S2E27: What is Really Going On With MTHFR Basic State?

Basic state is something that we’ve talked about before, but I want to dive a little bit deeper into why I feel it’s important when other fantastic practitioners, like Dr. Ben Lynch, aren’t really into it. Honestly, there is no right answer here.  So let’s look a little more closely.

The idea of over and under-methylators came originally from the research of Dr. Walsh from the Walsh Research Institute.The main thrust of his research was that mental and emotional disorders often stem from an imbalance or deficiency of nutrients in the brain. 

This research was not based on genetics and had nothing whatsoever to do with the MTHFR polymorphism, or any polymorphisms in the histamine pathway. It was based on Dr. Walsh’s clinical observations over years of working with vast numbers of patients. The terms “overmethylator” and “undermethylator” were his own and based on what he theorized was happening. The names, in my opinion, are a bit misleading because we don’t actually know what is happening with the genetics or if the DNA is really overmethylated or undermethylated. Hopefully, that research will happen eventually, but it certainly hasn’t happened yet.

The reason I like using basic states as a guidepost, is because it’s an easy way, especially in the beginning of your MTHFR journey, to guess how you might respond to certain supplements and drugs for mental health.  This can be hugely helpful because we all have a tendency to dive into the deep end with this, and believe me – taking a big dose of methylfolate if your body isn’t ready for it can scare you off of taking methylfolate for a very long time. 

Also, since the basic state is based on observable personality traits, allergies, and measurable signs and symptoms, we’re not looking at just one gene. We’re looking at how the totality of a person’s genes plays out in real life, because how they look on paper isn’t always how they act and how they act is what really matters at the end of the day.

Also, this is something that can be determined without any genetic testing, without any specialized help from practitioners and without the need for any fancy interventions at all. That makes it extremely valuable because for every one  person who thinks they have an MTHFR polymorphism who is working with a knowledgeable practitioner, there is another hundred who are doing this on their own.

For that, basic state is invaluable. Also, I love the fact that it’s based on what is called phenotype, or genetic expression, not genotype, or genes as they’re written. What that means, is that elements like personality traits or high or low histamine, represent the way all of your genes come together to express, which is by far more valuable information clinically than the actual gene polymorphisms themselves. 

There are so many genes involved in each pathway – when you look at actual gene expression, or phenotype, you’re seeing the way all the genes come together, which is more relevant than just the status of one gene or another. Also, all of your genes express or don’t express depending on a variety of factors including lifestyle, nutritional status, other health factors and even your mother’s health status while you were in utero. It’s far more complicated than just this or that gene, but looking at who you are as a person and how your personality expresses is actually a great way to sum up this information.

Knowing your basic state can give you some well informed starting places in terms of how you will respond to supplements, pharmaceutical drugs, and even the types of doses you might expect to be optimal. It isn’t 100% accurate, but it gives you a better idea of starting places than you would otherwise have. Still always start low and go slow, but knowing your basic state can speed up the process of discovery. 

The MTHFR Basic State Mirror Image

When you’re trying to determine your own basic state, it’s most helpful to think of them as flip-sides of the same coin with opposite traits on either side.  Your basic state will come down to how many traits you have from each side.

For instance, the traits of overachievement and perfectionism show a subtle but important difference. Both under and over-methylators express these traits, but undermethylators tend to be perfectionistic and overachieve in all areas, where overmethylators hyperfocus on the areas that are important to them and let the rest slide.

There is a very important difference in allergic response as well. High histamine type allergies and sensitivities are like classic hay-fever, where you open a window and the pollen instantly makes your eyes stream and starts the sneezing.  That is an undermethylation, high-histamine type reaction. Overmethylators, on the other hand, show more chronic allergies and sensitivities – the low-grade headache, neck tension, entire season with a blocked nose that doesn’t particularly change whether you’re indoors or out. That is a low-histamine sensitivity pattern. Also, overmethylators tend more toward chemical and food sensitivities, where undermethylators tend more toward histamine intolerance in foods.

Undermethylator	Trait	Overmethylator
High, for everything	Achievement and Drive	High for the thing that matters to them, low for other things
Typically follows rules and social norms well	Rules and guidance	Follows rules that make sense to them, disregards others. Follows the beat of their own drum.
Typically pushes for achievement in everything they do	Achievement	Pushes for achievement in the things that matter to them, but not interested in other things
High histamine and seasonal allergies	Histamine	Low or normal histamine with chronic allergies/sensitivities
Typically lower	Pain Tolerance	Typically higher
Often intolerant to histamine in foods, but less often to foods themselves.	Food reactions	Typically has sensitivities to specific foods and chemicals
High fluidity (saliva, tears, etc…)	Fluidity	Low fluidity (saliva, tears, etc…)

At the end of the day, trying to decipher the big picture by looking at each particular gene SNP can lead to a really messy situation in which you can end up taking supplements that look good on paper, but aren’t actually addressing the issues you have in real life.  This is far less likely to happen if you’re working with a good practitioner, but sadly I’ve seen some practitioners fall victim to this mentality as well. Even worse, you can end up taking one supplement for each gene SNP and getting completely overwhelmed by a cumbersome protocol that costs a lot of money and time, but doesn’t get you anywhere.

If you’re looking for a MTHFR basic state refresher, you can follow this link to learn more about the idea in general. Here’s a link to dive deeper into the undermethylator picture and here’s one for overmethylators.

Thank you so much for listening today, and if you haven’t done so already, check out the show notes at tohealthwiththat.com. There are resources, downloads, links to research, and best of all an email list where you can sign up to be sure you’re the first to hear about exciting new courses, free resources, and other great things.