130 | The MTHFR Mutation: Everything You Need to Know

(00:05) How would you like to improve your health and keep your family safe? You're listening to the Healthy Home Hacks podcast, where we firmly believe enjoying optimal health shouldn't be a luxury. Healthy Home Authorities and husband and wife team, Ron and Lisa, will help you create a home environment that will level up your health.
(00:25) It's time to hear from the experts. Listen in on honest conversations and gain the best tips and advice. If you're ready to dive in and improve your well-being and increase your energy, you're in the right place. All right, here are your hosts. Bow biologists, authors, media darlings, vicarious vegans, and avocado afficionados, Ron and Lisa Baris.
(00:49) Are you overexperiencing embarrassing gas, bloating, constipation, or other digestive woes? Well, you're not alone. Did you know 70% of Americans are dealing with digestive issues right now? And guys, it's getting worse. Inflammatory bowel diseases have jumped 50% in just two decades. Something isn't right.
(01:12) The gut brain connection alone affects 1 in five adults. How would you like to improve digestive wellness and overall gut health in just 12 weeks? Grab our must-have resources for busy people. Head over to bronandlisa.info/gut. That's ronandlisa.info/gut. You're welcome. >> What if I told you that up to 60% of people listening right now carry a genetic mutation and most have no idea.
(01:45) It could be behind your anxiety, your fatigue, your migraines, your depression. And nobody ever thought to check. The gene has been known since the 1990s. It just never made it out of the research lab and into your doctor's office until now. I'm Ron. Welcome to the Healthy Home Hacks podcast. Today we're talking MTHFR.
(02:09) Yes. What does that sound like? Given how long it's been ignored, maybe that is fitting. I'm Lisa. And many people who discover they have this mutation feel relieved and furious at the same time. Relieved to finally have an answer, but furious it took so long. If that resonates, stay with us. >> MTHFR is an enzyme your body needs to process your body's master switch for detox, DNA repair, and mood regulation.
(02:39) Between 40 and 60% of people carry at least one variant. And this can actually slash enzyme function by up to 70%. >> And the symptom list reads like modern life, brain fog, fatigue, anxiety, migraines, insomnia, IBS, and slow recovery. For women, add recurrent miscarriage, infertility, and postpartum depression to that list.
(03:07) So, why are we only hearing about this now? Two reasons. Genetic testing used to cost thousands, and conventional medicine still doesn't routinely test for it. MTHFR isn't a disease. It's a variant. The functional medicine world has been connecting these dots for years, and the mainstream is just catching up.
(03:28) >> And here's the good news. This is one of the most actionable genetic variants there is. diet, targeted supplements, and a few lifestyle shifts can genuinely move the needle. That's what today's episode is all about. >> Our guest, Jamie Hope, is the founder of Methyl Life, a company dedicated to providing targeted nutritional solutions for individuals with genetic health challenges.
(03:54) Jaime's personal health crisis forced her to step away from a successful career. And through her own journey, she discovered that her condition was linked to genetic factors requiring specialized nutrients. And after experiencing significant recovery, she was inspired to help others facing similar struggles. >> Without further ado, welcome to the show, Jamie.
(04:20) Yes, >> thank you so much. >> Love to be here with you guys. >> We're thrilled to have you. I remember when I first heard about this MTHFR years and years and years ago. It was like on the fringe. You didn't really hear anyone talking about it and now it's like you can't open Instagram without someone discussing it.
(04:38) So, we're really glad to have you with us to discuss this and let's just kick it off with kind of explaining to listeners what this MTHFR gene is. >> Yeah. So, that's the crux and foundation. And basically what it is is it's a gene that creates a specific enzyme and that enzyme is what I like to think of as a folate activator.
(05:01) So we eat folate every day. We take folic acid into our body from maybe dietary supplements, maybe fortified foods we're eating, but our body can't actually use that form of folate. It has to get converted into the methyl form. And when it goes into the methyl form, that's the form that we can actually kick the healthy downstream processes off with.
(05:25) But if you have issues with MTHFR, then the enzyme that it's using to activate that folate is having problems and then causing all kinds of disregulation in some pretty fundamental and foundational areas of life. >> Wow. So you could be eating all these healthy foods thinking that they're working and then they're really not doing anything. Okay.
(05:49) So can you have it if your parent didn't have it? >> So it's definitely genetic. So it's going to come down through genetics. So one of your or both of your parents will have something pass it down to you and it's it's very often you'll see it in family trees for sure. >> Okay. Okay. So what kind of foods would contribute to this too or be foods you you know that might contribute to this issue with the gene? >> So it's less about the foods because you can eat clean but it's more about the fact that as you're trying to take in that folate your body can only convert
(06:28) so much of it. And where it becomes a bigger problem is when you're taking larger doses in supplements, right? So, specifically with pregnant women, they're going to, oh, you need four milligs of folic acid, right? Well, folic acid is the synthetic man-made form, and this form is not actually bioactive.
