FAQ Episode 3: Using genomic tests like 23andme to learn about your methylation genetics and their role in migraine.

FAQs for Natural Migraine Relief for Women

Hi! Jeff Baker here again, as the physician host for this channel: Frequently Asked Questions about Natural Migraine Relief. 

Today I’m going to review how you can use genomic tests like 23andme to learn about how you handle B vitamin methylation, which can be a root cause factor for migraine headaches. This is a slightly longer post, but I think it will be worth your time if you have migraines, a positive family history of migraines, heart disease, or stroke, or if you have already done genetic testing and would like to know more about what it means.

In my course ‘Natural Migraine Relief’ ^© we discuss in detail the role that methylation genetics play in migraines as well as other disease processes.  The ability to ‘activate’ key B vitamins into their methylated versions is critical in hundreds of critical chemical reactions, especially those involving neurochemistry, inflammation, and vascular health.  Underpowered methylation can result in a cascade of problems, especially the promotion of inflammation, which can be a key root cause factor in migraines.

The gene that codes for this function is called the MTHFR group.  Its two most important variants are C677T and A1298C, with the former being more common than the latter.   About 30- 40% of the American population have a variant in the C677T gene position, which has been associated with up to an 80% reduction in the enzyme’s efficiency. This reduction of enzyme efficiency has been found to lead to increased levels of the protein homocysteine, which in turn correlates with downstream mayhem of all sorts.

This reduction of methylation efficiency can result in a higher risk of depression, birth defects, hypertension, endothelial inflammation, migraines, reproductive cancers, venous thrombosis, and heart disease or stroke.  If you have a variant for this genetic pattern, this is quite a convincing list motivating us to find and manage the root cause!

Finding out what your genes say about how chemical reactions should work is called your genotype.  Finding out what they actually do in real life is called your phenotype. 

Understanding the genotype, as with the tests we are about to discuss can be helpful to understand one’s general risk with a methylation deficit. = If you have a genetic variant in your MTHFR, it’s essential to obtain a blood test for homocysteine, which is the phenotypic and real-life ‘how does methylation actually work for you’ reflection of how a deficit in this gene expression can be a root cause factor for migraines and other health problems.

Did you know that the major genetic testing companies evaluate a lot more than they are ‘allowed to tell you’?  You have technical and legal access to your raw genetic data, but at times you have to ‘look under the hood’ to find it.   I am going to review how to find information on methylation genetics, using 23andme as an example.   With some of these sites, you can also get a broad range of other gene interpretation results as well.  You can do this in a similar manner with data from other genomic companies like ancestry.com or MyHeritage.com

The attorneys at the 23andme site offer the following disclaimer: “The data from 23andMe’s Browse Raw Data feature is suitable only for informational use and not for medical, diagnostic, or other use. We advise that you consult with a healthcare professional before making any major lifestyle changes.” So please keep that in mind as we work through this.

To get started at 23andme:

1: Go into the site and click on your profile in the upper right corner.  Go down to this section and click on ‘Browse Raw Data’.

2: On the ‘Browse Raw Data’ page, click Download in the upper center of the page, which opens the page for ‘Download Raw Data’.

3: Read through the disclaimer section, and if you agree, click the box saying “I understand the limitations and risks associated with uploading my information to third-party sites” and “Submit request”

4: 23andme will send a link to the email associated with your 23andme account.  Click through the ‘Download Raw Date’ button found on this page, and again on the following page.

5: Click the downloaded “genomeYOURNAME.zip” or similar file in the lower left of your browser window.  It will be about 8000 KB in size.

6: When you click to open that download, it will show about 20 pages of ‘alphabet soup’.   On a PC it opens in Notepad.  Save this as a file, or cut and paste it and go to the next step.

7: Go to the genetic interpretation site of your choice (see below).  Generally, they will ask you to download the zip file in its entirety.  If you’re not sure where the zip file is, look in your computer’s ‘downloads’ section. 

Gene interpretation sites to consider:

GeneticGenie.com   This uses 23andme data, is free, although a donation of $10 is requested, and the site is relatively straightforward to use.  It looks at 26 genes that affect methylation, including the two key gene sets, for MTHFR C677T and MTHFR A1298C.   Green highlighting means two good genes, yellow is one variant, and red would be two missing variants.   This example in the slide picture below shows one missing variant in these two gene sets, which means that this individual (me, actually) should have their homocysteine level checked.  My level was up some but is well corrected by directly taking pre-methylated B vitamins daily and reducing red meat consumption.

This screenshot from Genetic Genie is a bit fuzzy in this format, but you can see how the variants for these two key MTHFR subsets are color-coded.  You can see that there are additional related gene sets one can research further, but we won't be reviewing them here.

Two other sites to consider:

Xcode.life    This site has ~20 different interpretation modules, with the Methylation Profile at $20 and the Premium version with some 12 major reports for $149.   These are very user-friendly to interpret.

Promethease.com will give you a methylation report for $12

I've no doubt that are are other sites which offer similar services.

How to follow through with your phenotypic expression

If the site of your choice reports that you have MTHFR genotype variants, it means that you have a probable B vitamin methylation shortfall.  If that’s the case, it’s imperative that you get a blood test for your homocysteine level.   Any local medical lab can do this with a physician’s requisition. 

You can also get it done ‘direct to consumer’ through www.lifeextension.com   Go to the Lab Testing tab on their home page, and for $54 (August 2023 price) they email you a requisition to have it drawn at a lab local to you (they have a ‘local lab locator’ page on site as well).   Life Extension will then send you the result directly.  Many labs will tell you that a level up to 15 is ‘normal’, but acceptable levels should be less than 10-12, with 7-8 being a more protective level.  You can also talk with a Life Extension staff member about your result on their helpline.

There are several specific non-drug nutritional and dietary measures that can safely and effectively reduce homocysteine levels and limit the role of this version of genetic potential in the expression of migraine headaches, as well as the companion long-term concerns about vascular disease like hypertension, heart attack, or stroke. 

To learn more about how methylation dysregulation promotes underlying inflammation that promotes a migraine, take a look at my online course Natural Migraine Relief for Women, at: www.naturalmigrainerelief.online  There we examine in detail ten major root cause factors for migraine headaches, and use the Migraine Action Plan^©, which is unique to this course, to self-individualize which of over 60 specific health factors and more than 90 potential interventions that we review may be the most applicable for managing your migraine story.

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