What is Methylation and why is it important?
METHYLATION the basics
When I first start out on this journey, I heard the term 'methylation' being thrown around a lot. No one ever seemed to be able to give me a concise definition of what methylation actually was though, and I ended up even more confused! So I sat for hours researching and learning about it. I have attached a really useful video by Dr Ben Lynch below which has some helpful diagrams to help you to visualise it.
I have outlined the basics here, but it is a very complex process. It took a LONG time for me to get my head around it. In the SOURCES section you will find books, articles and videos that can help to consolidate your knowledge of this topic and extend upon what I have written here.
WHAT IS METHYLATION?
Methylation is the process by which our bodies turn B-vitamins such as folate or B9 and cobalamin or B12 into SAM (S-adenosylmethionine) and glutathione, two substances that are essential to our health. SAM and glutathione play a role in creating energy, protecting our cells, and maintaining our mood, focus, and daily functioning such as fine and motor skills, speech, sleep and development. They also help the liver to detoxify substances that enter our blood stream, including toxins and medications.
Methylation is impaired in 90% of children with autism.
Methylation is the process whereby methyl groups (one carbon atom attached to three hydrogen atoms) get added to genes, enzymes, hormones, vitamins or neurotransmitters in the body. The action of the methyl group being added makes that compound ‘methylated’. This means that the gene, enzyme, hormone, neurotransmitter changes into a different shape and has a different function within the body. It can then function appropriately as part of one of the chain of events in the cycle.
Dr Lynch uses the analogy of a teacher wearing a suit to teach in, then changing into sports clothing to play football. The clothing here would be the methyl group. That clothing (methyl group) changes his function from teacher to sports person. The same way that the methyl group when added, changes the compound's function. This made sense to me so thought I would share!
Without the methyl group the compound cannot change and function appropriately in the cycle.
The methyl groups are produced by a process called the ‘methylation cycle’. This involves various molecules found in the body, including S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe), homocysteine and methionine, and is dependent on specific nutrients such as B6, zinc, B12, folate and magnesium. All of which are very commonly found to be deficient in children with autism. In fact in all the years of speaking to other parents, I haven't met ONE as yet that isn't struggling with these particular deficiencies and impaired methylation.
Methylation is crucial for;
- Turning on and off genes – this is important in cancer for example
- Processing chemicals and toxins - helping to reduce our toxic load
- Processes neurotransmitters that are crucial for sleep, speech, language, behaviour, mood etc
- Processes and metabolizes hormones
- Build immune cells
- Synthesis of DNA and RNA
- Produce energy (CoQ10, carnitine and ATP)
- Produce protective coating on our nerves (via myelination)
As you can see it is extremely important.
THE PROCESS OF METHYLATION...
It was helpful for me to know some information about the methylation cycle so that when I heard the term 'methylated' I could understand what it meant!
So methylation is a continuous cycle that keeps going round and round billions of times per second within the body. Picture the below list of actions as a circle looping round and round.
Let's start with homocysteine - homocysteine has a massively bad rap, but we do actually need some homocysteine as part of the methylation cycle. Like everything in the body, it is when it becomes to high or too low we get problems.
So homocysteine needs to be transformed into methyl-homocysteine (otherwise called methionine). How it gets transformed into methionine is via methylfolate which comes from leafy greens or your MTHFR enzyme (we know this enzyme is impaired in at least 50% of the population and in MOST children with ASD). This is called the folate cycle.
We also need zinc - very common deficiency in ASD kids and methyl-cobalamin (bioavailable B12) also a very common deficiency in ASD kids.
You can see here already how just this first part of the cycle is likely to be impaired in ASD children!
So all of those nutrients - zinc, B12, methylfolate are required for a methyl group to be added to homocysteine so it can change its function and become methyl-homocysteine (otherwise called methionine).
Next in the cycle the methionine requires magnesium, and ATP from mitochondria to make SAMe which is the body's number one methyl donor. SAMe is very important! Magnesium is usually low in ASD children.