(06:50) And so, your body needs to convert this. And if you have MTHFR and depending on, you know, which variance you have, you're going to have a much harder time making that conversion. So, it's kind of like your fivelane highway that's pushing all this folate, you know, down to one lane and now you've got this big backup.
(07:09) And the things that are getting, you know, through are not they're kind of wonky enzymes, right? So, now you don't really have the things that can push your downstream processes properly. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Well, how many people actually have this gene mutation out there? >> Yeah, so it's a great question. So, there's two well-known SNIPS.
(07:29) So, this gene you you call it MTHFR, and there's two well-known SNIPS. Those are the ones that have been studied. And the idea is they think about 30 to 40% of the population have one of these two snips. >> Now, the trick here is that there's actually over 80 snips on this gene, and we really have only studied two of them.
(07:49) So if two of them make up >> 30 to 40% of the population, you got to figure most people on the planet probably have some of these MTHFR snips. >> Well, that's interesting because I just got tested for it recently and my doctor said, she's a functional MD. She said, "Oh, it checked for three and you don't have the two main ones, so it's fine.
(08:13) " That's basically what she said. But now that I'm hearing you, I'm like, "Maybe it's not." I mean, we don't know what is that third one and why did you say it was fine? >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Because we we're not even testing, right, for a huge number of them. I think probably the the test that I had that probably had the most snips checked for maybe 30 maybe.
(08:33) >> Oh, wow. >> You know, and there's more than 80 of these snips. So, but again, if we don't have any research on which ones are the biggest problems, there's not I mean, it doesn't really do us a lot of good to check them. Oh. Oh yeah, these ones. We don't know. >> So Jamie, why did they focus on those two? Those two focus on those two in >> general.
(08:52) I think they're the ones most studied, right? So I think they probably came out earlier in the process as they were, you know, discovering genetics. And so as they started making some correlations, those were the ones that they looked at and >> and a lot of the other ones haven't been. And even some probably still being discovered, right? Because when I first started looking at it, I I was hearing, you know, oh, there's about 70 snips.
(09:13) Well, now I'm hearing there's closer to 90. So, it's like it's it's one of these moving things, targets, right, where we don't always know what we don't know. So, >> right. So, you could like in my case, that third thing that came up could be causing issues and maybe I I wouldn't connect the dots because I was told that wasn't an issue, right? So, >> I had a single one.
(09:37) So, the doctors, you know, they look at me and they're like, "Oh, you have a single and you you don't even have the important one." Right? So they telling me >> nothing. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> But for me >> it changed my life. Like it was so fundamentally when I got the right form of folate that basically bypassed right all of that MTHFR gene entirely >> and now I have the methylated.
(10:03) It's like vitality central. Like all of a sudden my mood feels good. I'm able to concentrate. I have energy. my thyroid is working right again because I have the serotonin levels now. All of a sudden, my gut is working better, right? So, the IBS is going away. Like, it literally >> changed my life in so many ways.
(10:25) And not a doctor who took a test would have looked at that and said it was valuable in any way. So, it was pretty and I I had I was tested way early on before anybody knew about it. It would happened to be a naturopathic doctor. She happened to have postpartum depression. She found a doctor who was talking about this in a small little podunk town in Washington and all of a sudden she started looking into it and she was like I think you might have this thing and I can't tell you how many doctors said things like that to me and wanted me to
(10:57) try different things and nothing ever. So, I had zero hope when I first >> But then >> once I took it, I was like I was stashing it everywhere. Like I had it in my, you know, my bureau and I had it in my car and I like I was afraid, you know, I wasn't going to be able to use it anymore because it it changed me.
(11:14) >> Wow. So, you kind of mentioned, but what are the symptoms? Like someone listening who's like struggling because so many people are struggling with their health today. Yes. >> I think I read a stat the other day. One in two people have chronic illness today. One in two. >> Oh, yeah. Yeah. So, >> 100%.
(11:32) Well, one of the very areas that you guys target big is miccotoxins, right, with mold. I I listen to a few of your podcasts, but glutathione is one of the things. So, it's it's the body's master antioxidant and folate is what kicks that into gear and pushes it into use and helps really push BPA clearing, metal clearing, micotoxin clearing.
(11:53) So, so that's one area. So people with chronic illness, I think they have these larger burdens, but they also I feel like they're they're less regulated and and I feel like this is some of this is based on these nutrients not having the right forms being able to give you the right push down the right path.
