methylation cycle ? Does 23&me MTHFR test help "decode" methylation cycle issues?

If you buy a 23andme.com kit for $99, they will send to you a vile for you to spit into. 3-4 wks after you send it in, you will receive a 30+ page of tens of thousands of DNA "snp" codes. Due to issues the FDA had with their methodology of interpreting the results (which I agreed with) they will no longer interpret the results for you.

For a very reasonable price you forward your data to another online service (hopefully someone else can post—I can't find my list) and they will interpret the results for you, providing you a list of DNA mutations.

Then you take that list to someone who specializes in those mutations who can help you supplement or other to try to compensate for those that may pose issues for you, given other contextual circumstances like lifestyle and health history, etc…

Of those various mutations one might have, there are a few that plague our ability to heal from these lyme & co-infections, namely the MTHFR mutations that interfere with appropriate methylation—critical for successful detoxing. And yes, the chemical flow chart is fascinating but confusing. There are several youtube videos that are pretty interesting and some are actually in laymen's terms.

Knowing you have these mutations is extremely helpful—for instance, having one copy of A1298C or one copy of M677T (you would be "heterozygous for each") is not much of an issue and rather common. But having both—one copy of each is an issue and can leave you with anywhere from 20-40% REDUCTION in the capacity of a normal person to detox. Being homozygous (having two copies of a mutation) can mean you have anywhere from 10-30% detoxing capacity of a normal person. This is HAYUUUGE.

And it's best to know your full story—what other mutations you might have, not just these two because your DNA tells the whole story and there may be a specific approach to overcoming the methylation mutations depending on the context. Successful detoxing can make or break your treatment.

You can test specifically for the MTHFR mutations w/ a $200+ blood test but why do that when you can find out a lot more information with the 23andme.com service.

Hope this helps—

-p

Post Edited (Pirouette) : 12/11/2014 9:42:15 AM (GMT-7)

My DC asked me to do 23&me numerous times....Heard they stopped giving the report, explaining the genes they look at....I guess if you know what your looking at...it can be great.
Hopefully your doc will know....or you'll have to do the googling.

Oh, thought it was because some government agency stopped them.
woe...lots of info on that dramyyasko site....I can't understand it now....I will probably come back to it, at another time....Thank you for posting that as a resource.

23andme.com does not do all the mutations on the Yasko methylation pathway analysis. So if you want specifics on methylation, spend the $500 for Yasko's test (finger prick test, no doctor required).

That said, I do think 23andme is also worth doing, given how much you get for the $99.

For interpretation of the methylation portion of the 23andme tests, you can type in your results here: www.knowyourgenetics.com/ and you will get a customized report with a protocol for each methylation gene mutation (similar to what you get if you do the methylation pathway analysis from Dr. Yasko's lab, but again, not all the methylation genes are included on the 23andme test).

Link for Dr. Yasko's methylation pathway analysis:
www.holisticheal.com/health-tests/nutrigenomic-testing

To understand the methylation cycle, it is best to read Dr. Yasko's book (free pdf download or view online):
www.dramyyasko.com/wp-content/files_flutter/1327512160_9_1_1_8_pdf_02_file.pdf
www.dramyyasko.com/resources/autism-pathways-to-recovery/

Correct Razzle—

Here is a good breakdown although it is a little old:
www.mthfrsupport.com/yaskos-comprehensive-methylation-panel-or-23andme/

You'll see that Yasko's panel has about 30% more methylation snp's than 23andme.com but 23andme's panel includes more overall.

-p