Can your diet really work with your genes?

So you find out you have an MTHFR variant, and maybe a few others. Now what? Can your diet really make a difference? When you’re thinking DNA, you probably don’t think ‘greens and beens’. But what you eat works intimately with the genes you’ve been dealt and this is why there’s been a lot of buzz around methylation, folate and MTHFR. 

Why methylation? Because a number of your body’s functions rely on methyl groups – a handy little chemical compound that goes around switching genes on and off, and helping enzymes do their jobs. Methylation has been researched a lot around cancer, mood disorders and vascular diseases, and it is emerging as a key player in areas such as infertility and autism.

A recent study looked at just this in terms of diet and risk of adenomatous polyps (AP), the precursors to colorectal cancer. Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Australia and the tumors often have a weird methylation profile – hence the interest in methylation genes and foods that feed them.

The study found that a diet rich in folates (particularly methyl-folate) B6,B12 and methionine could influence the risk of AP, but not independently.  The effect of dietary intake of these nutrients was moderated by the person’s genetic makeup – MTHFR (C677T and A1298C),  MTR, MTRR, SHMT, TYMS, and CBS in particular.

Their conclusion:

“While the greatest attention has been on folate in respect of epigenetic processes, it seems likely that vitamins B2, B6, B12 and preformed methionine are also potentially important. The present study seems to highlight dietary vitamin B12 and natural 5-methyltetrahydrofolate as being particularly relevant when key variant genes related to methylation are taken into account.”

So the answer is yes! Diet and genes work together to modify your risk of disease.

If you have MTHFR, MTR, MTRR or CBS variants, make sure you’re getting enough B12 and natural folates in your diet. Don’t know your genetic status yet? Go get your 23andMe testing done, and then run the results through our Helix Explore instant translator. Need help making sure your diet is up to scratch? We have a team of experienced nutritionists on board to guide you through our Helix Empower Programs.