Do you have an MTHFR gene mutation and wondering if methylfolate or treating this MTHFR gene alteration is going to help your anxiety or possibly make you feel worse and be more of a hindrance to resolving that anxiety?
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00:00 Introduction to MTHFR Gene Mutation and Anxiety
01:02 Exploring Gary Brekka's Comments on MTHFR
I wanted to explore in more detail some of the comments made by Gary Brekka in one of his videos about MTHFR gene mutation And whether or not methylfolate is an anxiety help or hindrance. let me share some of my own findings and understanding of the MTHFR gene L alteration and its connection with mental health and specifically anxiety. So in one of his videos, he noted that methylfolate can help with the production of neurotransmitters and also help with the breakdown of neurotransmitters. Now he doesn't necessarily say that in one sentence, but in one area he's talking about how it can help with the production, in other areas he's talking about how it can help with the breakdown. And if that's the case, especially if it's helping breakdown and produce in the same degree, that wouldn't they just cancel each other out. So you might get. more neurotransmitter production and also more breakdown. So it's net net just going to cancel each other out.
02:19 The Complexity of MTHFR's Role in Neurotransmitter Production and Breakdown
let's look at the breakdown side of neurotransmitters. Can treating MTHFR gene alteration or taking methylfolate Help with this? Well, not really. It's more closely really with the production of neurotransmitters, but we'll look at that next. First, let's look at how methylfolate is related to the breakdown of neurotransmitters. So you need a functional MTHFR enzyme to make methylfolate, which is needed to create something known as SAMe. And as mentioned in previous videos, SAMe is one of the most critical aspects of how MTHFR touches on so many different areas and aspects of our health. And one of them is the detoxification Pathways, in particular, the breakdown of neurotransmitters. So methylfolate helps with the production of SAMe, but it doesn't produce it directly by itself. There's a few other enzymes involved in that process as well. But having enough SAMe or having the right amount of SAMe will help with the breakdown of neurotransmitters because SAMe acts like a cofactor in important enzymes, specifically known as COMT. This enzyme breaks down, or helps your body, It turns dopamine and other catecholamine types of neurotransmitters like epinephrine, norepinephrine, and turns them into less stimulating neurotransmitters.
03:30 Understanding Methylfolate's Impact on Neurotransmitter Breakdown
if you take methylfolate in the hopes that it's going to help calm you down. or help you fall asleep, be prepared to be up longer than you anticipated. This is especially true if you have a genetic alteration in the MTHFR enzyme. The more severe that genetic alteration, the more deficiency or lacking in that methylfolate you are, and the more likely you are to be a little bit more stimulated from taking it, especially initially. Yes, this is a water soluble vitamin, and eventually you will urinate it out, But that doesn't mean you can't become manic for a few days while you're taking that methylfolate. Now, of course, the effect of methylfolate on different people is going to vary widely. Some people take it and don't even notice and probably can go to sleep. And it is a dose dependent phenomenon as well. If you're someone that has a lot of anxiety and taking it in the hopes that it's going to help your anxiety, my message to you is, just be a bit careful. Taking small amounts of methylfolate in the form of a multivitamin, something like 400 to 800 micrograms, most people aren't really going to notice that a whole lot, be very stimulated from it at all. If you're really sensitive you might be, but usually when it's combined with all the other vitamins, B vitamins, then you're not going to notice it as much specifically in like the multivitamin form. Now this is what I've experienced in my practice, but You may be slightly different, you may be slightly more sensitive, so keep that in mind, but that's what I've seen.
05:58 Navigating Methylfolate Supplementation for Anxiety
Some supplements will have five milligrams plus and in cases like that you're definitely going to be alert and awake and have more trouble sleeping if you take something like that for a bit.
08:32 Concluding Thoughts on MTHFR, Methylfolate, and Anxiety