So SAMe donates a methyl group to enzymes such as GAMT to produce creatine. After SAMe has donated a methyl group, SAMe then becomes SAH. SAH then gets converted back into homocysteine.
Homocysteine then goes back round the cycle to be remethylated (a methyl group is added) using nutrients methylfolate, zinc and B12 to become methyl-homocysteine (otherwise called methionine).
Methionine using magnesium and ATP from mitochondria makes SAMe. SAMe donates a methyl group to an enzymes to produce creatine. SAMe then becomes SAH which then converts back into homocysteine.
80% of the methylation cycle goes towards two things:
- Makes creatine for your muscles, brain and neurological system - cell membranes etc
20% goes towards things such as;
- Processing neurotransmitters
- Processing hormones
- Producing melatonin
- Helping to produce carnitine and CO-Q10
- Turning your DNA on and off - genetic expression
This video from Ben Lynch - is really useful in visualising the steps. THIS video is also helpful - here she recommends B12 injections and other extreme diets - I am not an advocate of those! But the video is useful.
So now homocysteine as you have seen above can go back around using methyl-folate and B12 to become methionine OR it can go further down the chain to become part of the TRANSULPHATION pathway to create glutathione.
Whether the homocysteine gets recycled back into methionine and be used for all of the above or goes down the pathway to become glutathione depends largely on the toxicity of the body and the level of oxidative stress present. This is because it will prioritise detoxification if there is huge toxic burden present. You can see how there almost seems to be a pay off whereby other functions shown above will be slowed down in favour of detoxifying the body when there is a huge toxicity. We know this to be a true of children with autism.
To make glutathione via the transulphation pathway - homocysteine is first converted into cystathionine. To be converted it requires magnesium, zinc and B6. All of which are common deficiencies in children with autism. B6 is again required for cystathionine to be converted into cysteine which then can become taurine (this is significant because it used in the production of bile salts to digest fat). This can be impaired in many with autism.
Cysteine is also used to create sulphate - see THIS information on sulphation.
Cysteine then, in effective methylation processes with all the correct nutrients present, should go on to produce glutathione.
Glutathione is really important. And is required for removal of free radicals and heavy metals from the body, controls inflammation, supports the immune system, gut integrity to name a few.
Glutathione is usually low in children with autism which is not surprising when you look at the nutrients involved in the process of creating it - all of which are common deficiencies. Because methionine starts the chain down towards creating glutathione - low levels of methionine impair production of glutathione. In other words the whole cycle has to be working effectively - form the folate cycle -enough B9, B12, zinc, magnesium etc are required to make the methionine which is needed for adequate glutathione to be created.
So if you are like me your first thought is 'pummel with zinc, methyfolate and B12!! Makes sense right?? Wrong! What I have learned over the years is that the body requires a fine balance. There is no quick fix and we are all individual. So please don't go and do that! Over supplementation can cause further problems.
Recently I've also been learning much about how some individuals can be under or over methylated too. Under methylated meaning that they have too few methyl groups and in over methylated individuals they have too many.
In either case methylation is not functioning as it should.
It is difficult to ascertain whether your child is under or over methylated, I have attached some articles HERE for you to learn more about it. In essence if you are undermethylated (you have too few methyl groups) over supplementation with folate can be disastrous because it reduces the methyl groups even further.
This is not medical advice, I am merely sharing important information that has helped us on our journey.
The main enzymes that are involved in methylation are as follows;
- MTHFR – stands for Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase. It converts folic acid to methylfolate (5MTHF or B9) using B2.
- MTR – Methionine Synthase uses methylfolate (folate) and methylcobalamin (B12) to turn homocysteine into methionine.
- MTRR – Methionine Synthase Reductase creates methylcobalamin (B12) from cobalamin.
- MAT – creates S-Adenosyl Methionine (SAM) from methionine.
- BHMT – The backup system (so to speak) in the liver and kidneys that can make methionine from choline and TMG.
- CBS – Removes homocysteine from the methylation cycle (using B6) and converts it into cysteine and glutathione.
If any of the genes that code for these enzymes have mutations or SNPs then they may not function properly as part of the cycle and the system is impaired.
