MTHFR!!!

What does MTHFR meant to you?  When I first heard it I didn't have a clue what it meant.  When I found out, I thought MoTHer F*#keR! It would have been nice if I knew about this sooner.  There has been a lot of progress in medical technology and knowledge since I started the cancer survivor journey.  There are a number of things that are common now that I can say that about... it would have been nice if we had that sooner...MRI, antigen therapies, PET scans... 

So what about this MTHFR?  Well, apparently it could be pretty important in my whole cancer journey.  My naturopath wrote the Rx to get it checked, I am pretty well sold on her expertise and value in my healthcare.  This MTHFR is a gene snip, polymorphism, or oops, depending on perspective.  Simply put, I have a Thymine where I should have a Cytosine, holy amino's Batman, my DNA is in a twist.  I will forego further explanation as far as the genetic explanation, mostly because it doesn't say much practically, and I  probably wouldn't get it right through the pink haze anyway. 

Practically it means a couple of things.  One of the first things I found out about it was that it can cause a clotting issue in the blood.  If I had other circulatory issues, it would be worth taking an aspirin a day to keep the blood a little thinner.  But at this point, that system is a go.  The second thing actually has more to do with the name.  MTHFR spelled out is methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase, an important enzyme responsible for the management of folate, a B vitamin.  Without going into the biochemistry, which I would only be wiki sharing anyway, basically it means that much of the folate in plants or in normal vitamin B supplements just goes right through me.  Folate is a pretty big deal in proper cell division and keeping cells from mutating i.e. becoming neoplastic.  Basically good folate levels = less chance of cancer.   So in a very real sense, I have been fighting cancer with one hand tied behind my back for the last 25 years.  Mostly I am just glad that I know about it now, because there is something I can do about it.  There is a folate precursor that my body can use, so I just need to supplement with some L-methylfolate to overcome my MTHFR snp.  Increasing the amount of dark leafy greens will help as well.  So take that cancer, and your MTHFR snipping sidekick!.  I am going to have a big bunch of organic cilantro and parsley on my haystack tonight. 

Moral of the story is checking your genes for more than just hershey squirts is probably a good thing.