Hi Michellina, thank you for sharing your results with us. I like to think this old post has helped a few people with their own results but your comment has also highlighted to me an important omission that I'll rectify now - a book written by Dr. Amy Yasko who is the most knowledgeable person I have come across when it comes to the methylation cycle genes themselves and SNPs in related pathways that lead to the likes of VDR, MAO, BHMT and AHCY. The book is titled 'Autism: Pathways To Recovery' but it is by no means an Autism-only text - it will be of huge benefit to those suffering from any environmental, invisible or mystery illness who has had genomic testing and is attempting to decipher the results. I urge you and anyone else in a similar position to get a copy as it covers every SNP commonly tested for, explains what each one does, and how they have knock-on effects in other genes and the enzymes the control. Dr. Yasko provides diagrams for each metabolic pathway and most importantly - recommends supplements to compensate for each SNP. I would point out however (and Dr. Yasko does also) that genomics is a complicated science and not entirely understood at this point so it is extremely wise to work with a knowledgeable medical doctor if at all possible. Still, at least her book goes a long way to explaining why we might be experiencing particular symptoms, or indeed specific illnesses based on thorough SNP genomic test results. In your case you have a lot going on but as you have pinpointed - the VDR is extremely important since vitamin D is actually a steroid hormone and has huge effects on immune system function, neurotransmitter synthesis and myriad other vital influences on overall health. It's somewhat good news that you are "only" heterozygous for the genes you've been tested for but this can still hugely impact your health, particularly when you have the mutations in so many key methylation cycle and related pathways. Please search for the book on Amazon or Google Dr. Amy Yasko's on website as you will find a huge amount of useful information. This goes for anyone who has had genomic testing but doesn't really know what to do with the results! I have not had the VDR testing myself but my own illness is hugely affected by the changes in seasons and sun exposure here in the UK so I strongly suspect I too have issues there. I wish you all the best in creating your safe environment Michellina and hope the Australian Spring brings you some relief. If you need help with anything else you know where to find us - it's usually best to post in the forums where regular visitors are most likely to reply. You can of course also message me personally, I'm here to help. Best wishes! Maff

Hi Jason, Sorry for taking a while to reply - million things to do as always! It's odd that the rest of the metabolites tested came back pretty much normal. With significant 'leaky gut syndrome' and the malabsorption that goes with it you'd expect things to be off across the board. Still, with leaky gut syndrome linked to all of your conditions in multiple studies and the test being relatively cheap and easy to complete at home it's worth giving a go. Here's some background information on the intestinal permeability urine test - http://www.ei-resource.org/functional-laboratory-tests/gastrointestinal/intestinal-permeability-test/ Re: histamine / histidine. I wrote a blog post you might be interested in about intolerance to histamine and other 'biogenic amines' in food when I was studying for my degree in nutritional medicine and a lecturer went into it in detail. Here's the link for the blog, I think you'll get some good info from it - http://www.ei-resource.org/easyblog/entry/biogenic-amines-and-histamine-intolerance/ Sounds like you're looking at the right things and making a good start. The GAPS Diet is ideal. When I read the book it was one of those moments when you feel like the author is talking directly about you - pretty much the perfect diet when gut dysbiosis and leaky gut are involved.

It's a little confusing Tracy. MTHFR is an enzyme that produces the methylated form of folate (5-MTHF) as part of the methylation cycle. There are a number of genes that influence the activity of the enzyme and these also take the same name - MTHFR. They are distunguished by designations such as C677T which refer to the slight variations from the "normal" in the bases that make up their DNA. You are absolutely right that these genes are inherited and would explain a family predisposition to poor methylation and everything that goes along with it e.g. psychological disorders, poor detoxification, high homocysteine etc. If you have SNPs for MTHFR and also folate deficiency due to stress, illness, poor diet, or gut dysbiosis...then you are in big trouble. Unfortunately I fall into that category as I'm sure many people with CFS and other environmental illnesses do! Thanks for reading my essay - glad it made sense of what you had already figured out :) Don't worry it's not you with the group emails. You should receive emails when somebody replies to a discussion you are actively involved in and also when a new discussion topic is started. You won't receive emails for new posts in discussions you have not replied to yourself - currently no way to change that unfortunately.