(12:12) So some of the pathways, the big ones, mental health, >> so neurotransmitter creation, so things like serotonin, dopamine, epinephrine, norepinephrine, but these hit a lot of areas because ADHD is predicated on how you use and regulate some of those. So it's not just mood, it's not just depression, right? >> So very much mental health, but also cognition.
(12:36) It gets across the bloodb brain barrier, right? So, cognition, focus, mental clarity. There's studies been done on Alzheimer's and dementia. So, memory focus, those sorts of things. >> Sleep. So, if you've got serotonin in the daytime, it turns into melatonin at night. >> So, as you've got that shift, people who have insomnia or significant sleep issues might have MTHFR.
(13:00) >> Certainly, miscarriage, pregnancy, fetal health, right? Folate is at the crux of right they say to take Yep. >> Yes. Yes. And so if they're taking folic acid like I just even at this stage we are we are 14 years out from when I started taking this and I learned about this and I'm still hearing people say that my doctor has me on folic acid and I just I want to weep and I want to cry because I hear stories.
(13:31) We actually had a a customer. It was so amazing. It wasn't amazing that she had five reoccurrent miscarriages, but she did say, "I chose to go against my doctor's recommendation to take folic acid this time, and I tried your supplement, and it was basically activated folate and activated B12, methylcobalamin, and that combination, she was actually able to bring a child to fullterm and into into the world.
(14:00) " And so, >> she sent us this amazing email. I wept when I when I and this was many years ago, but she talked about basically I call this my methyl life baby. >> I was going to name it baby. It just live for >> Yeah. She should have gone with the apple. >> Oh, there you go. Eth Yeah. Yeah. But I mean, so things like energy, things like thyroid health, hormonal health, anemia, that's a big one.
(14:28) A lot of times people point to iron. Oh, you're iron deficient. A lot of times it's folate, specifically methylate. >> Oh, interesting. So, if you had if you had your if you didn't have this gene mutation and you had a healthy MTHFR, >> would you ever need to supplement with folic acid or no? So, what I would say is I'm going to I'm going to turn that question around a little bit more.
(14:52) What I would say is if you took the activated form of folate, which is methylolate, if you took that form, it wouldn't matter if you had the mutation or not, okay? >> Because your body needs that methylated form to do all these downstream processes. So, if you're getting that right form in your body, whether your body is converting it because your gene is working right, okay, or it's not, you're taking it that way, right? It's it's kind of like what it does is it sort of takes the gene out of the equation. So whether the gene's working
(15:19) or not, you're getting the right form of the vitamin that your body needs. >> So now you can end up getting like too much maybe you don't, >> you know, if you don't have much of a need for it and then you take a lot of it. >> Mhm. >> For folks with depression, >> the studies say to take up to 15 milligrams.
(15:41) So a lot of times the doctors will give the 15 milligram dose and that one's the one that's most wellknown. >> Wow. So, it's but it's a lot and a lot of people have no problem with it at all because it's mainly just a vitamin, right? >> But some people will get a little bit more amped up and it it will do a little bit too much for them or kick off too much detox and if they have a heavy detox burden, right, it might overload them, right? So, at our company, I really encourage folks to start low with their dosage and just go slow, you know,
(16:12) take the same level of that amount. take the same amount for, you know, four or five days before you decide to kick it up, even if you don't feel anything. >> I think that's such a good rule of thumb. I've had to go through that for the past year. We've been parasite cleansing and >> oh, >> I went into major overdrive with the parasite cleansing really bad and then had to like just start o over and just start really really really small >> because, you know, I'm very sensitive and certain people if you're sensitive
(16:39) like me, you're going to react to things and you don't want to do that. your body will let you know it's not happy. >> It will shut down on you. >> I get that. I'm very very sensitive myself. So, yeah. >> Well, Jamie, quick question here. And then if you mind me asking, are you Irish? Is your ethnicity Irish or Scottish? >> I think I have some of that.
(16:58) You know, I'm a bit of a mut, I think, and I haven't looked really deeply at exactly where it comes, but I, you know, with the red hair, I've got to have some element of that. I think in that part of the world >> you said bureau at the top of the show and I'm from Boston so I'm like she must be from Eastern >> right that's what that's what I was getting at.
(17:15) So ultimately I was wondering is regarding the gene mutation is there any link to ethnicity in regards to like hey this group Irish people might be more affected by MTHFR gene than others that sort of thing. Yeah, actually there is some data around that and actually folks of Hispanic descent and folks of Middle Eastern descent actually might have a little bit more uh higher >> precedence right of >> mutations.
(17:43) So do we know what caused this mutation in the first place? Like >> that's such a great question, right? And I I haven't studied on that particular question. That's a great question, but I >> I'm going to go look it up now. Yeah, we've had some experts on gluten and they they say the gluten ciliac and the gluten sensitivity and all of that links back to the hybridized wheat.
