Methylation

What is so important that it’s responsible for repairing our DNA, handling our response to stress, managing inflammation, how well we detoxify, and is an important component in a number of cellular process that include embryonic development, inactivating the x-chromosome, and genomic imprinting? Methylation. You may have been hearing the term for awhile, but perhaps don’t quite understand what it is. Or maybe you’ve heard of “MTHFR” and you know it’s important, but you’re not sure how it affects you and your health? Let’s break down what DNA methylation is, how it can affect you, and how to improve your body’s process of methylating.

Methylation is the biochemical process of making sure every cell is functioning the way it should be. It does this by a simple biochemical process in which it transfers one carbon atom and three hydrogen atoms (CH3) from one substance to another. When this process is working optimally, the pathways mentioned earlier such as DNA production and repair, detoxification and inflammation, as well as others like histamine, fat, and estrogen metabolism, are significantly and positively impacted. You can think of methylation as the foundation to be able to turn certain biological switches on and off in the body, affecting a number of systems.

Going back to CH3, the methyl group made from one carbon and three hydrogen atoms, these methyl groups are ‘handed out’ to the body via what’s considered a universal methyl donor, SAMe (S-adenosylmethionine). SAMe gives away the methyl groups readily to all of the substances necessary to make those previously mentioned systems (detox, DNA repair, etc…) work effectively. Many factors can affect the way this cycle works, but one of the factors is whether or not the system that makes SAMe is turned on, allowing for SAMe to donate the methyl groups. For example, the system that makes SAMe is turned on by the biological form of vitamin B9, known as folate or 5-MTHF (methylfolate). Without enough 5-MTHF, the methylation cycle does not work efficiently. So, one would think all you need to do is get enough folate in your diet to continue the cycle. Unfortunately, many people in the US have genetic variations, or single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs within a gene, that make it difficult for their body to create 5-MTHF, which is the active and usable form of folate, from dietary folate.

There are people, as recently mentioned, that are likely to not be able to methylate properly. These people typically have a number of genetic SNPs affecting the methylation process. The most well known genetic SNP you may have heard about is MTHFR. There are many SNPs that play a role in the methylation process, however MTHFR is linked directly to the information we just talked about. For example, the MTHFR gene provides instructions (like a blueprint) for making the enzyme methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase. This enzyme is necessary to convert a form of folate, 5, 10-methylenetetrahydrofolate to the primary form we discussed earlier, 5-MTHF. If you have a SNP in the MTHFR gene, you may not be producing enough of the enzyme that’s needed for this conversion, and therefore slowing your body’s ability to methylate. Another example is the catechol-o-methyltransferase (COMT) gene. Having a specific COMT SNP affects the enzyme that causes the transfer of the methyl group from SAMe to its substrate. Again, slowing and improvising the methylation process.
There are, however, many steps you can take to improve your body’s methylation process. First, if you feel that you want to know if you’re more at risk for poor methylation, you can have a genetic test performed. Secondly, you can improve certain lifestyle factors that may be hindering this process.

Some of these lifestyle factors include:

  • Exercising moderately or using relaxation techniques that will decrease stress hormones that also increase your methylation load.
  • Try limiting your exposure to toxins that can be found in cleaning products, cosmetic products, those found in some of our food and water supply, and heavy metals. Toxins can burden the methylation system by causing DNA damage, therefore increasing the methylation load.
  • Being cautious of overburdening your system with too much alcohol, medications, or excessive caffeine intake.
  • Quitting smoking.

Additionally, your diet should contain plenty of foods high in B vitamins, such as the following:

  • Leafy greens like spinach, collards, and turnip greens
  • Cruciferous vegetables
  • Eggs
  • Wild caught fish
  • Grass-fed meats, wild game
  • Organic poultry
  • Legumes, nuts, and seeds
  • Nutritional yeast

If you hadn’t yet heard the term methylation, hopefully you have a better understanding of how important this process is and how to improve your methylation system. Methylation affects a number of other processes in our body and can impact how you function and feel on a daily basis. If you’re concerned about how this may be affecting your health, talk to your health practitioner for personalized answers and advice.