Blocked blood vessels, depression, fatigue, aging fast, and lack of methylation lead to a lot of problems?

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Methylation is a concept you may hear a lot, but it’s a little confusing.

Methylation is very important. Without it, 100% of our body will collapse, your blood vessels will be blocked, depression, allergies, fatigue, etc. Many problems are related to it.

The body undergoes 1 billion methylation reactions every second, affecting nearly every part of the body, says Robert Rountree, MD, of functional medicine. basic process.

Today’s article will give you a comprehensive understanding of what methylation is and what does it do for the body?

What is methylation?

Methylation is simply a chemical reaction.

Molecules with methyl groups lend a methyl group to other DNA, proteins, molecules without methyl groups. This is methylation.

Adding methyl groups is like putting a hat on a person, turning bad things into good things.

The one we hear the most is BetaineTMG, which has more methyl groups (3, aka Trimethylglycine) >, it can be understood that it has 3 hats.

Old friends know that it reduces homocysteine because it puts a cap on homocysteine ​​HCY and becomes Methionine.

Betaine lowers homocysteine ​​↑

So, methylation can turn bad guys into good guys, it’s protein methylation that we hear about the most, and DNA methylation, which is more complex, is one of the genetics basic theory.

Methylation and demethylation, refers to the transfer of methyl groups between various biologically active compounds .

Some compounds (proteins, enzymes, hormones, etc.) must be methylated to function and become needed by the body other substances.

Methylation, what are the benefits?

Methylation is important in many aspects of the body, including genetics, DNA, neurotransmitters, hormone regulation, cardiovascular, reproductive health, antioxidants, and many more.

First, methylation is a key gene regulator, and it is also a common form of methylation.

→DNA methylation

Methylation is important for DNA, which tells the body which genes to turn on and off.

DNA makes the code or instructions for numerous functional proteins in the body, including signaling molecules and neurotransmitters, hormones, antibodies, and more.

Usually DNA methylation turns off a gene, while demethylation turns on gene expression.

Defective DNA methylation can lead to lupus-like disease or other autoimmune diseases.

Methyl groups involved in methylation are derived from various micronutrients in the diet, collectively referred to as “methyl donors“, Can donate methyl groups to other molecules.

→Methylation donor: folic acid for energy, betaine for heart

Common methylation donors, such as the following nutrients, can optimize methylation cycle.

1, betaine (also known as trimethylglycine);

2,5-MTHF (active folic acid);

3. Methylcobalamin (active vitamin B12);

Pyridoxal 4,5′-phosphate (active vitamin B6);

5, riboflavin 5′-phosphate (active vitamin B2);

6. Choline;

Of course, magnesium and vitamin D are also important for the methylation cycle.

As you can see from the list above, the essential B vitamins are important, and folate is probably the most stimulating of the B vitamins methyl donor.

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) converts folate to a biologically active form called methylfolate or 5-methyltetrahydrofolate ( 5-MTHF).

Quick Fact: One potential cause of poor methylation is a variation in the MTHFR gene, which reduces the efficiency of converting dietary folate and folic acid to its active methylfolate (5-MTHF).

Folic acid is fully activated and can be used as a methyl donor for the heart, brain, detoxification, energy supply, immune system, etc. Required for healthy function.

Therefore, folic acid is particularly important for health, and it is recommended to supplement an appropriate amount of folic acid for older people and pregnancy.

Of course, in addition to folic acid, betaine is also very important. When it comes to methylation, it cannot be separated from it, because it has many methyl groups and its name It’s called trimethylglycine.

So, it is an artifact to reduce homocysteine, which can assign methyl groups to HCY and become met methionine.

Thereby reducing our risk of heart disease. (You can see the picture at the beginning of the article)

→Methylation helps detoxification, anti-oxidation, and anti-aging

Many compounds require methylation to make.

Such as say: Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), glutathione, melatonin, epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin, muscle acid, cysteine, taurine, phosphatidylcholine, etc.

Methylation, which converts toxins into easily excreted forms, helps safely remove excess hormones and heavy metals from the body and other toxins.

The process of methylation detoxification↑

This process also helps produce the powerful antioxidant glutathione, which fights oxidation and fights aging.

Low methylation, what signal does the body signal?

Many people ask, how to judge their lack of methylation, some people suggest to do genetic testing, but many functional medicine experts do not recommend to check their own homocysteine ​​directly Just level.

Elevated homocysteine ​​level is the most direct manifestation of methylation deficiency. What is the manifestation of methylation deficiency?

→low levels of neurotransmitters

Serotonin, melatonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine are lower, which may contribute to depression, low catecholamines, anxiety, OCD tendencies problems such as insomnia and insomnia.

Because of the process of methylation, it is important for neurotransmitter synthesis.

There is also poor stress resistance, often in “fight or flight” state, and easy to fatigue.

→Histamine intolerance, easily allergic

High levels of histamine may be the cause or the effect, interacting with methylation.

If you have insufficient MTHFR and methylation to maintain normal function of the histamine methyltransferase HNMT or catechol-O-methyltransferase COMT, Significant accumulation of histamine.

Histamine is stored in basophils and histamine intolerance or elevated histamine levels may cause allergies, insomnia, cardiac arrhythmias or palpitations , rashes and hives, headaches and migraines, dizziness, flushing, nasal congestion, swelling, and abdominal cramps.

Often people with these problems also have gastrointestinal discomfort, or intestinal inflammation.

→Homocysteine

This is an important signal that homocysteine ​​is a breakdown product of the methylation cycle, but it should be recycled, not accumulated.

High levels (over 7 units) tend to clog blood vessels, have negative effects on the nervous system, and may cause Reduced stomach acid.

→High folate levels

The biologically active form of folic acid, which needs to be activated to enter the methylation cycle, first becoming folinic acid, then becoming active 5-MTHF.

Poor methylation prevents folic acid from being used properly, resulting in high folate levels.

→Gene mutation, dietary changes

One ​​potential cause of poor methylation is genetic variation, which reduces the efficiency of converting dietary folate to active methylfolate (5-MTHF).

May cause functional folate deficiency and lack of methyl groups required for methylation.

This gene variant is actually common, about 40% or more of the world’s populationPossibly affected, more than 100 million people in the US alone.

This may have a lot to do with our modern diet and lifestyle, which also interfere with methylation production.

In addition to inadequate intake of folic acid and other B vitamins, excessive drinking or coffee, smoking, and high arsenic exposure in food and water may Depletion of methyl groups required for methylation.

This can cause neurotransmitters to interfere, resulting in low mood and anxiety, poor concentration, trouble sleeping, and more.

Lack of methylation can also lead to the development of inflammation, with negative effects on skin and energy production, as well as gut, musculoskeletal, and reproductive health. /strong>Affect.

Key Thin Dragon Says

Lack of methylation can affect all aspects of health. We are more interested in decreased metabolism, vascular obstruction, skin allergies, depression and other effects.

Daily methyl donors include: folic acid, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, betaine, choline, and more.

If you suffer from frequent fatigue, allergies, or even depression, it is recommended to supplement these nutrients.

For older people, the most concern is Homocysteine, it is recommended to control below 14.5 μmol/L, less than 7 μmol/L may be the best of.

You can try supplementing betaine to reduce homocysteine, and then look at the picture below.

Methylation affects nearly every organ in our body and is required for production of amino acids, neurotransmitters, hormones, red blood cells, DNA, RNA, and antioxidants of.

The synthesis of glutathione also requires its participation, which is also very important for hormone synthesis and detoxification.

Therefore, methylation is an important part of anti-aging.