BYO Data - Genetic Methylation Report

What is methylation, and why test it?

Methylation is a chemical process your body runs billions of times a second — attaching methyl groups to molecules in order to switch genes on and off, build neurotransmitters, process hormones, clear toxins and recycle homocysteine.

Variants in the genes running that pathway — MTHFR among them — affect how efficiently it works. That efficiency influences how well you use folate and B12, how you clear oestrogen, and how your body handles the by-products of its own metabolism.

Testing it is a one-time exercise: the variants don't change. What changes is what you do about them — which forms of B vitamins suit you, what your body needs more support with, and what's worth monitoring in your bloods.

This describes how your pathway is built, not a diagnosis. Methylation variants are common, and carrying one is not a condition.