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Please help me understand my 23andMe results

Messages
9
Location
Canada
Hello everyone,

I wonder if anyone would be kind enough to help me make sense of my 23andMe results.

I am completely new to the whole genetic stuff but I am learning so please bear with me.

From other posters, I see that you need my methylation and detoxification results via genetic genie as well as the Sterling app so I am attaching them below.
I have also run my 23andMe data via Promethease so if you need any further information I will be happy to provide it.
From the info I have read so far, I understand that I have impaired methylation, please correct me if I am wrong.

I am currently taking 500 mcg methyl B12+400mcg methylfolate+ 25mg P5P and have been for over 1 year, I don't know if it helps or not, but I don't feel big difference.

I also take a lot of other supplements: Omega 3, Vitamin D 5,000 iu+Super K, Zinc, , homemade liposomal Vitamin C 3tbsp, 100mg CoQ10+ 20mg PQQ, niacin 500mg, 266mg magnesium glycinate, various choline sources (DMAE, lecithin, centrophenoxine, ALCAR), apple cider vinegar and many others.

I am having problems waking up in the morning and have general lack of drive and energy throughout the day (CFS?). I follow a pescetarian non-ovo-lacto plant-based diet to combat scalp psoriasis with varying severity for many years and to maintain general level of well-being.
Would you be able to point me in the right direction to references or tell me exactly what to do?

Which supplements to add or remove given my genetic profile? Is 5HTP/SAMe/TMG/NAC/Glutathione-reduced supplementation beneficial in my case?
What about lithium ?

Many thanks for your assistance!

P.S. As per another poster's suggestion, I would ask @caledonia @Critterina @Valentijn to weigh in on my case, if possible.
 

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Messages
4
Looking at your genetic genie methylation profile. Keep in mind I'm hardly an expert.

You've got MTHFR 677T homozygous, that's the big one. You'll have about 30% ability to convery folate to the active form. You'll definitely want to be taking methyl folate.

You got two hetero MTRRs. You'll have impaired ability to create the active form of B12. So definitely want to take the methyl B12 or Hydroxy B12.

Two COMT heteros and MAOA homozygous. You may have anxiety issues is my understanding from not breaking down dopamine or serotonin well. So you may be sensitive to extra methyl groups.

Two VDR heterozygous, probably cause low Vit D.

Looks like your already taking a lot of the correct supplements. Maybe you want to up the methylfolate? If so also up the B12 so you don't become deficient. Niacin I believe is best if you feel you are over-methylating, maybe reduce that.

Your Detox looks good IMO. I wouldn't worry too much there.

Again my amateurish analysis. Anyone feel free to correct me if I'm way off base.
 
Messages
9
Location
Canada
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts, Bosco!!!
I take 500mg Niacin (as nicotinic acid) for HDL cholesterol boost/LDL control.
You may have anxiety issues is my understanding from not breaking down dopamine or serotonin well. So you may be sensitive to extra methyl groups.
I do have occasional anxiety episodes but meditation helps to stay more or less on even keel.
Does this mean that I need to opt for hydroxyB12 instead of methylB12 and cut SAMe/TMG out?
 
Messages
4
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts, Bosco!!!
I take 500mg Niacin (as nicotinic acid) for HDL cholesterol boost/LDL control.

I do have occasional anxiety episodes but meditation helps to stay more or less on even keel.
Does this mean that I need to opt for hydroxyB12 instead of methylB12 and cut SAMe/TMG out?


If you seem to do well on the methyl B12 sticking with that would be ideal since you have MTRRs. If not the hydroxy should work too. I don't know much about SAMe, others would know better.

I'm 2x COMT +/+ with normal MAOA, same MTRRs as you. Been alternating hydroxy and methyl. The methyl B12 seems to make me a bit tired, I'll watch if that keeps happening. Been taking Lecthicin too which metabolizes to TMG. That has seemed fine so far.
 

caledonia

Senior Member
Try using the SNPs Interpretation Guide linked in my signature below. You definitely could have methylation and glutathione impairment with MTHFR C677T +/+, couple of MTRRs and GSTP.

