Highlights on Nutrigenomics – February 14th, 2016

 

Nutritional Endocrinology Practitioner Training (NEPT)
Clinical Pearl
February 14th, 2016

 

I was doing a lot of research the other day on methylation and SNPs for a client, and I stumbled on a few really good sites.

We’ll be doing an entire module on Nutrigenomics, but I thought I’d share a few highlights here.

You may already be familiar with the MTHFR gene SNP. It’s been quite the topic of conversation in health circles.

What many doctors do, which could cause more harm than good, is to test for 2 variations of this SNP, MTHFR c677T or MTHFR A1298C. If a person has a variation in either or both (40% or more of the population), they prescribe high dose methyl folate without consideration of other pathways. This can lead to anxiety, agitation, and other unpleasant symptoms.

If ever you recommend methyl folate or methyl B12 to a client and they get worse instead of better, consider giving them 100 mg of niacin as it can “mop up” the excess methyl groups. Too much of a good thing is not a good thing.

This article on another very important SNP, COMT (catecholamine-o-methyl transferase) explains the importance of evaluating the complete picture, not just a single SNP.

http://www.geneticlifehacks.com/comt-genetic-connections-to-neurotransmitter-levels/