MTHFR mutation is becoming kind of the “in” thing to have at the moment and it seems like everyone talks about MTHFR and anxiety, MTHFR and heart disease, MTHFR and depression. The question is, why does a gene for the enzyme that activates folic acid have anything at all to do with those things?  First off, if this sounds like gibberish, then here’s some background reading on MTHFR and on MTHFR and folate. Now – lets see if we can decode the link between MTHFR and depression, because understanding this can hopefully help a lot of people who are struggling start to regain some normal and some happy in their lives.

What is the Link Between MTHFR and Depression?

At the simplest most basic level, your body needs methylated folate (which is what you don’t make very well if you have the MTHFR mutation) in order to manufacture the neurotransmitters serotonin, dopamine, epinephrine and norepinephrine and also the neurohormone melatonin (which helps with sleep among other things). The methylated folate isn’t used directly for these neurotransmitters, but it helps to make something called BH4, or tetrahydrobiopterin if you want to be technical about it. BH4 is then used to help the neurotransmitters building blocks (which are amino acids) to be converted to the active neurotransmitters that your body uses for brain cell signaling.

Um… Still Not Following.

Right – so I honestly don’t think it is hugely beneficial when you’re trying to fix MTHFR  issues in yourself to actually dive too deep into the biochemistry of what is happening because it gets overwhelming really quickly.  Suffice to say that your body has trouble making neurotransmitters if it can’t make BH4 because there just isn’t enough methylfolate. When your body has trouble making neurotransmitters, then you can start to see symptoms including these.

Symptoms of Low Serotonin (Think Negativity and Anxiety):

• Negative thinking – Pessimistic, cynical or distrusting thoughts.
• Craving for sweets and starches – Bring on the bread. With a side of fries. These foods temporarily boost serotonin levels in the brain, so you might reach for these more frequently
• Sleep trouble – You need to make serotonin before you make melatonin (your primary sleep hormone) so this can be a big issue.
• Low self esteem – Serotonin is one of the chemicals that helps you to feel good about you. Without it, you might feel socially anxious, inferior, or incapable.
• Anxiety – worry, apprehension, obsessive thoughts and panic attacks are all more likely when your serotonin is low.
• Aggression – Violence, aggression and suicidal thoughts or actions (violence against yourself) are all symptoms of low serotonin.
• Impulsive behaviour – Low serotonin can reduce your ability to control impulses.

Symptoms of Low Dopamine (Think No Motivation and No Reward):

• Lack of Motivation – No real “reason” to do things that matters to you. This also shows up in difficulty getting going in the morning and outright fatigue.
• Joylessness – Dopamine helps you to actually feel the positive effects of enjoyable things. Without it, everything is a little blah. You have a hard time experiencing pleasure.
• Memory Loss – Forgetfulness, lack of focus and outright memory loss.

Symptoms of Low Epinephrine and Norepinephrine In the Brain (Think Get Up and Go Got Up and Went)

• Mentally Worn Out – Mental energy is lacking. All mental effort feels like far too much.
• Inattention – Can’t really focus on anything.
• Lack of Excitement – Yeah. Another day in paradise.

The short version of all of this is that without MTHFR you have trouble methylating folate. Without methylated folate, your body lacks Bh4. Without enough BH4, you have low levels of these neurotransmitters and with low levels of these neurotransmitters, everything feels pretty yucky. Like sad, apathetic, anxious, joyless yucky. Is there hope? Hell yes! This isn’t the post for it, but here’s some info about finding the right dose of methylfolate for you, and here’s one about foods that are high in natural sources of folate. It’s a great place to start. Even if you have depression but haven’t confirmed that you have a MTHFR mutation this can be a really great place to start.