Exactly what kind of methylcobalamin are you taking? Some forms are a lot more effective than others. You could be putting on the brakes with too much niacin. 50-100mg is enough to stop methylation - you're taking 500mg.

What kind of fish do you eat? You could be inadvertently getting a lot of mercury.

A functional test such as the Nutreval test could be helpful to see what's going on overall with the gut, Kreb's cycle, toxic metals, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, etc.

Have you had a complete thyroid panel, not just TSH? Have you done an adrenal/cortisol saliva test?

Also check out Roadblocks to Successful Methylation (linked in my signature).
 
Messages
9
Location
Canada
Thank you @caledonia for chiming in.
I looked into the Guide - highly helpful resource, thanks for putting it together.

OK, I will lower the niacin dose. I had no idea about MTHFR C677T +/+ until 2 days ago when I received my 23andMe results.

Given my MAO R297R +/+, how much 5HTP would be appropriate for me to supplement?

To your questions:
Fish - I eat chiefly smoked/wild caught salmon and sometimes haddock, no other types.

I have never heard of Nutreval, thank you for the pointer!

I take 1/2 of 1000 mcg of Costco's Kirkland brand methycobalamin sublingually, usually in the evening. Is that a good source?

No, never had a full thyroid panel - my TSH was 1.17-1.63 the last 3 times I had it tested for the last 1.5 yrs so the family doc never considered it merits further examination.
I take 1/2 of 225mcg iodine tablet + 100mcg selenomethionine for thyroid support daily. I occasionally take 2-3 brazil nuts 2-3 times per week so that's some extra selenium.

No cortisol/adrenal tests have been performed either.

The other area of concern is my somewhat elevated Creatinine (98, UL of normal range:110)/low eGFR (76, min:60).
What are your suggestions for kidney support given the genetic obstacles I have?

I alternate 500mg Setria Reduced Glutathione and 600mg Swanson NAC, coupled with 3 tbsp of liposomal form of vit C, for glutathione boost.
I notice some positive effect from using 400mg SAMe first thing in the morning when I feel slightly depressed sometimes. It lifts me up nicely.
I regularly use sunflower lecithin (also in the liposomal vit C) on salads as a choline precursor.
Are these good ideas in light of the mutations I carry?

Thanks again for all your assistance!
 
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taniaaust1

Senior Member
Messages
13,054
Location
Sth Australia
You have the worst kind of MTHFR mutation and that is very important to treat as it can cause lots of different issues and not only that if its not treated it increases your risk of things eg strokes.

If you are female, its very important to know you have this before pregnancy as it can cause problems eg miscarriage (during any stage of pregnancy) so there is certainly things which should be done to help lower the miscarriage risk caused by this eg taking baby asprin during pregnancy.

The MTHFR mutation in me (I have the same kind as you) which I didnt know I had when I was pregnant, caused my daughter to be born with an issue similar to spina bifida (but rarer).... so permanently disabled her and deformed her. Sadly this would of been preventable had I known I had that mutation and was on the right form of folate for it. During pregnancy I took the normal kind which is no good for those with this mutation as we cant use it.

I was seeing one specialist who supposively knew about MTHFR but he tried to treat mine wrongly (he just put me onto normal folate) and hence his treatment didnt help me at all. Then I found the website below and realised the errors in my treatment so sought out another local MTHFR specialist. He put me onto more right things and I then felt improvement (increased stamina).

You may want to check out this website http://mthfr.net/
 
Messages
15,786
@aribadabar - As a vegetarian, you are probably getting plenty of methylfolate from your diet. Studies showing problems due to C677T also show that either supplementing folate or eating a lot of vegetables corrects for any health risks associated with the mutation.

And you should probably keep taking B12, as long as you're not eating much in the way of animal protein, since meat is the only natural source of dietary B12.
 
