MTHFR Explained For Dummies

Tired of trying to decipher medical jargon? MTHFR explained for dummies here, by a mutant, for mutants.

Table Of Contents

MTHFR EXPLAINED FOR DUMMIES: IN 5 MINUTES OR LESS
“I HAVE MTHFR"
DISCLAIMER
SOURCES
YOUR TURN

Let’s get this straight: you’re not a dummy if you want a straightforward answer about something like MTHFR that has the potential to affect your life and health.

So what is MTHFR?

Yeah, I know what it sounds like. Here at My MTHFR Lifestyle blog, I’m a MTHFR, you’re probably a MTHFR, or you know a MTHFR who’d like clear information about what in the hell everybody’s talking about.

I gotchu, with no further ado: MTHFR explained for dummies in five minutes or less.

MTHFR EXPLAINED FOR DUMMIES: IN 5 MINUTES OR LESS

To understand MTHFR, we need a refresher on just a couple basic terms and definitions.

DNA, genes, enzymes—you learned about them in science class ages ago. But if your high school experience was anything like mine, the extent of your education about DNA was the gift of a crappily-printed handout with a barely recognizable image of a double helix, and bored instructions to color and label its parts by copying from the exact same image in your open textbook.

What a way to demystify and absorb the complexities of the human genome. Needless to say, you may not remember details.

For simplicity’s sake, we’re going to use an analogy: video games.

DNA FOR DUMMIES

Do you know how video games are made? There’s this digital phenomenon called code: a language invented to help humans and computers communicate and cooperate. A video game—and apps and websites—are made up of a huge string of code. That code can be broken down into smaller parts, even individual 1’s and 0’s. Each segment has a purpose, interacting cohesively with the whole to produce the game.

DNA is a code—the code of you. Your parents were the coders. Each ‘donated’ their code, meshing it (don’t be gross) to make a whole new program: you. DNA is in every cell of your body, and together, it’s its own language. You are the sum total of your DNA—you’re the video game.

GENES FOR DUMMIES

If DNA is the video game code in its entirety, genes are its segments. In a game, these important segments would create characters, actions, landscapes, etc. In your body, they perform similar functions.

A strip of code might say, “If the down button is pressed, the character ducks.” Similarly, genes program things like your eye color, skin color, and body frame. You have somewhere around 18,000 genes, each with an important role in writing the video game that is you.

So now we can finally answer the question of what MTHFR is: a gene. It’s one piece of the puzzle that makes you up—and yes, everyone has it.

But MTHFR is also an enzyme. Because genes would be dead in the water without enzymes to help them out.

ENZYMES FOR DUMMIES

If genes are segments of code, enzymes are like pixels that make it possible to experience and play a game.

Enzymes take a gene’s code from 1’s and 0’s to a fully-animated “Super Mario Brothers Wonder” acid-trip adventure. Enzymes are coded by genes to interact with any other components that are necessary to do its job.

[P.S. If the code example doesn’t work for you, I’ve also heard enzymes described like the blue-collar workers in a factory. Genes send down the orders, enzymes roll up their sleeves and get shit done.]

So MTHFR is a gene with MTHFR enzymes to do its job. “Which is…?” We’re ALMOST there. Now that we’ve established a chain of command, we need to consider what happens when a gene’s code—and therefore its instructions—are wrong.

SNPs (SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE POLYMORPHISM) FOR DUMMIES

Single-nucleotide polymorphism, or SNP. Polymorphism. Variant. Mutation. All of these terms refer to the same phenomenon: a flaw in a gene’s code. A DNA oopsie. In the video game analogy, it’s like what would happen if there was a 1 where a 0 should be. Sometimes SNPs do nothing, the enzymes don’t even blink. Other times, they mean serious business.

SNPs in a gene’s code are passed on to its enzymes. This can sometimes mess with an enzyme’s ability to do its job, similarly to a flaw in a line of game code. A slight code mistake might change one tiny function. A bigger one might break the whole damn game.

Errors in coding: Single-nucleotide polymorphisms — An error in a line of code is much like a SNP in a line of DNA. Photo courtesy of Pexels.

We established MTHFR as both a gene and an enzyme. This brings us, at last, to MTHFR’s job.

When you eat food (at least, nutritious food) your body absorbs nutrients like vitamins. Vitamin B9, or folate, is an essential. But your body can’t just cram kale into your bloodstream to help your arteries stay strong or shove kidney beans into your liver to help it detox from all the fun you had on Friday night. It can use methylfolate.

That’s what MTHFR does. Working in conjunction with a couple of other genes, it moves folate through a process that converts it into methylfolate, a biochemically-friendly form of vitamin B9.

“I HAVE MTHFR”

When you hear people say, “I have MTHFR” or “I have a MTHFR mutation”, what they’re most likely referring to is a MTHFR SNP. I myself have a MTHFR SNP which is why I refer to myself as a MTHFR.

MTHFR is a hot-button topic today because:

It’s estimated that about forty percent of people have one or more polymorphisms.
Because it’s a gene, it runs in, and therefore may affect, families.
It’s been connected to and even implicated in some serious health concerns.

[In Are You a MTHFR?, we talk through more of these health concerns related to MTHFR mutations. Read now!]

What’s more important than any of that to understand about MTHFR, though, is that its expression can be changed by the choices you make. In other words, your MTHFR lifestyle matters more than your MTHFR SNP.

So, not-so “dummies,” I hope this helped you wrap your head around MTHFR. If you’re still curious, stick around and check out other articles, like Folate Foods: A Guide to a MTHFR Diet! If not, thanks for stopping by and sating your interest in MTHFR.

DISCLAIMER

I am not a healthcare professional. None of the content on this blog is meant to replace or substitute the advice of your doctor, nor should it be seen as health advice. Use your own good judgement and research to take what you will.

SOURCES

YOUR TURN

Drop it in the comments: What’s your favorite video game? OR What was your first thought when you heard the word ‘MTHFR?’

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