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Methylation tests??

caledonia

Senior Member
Caledonia, thanks for mentioning nutreval. Both my ND and my functional MD want me to have it. We are waiting till the first of the year when I get medicare as Genova bills medicare....

So, Caledonia, and anyone, are there tests we can do regularly that will help understand our methylation status? I can do thyroid, homocysteine, and other tests but what common tests might these "essential" tests be? My ND only thinks Doctor's Data at Seeking Health for 195 dollars will work. That is unsustainable as my health status changes.

Unfortunately, there are no cheap tests to evaluate methylation that I know of. For example, I have horrible methylation but my homocysteine is fine. My serum B12 is 800 (right in the middle of normal), but my B12 is non-existent on a good test.

I did 23andme, the HDRI Methylation Panel and the Nutreval test. I have not repeated these tests. I've done other periphery tests though - stool test, Urine Toxic Metals and Essential Elements, and complete thyroid panel to spot check how I'm doing. An 24 hour adrenal saliva test is on my list of stuff to do, but I haven't done it yet.

Mainly, I'm going by how I feel. I keep a symptom journal and I can see improvement over time in many areas.

If you have MCS, you can use that as a gauge of how much reduced glutathione you're making. That's about the closest I can think of to a "poor man's" methylation test. My MCS is about 60% improved. I still have trouble with some things, but in general, I can leave the house and not worry too much about what chemicals I'll run into. I've been as bad as not being able to go out of the house due to reacting to every little thing, being able to smell and react to people 20 feet away and so forth.

ps. when you do the Nutreval, analyze it with the Nutreval Intepretation Guide linked in my signature to get the most information out of it.
 

PeterPositive

Senior Member
Messages
1,426
Unfortunately, there are no cheap tests to evaluate methylation that I know of. For example, I have horrible methylation but my homocysteine is fine. My serum B12 is 800 (right in the middle of normal), but my B12 is non-existent on a good test.
Interesting. I have a couple of questions if you don't mind.
So is your SAH also ok, as is your homocysteine?

What are you referring to exactly when you say a "good B12 test"? MMA? Something else?

Cheers
 

npeden

NPeden, Monterey, CA
Messages
81
Unfortunately, there are no cheap tests to evaluate methylation that I know of. For example, I have horrible methylation but my homocysteine is fine. My serum B12 is 800 (right in the middle of normal), but my B12 is non-existent on a good test.

I did 23andme, the HDRI Methylation Panel and the Nutreval test. I have not repeated these tests. I've done other periphery tests though - stool test, Urine Toxic Metals and Essential Elements, and complete thyroid panel to spot check how I'm doing. An 24 hour adrenal saliva test is on my list of stuff to do, but I haven't done it yet.

Mainly, I'm going by how I feel. I keep a symptom journal and I can see improvement over time in many areas.

If you have MCS, you can use that as a gauge of how much reduced glutathione you're making. That's about the closest I can think of to a "poor man's" methylation test. My MCS is about 60% improved. I still have trouble with some things, but in general, I can leave the house and not worry too much about what chemicals I'll run into. I've been as bad as not being able to go out of the house due to reacting to every little thing, being able to smell and react to people 20 feet away and so forth.

ps. when you do the Nutreval, analyze it with the Nutreval Intepretation Guide linked in my signature to get the most information out of it.
Thanks, Caledonia. No I do not have MCS but I am c677t for MTHFR so I am pretty darn sensitive to a lot of things. Had a quarter of a quesadilla yesterday and had sleep disturbances...my MMA is very good. It was 75 out of a range of 375 for that test.

My homocysteine is 9.4 in a range of 15. My functional MD says she would like to see it at 7.

Hope I can use the nutreval soon and yes, I will check out your links. Many thanks, np
 

caledonia

Senior Member
Interesting. I have a couple of questions if you don't mind.
So is your SAH also ok, as is your homocysteine?

What are you referring to exactly when you say a "good B12 test"? MMA? Something else?

Cheers

Tested in 2010, my SAH was elevated indicating high oxidative stress (per HDRI Methylation Panel).

Good B12 tests are supposed to be MMA and a new one called holotranscobalamin. See the B12 Info #2 link in my signature.

Yasko also looks at cobalt on the Doctor's Data Urine Essential Elements. My is below detection limit. cobalt = cobalamin = B12
 

jason30

Senior Member
Messages
513
Location
Europe
Can someone tell me more about Cobalt?
Just found out that cobalt is reduced: 0.1 ug/l (0.1 – 0.7)
Can this be simply increased by a B12 supplement?
 

PeterPositive

Senior Member
Messages
1,426

jason30

Senior Member
Messages
513
Location
Europe
The answer is yes, although it will be proportional to the supplement's dosage and the amount absorbed.
The oral route is the "worst" because it requires an healthy stomach (for break down) and small intestine (for absorption).

Sublinguals and possibly sprays should be more effective.

Clearly, does it needs to be Adenosylcobalamin or could that be Methylcobalamin as well?