(18:04) So when they started hybridizing the wheat, the body's like, "Hey, that's not wheat. That's a foreign object and I'm going to react to it negatively, right?" And so because we have such a prevalence of that today and like look years ago, nobody had a >> gluten. Can you imagine like growing up when we were going to a kids party, no gluten, they'd be like, "What the heck? What the heck is gluten?" Yeah. Yeah.
(18:24) >> And then you and Lisa are used you're used to Irish potatoes instead of wheat anyways. That makes it really complicated, right? >> Yeah. We unless I'm joking. I'm joking. But >> yeah, the issue I don't do great with the night shades these days though, I've been noticing. So I I feel like potato is probably the least offensive of some of the other night shades. But yeah.
(18:42) >> Well, Dr. Gundry, the heart surgeon, right, the probiotic man, he's like, "Do not eat night shades." I'm >> because of the lectins, right? >> Yeah. Do you agree with that? You know, I didn't really think a lot about it until I realized some of the times that I had the worst trouble with my belly was I was trying to start eating a little bit of some spicy food.
(19:01) So, I was doing a little bit of chili. Oh my gosh. And I felt awful. And I was like, "Oh, and then as soon as I took out tomatoes, I was amazed at how much better I did." And then, >> you know, I finally moved to the, you know, cuz like, oh, it's the starch and the potatoes, but I don't know. Like I can kind of do the starch in rice and the starch in corn, but then >> yeah, the >> I don't do well with the spicy either.
(19:26) And I think even Tom Brady, right, Ron, he was like he was on the anti- night shade. >> Oh, you're right. You're right. Interesting. I mean, you think about these professional athletes who need their body in peak condition are telling us, but it's weird because it's like from nature and you feel like it's supposed to be healthy and it >> and it is for some, I bet, right? But I think different we have different mutations probably or different ways that we process different things and so I think you know somebody's you know
(19:54) health food is somebody else's poison like oh my gosh garlic is just going to kill me I feel like yeah but I mean that's you can't on paper I just want to eat garlic all the time garlic is like super health right yeah not for me >> right right >> is there are there any links or studies regarding blood type and MTHFR gene That is not something that I have looked into.
(20:22) So I I don't think so, but I I haven't seen anything on that. >> Yeah, we'd probably hear of that because that's pretty common. So what how can you test for it? I did a I think I did a blood test. Is that the most standard way? >> Yeah, so blood test at your doctor, right? You're going to get your your two common ones can happen that way.
(20:37) If you've had a test from something like 23 and me in the past, they have an ability for you to pull down your raw data file. If you have your raw data file, you can there's usually companies that will allow you to push it through and they'll kind of pull a report together for you and show you.
(20:57) So depending on how much raw data you get from some of those different larger genetic tests that are kind of saliva based, >> right, >> you can sometimes send that raw data to because they have a lot of different companies now that are doing that where >> Okay. So the typical the test that I did that's pretty standard where you do a blood test and then it only checks for the two variants.
(21:16) >> Yeah. Well, at the doctor's office is pretty standard for them to do a blood test that just checks for two. Um I I will say though that when I so I was working with a really closely with an MD for for many many years and he recently retired but he was very much a pro I was like you know oh we need to you know get people tested and find better ways for them to get tested and he's like he said you know like the point is is if you know based on the types of problems they're having and the symptoms that they're dealing with and then if you
(21:47) have them try out the vitamin he's like it's a vitamin like it's like if it helps helps them and they start moving in a positive direction with their health and they can feel that >> do we really need to test them? I mean like just keep having them take the vitamin and I mean it'll it'll really change like for me so serotonin levels for me I happened to test them before I went on the the nutrient >> and this was back in 2011 but I was at an 85 the normal range was 125 to 185.
(22:16) Three months later, they tested me again after I had been taken and I only took 5 milligrams, right? And a a depression level dose is 15, right? I was only taking 5 milligrams. When they retested me, I was at 136. >> Wow. >> So, I was I was in that normal range. It boosted me significantly. And also, when I was looking, I always tested anemic before I started taking, I was always borderline anemic.
(22:40) They're like, "Oh, we need to probably Oh, but you're just right on the cusp." And of course, my energy, I felt bad. But when I started taking and then I got those tests back that I wasn't anywhere near anemic again. So it was just really interesting how it will really move the needle for you. Similarly with homoyine levels. >> What' you say? 3 months of being on it.
(22:59) >> Well 3 months was when I had levels tested but I knew within two days. >> Oh really? >> The second day I was like oh my gosh I feel so good on this thing. And normally if I take something I just take such small amounts because I so overreact to everything >> and I just felt so good. I was just amazed by what it did for me.
