The term methylation is getting thrown around a lot. That’s good because the biochemical process of methylation does so much in your health outcomes and you should be familiar with it. Methylation is the 2nd most abundant chemical reaction that occurs each and every day inside you, right after oxidation-reduction reactions that produce your energy power house ATP.
So what is methylation? The literal answer is the addition of a methyl group (CH3) to an inactive compound to make it active. But what does that mean to you and your health plans? This simple process of adding a single carbon molecule has global effects for maintaining and acceleration many pathways including: neurotransmitters, hormones, detoxification, DNA synthesis, immune system activity, and joint health.
In short, methylation promotes health cells and regulates the expression of genes. One of the most well known genes that relies on methylation is MTHFR (Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase). In short, this gene helps the conversion in the pathway from folic acid to methyl tetrahydrofolate (the active form of folic acid). Without this ability, folic acid remains inactive and this can disrupt a number of reactions that should feed the nervous system. If the nervous system isn’t supported, this can have global consequences, especially for a fetus in early development. It’s this active form of folic acid that starts and creates a series of countless critical enzymatic reactions.
For example: Dr. Ben Lynch points out