes every cereal, cracker, bagel, bread, pasta, croissant, breaded meat, and dessert that uses bleached or unbleached flour or white rice. What was theoretically designed to be a way to help pregnant mothers across the nation to prevent birth defects has ended up creating a potentially miserable pregnancy or even a life-threatening scenario for both the mom and her baby and since MTHFR affects an estimated 40-60% of the population, she is not alone!
This picture is my folic acid nightmare.
Pregnant or not, it's no wonder so many people who unknowingly have MTHFR are struggling with mental health issues. Just like me, I'll bet a grand total of NONE of them have considered removing folic acid from their diet. Gluten? Maybe. Folic acid? Likely never.
Anyone who knows me knows that I've struggled with depression for decades. I understand and can articulate depression and suicidal thoughts. What I didn't understand until now was the effect that a common genetic mutation could have on my mental health. Since I've removed folic acid from my diet (which is surprisingly challenging because it's in EVERYTHING!), I've felt much calmer, much more relaxed and I've had almost no bouts of depression - aside from from the despair of not being able to eat common foods!
There are four parts to dealing with MTHFR:
A. Get tested through a doctor who has experience with MTHFR - very few doctors have any idea what MTHFR is nor how to handle it correctly. Some people find cheaper tests online, but then they have no idea how to interpret the data nor how to self-treat effectively.
B. Stop consuming all folic acid - READ FOOD AND SUPPLEMENT LABELS! This is something you can do right now - whether or not you've been tested yet. I researched which carbs are great for MTHFR so you don't have to figure it out on your own.
C. Start taking MTHFR supplements. Only do this if you have tested positive for MTHFR because the daily RDA of things like B-12 can be way too high for those who do not have MTHFR (For example, I take between 40,000-60,000% of the RDA for B-12 daily). My main source of MTHFR supplements was created by my doctor. One of the worst things you can do (aside from continuing to consume folic acid) is to consume a really cheap, synthetic version of vitamin B-12.
D. Detox the body by detoxing the liver. Detoxing the liver allows the liver to do its job of detoxing the body. Glutathione is the #1 way to help the body to get rid of folic acid. This can happen either by taking the right kind of glutathione (VARS) or by stimulating your body's own ability to create more glutathione (message me for details). The detox process takes 6-18 months, on average, so be patient!
Thankfully, this genetic test has given my life a whole new direction. I feel like I'm slowly but surely moving toward real healing for the first time in years!
Knowledge really is power and ignorance could be affecting you or someone you love in more ways than you ever realized.
For those who want a little bit more technical info:
Heterozygous is a partial mutation (commonly shown on labs as C677T *or* A1298C).
Homozygous is a full mutation (potentially shown on labs as T677T *or* C1298C).
Compound Heterozygous is two partial mutations (shown as C677T *and* A1298C).