(23:21) So >> it's kind of one of those things where if people are really having a deficit here and they get the right nutrient, it can really, you know, pop them up >> because these and especially the western medicine doctors, they don't, you know, they they don't look deeper. So they'll go, "Oh, you have IBS. Oh, okay.
(23:37) let's put you on some probiotic or whatever we need to do for the gut or oh you're depressed okay let's get you an anti-depressant oh you're you know and so they'll treat the >> the end result and not gosh let's look deeper and oh all these things how do they all work together why are you having all these symptoms right so I think >> yeah the bigger picture yep the bigger picture yeah >> yeah and that's what I love about methyl folate is it's kind of like one nutrient and it feeds so many different pathways that can be kind of tipping you over the
(24:09) edge in so many like >> they're very unrelated areas like I don't think that that's I mean brain fog fatigue that that literally anxiety that sounds like so many people right >> 100% >> IBS like everyone's got gut issues these days and and people we had just interviewed a guy and we were talking about I was asking him like what do you think about probiotics do they work because you know there's the theory that they do nothing because the stomach acid kills it and he's like, "Well, have we solved the gut issue?" You know, all
(24:40) these years later and billions of dollars spent and so many people still have gut issues. So, obviously, the probiotic isn't the whole picture. Maybe it is for someone, but >> yeah, 100% 100%. >> So, Jamie, ultimately, the MTHFR mutation is really affecting your serotonin levels. So, that affects your mood and stress and the energy, right? So, it's all directly specifically serotonin.
(25:00) >> Yes. >> Yes. Well, serotonin, dopamine, epinephrine, norepinephrine. It's it's very much a a booster of all of those for sure. >> And kids like I I think I say this on every episode because it is such a epidemic. The kid teens today and in their 20s they they're very very struggling with anxiety and depression and stress. It's at an all-time high.
(25:22) It's never been like this ever >> the history. So you could see especially younger kids getting very misdiagnosed when maybe it's just this gene mutation and them thinking, "Oh, my child's depressed. I don't know why, but put them on an anti anti-depressant." You know, I think that's to me one of the saddest things, right? Is because I'll, you know, know where somebody's from.
(25:46) I'll know, oh, they're a little anemic. Oh, they're super depressed. Oh, they're from this area of the world. Oh, you know, I'm like, they have all the things. They're all lined up. And then, you know, I'm like, "Oh, they just need a little bit of methylolate and it will really correct so many things for them.
(26:01) " Yeah. >> And what happens is they go to the doctor and oh well, I tried this SSRI and I tried that SSI and then they're going down through all this which is really changing up all the chemistry, right? And and kind of dialing levers which >> and and I'm not saying that, you know, some people don't need those things.
(26:21) It's just if you think about how they work, right? An SSSRI, excuse too many S's, but an SSRI is there to to block the receptor so that more of the serotonin you have in the body stays in the body longer, right? So people feel better. >> But if you don't have much serotonin in your body to begin with, all it's doing is keeping the little bit you have in there, but that if that little bit's not enough to make you feel good, right? So the methylolate will actually help you produce the serotonin, right? So some
(26:52) people need both together, right? And so it's basically like this really for people with major depressive disorder, it's really made a big splash in that world because those are people that don't respond to the SSRI, right? They just don't have enough serotonin in their body. So >> Oh, that's really interesting.
(27:08) >> Yeah. So fascinating, right? So >> Oh, fascinating. And your supplement is like such an easy, affordable, over-the-counter solution. Like you said, it's it's a low barrier to entry. Why not try it? What do you What have you got? >> What do you have to lose? Kind of. Right. >> Yeah.
(27:26) Speaking of, so tell us what you did to create this and what makes it different than what >> Yeah. Out there. >> So, at the time, the only thing you could get was a a pharmaceutical version, and you had to have a script. And I mean, I was working with people that would give me a script, which was great, but it was crazy expensive, and the insurance company wouldn't cover it.
(27:44) So, I basically talked to the the MD and I was like, "Hey, you know, could I could I make this?" And he's like, he kind of stood there and he hummed and hugged a little bit and he's like, "Yeah." And he's like, "Well, I I don't really see why not. I mean, it's not a drug class. It's a medical food. It's a vitamin form, >> right?" >> So, then I started pushing on all these doors and I had a friend was like, "Do you know anything about making vitamins?" And I'm like, "No, but I know all kinds of stuff about product
(28:12) development." >> I'm like, "I can find somebody that's NSF certified and that's FDA this and you know, I'm like I if the doctor knows the formula, I know it's working and you know, I know how to kind of put So, I basically made it for me, but the smallest run I could do was like 500 bottles.