Messages
61
Location
Germany
Try cutting out on histamine and/or gluten. See if that helps.
DMAE really made me feel down..So maybe try to cut that out as well.
As for energy and fatigue: lipoic acid, Piracetam and Creatine are worth looking into.

best regards
 
Messages
9
Location
Canada
No - usually it is ~115/65. It went down a bit from 120/80 after adopting the pescetarian diet which, from what I have read, is a normal consequence with the lower (animal) fat intake.
 
Messages
9
Location
Canada
Try cutting out on histamine and/or gluten. See if that helps.
DMAE really made me feel down..So maybe try to cut that out as well.
As for energy and fatigue: lipoic acid, Piracetam and Creatine are worth looking into.

best regards

Thank you for your suggestions, Gandalf. I already cut out all of the gluten and take 100mg/d of R-ALA but I will add creatine. I will reconsider DMAE, thanks.
I read some negative reviews about piracetam so it scared me enough to not touch it.
 
Messages
43
No - usually it is ~115/65. It went down a bit from 120/80 after adopting the pescetarian diet which, from what I have read, is a normal consequence with the lower (animal) fat intake.

Mind if I ask your age? You can be general about it. The reason I am asking is because of your ACE and NOS SNPs. I have the same SNPs, well some more than you in the NOS2 gene. My blood pressure was fine till I passed 40 and now it just hangs at borderline high. 140/90 I am veg/pesc as well as have been since college. Cannot get my sodium below 146 no matter if I eat zero salt. This has to do with the ACE deletion. So I guess was wondering what your sodium levels were as well if you knew them.
 
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Messages
43
Thank you for your suggestions, Gandalf. I already cut out all of the gluten and take 100mg/d of R-ALA but I will add creatine. I will reconsider DMAE, thanks.
I read some negative reviews about piracetam so it scared me enough to not touch it.

My two cents worth of advice.

R-ALA, Creatine, piracetam, they are all bandaids and do not work on the root of the issue which is supporting the enzymes that have SNPs. They will lead to side effects just like pharmaceutical drugs do.

And creatine, well:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/08/h...rit-in-heart-disease.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
 
Messages
9
Location
Canada
Mind if I ask your age? You can be general about it. The reason I am asking is because of your ACE and NOS SNPs. I have the same SNPs, well some more than you in the NOS2 gene. My blood pressure was fine till I passed 40 and now it just hangs at borderline high. 140/90 I am veg/pesc as well as have been since college. Cannot get my sodium below 146 no matter if I eat zero salt. This has to do with the ACE deletion. So I guess was wondering what your sodium levels were as well if you knew them.

No problem - I am 33 now. Never tested my sodium levels but I decreased my salt intake over the last 2 yrs after switching from junk food laden with sodium&simple carbs to almost complete exclusion of them today. But my bp has always been 110-120/70-80 before that. Perhaps I was too young to affect me in a major way.

I use mostly organic apple cider vinegar instead of salt on my salads nowadays - the taste is so nice that I don't feel the need for salt. Whenever not practical, I use Half&Half (50% sodium/50% potassium) salt.

Maybe that played some role too.

Thank you for bringing this up!
 
Messages
43
No problem - I am 33 now. Never tested my sodium levels but I decreased my salt intake over the last 2 yrs after switching from junk food laden with sodium&simple carbs to almost complete exclusion of them today. But my bp has always been 110-120/70-80 before that. Perhaps I was too young to affect me in a major way.

I use mostly organic apple cider vinegar instead of salt on my salads nowadays - the taste is so nice that I don't feel the need for salt. Whenever not practical, I use Half&Half (50% sodium/50% potassium) salt.

Maybe that played some role too.

Thank you for bringing this up!

Yes, watch that BP, you sound a lot like me. I was fine until my early 40s.
 
Messages
9
Location
Canada
Well as if MTHFR and MAO mutations are not enough, I just found out that I am Apo E3/E4 which seems to indicate increased risk for impaired cholesterol metabolism and AD:cautious:...Any suggestions to mitigate these factors?