Methylation - what it is, what it does, and how to support harmony in your body!

Some Real-Life Impacts When Methylation Isn't Optimal

• Poor detox linked to cognitive fog & anxiety, excessive sweating, stinky breath or odour from bodily source, changes in bowel motion, dull skin

• Low glutathione = oxidative stress, poor mitochondrial function and changes in any system, sensitivity via sense (eg to light, sound, smells etc)

• Impaired BH₄ = changes serotonin/dopamine, affecting focus, mood, sleep, stress reactivity

• Impaired urea function = ammonia accumulation, brain fog, irritability.

• Shaky immune function
• Hormonal imbalances eg oestrogen dominance, infertility, miscarriages

• Histamine intolerance / mast cell activation / Allergies / food sensitivities

• Nutrient imbalances Blood tests may show high or low homocysteine, low B12 

• ADHD traits

• Skin issues!
• sound familiar?????

Ok if this has your attention - great! You may like to learn just a little more about what is going on inside your beautiful body, as - imo - the more you appreciate some of these processes, the easier it can be to care for yourself, love yourself, prioritise yourself! I mean... this particular methylation process is estimated to occur OVER A BILLION TIMES per SECOND in YOUR body!
WOW, right?! 

Your methylation capacity isn’t fixed. In fact, it’s responsive to your daily internal and external environment. It shifts moment by moment

Please do take a moment to align your posture, your breath, and take in this picture (it is a simplified!) and simply envision a five-gear watch mechanism:

1. Folate Cycle — Charges the spring

2. Methionine Cycle — Generates the tick (SAM)

3. Trans-sulfuration Cycle — Winds the tension to clear waste (glutathione)

4. BH₄ Cycle — Keeps the gears smooth (mood and blood flow)

5. Urea Cycle — Removes worn-out parts (ammonia clearance)

   With this structure, the complexity of methylation potentially becomes a more navigable five-part system, part of even greater system. An easy take-away is that each cycle has a VIP role — so it makes sense that when they all work in harmony, when they have the resources they need to do so, your body’s messaging, detox, energy, and mood systems light up, and keeps ticking! You run 'on time' and doesn't that feel good :)

6. 

When one gear falters, the entire timing/junction system slows or misfires — akin to how ADHD symptoms emerge when methylation is impaired.

Impacts of Toxins and Synthetic Inputs

• Synthetic Folic Acid (not folate) competes for binding and blocks receptor pathways, contributing to unmetabolised folic acid build-up. I avoid synthetic folic acid, which is vastly different from folate and methylfolate, and suggest this approach to all my clients, also.

  Since around 2009, Australia and New Zealand have mandated folic acid fortification in specific foods to reduce neural tube defects (NTDs). The regulations require that wheat flour for bread-making (including plain, sweet, and specialty breads like bagels, English muffins, flatbreads with yeast) be fortified with folic acid—specifically 200–300 µg per 100 g flour. This fortification applies to all non-organic wheat bread-making flour. Organic versions are exempt. 

  Additionally, while fortification beyond this is voluntary, many breakfast cereals and other wheat-based products also contain added folic acid. This VERY COMMON additive of synthetic folic acid requires activation via the MTHFR enzyme. High intake can result in unmetabolised folic acid circulating throughout the body, potentially masking B12 deficiency or stressing methylation pathways.

• Plastics, BPA, phthalates: Endocrine-disrupting chemicals increase methylation demand due to detox burden. I have a free detox guide, check it out on my resources page!

• Fluoride and Glyphosate: Disrupt enzymes (e.g., cytochrome P450, gut flora synthesis of B vitamins). I use a hydroxy nanopapatite tootchpaste such as FYGG, Boka etc

• Reduce seed oil intake to preserve methylation-related pathways (e.g., shikimate, P450 enzymes, HA membrane integrity).
  

• Heavy Metals (mercury, lead, aluminium): Block methylation enzymes and deplete cofactors. We can help the body move these out safely when it has teh right resources such as great circadian rhythm, quality hydration and electrical charge, plenty of natural infra red light exposure, a diet replete with nutrients...

• Chronic Stress / Cortisol Dysregulation: Depletes magnesium, impairs B6 activity, shunts tryptophan away from serotonin towards inflammatory kynurenine pathway.

PLEASE NOTE! Methylation isn’t only biochemical — it’s bioenergetic and psychosomatic.

Chronic stress, trauma, sympathetic dominance, and negative thought patterns all alter:

• Heart rate variability (HRV)

• Vagal tone

• Breath patterns

• Fascia tension and movement flow

• Correct neck and oral posture and breathing to support cranial nerve regulation and sympathetic downshifting.

• Encourage micro-movements and somatic unwinding

• Posture, Fascia, Breath, Movement, THOUGHTS

  • Why it matters: Mechanical tension influences gene expression, blood/lymph flow, and waste removal. Fascia distributes charge and stores structured water.Our thoughts shift our body, and our body shifts our thoughts.

Your biophysical states impact metabolic tone, nutrient availability and methylation indirectly via:

• Altered oxygenation and CO2 tolerance. Breath awareness is a great start,

• Changes in consumption, digestion and absorption of methyl-donors. Noticing your relationship with food can really help.