(28:32) And I'm like, "Oh my gosh, I have all these bottles. You know, I like, you know, have enough of Folate till I die." Everyone got one for Christmas that year, >> right? >> So, right. I mean, like, yeah, all the creative ways to give them a bolage, >> but but the doctors started taking he's got all, you know, his family taking our stuff because it's, you know, it doesn't have the dyes and the fillers of the pharmaceutical and it's, you know, he he knows and trusts it because it's we I've basically looked around and I've tested our methylolate against the other ones
(29:00) in the in the industry. What's special about ours is it is the most potent you can possibly buy because I take it right and I have to take it. I'm like, I don't want to buy the stuff that's degrading. There was one that's really popular in the in the industry, right? It's quadrpholic. It's in almost every supplement that you buy that has methylolate and it is very after 90 days in a petri dish in open air it turned brown like I mean it just oxidizes.
(29:28) >> Is that the brand name? >> Yeah. Of the nutrient. So like maybe like Thorn would use Quattropholic or they might use Metapholic, right? So it's it's the brand name of the nutrient >> of the nutrient and that's the Okay, cuz see we the Amazon supplement world is like the wild wild west. It's I mean I see stuff I see knockoffs.
(29:51) There's like a castor oil brand that's really popular and really quality and then they'll do these ads on Instagram. They make the bottle look the same and they say it's organic. Then you go to buy it and you're like, "Where's the organic certification?" Oh, it's not there. So, they're not Every listeners, be really leerary of this because there's a lot of companies doing that where they're knocking off good brands.
(30:12) Well, you have to wonder why it's half the price, right? I mean, >> right? >> There's so many places you can buy methyl folate for so cheap. And I'm like, I I can't even put a placebo in a pill barely for that for what they're selling it for. So, they cannot be buying a real, you know, methyl folate. It's >> It blows my mind.
(30:31) And yet, >> you know, that's where everybody's wanting to buy their stuff. It It's funny to me that if we're so health conscious, why do we go to basically like the cheapest place to get the most affordable? Oh, that's the same thing. >> Yeah. Well, that's what are some of the key differences between standard and versus bioactive forms of B vitamins and folate? >> Yeah. Yeah. So, that's huge.
(30:52) So, basically, it's all about the conversions. So if you're getting a standard form, it's basically created to be very stable. And it stable is great if it's sitting on the shelf. If you want it in your body, you want it to be active. But if you have issues with your genes or you're you have any mutations along those conversions because they all need that, right? So think about also B12.
(31:19) Cyanocobalamin is the most common B12 form and cyanocobalamin is not active and it's made from a cyanide molecule and it doesn't convert in your bo in your body. So, and also check this out. This is what drives me crazy about most supplement companies. They're going to put a B12 in a vitamin that you swallow. >> The amount of B12 that you can get in your gut is like 2%.
(31:45) like this super teeny like crazy small amount and most people's guts are not able to absorb it. >> So the best way to take it is sublingually. So you want something that's melting in your mouth. >> Okay. >> But so many of them >> like a dropper. Would a dropper work then for >> a dropper would work? Yep. Now you have to be a little careful about liquids because those can oxidize fast, right? Liquids can can oxidize fast, but but you definitely want something that stays in your mouth, right? Leave it in there for >> How long would you leave it? Like 10
(32:15) seconds? >> At least 90 seconds. >> 90 under Wow. Right under your tongue. Oops. We're not doing that, Ron. With our be >> Oh my goodness. We're only getting 2%. >> We're going to save so much money, Jamie. We're going to get like 50 times more than we used to. >> Yes, indeed. >> Well, it's like this acupuncturist I used to go to years ago called it expensive P.
(32:34) So you are literally investing so much money in these vitamins and supplements and you have this false sense of security like I'm doing all this stuff for my body and I wonder it'd be an interesting study to take it and go how much of that is actually doing anything for you right >> 100% 100% now if you get stuff from placebo effect that's a thing right maybe great but you're right expensive pee is kind of >> expensive so the B do when you take a B complex or B12 does it always need to be methylated So, the amazing thing about B12 is
(33:05) there's three active forms. So, and I'm going to say this because I'm so proud of this. I was the first person to ever put all three active bees in a formula. Now, you see it more often, but and they actually have a study out now that shows that the best way to basically build your B12 sufficiency is to have all three active forms.
(33:25) So, hydroxycobalamin, it's a more rare form. These are expensive, right? The hydrox is expensive. The other one that's very expensive is a denisylcobalamin. And you'll see athletes use that one a lot because it's kind of they think of that one a lot for muscle recovery. Okay? >> And then the methylcobalamin is the other one.
(33:44) So all three of those make a really amazing B12. >> So if you need a great B12, >> if you are vegan or vegetarian, you need a good B12. That is the best one. Right. So >> that's us, Jamie. You know, >> all right. So, get on my website, put a little wish list together for me. I'll send you a little, you know, spring package. Absolutely. Yeah.