Environmental factors such as stress, heavy metals and other toxins have the ability to impact gene expression. See below.
See Dr Ben Lynch's website for more info..
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Two significant genes that use up 85% of methylation...
GAMT
GAMT makes creatine in the body. Creatine is for muscle mass and abundance of other things such as....
Dr Ben Lynch talks about this gene being extremely significant in children that have a speech delay. If a SNP is present it impacts the functioning of the enzyme responsible for creating creatine. He suggests looking at creatine or creatinine on any lab work you have had done. And or if a GAMT SNP is known then supplementing with creatine and consuming more protein can be useful.
PEMT
PEMT makes phosphatidylcholine. This is required for cell mebranes. If this gene has an SNP and the functioning of the enzyme is impaired it impacts the body's ability to create and maintain healthy cell membranes. Including brain cells! Damage to cell membranes or lack of ability to create them effectively is correlated with more autistic behaviours.
What causes faulty methylation?
heavy metals AND TOXINS
Heavy metals such as mercury, cadmium, lead and other toxins - again very common toxicities that we see in ASD children slow down methylation.
Even when you have plenty of the nutrients required for methylation to work effectively, metals and toxins bring things to a standstill.
When toxins and metals enter the body, they prevent methylation of our DNA, making our genes vulnerable to damage. A gene that was previously “turned off” could be “turned on”. In other words genetic predisposition can get “switched on” when exposed to toxins and metals.
For example, your MTHFR gene SNP might not currently be causing you big problems, but exposure to toxins and metals might “flip the switch” to activate the potential problems the gene (and other genes) can cause. That could mean triggering a tendency toward autoimmunity, dementia, or cancer. This is referred to as “epigenetic modification” and means toxins and heavy metals can influence our genes beyond our inherent predispositions.
gut health
Yeasts such as Candida produce toxic molecules called Aldehydes which are similar in shape and function to formaldehyde, a known cancer-causing toxin used in thousands of products. Aside from DNA damage, aldehydes are known to inhibit the methionine synthase enzyme MTR which is required for the recycling of homocysteine and the production of SAMe.
Aldehydes are also broken down by the exact same enzymes that break down our neurotransmitters. The breakdown of neurotransmitters such as glutamate (excitatory) and serotonin (important for sleep) is slowed down because the enzyme is competed for by both.
When the body has a problem with yeast and aldehydes, it also has a problem with alcohol. We know that yeasts such as Candida produce alcohol. And we know that alcohol causes loss of zinc, magnesium and b-vitamins – a common pattern we see with people who have a gut infection. But the damage doesn’t end there. The ethanol (alcohol) that Candida produces gets turned into aldehydes inside the body, which can break DNA strands and lead to cancer and cell destruction.
So after the alcohol depletes you of zinc, magnesium, folate, niacin and other b-vitamins, it gets turned into an aldehyde which damage cells and blocks the breakdown of dopamine, serotonin, adrenalin and histamine. Because aldehydes, histamine, dopamine, serotonin and adrenalin each get metabolized through the aldehyde detox pathway, excess aldehydes causes increased levels of stress hormone and neurotransmitters. This is a recipe for anxiety, pain, insomnia and more.
Folate is an essential nutrient required for proper methylation. Many Bifidobacteria are folate producers, while other bacterial, like Lactobacilli, are folate consumers. Gut dysbiosis can therefore lead to hypo- or hypermethylation, depending on which bacteria are dominant.
mindset
'Your perception of the external environment really influences the internal environment. If you are walking down a sidewalk and you have a sense of fear, then that sense of fear is going to do alot of triggering of various pathways in your body, including stress, and stress speeds up your methylation, at the same time it uses up nutrients involved in that same pathway.' Ben Lynch
not enough or poor quality sleep- disrupted carcadian rythmn
Epigenetics suggests that sleep impacts DNA methylation, which can activate or deactivate certain cells in the body.