• Modulation of mitochondrial redox and NAD+/NADH status. Junk light or natural light?

Hydration, grounding, SUN light exposure, movement, and emotional coherence all influence methylation expression — beyond supplements!!

Basic Nutrients Required for Healthy Methylation

1. WATER - why??? Methylation reactions are aqueous. Enzyme function, cofactor binding, and DNA methylation all require structured (EZ) water.

Optimise cellular hydration with clean mineralised/electrolyte water and hydrogen-rich foods. Use sunlight, sauna, or cold exposure to enhance exclusion zone water. Include gelatin/collagen, chia, seaweed for extracellular matrix support.

Methylation relies on B2, B6, B9, B12, choline, betaine, zinc, magnesium, and methyl-donor amino acids. Gut health influences folate production and methylation capacity.

What is Methylation?

Methylation is a biochemical process that involves the transfer of a methyl group (CH3) to DNA, proteins, neurotransmitters, and phospholipids. This process influences gene expression, detoxification, neurotransmitter synthesis, hormone regulation, immune responses, and cellular energy metabolism.

It is part of the broader one-carbon metabolism cycle, involving the folate and methionine cycles, and connects deeply to the body's antioxidant systems (especially glutathione production).

Methylation reactions occur hundreds of millions times per second across your body, making the healthy expression of thiese cycles one of the most critical determinants of cellular behaviour and health.... which means YOUR behaviour and health!

Key Roles of Methylation:

• Gene Expression: Silencing or activating genes (epigenetics)

• Neurotransmitters: Synthesis and breakdown of dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, epinephrine

• Hormone Metabolism: Estrogen clearance, thyroid signalling

• Detoxification: Processing of heavy metals, xenoestrogens, plastics

• Myelin Production: For white matter development and neuronal conduction

• Mitochondrial Function: Cofactor for ATP synthesis and redox balance. 

  Methylation processes, especially the one-carbon cycle, are ATP-dependent. Mitochondria supply this energy. Mitochondrial LOVE healthy circadian biology! 
  Circadian light cues also regulate gene expression, methylation enzymes, and epigenetic control. Melatonin, dopamine, serotonin, and methyl donors all follow light-dark cycles.
  
  

Simplified Breakdown of the Five Methylation Cycles

1. The Folate Cycle (One-Carbon Carrier System)

• Think of this as a charging station: folate (vitamin B9) gets converted to an active form (5‑MTHF), which carries methyl groups.

• Requires enzymes like MTHFR and nutrients: B2, B3, B12, magnesium.

• Prepares methyl groups for transfer.

2. The Methionine Cycle (Methyl Donor Cycle)

• Folate hands off methyl groups to vitamin B12, which converts homocysteine → methionine.

• Methionine becomes SAM (S‑adenosylmethionine) — the universal methyl donor used to methylate DNA, neurotransmitters, proteins, lipids, and more.
  
   

3. Transsulfuration Cycle (Detox & Antioxidant Pathway)

• After SAM donates its methyl group, it becomes homocysteine again.

• This cycle redirects it: homocysteine → cystathionine → cysteine → glutathione — our master antioxidant.
  
  

4. Neurotransmitter (BH₄) Cycle

• Involves tetrahydrobiopterin (BH₄), needed for making serotonin, dopamine, nitric oxide, and more.

• BH₄ links to folate status and impacts mood, attention, sleep, and blood flow.
  
  

5. Urea Cycle (Nitrogen Detox Pathway)

• Handles ammonia from protein breakdown — converting it into urea to be excreted.

• Interfaces with methylation via amino acid handling and nitrogen balance. Without it, homocysteine and toxic byproducts accumulate.

There's a lot going on, right?

That's why I love working with my clients.

I don’t just treat symptoms—I help you uncover the deeper patterns affecting your methylation, empowering you to shift your physiology, energy, and expression from the inside out, using your body’s natural intelligence and a truly integrative roadmap

With 30 years of multi-disciplinary expertise and a quantum biology lens, I guide you to regulate methylation at its roots—through nervous system balance, mitochondrial support, circadian rhythms, structured water, fascia, and emotional coherence.

Without that ... well, you could end up spending a fortune on genetic testing, interpretation and supplements. That's what I did, many years ago, when I was seeing practitioners who just didn't know these foundations.

My experiences have helped me help many other people in much more effective and loving ways than what I encountered on my own health journey!!!

Oh! One last bit of info... 

MTHFR — And Why It’s Not Your Destiny

You may have heard of the MTHFR gene mutation — often blamed for everything from brain fog to fertility challenges to mental health struggles. But let’s clear the confusion:

MTHFR stands for Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase, an enzyme that plays a key role in the methylation cycle — a vital process that impacts how your body turns nutrients into neurotransmitters, detoxifies, repairs DNA, and even switches genes on or off.

Many people (just like me!) carry SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) in the MTHFR gene, such as C677T or A1298C, which can reduce enzyme efficiency. This may influence how a body processes synthetic folic acid, regulates homocysteine levels, or recycles B vitamins like B12 and folate.

But here’s the thing:
A gene variant is not a diagnosis — and it’s certainly not your destiny.

Just like having a slower car doesn’t mean you’ll crash — it just means you need better fuel, smoother roads, and mindful driving.