(34:06) Anything you want to try. So, >> Oh, thank you. Well, you got me, you've already got me like really interested in the the the main one, the whatever. What's the name of the main the MTHFR one? The folate. >> So, methylolate. >> Methylate. Yeah. Cuz I'm just, you know, it'll be interesting to see like after 3 days if I have the same feeling of you like, whoa, I feel a lot better.
(34:25) Hey, you know, so much for hearing that that one mutation didn't matter. Right. >> Yeah. Or the other night 80 they didn't test for. >> Right. Right. Right. Right. >> So B12 versus B complex. Do you need both? So B complex is going to be all of the B kind of the suite of B's. So you'll have the B1, the B2.
(34:48) Specifically around the folate complex, which is B9. Folate is B9. B2 is a big one because that's going to help with your thyroid. Another one that's really helpful is B6. That's going to help you metabolize the homocyine. So, if you have cardiovascular challenges, and it actually does not take that much. Your homoyine doesn't have to be that high for you to be like two or three times more likely to have a heart attack or a stroke or some kind of cardiovascular event. Yeah. If those levels are higher.
(35:17) >> So, you want to, you know, be aware of that and watch out for that. Homocyine is a marker that some some doctors are a little bit leerary of. Oh, that doesn't really tell us much. But again, it's one of those things where I think it's it's an indicator of folate metabolism and it is an indicator of cardiovascular health and they do compare it to hey people they they correlate it to cardiovascular events.
(35:42) >> Interesting. I never knew that. Wow. The B are you can get all of these vitamins in a vegan form or are some of them only from meat? >> Yes. So, our B12 is is vegan. That's the big one especially for vegans that you need to be aware of because that's the one that you can really only get in meat, but ours is from a vegan form.
(36:02) They do fermentation process for sure. So, >> Okay. Yeah. I noticed on your site, I mean, you guys have the certifications, the certificate of analysis, which I bet learned. >> Yeah, we recently pushed that out. But I was like, I want to show people that we're actually most companies they they can't give you.
(36:18) In fact, I've been reaching out to competitors and asking them for a CFA and they're like, we don't know what that is. Like, what's that? >> Well, we had a guest on. We had two doctors on and one of the doctors had mentioned that and I was like, what? I kept having to ask her, what's it called? I mean, I never knew about it. So now you listeners now you know, don't buy a supplement without the certificate of analysis.
(36:38) it's called it's you'll see the little you know the logos the certif certifications and you guys are also non GMO and you know all that stuff matters you know if you are paying $5 more dollars a bottle or whatever it is you have to understand you are paying for quality you're paying for things that work so >> well and extra certifications like we go through some extra hoops right at the end of the day I don't want to trust that my manufacturer is doing the right thing I want to validate and verify so I will send off the bottles to a third
(37:07) and have them test again because I don't want to just say, "Hey, oh yeah, well, I know I know them. They're doing a good job." >> Let's verify, right? >> Yeah. Yeah, that's important. >> All right. Well, can you leave our listeners with some practical tips for lifestyle and supplement strategies to support emotional health? Any extra tidbits? You've already given us a lot.
(37:27) >> Yeah. Okay. So, the new thing that I've been trying to put together because I tend to be a bit of a introvert, so I'm not out there a lot. So I'm like I'm always kind of like, "Oh, I don't really need to spend a lot of time with people and this and that." And >> people are overrated. >> Co told me otherwise, right? That that taught us all otherwise.
(37:48) But I've been trying to to marry three three things. So basically, people, exercise, and fun, and try to do it in in one thing because exercise is not always fun. >> And I do love hanging out with people when I actually get out there with them. It's just a little harder for me to do that. >> But so if I was able to have my people interaction and my exercise interaction right together then like so I have been trying out pickle ball >> recently.
(38:18) So I'm like okay I'm going to try to get a little exercise. I always feel better after I exercise right but then cuz sometimes I like I go walking but then you do that by yourself and you're like okay I'm not quite as energized as you know. So I get my my competition on get a little connection with people. So kind of like I'm I'm not taking for granted how much impact joy has and how can I find joy right I mean >> right >> there's a lot of things around you know I give you all oh yeah take this thing take that thing you know and oh do this
(38:49) thing do that but I think sometimes we also forget how great is it on our nervous system when we're just out doing something that we just love purely for the love of it for the fun of it for the joy of it and >> so that's been something you and like I want to put in the the meditation time and I want to put in the the good clean food time and and all the other things that are that are healthy.
(39:12) Want to do some sauna, want to make sure I'm, you know, drinking and hydrating and all the rest, but and taking my my supplements and vitamins, but at the end of the day too, I'm like, okay, there's a lot of there's a lot of power in connecting well with people and just taking some time for joy. >> Yes.
