Methylation is a natural and complex process that occurs in our body. In this process, methyl groups i.e one carbon and three hydrogen atoms are transferred in our body. It involves the mechanisms that take place billions of times in our body every single day. The information sent or received by the DNA is involved in this process. According to many holistic healers, overmethylation can be the cause of multiple physical and psychiatric symptoms. On the other hand some medical experts do not believe it as a diagnosis of overmethylation and suggest a blood test to identify the condition. A proper test could be helpful for suggesting any treatment or medication. If you are willing to learn more about methylation and how it works, then this article could be very informative for you.
- Get Your Blood Tested: An accurate blood test report is required to check which problem has to be treated for your better health. According to the overmethylation proponents, you will have low levels of zinc, high levels of copper, high levels of homocysteine and estrogen in your blood. The treatments for this condition could be unique, depending on the high or low levels of hormones or nutrients. You need to get your blood tests done and ask your doctor for further treatments or medications according to your condition and reports, if it’s required. Some people suggest taking vitamin B, vitamin C, zinc or folate supplements to treat overmethylation but without an accurate blood test report it is nearly impossible to figure out the deficiency. In some conditions there might be other underlying issues or causes of their deficiencies, so it’s important to see your doctor before starting any medication or supplements.
- Your Body Has No Issue With Methylation: Methylation is a natural occurring process in our body and no one needs to change the body’s methylation process. Some scientists are working on epigenetics to know more about mutation and gene therapy, but methylation only gives the information about the added or removed methyl groups from DNA. A normal body undergoes methylation a million times a day. A gene could be overmethylated or undermethylated for a minute. DNA methylation is implicated in some conditions and disorders but it probably has no causal relationship. Some people with depression have low methylation levels but it is still unclear if low methylation causes depression in a person.
- Symptoms Of Overmethylation: There are so many symptoms of overmethylation. As methylation occurs thousands of times in every part of your body every day. Some symptoms are unrelated to methylation while some are its potential symptoms which includes anxiety, depression, low motivation, self-harm, low sex drive. Adverse reactions to antihistamines, estrogen, SAMe or SSRIs, trouble sleeping, dry mouth and eyes are also included.
- How To Improve Symptoms Of Overmethylation: In order to maintain the right methylation level in the body, one should adapt a healthy lifestyle. Your daily habits and activities highly impact on the functioning mechanism of your body. If you smoke, take a poor diet, inadequate sleep or expose yourself to stress, this will change the nutritional processing ways of your body. By maintaining a healthy lifestyle, the information from your DNA processes more efficiently. If you often get sick, your methylation level will be altered. So it is important to maintain your health to maintain standard methylation levels. You need to work with your doctor on the underlying causes of overmethylation. Once you get a clue regarding your symptoms, ask your doctor to suggest a proper treatment plan. If you have any concerns regarding your symptoms then you need to enlist all of them. Bring the list along with you while visiting your doctor. Make sure to clear everything in order to understand the treatment well. The condition of overmethylation is tied to everything from cancer and schizophrenia to the seasonal allergies and common cold. Focus yourself on treating it directly if you have any underlying conditions.
- Your Methylation Levels Change Everyday: Methylation is not a permanent genetic process that is immutable, but it is one of the naturally occurring processes of our body. There are hundreds of processes influencing it in our body so it is difficult to point out a single factor that is causing changes. Methylation plays a role in all of your 20,000-25,000 genes. Moreover your methylation level is likely to be stable when you are young and it fluctuates more as you age.
How Do You Know If You Are Undermethylated?
There are certain blood tests which show the levels of methylation in your body, as methylation also influences the basic hormonal activity, so a simple blood test report can help you alot to figure out an issue. In order to get the full picture, you need an epigenetic profiling. In this technique your entire genome is sequenced, so it becomes easier to study it in a detailed manner. Despite the fact that it is a significantly costly procedure. It is not necessary to get it done as your methylation level changes with age, behavior, lifestyles and many other factors.
How Can You Fix Methylation Problems?
SAMe supplements might help you in treating the problems of methylation. Ask your doctor if you think S-adenosyl-L-methionine supplement works for you. This compound stabilizes the body’s methylation level and it is produced naturally in our body. However SAMe supplements do not have a huge impact as there is no conclusive evidence for it. It might cause any negative impact on your body so ask your doctor before taking it. Do not opt for self medication. SAMe is actually a methyl donor, so that our body can use it as a replacement of any missing nutrient for the process of methylation. Eat a healthy and balanced diet. A balanced diet has all the essential nutrients that are required by our body. Some evidence shows that the people who consume plenty of folate in their diet, have healthier methylation levels. In order to get an adequate amount of folates your diet must be a balanced one. You need to take 200 micrograms of folate everyday. It is not necessary to take their supplements. You can get enough of it from your daily diet. Try brussels sprouts, broccoli, peas, breakfast cereal and liver, as these foods are highly rich in folate. Along with these foods, you also have to take lean proteins, healthy fats, fruits, nuts and vegetables.