#159: Ben Lynch, ND- Gene Testing, Methylation and Liver Health

Dr. Ben Lynch and I caught up to discuss methylation and liver function, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and gene testing.

Here are a few links we discuss in the interview: https://youtu.be/DAdJnnvdjYU

➢ Stratagene http://go.strategene.org/genetic-analysis

➢ Seeking Health http://bit.ly/1TQjG3H

➢ Genos Research https://www.genosresearch.com

Here are some key takeaways:

03:52 Harms of Folic Acid: Folic acid blocks folate receptors. These receptors are designed to bind to methylfolate, but folic acid will bind preferentially over methylfolate. Folic acid will bind to transport proteins, again blocking the binding of methylfolate.
05:49 Folic Acid Link to ADD/ADHD: Folate makes neurotransmitters that help with focus and attention. Consuming processed food is linked with ADD/ADHD and blood sugar crashes. There may be a link to the synthetic folate in the food, causing aberrations in methylation.

11:45 Dirty Genes: Dr. Lynch has written a book about genes that are perceived to be bad. MTHFR is seen as negative, but it may help with DNA synthesis and possibly repair.

13:44 Folinic Acid and MTHFR: Take folinic acid for hair growth. Methylfolate is for methylation. Folinic acid does DNA-based repair or DNA-based production and works with adenosine, which is used in ATP, energy.

17:05 Genetic Polymorphisms: We all have genetic polymorphisms, about 1 ½ million of them. They are not bad. They are just different.

17:45 Folate Needs during Pregnancy: Pregnant women need a combination of folinic acid and 5-MTHF.

18:31 Choline in Pregnancy:

21:51 COMT Polymorphism:

23:15 Liver Dysfunction:

25:50 Fatty Liver:

26:32 SIBO:

29:07 Supporting the Bile:

30:47 Gene Testing:

32:26 Addressing SNPs/Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms: The majority of SNPs are in regions of the gene that have no effect on your body or genetic function.

42:56 StrataGene Tool: StrataGene reports 50 clinically relevant SNPs. SNPs cannot be viewed in isolation. StrataGene does not make supplement recommendations.