Methylation is an incredibly complex biochemical process that plays a ubiquitous role in the body’s maintenance. In very layman terms, it turns nutrients from the food that you eat into a type of fuel that your body uses to catalyse enzymes, which are involved in everything from mood regulation, fertility, detoxification of toxins and hormones, energy production, and vascular health.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) isn’t just a case of the winter blues (although the information shared here will definitely help in any case). It is a condition that affects up to 3% of the population and is 4 times higher in women than men. It can commonly lead to suicide ideation and severe depression, with feelings of hopelessness, increase or loss of appetite, over or under sleeping, as well as loss of interest in sex.

Whilst we’re constantly told that we should be aiming for 8 hours of solid kip a night, many of us can only dream of having consistent restful nights of sleep. With as many as 16 million UK adults having trouble either getting to sleep or staying asleep every single night, it’s safe to say that we are in a sleep deprivation epidemic

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of being interviewed and featured on Julie Bjelland’s podcast, where I got to introduce my work and why I’m so passionate about what I do with her community. Julie is a psychotherapist that specialises in supporting Highly Sensitive People. These are people who have a sensory processing sensitivity trait that 20% of the population have, and I have come to learn that I also have.

The Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) is effectively our brain’s own ‘policing system’, a physical barrier that separates our blood circulation from the central nervous system. The deterioration of this highly intelligent barrier has been linked to many neurological conditions, one of which is Alzheimer’s, the most common form of Dementia (1).

In particular, having a dysregulated CAR - meaning it is either too high or too low - can lead to symptoms of depression, anxiety, affective disorders, chronic fatigue and increase risk of autoimmunity. This is because CAR has a unique ability to regular inflammation, blood sugar, as well as memory and recall due to the fact that the hippocampus is so tied in with CAR. It also plays a role in infection regulation and so can have far-reaching effects on the body’s resilience to viruses and bacteria.

Nutrient therapy for schizophrenia, and other mental health disorders, is an area that is poorly understood. However, health practitioners adopting this strategy as a method to help improve symptoms associated to mental health disorders, as well as reducing side effects of medication, have had positive results. This type of strategy aims to target the underlying drivers of symptoms, such as poor methylation, severe oxidative stress and atypical immune-mediated responses.

Glutathione has been labelled as the mother of all antioxidants and the ultimate free radical quencher and detoxifier. We produce this molecule endogenously, primarily in the liver, using the precursor amino acids cysteine, glutamine and glycine, which come from the food that we eat. Research shows that as we increase in age our levels of glutathione gradually go down and deficiency of this antioxidant has been associated with Alzheimer’s and depression, as well as other chronic illnesses such as cancer.

A leading theory looks at serotonin production and how levels of this neurotransmitter in the body are significantly affected by the amount of available sunshine. Research shows that exposure to sunshine has an impact on the binding-capacity of serotonin to receptor sites in the brain, which essentially allows serotonin to work its magic, leading to feelings of contentment and happiness.

Abraham Hoffer and his team theorised that in order to reduce the production of adrenochromes, a methyl acceptor such as B3 would be needed. Methyl acceptor is the name for nutrients, mainly in the B vitamin family, which each play an important role in a biochemical process known as methylation. This process is needed for a variety of biochemical reactions, such as building and breaking down neurotransmitters, supporting liver detox pathways and DNA repair, to name a few.

Considering how thyroid activity influences the mitochondria - which play a fundamental role in the energy production of each and every cell in our body - it’s no wonder that when it is either over or under-working, people can experience a wide variety of symptoms that can closely relate to mental health conditions. For example, an overactive thyroid can cause symptoms such as restlessness, anxiety, irritability and heart palpitations. Whereas an underactive thyroid can cause symptoms at the other end of the spectrum, such as fatigue, depression, muscle aches, brain fog and sleep issues. These symptoms are commonly coupled with digestive complaints, low or high body temperature and rapid weight gain or weight loss.

We have long known and believed in the saying ‘you are what you eat’, however, emerging research is showing that we could also argue that ‘you are what you think’. Many of us know intuitively that thinking positively leads to better health just as thinking negatively on a consistent basis can lead to poor health, but have you ever wondered why this is the case?