This is day 9 of the Anxiety Summit. Coleen Walsh Functional Nutritionist, Master Nutrition Therapist and dubbed the “methyl queen” by colleagues, is interviewed by host of the Anxiety Summit, Trudy Scott, Food Mood Expert and Nutritionist, author of The Antianxiety Food Solution.
Are Your Genes Depressing You?: MTHFR and your mood
- the Methylation Cycle overview, MTHFR and B vitamins as cofactors
- how MTHFR effects the BH4 cycle and serotonin and dopamine
- factors that disturb methylation, how to test and what to do
- epigenetics and how SNPs are not our destiny
Here is are some great words of wisdom from my interview with Coleen:
MTHFR SNPs can affect the BH4 cycle which is crucial for our neurotransmitter production
Our DNA is not set in stone! Diet and lifestyle can go a long way to change our health destiny
Coleen wanted me to share this with you: methylation pathway chart created by Dr Amy Yasko
Get your free gift from Coleen Walsh: MTHFR Quick Start Guide
I highly recommend Coleen’s MTHFR course: MTHFR and Methylation Explained, a 5 hour webinar for Healthcare practitioners
Find Coleen on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/Harvestingnutrition
If you are not already registered for the Anxiety Summit you can get live access to the speakers of the day here www.theAnxietySummit.com
UPDATE: the summit concluded on Tues 6/24 – season 2 of The Anxiety Summit will be in November 2014. If you’d like to be on the notification list just sign up here www.theAnxietySummit.com
Missed this interview or can’t listen live? Or want this and the other great interviews for your learning library? Purchase the MP3s or MP3s + transcripts + interview highlights and listen when it suits you
Hi
No cancer in our family, atherosclerosis in mothers side.
I was the one w stomachaches, so stopped milk and wheat, which helped. Then needed more help and did SCD (grainfree) to heal digestion. So no folic acid except from multivites.
Did find MTHFR 677TT and wonder if just because you have this (I call them a difference , not mutation, as maybe its useful in some cases!), does it automatically express itself or just when “turned on”?
Hi Lynn
I’m going to have Coleen hop on and comment for you.
If you have a multivitamin that has folic acid I would switch to one with 5-MTHF
Trudy
Hi Lynn,
We can have SNPs in our genome with no adverse consequences. It usually depends on epigenetic factors like our diet, stress and lifestyle factors to “turn these SNPs on”. As we age, we are more inclined to have problems because of toxic overload, inflammation, oxidative stress, etc So if you stay healthy, eat a clean diet, reduce your stress, exercise, etc. You may not have any problems.
It also depends on your whole genome as these SNPs can work together synergistically to create disease – it is usually not just one SNP that causes all the problems, although MTHFR is a big one.
Also if you are homozygous, you are more likely for the SNP to express, as it may be “predisposed” because it is in the Methylation Cycle.
I agree with Trudy that you should take folic acid out of your vitamin collections and use either Folinic Acid or 5-MTHF
Thanks,
Coleen
First of all thank you so much Coleen and Trudy for the amazing information you shared today. I am homozygous for COMT and Heterozygous for MTHFR 677 and 1298. I have been doing tons of research since I discovered this 6 months ago, at that time I switched to Methyl B12 and Methyl Folate….but then as I did more research I learned that with COMT ++ it is not recommended to take Methyl B’. So I eliminated all B vitamins from my diet because I was so confused about which type I should be taking. I know eliminating all is not necessarily the right thing to do, but I am so confused. Thank you for your help in clarifying this.
Elise – I’ll have Coleen hop on and comment as there is no quick and easy answer
Love this seminar and all it has taught me. My question is how early do you test for MTHFR? I have the mutation and I’m wondering how concerned I should be about getting B vitamin supplements into my sons who are 8 and 10.
Also Trudy, I’m wondering if have you seen anxiety in any of your research that leads to a constant need to chew? My son has been chewing his clothes for the past 3 years and I’d love to cure it with supplements. He comes home from school with his tshirt soaking wet at the neck and the sleeve.
Thanks,
Tracy
Hi Tracy
Love that you love it! I would suggest testing now as once you have it you have it. For the boys I’d suggest a healthy living, real whole foods approach making sure there is no folic acid in any supplements. I wouldn’t jump right to supplementation if there are no mood or other health issues. I’ll have Coleen jump on and comment too.
For the son who chews his shirt this may be something to look into – it could be calming for him, it could be helping him focus or it could be an obsessive type thing. Start by having him try and articulate why he does it and how he feels if you were to have him not do it. There are nutritional approaches for all of the above and I’d be happy to help. Supplementing with the active form of folate may be part it because of supporting methylation and the BH4 cycle.
Trudy
Wonderful information, Coleen and Trudy! My multivitamin has folate as Quatrefolic (6S)- 5 -Methyltethrahydrolfolic acid, glucosamine salt. Would love your advice on using this and thanks!
Hi Jo
Quatrefolic is good! http://www.quatrefolic.com/quatrefolic_vs_folic.html
Coleen will likely jump in and comment too
Trudy
I’d love a copy of the MTHFR quick start guide. I’ve signed up to Coleen’s website, and receive the confirmation in my inbox, however the quick start guide doesn’t arrive after that. Has anyone else been able to access a copy?
Kylie
You’re the only one who seems to have an issue – oh dear! please email support@everywomanover29.com and we’ll sort this out
Trudy
Thank you so much Coleen for your very informative session.
How much work has been done on the forms of folic acid in foods. Do they all have useful forms. Can we get much of the right kind from foods? or do some foods have the folate that we should avoid.
I would really appreciate your comments
Hi Helen
Food has the natural form and is absolutely fine! I’m going to have Coleen hop on and comment too
Glad you enjoyed it!
Trudy
Elise – I am glad you enjoyed the interview.
Let me just ask a question for you? Did you feel ok when taking methylated forms for the B vitamins?
I ask, because we are all biochemically unique and although clinical research has shown that some people with COMT can not take methylated B’s, others can. It depends on what other SNPs you may have and which ones are expressing or turned on.
Some people can take doses up to 200 mcg 2 times a day, where others need to hold off on 5-MTHF and do a different form or combination of B12 vitamins.
Also, some people that have both the COMT and CBS +/+ SNPs can do the methylated vitamins, as they can “cancel each other out” so you are able to take the methylated vitamins.
Sorry, to not be able to answer you question fully, but it is a complicated process and is unique to everyone.
Good luck in your health journey!
Coleen
Kylie!
Don’t worry. The email you received says that you will be receiving it within the next week in an email.
I will push that automatic email up so you will get it this week. It is an automatic email from harvestingnutrition@icloud.com
Thank you for signing up!
Coleen
Tracy
Thanks for you comment. Just like Trudy said, it may be a good idea to test your children now. That way you can take extra steps for prevention now. Just like Trudy had mentioned above (healthy living, real whole foods approach making sure there is no folic acid in any supplements)
The sooner we start getting out junk food (yes, I call wheat junk food), reducing toxic exposure, etc – the better his health will be in the future. With having an MTHFR SNP or not.
If you do end up giving them a multivitamin – please get a quality one and stay away from folic acid.
Continued health for you and your kids!
Coleen
Tracy
Sorry I forgot to let you know, that your doctor can test for MTHFR, if they see symptoms that may be related. But you can also use 23andme .com to do it yourself.
I find this an affordable way to do the test as it is only $99. Make sure to like my Facebook page and I have posts discussing the testing.
https://www.facebook.com/Harvestingnutrition
Thanks again,
Coleen
Jo
Yes!
That is the correct methylated form.
Great job!
Coleen