A lack of sleep may increase DNA methylation, which can suddenly activate the expression of risky genes, like cancer-causing tumor growth genes.
poor diet
Diet plays a key role in your risk of increased homocysteine, which is required to be in balance for proper methylation to take place. Processed foods and fast foods contain only a fraction if any of the necessary methyl-related nutrients your body needs for methylation. Synthetic folic acid is also fortified in many processed foods. This can actually clog up methylation and stop the cycle working, if it cannot be converted to the useable form of methylfolate. We know that the majority of children with ASD have an impaired ability to convert this. Is it one of the reasons why removal of processed foods and grains that are fortified bring huge gains. Removal of large amounts of synthetic folic acid.
stress
When we are stressed our body makes more adrenaline to respond to the stress, but once the stress is over, your body needs extra SAM to get rid of the excess adrenaline. To make extra SAM requires methylation and B-vitamins. In this way, stress puts an extra load on your methylation system. It gets depleted quicker and so do all of the nutrients required for it to function. This leaves less SAM and nutrients to perform other crucial bodily functions. This is one of the theories as to why children in melt down seem to lose other skills during and for a while after.
When you are stressed and need more SAM, the stress itself slows down your ability to make SAM. That is why we feel so unwell when stressed, and why so many health issues are associated with stress.
inflammation
When we suffer from inflammation, via infections, bacterial overgrowth, leaky gut etc they block the pathways of two enzymes - MTR and MAT - which are vital to the process of methylation.
Instead of making SAM, inflammation redirects homocysteine to manage the inflammation itself by making glutathione.
competition for methyl donors such as SAME
Competition for methyl donors is another reason for impaired methylation. If one particular function of methylation is in overdrive, say detoxifying toxic load it may use up available methyl donors at the expense of other methylation functions such as myelination of nerve cells. This is most often caused by environmental toxins, high histamine intake, high estrogens, acute or chronic stress, and chronic infection or immune challenges.
Exposure to methylation inhibiters
Drugs that interfere with methylation include valproic acid, cholestyramine, oral contraceptives, PPIs, and antibiotics. Nitrous oxide, which some patients take at the dentist, is a known oxidizer of cobalamin (B12) Source
How to help improve your child's methylation
improve diet
Nutrient deficiencies are one of the main reasons for impaired methylation. It is important to note that we are all individual, so understanding your child's body is crucial before embarking on any extreme diet changes.
When starting out stick to the basics;
Eat the best quality meat and produce that you can afford
Increase vegetables
Ditch the processed inflammatory foods - cook from scratch
Ditch the fortified refined grains and cereals
Drink clean water
Improve gut health
Gut health is integral to properly functioning methylation. Use fermented foods - blend them into smoothies or ice pops. Remove inflammatory sugary refined foods that feed unhealthy gut bacteria. Keep a food diary so you can spot any food sensitivities.
Use antimicrobial herbs such as garlic, olive leaf, oregano.
use Methylation Adaptogens
Methylation adaptogens work to restore methylation balance. Examples of methylation adaptogens include curcumin, betanin, anthocyanins, quercetin, rosmarinic acid, lycopene, and sulforaphane.
reduce stress
Try calming techniques with your child such as yoga, massage, removing devices which are excitatory and increase stress hormones, get out in nature, enjoy silence, remove excitatory foods, try grounding with your child.
reduce toxic load
Toxicity is another huge player in impaired methylation. Try to one by one reduce the controllable toxins in your life. See HERE for more info on toxins
improve sleep
Remove devices which emit blue light - at the very least before bed time
Get outside in the daylight - expose the body to natural sunlight
Remove excitatory foods
Increase foods which help the body to produce melatonin - the hormone responsible for sleep and GABA a calming neurotransmitter
What is sulphation and why is it important?
What is sulPHation?
I have written a section here on sulphation, because so much of my research leads me back here for children with autism! It is SO important to understand its significance. (See PHENOLS for more information about this pathway).
So what is sulphation? Sulphation is part of the sulphation pathway, which is part of a bigger cycle called the transsulphation pathway, which is part of a bigger pathway called methylation - more HERE. I like to think of these processes or pathways as several cogs that fit together in a clock (the body). If just one little piece of a particular cog (pathway) is defective then the whole clock (body) stops working properly and many systems are impacted. These pathways require several enzymes and nutrients to work effectively. Many of these enzymes and nutrients are known to be impaired or deficient in children with ASD.
