MTHFR Mutation and Depression

Many people today are testing for the genetic mutation of their MTHFR genes. 

MTHFR is an enzyme in the body which coupled with other enzymes leads to proper bodily functions, Dr. Ben Lynch says. 

Lynch is an ND, Cell and Molecular Biology scientist, forerunner in the MTHFR field and President and CEO of Seeking Health Educational Institute.

{We are taking a leap of faith and have added a donate button instead of using advertisers. Advertisements have been removed from this page to make your reading uninterrupted. If you learn something here, please donate so we can keep offering these posts. This post contains affiliate links, which sometimes pay for this site}.

In the summit discussion “Depression: is it in the genes?” on June 18, 2015, Dr. Lynch said, “Folic acid might be the pigskin but we want to make the football.” There are many steps in the working of the body, folic acid being one of them. Taking folic acid to resolve the problem will most likely do more harm than good as the other steps in the preceding process need to be addressed with folate. “In order to get to that football, methylfolate, the body’s most active form of folate, you’ve got to go through all those genes and have all different types of nutrients to make that final thing happen.” (Click here for active connection to the summit).

Folate can be found in leafy greens. Eating leafy greens will help your body function, however, if you are not digesting your leafy greens due to malabsorption or a damaged gut the downward spiral can perpetuate into depression, anxiety and even worse situations like fibromyalgia or autoimmune diseases that cluster.

Folate is also found in liver. Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, MD, nurologist, nurosurgeon and microbiome specialist says liver is the most bountiful form of folate in food form for those with a damaged intestinal tract, the cause of MTHFR defects. When the depth of damage in the gut is great these mutations occur. She says you can turn your genes on or off and that repairing the microbiome is the foundation to wellness.

Lynch says MTHFR is the last enzyme in the body of five other enzymes. He uses the analagy of five stairs going down, MTHFR being the last stair in the staircase. “You want to get to the very bottom (stair), the bottom is the whole support.”

When folate goes in the body in the form of supplementation, or digesting leafy greens, it becomes methylfolate. He says, “Methylfolate is the the body’s number one form of folate in the blood.”

When folate goes in the body it transforms on each step of the staircase. Each stair is another enzyme transforming the folate into methyfolate, the body’s usable form, the football that gets passed from teammate to teammate causing other operations in the body to properly function. This includes B12, methycobolamin, the quarterback who receives the football and causes the operations of the body to complete the play.

The methylcobalamin passes the ball to SAM-e, “The running back which is the primary methyl donor in the body which does a whole bunch of different things,” Lynch says.

This has a lot to do with a person’s mood. 

Lynch says, “Mehtylfolate supports the production of SAM-E, a great antidepressant. It’s 60% more effective than a drug for depression. SAM-e works on making dopamine, seratonin, norepenephrine and melatonin. Those create your ability to think, how you feel, sleep, ADHD and depression, it’s all there. If you don’t have adequate SAM-e and you’re not making adequate neurotransmitters then people are going to be depressed. That’s why when you give SAM-e to some patients their depression lifts, it’s also why when you give mehtyfolate to some their depression lifts.”

Lynch says, “One third of depression is related to a folate issue.” He adds tests show 60% of the people of the people are deficient in the MTHFR gene.

Stop Depression Now says, “SAM-e has been approved for use as a prescription drug in Spain, Italy, Russia and Germany. In Italy SAM-e outsells the anti-depressant Prozac, despite the fact that, for technical reasons, Italian insurance companies will reimburse only for Prozac.” (p 5).

The biggest problem with this situation is people suffering try to supplement the illness instead of repairing the microbiome which is the cause. Supplementing SAM-e, like this one, will cause further damage in the end due to the ingredients in the product that feed pathogens. Frequently used pathogen feeding products (to name a few) like mannitol (a sugar alcohol), sodium starch glycolate (a starch generally made from wheat, corn, rice or potato, a free flowing powder) and yellow 5 (thought to deter male sperm, proven to cause hyperactivity).

This one contains much of the same, plus more pathogen feeding ingredients. This one contains rice flour, a pathogen feeder. The best

source for supplementation is bulk supplements, where the powder of SAM-e itself is delivered. The taste of SAM-e is abysmal, encapsulation can be made with these capsules. 

To read more about methyl B and the potential problems that arise click here. 

*Nourishing Plot is written by Becky Plotner, ND, traditional naturopath, GAPS who sees clients in Rossville, Georgia. She works as a Certified GAPS Practitioner who sees clients in her office, Skype and phone. Since her son was delivered from the effects of autism (Asperger’s syndrome), ADHD, bipolar disorder/manic depression, hypoglycemia and dyslexia through food she continued her education specializing in Leaky Gut and parasitology through Duke University, finishing with distinction. This is not a news article published by a paper trying to make money. This blog is put out by a mom who sees first hand the effects of nourishing food vs food-ish items. No company pays her for writing these blogs, she considers this a form of missionary work. It is her desire to scream it from the rooftops so that others don’t suffer from the damaging effect of today’s “food”.

“GAPS™ and Gut and Psychology Syndrome™ are the trademark and copyright of Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. The right of Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Patent and Designs Act 1988.”