The Best Way to Test Your Genes For MTHFR and Methylation Issues
Reader takeaway: Getting your genetic information is easier than you think and doesn't require a doctor, but doing it the right way can save you time and money and make it easier for your to succeed in using the information effectively.
Testing your genes isn't always necessary. Often, you know by your symptoms or our free methylation quiz that something is not right. There are some times, however, when genetic testing becomes extremely valuable to your health. These include:
When you are planning to have a baby - for both partners
Treatment resistant mental illness
When you hit a wall in your health journey and can't seem to move forward no matter what you do
When you have a symptom or group of symptoms that nobody is able to explain
In my opinion, consumer genetic testing gives you far more information for the money than medical testing does, unless your insurance will pay for the medical testing. If your insurance will pay for testing, then tests such as Genomind, which analyzes your genes to see how they interact with common medications for anxiety and depression. This will not cover the same number of genes as the consumer tests, but if insurance is paying then it's a great first step. You will still learn your MTHFR and COMT gene results, but you won't see MAO-A, VDR, or MTR/MTRR. Still, if you're starting medications for anxiety and depression, this test is incredibly useful.
Consumer tests, like those from ancestry or 23andme test a wide array of genes, and the raw data is available to run through an increasingly wide array of secondary processers that can interpret it for epigenetic data. The ancestry and 23andme platforms themselves are only able to give limited data on the way your genes interact with your health, and they have to stay within conservative research parameters, but the raw data gives you everything.
The Best Way To Test Your Genes - Basic Testing Services
In my opiniong the best way to test your genes isn't through your doctor. These simple consumer services test a wide range of your genes for a reasonable price and have surprisingly high accuracy (above 99% across the board). I suggest Ancestry, 23andme, MyHeritage, or SelfDecode. All of these platforms have a different focus and give you different data, so use the one that most suits your needs. Once you perform the basic test, you can download your raw data to get useable insights for gene SNPs.
How To Download Raw Data from 23andMe
How To Download Raw Data from Ancestry
Follow these instructions from ancestry
How To Download Raw Data from MyHeritage
How to Download Raw Data from SelfDecode
Each of these services has different areas of focus, prices, specialties, and levels of privacy protection. Please consider these factors before making your decision about which testing service to use.
Secondary Processors for Relevant Health and Epigenetic Information
Genetic Genie
My favorite simple processor to start with is the methylation panel at geneticgenie.org. This panel provides an excellent amount of information to start with and not so much that you are likely to get overwhelmed. This panel analyses methylation-related genes including MTHFR, COMT, MAO-A, MTR, MTRR, CBS, VDR, and several others. Each gene result is color coded for ease of understanding. Green means no bad copies, yellow means one variant (or mutant) copy, and red means two variant copies. Along with each gene shown is a small description of what this gene does and how it may impact methylation. This will give you 7-10 pages of information. They ask for a small donation for this service.
Genetic Life Hacks
Genetic Life Hacks is a subscription service, curated by Debbie Moon, who is an excellent genetic researcher and provides very high quality information. In this service you can upload your genetic information and read articles about particular topics. The website will add your genes to the article so you can see your results as you learn about a particular topic. Genetic Life Hacks also has a series of reports available on topics like sleep, inflammation, and many more that combine a number of genes that are relevant to that topic.
Did You Know...
A free membership in our community gives you one free report from Geneticlifehacks.com? Click Member's Hub on the top right corner of the website, and request to join Genetic Wellness Hub. Not only will you get a free report, you get access to the MTHFR and Methylation library of resources, and free monthly Q&A with Dr. Amy.
Strategene
Strategene provides extremely comprehensive information by metabolic cycle, so your data is shown in terms of the folate cycle, the methylation cycle, serotonin and melatonin, histamine, and more. The metabolic pathways involved in each cycle are shown visually, as you can see in the image below, and then discussed in text. The entire report is close to 200 pages and threatens some pretty intense overwhelm. This option is ideal if you have been studying these topics for some time, if you have a practitioner to interpret the results for you, or if you have some background in biochemistry, genetics, or medicine. Even though the information provided is exceptional, I don't suggest this as a starting place due to the overwhelm factor.
The Simplest and Most Cost Effective Way to Understand Your Genes.
The key feature is usability and ease of interpretation because more information is only helpful if you can use it for something. For that reason, I suggest starting by working with a practitioner, or if you want to do it yourself then starting in this order:
Obtain your genetic sample kit from whichever company you choose. (US $99 - $200 - I highly recommend Black Friday Sales to get the best price).
Download your raw data
Run the Geneticgenie methylation panel for a basic starting place with big genes. Start to learn about your results, especially for the big genes including MTHFR, COMT, MTR/MTRR, MAO-A, and VDR. Take them one at a time and in the order listed so your knowledge can build on itself.
If you feel overwhelmed at this point, or just don't really want to do the research to fix it yourself, I highly recommend working with a practitioner who can help you find your best next steps. If you're into doing the research and like taking charge of your own care, then stick with the process.
Work with this basic info on MTHFR and COMT for three to six months and see what is changing for you. I highly recommend tracking your symptoms and any diet and supplement changes you make through this process so you know what is doing what. Sign up for the mailing list here to get a free symtpom tracker with instructions relevant to tracking your methylation.
Most people at this point are making great progress and are ready to add MTR/MTRR information, MAO-A, and VDR to the mix. Just go slowly, work on one thing at a time, and remember that we're working on the fundamental body processes that are underneath a variety of symptoms so don't be surprised if unexpected things improve.
If you feel stuck or like you aren't making progress, then at this point I suggest investing in a book, a course, or professional help.
This path gives you a smooth entrance into learning about and working with your genes, without facing the common pitfall of being overwhelmed and frozen out of the gate. Start simple, only really look at one gene at a time until you feel like you have a basic understanding and a plan to work with it, and then move forward slowly. In general, always start with diet first, then low doses of one supplement at a time. Only increase dose or add new supplements when you are sure you know what your current routine is doing for you, and when there is some significant reason why they are needed.
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