The sulphation pathways is next in line after the transulphation pathway.
The sulphation pathway for simplicity is one of the cogs - a biochemical pathway that requires sulphate to perform many essential functions within the body.
Including;
- Detoxification
- Gut and brain permeability
- Digestion
- Neurodevelopment
- Immune system
So the sulphation pathway as you can see is extremely important. It requires lots of sulphate to work effectively. How the body gets sulphate usually is from proteins. Proteins first need to be broken down in the gut via enzymes such as protease into amino acids such as cysteine. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins.
Once you have an amino acid ie cysteine, this goes through a process called sulphoxidation - whereby an enzyme called sulphite oxidase metabolises sulphites in cysteine (harmful to the body) into sulphates (useful and useable by the body). It uses molybdenum to do this. Julie Mathews - Nourishing Hope
As you can see there are many (not all are even mentioned here) processes that the body has to go through to make sulphate, so there are many areas in which this process can fail and the body cannot make the correct amount of sulphate.
For example; sulphate coming from sulphur in foods such as proteins has to go through digestion (we will need enough of the enzyme protease to break down the protein into the amino acids required for the first part of the pathway and to go through sulphoxidaton) - in many cases digestive enzymes are low and we know that many children with autism struggle to digest protein, so the pathway is impaired. We also understand that sulphation is required for enzyme production and digestion (see below) - when impaired enzyme production and digestion are too so the whole thing is a vicious cycle!
In some, the enzyme sulphite oxidase can be impaired also, which means that sulphites again, cannot be converted into sulphate effectively. This can increase sensitivity to sulphur rich foods which enter the body as sulphites.
Sensitivity to sulphur can cause aggression, night waking, flushing, irritability, gas and bloating etc.
Sulphation is impaired in around 80% of children with autism. It is also found to be faulty in many other diagnoses, such as auto-immunity (lupus, arthritis, hashmito's, fibromyalgia, chrohns disease, CFS) and other neurological disorders (ADHD, autism, Tourettes, depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, asperger's).
Sulphate and the pathway way it is involved in 'the sulphation pathway' are so crucial to so many systems within the body. Most of which you will see are impaired in children with autism and many other diagnoses.
More detailed functions of sulphation are here;
- Enzyme synthesis (Enzymes catalyse important processes in the body - for example digestive enzymes are crucial for breaking down food properly and allowing the nutrients to be absorbed). Digestive enzymes are usually impaired in children with autism
- Protein synthesis (Protein synthesis is important because the proteins created during this process control the activities of the cells. Without these proteins, many of the processes in the body would fail or not work properly)
- Tissue synthesis
- Production of bile acids (critical for digestion and absorption of fats and fat-soluble vitamins in the small intestine) Fat malabsorption is common in children with autism
- Digestion - Starts the cascade of digestive enzymes released from the pancreas. Without proteases (enzymes that break down proteins), lipases (enzymes that breakdown fats) and amylases (enzymes that breakdown carbohydrates), food is not digested efficiently.
- Triggers gastrin which is the start of the digestion process. Gastrin releases HCL stomach acid - this is usually impaired in children with autism) Before taking any acid blockers for excess stomach acid - I would always recommend assessing for low stomach acid. The symptoms are the same, and in most cases the acid is in fact low - this impairs digestion and can make digestion painful. Digestion is usually impaired in children with autism - and can lead to restricted eating patterns/ avoidance of protein sources such as meat
- Detoxification (Sulphation is a major pathway in detoxifying drugs and environmental contaminants)
- Cellular respiration (where cells convert food into energy so cells can work properly)
- Forming the mucin proteins which line the gut walls. These have 2 main functions- they stop the gut contents from ‘sticking’ and they block transport of toxins from the gut to the bloodstream. Low plasma sulphate has been found in patients with irritable bowel disease
- Formation of brain tissue. Before birth, the functional units of the brain, ‘neurons’, are laid down on a scaffolding network of sulphated carbohydrate chains. Reduced sulphation can lead to faulty neuronal connections and later dysfunction.