(39:29) You preach in our language, huh, Ron? you. >> Jamie, are you a good pickle ball player? >> You're probably a thousand people that are >> I never played tennis, but I did do a little bit of raetball as a kid, so I think I'm going to get a little better once I get a little more practice, but >> but right now it's more fun than anything. >> Yeah, I I would agree with your joy thing.
(39:53) I think it's so important getting out in nature and you're right, socializing. They say like people the studies show that people who live the longest one of the things is community right I think it's the blue zones so in the blue zones what are the things that made these people live so long that they had a sense of community so it's good you push yourself even though you know we all get like we get homebody vibes and we want to stay in but it you always come home better right you always come back going so you did that right >> yes and the laughter right I read some
(40:18) stats about laughter and I was like oh my gosh if I'm going to live longer I got to get on my laughter >> oh hang with us. Well, we we love to laugh already. I've had a great time. So, >> but I saw Louisis House the School of Greatness, his podcast. He had a she's an MIT neuroscientist and she talked about just being in nature and being around trees.
(40:41) And there's certain trees that actually kill cancer cells. So, it's it's just being in the presence of these trees. They emit something that we take on that actually kills cancer. And so that the trees, but also the joy and the the nature, just being in nature in general. She said it was pretty profound that it has an effect on cancer.
(41:01) And because you know, you always feel better when you're outside. You don't really know why. >> But from a science, >> I think the sunshine is a big thing for me, too. Like I live in Cloudville, so the sunshine is just, you know, I I just want to be everywhere where the sun is. And when I get in it, oh, I feel good.
(41:18) >> Yes. The sun is nature is amazing. >> Nature's is amazing. Yeah. So, those are great tips. So, everyone sounds like they should be taking the B of some sort, the B12 maybe and the B and then the the methyl. >> 90 seconds in the mouth. 90 seconds. Leave it there. >> 90 seconds at least. Y >> anything else that you would say is like a must on the supplement list? >> So, one of the I created this one not to be like the hero product, right? cuz the the main active nutrients are the hero products, but I was like, "Oh, we really
(41:52) need to have a a great multi that kind of rounds these things out." And I wanted to make it chewable so that, you know, kids can do it. And I don't swallow pills well, so I'm like, I wanted it for me selfishly. And I had a lot of nieces and I was like, you know, let's make sure that everybody gets and my kiddo.
(42:11) So, I was like, okay, I'm going to make this. And it's taken multiple iterations to get the flavor right. But I love it because it's got I don't know if you know this, but activated ubiquininal, right? That is CoQ10 that is active. Some people have mutations that don't activate CoQ10. So you think you're taking CoQ10, but it's not doing anything for you.
(42:32) Ubiquinol, but it's crazy expensive. So we have a little bit of a ubiquininal in there. There's also a cool B5 that is an activated. It's called pantathine, right? This is a newer one that most people don't know about either, right? So they usually it's panaththenic acid. So we've got this active form there. We've got some really cool we've got the most active form of one of the more active forms.
(42:54) >> So we have citoline in there. We've got phosphotyl serene in there. So it's really built to be kind of a a cognitive help in addition to a nice B vitamin with the most activated version. So not cheap. I don't make very much money on that one, but that one is very much for kind of the roundabout.
(43:11) And that has just gotten so popular. Everybody loves that one. >> Is that good for like elderly who are having the you know you know the forgetfulness you can't finish the sentence like that kind when people start getting that right. >> Yeah. >> Can't remember. >> Alzheimer's and dementia is definitely one of the things right that this folate complex can help with.
(43:31) So I mean what I would encourage somebody who's really kind of tr having trouble with that is they might take the multivitamin but they would add right maybe a little bit more of the methylolate or a little bit. involved with it. Yeah. >> Right. Wow. Such good information. Well, this was fantastic, Jamie. Thank you so much for being with us.
(43:49) And friends, you can learn more about Jamie's solutions at methyl. That's me thy l-life.com. And as always, friends, you can find the links in the show notes at healthyhomes.com. >> Yes. And we appreciate you. So, be sure to leave a rating. Five stars are always appreciated. If you want to hear amazing guests like Jamie five five stars and also make sure to subscribe too so you don't miss the podcast.
(44:15) Consider this your friendly reminder. Thank you so much Jamie. Bye everyone. Thank you. >> Bye everyone. Thank you Jamie. Thank you. Thank you. >> This episode of the Healthy Home Hacks podcast has ended, but be sure to subscribe for more healthy living strategies and tactics to help you create the healthy home you've always dreamed of.
(44:36) And don't forget to rate and review so we can continue to bring you the best content. See you on the next episode.