This pathway as you can see from this list, if faulty can cause a myriad of health problems - many of which we see reported in children with autism.
****Oral supplementation of sulphate is not easily absorbed across the gut wall. But can be absorbed across the skin. This is why many children benefit from epsom salt (magnesium sulphate) baths, or using sulphate topically (as cream on the skin). See below for more info on epsom salts
SULPHATE IS ESSENTIAL!
Sulfation and autism...
faulty sulphation effects between 73% and 92% of those with autism
Blood plasma levels of suLPHate are low in 73% of people with autism.
. Rosemary Waring.
the enzymes required to create sulPHate in the body are deficient in a large proportion of those with autism DUE TO LOW SULPHATE LEVELS
Julie Matthews
Things that impact sulphation...
Glyphosphate
- Impairs sulphate synthesis and transport in the body causing sulphate deficiency
- Supresses the activity of key enzymes such as CYP that catalyse sulphate production in the body - causing sulphate deficiency
Toxic load / heavy metals
- Supresses the activity of key enzymes such as CYP that catalyse sulphate production in the body - causing sulphate deficiency
- The larger the toxic load the more sulphate that is depleted trying to detoxify them
not enough sunlight
'In the presence of sunlight - skin cells produce vit D3 sulphate, this form of sulphate can travel freely through the bloodstream'.
Source
clorine from swimming pools
Chlorine has a negative impact on sulphation. Chlorine is processed by the same sulphation pathway as salicylates in fruits. Soaking in a pool full of chlorine that is absorbed through the skin, requires the chlorine to be detoxified like other salycilates. This depletes sulphate and burdens the detox system further. Causing the 'bucket' to fill up more quickly. You will likely see symptoms after swimming in chlorinated pools if your child has issues with fault sulphation and phenols.
This is why for years I was stumped for a reason as to why Rose was always so hyperactive after swimming in a public pool. Learning about the sulphation pathway and phenols has helped me to understand these symptoms.
Chlorine can also be found in tap water.
DEFICIENCY IN MOLYBDENUM
Molybdenum is an essential catalyst of the sulphation pathway - turning sulphite into usable sulphate in the body. If deficient this process is impaired.
overuse of sunscreen
Sunscreen reduces the skins ability to absorb vitamin D3 and usually contains aluminium which increases toxins in the body that deplete sulphate.
A lack of ability to properly digest proteins causes the body to become low in sulphates
Proteins contain sulphites which should be metabolised into sulphates in the body. Firstly the proteins need to be broken down into amino acids in the gut. If the body struggles to break down proteins the sulphites cannot be metabolised into sulphates.
Impaired enzyme function
The SUOX gene produces an enzyme called sulphite oxidase - this converts sulphites into sulphate in the body. If the gene is mutated it can impact the functioning of the enzyme - decreasing sulphate and can lead to PST deficiency see Phenols
Remember that environment impacts gene expression too, and even when these pathways are impaired there are many things that can be done to reverse negative symptoms. If your child is predisposed this means the chances of these faulty enzymes becoming an issue are more likely particularly if your environment (food, stress, toxin exposure, gut function) are not optimal.
not having enough sulphate in the body
Research by Rosemary Waring found that autistic children tend to dump most of their sulphate out in the urine so it is not able to be utilised effectively by the body .
What can be done to help?
get out in nature!
'Upon exposure to the sun, the skin synthesizes vitamin D3 sulphate, a form of vitamin D that, unlike unsulphated vitamin D3, is water soluble. As a consequence, it can travel freely in the blood stream rather than being packaged up inside LDL (the so-called "bad" cholesterol) for transport [Axelsona1985]. '
add sulphate to the body in an absorbable form
You can increase sulphate in the body via regular epsom salt (magnesium sulphate) baths
If there is impaired gut function (likely if sulphation is impaired) absorption of sulphur via supplements through the gut may not be effective. Epsom salt baths are therefore a really brilliantly effective way to increase sulphate in the body.
The magnesium and sulphate in the salts are absorbed into the body through the skin. Because the sulphur is already in the sulphate form, it does not need to be converted like other forms of sulphur do. Sulphate is thought to circulate in the body up to about nine hours!
It is important to note that when children have a faulty sulphation process, they can actually become sensitive to sulphur - so you may see reactions after use.
Start with a TBSP and build up slowly.
Click HERE for the one we use. You should look for pure magnesium sulphate - no other added ingredients.
reduce toxic load
A high toxic load depletes sulphate and other detoxifying substances. Metals such as mercury block sulphation. Buy organic and grass fed where possible, read labels and avoid harsh chemicals. See environmental toxins page.
avoid OVERUSE OF SUNSCREEN/ switch to a cleaner brand
Avoid aluminium in sunscreen - it is toxic.
Spend a allotted time periods out in the sun and then seek shade rather than plying children with sunscreen. The body needs to be exposed to sunlight.
improve DIGESTION
Serve easier to digest food such as soups and stews, porridge. Use digestive bitter herbs such as artichoke leaf and dandelion root. Use bromelain found in pineapple which aids digestion of proteins.
Chew food thoroughly.
Increase stomach acid via ACV, lemon juice and fermented foods.
You could try digestive enzymes - discuss with practitioner first.
ensure adequate levels of molybdenum
Sources of molybdenum are;
- Lentils
- Buckwheat
- Red cabbage
- Dried Peas
- Lima Beans
- Kidney Beans
- Black Beans
- Pinto Beans
- Chickpeas
- Oats
- Romaine Lettuce
- Cucumber
- Celery
- Eggs
- Carrots
- Bell Peppers
- Fennel
- Sesame Seeds
- Walnuts
- Almonds
- Cod
avoid food dyes, artificial flavours/colours
These substances burden the sulphation pathway and supress key enzymes such as PST phenolsulfotransferase (see PHENOLS) for more info on this important enzyme that makes up part of the sulphation pathway)
filter your water!!
Filtering as many toxins out of the system as possible including chlorine is very important. It helps the sulphation pathway not to get overloaded by toxins and the sulphate not to get depleted by chlorine. Click HERE for the water filters we use. Remember that stress and worry is toxic too, do what you can. Any change is better than none.
If a whole house water filter is not an option for you - ascorbic acid/sodium ascorbate neutralises chlorine! Click HERE for non GMO, clean versions (ascorbic acid is usually made from GMO corn, full of pesticides). Using this in the water will not eliminate all toxins, but will tackle some the chlorine issue for you.
- For baths; - 1 TBSP to the water
- For swimming in chlorinated pools - mix 1 TSP ascorbic acid with 1/2 cup water in a spray bottle and spray over the entire body and hair before and after swimming.
Again this won't eliminate entirely, because it will have been absorbed through the skin whilst swimming, but could possibly help neutralise a little.
avoid glyphosphate!
Avoid glyphosphate for so many reasons! See HERE for more info. Glyphosphate chelates molybdenum from the body - molybdenum is required for the PST enzyme to function properly. It has several other effects on sulphation - see above to.
See THIS website for suggestions for alternatives to glyphosphate..
Sources and Further Reading
Sulphation...
methylation...
Blog - Explaining the methylation cycle
Autism One Conference presentation by William Walsh
Article discussing gut health and folate
Methylation and autism by Chris Kesser
Another Article discussing gut health and folate
Fabulous podcast with Chris Kesser and Ben Lynch taking about all of the factors that impact methylation.
Podcast with Chris Kesser and Dr Kara Fitzgerald
Article discussing the increased oxidative stress and impaired methylation capacity in children with autism
Website with info about neurotransmitters
Blog discussing gut health and methylation
Blog discussing toxins and methylation
Article discussing sleep and methylation
Article discussing sleep and methylation
Article discussing sleep and health
Dietary and lifestyle factors of methylation - Article
Methylation diet and lifestyle - Dr Kara Fitzgerald
Methylation adaptogens free download HERE.
Book by William J Walsh