{"id":5250,"date":"2025-08-24T20:57:45","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T00:57:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chaneyhealth.com\/healthtips\/?p=5250"},"modified":"2025-08-24T20:57:46","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T00:57:46","slug":"the-methylfolate-myths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chaneyhealth.com\/healthtips\/the-methylfolate-myths\/","title":{"rendered":"The Methylfolate Myths"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Lies Of The Supplement Industry<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Pinochio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How do the myths of the food supplement industry originate? Some of them start innocently enough. They are often based on a kernel of truth which is misinterpreted by some well-meaning medical doctors.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not their fault. We teach future doctors what I call \u201cmetabolism light\u201d in medical school. There simply isn\u2019t room in the medical curriculum to teach all the details and nuances of human metabolism.<\/p>\n

We also try to teach them the basics of how to interpret scientific literature. However, it takes years of experience to get good at picking out the strengths and weaknesses of clinical studies.<\/p>\n

The doctors form their hypothesis and test it on a few patients. If it works, they publish a paper. At that point their idea is picked up by the \u201csensationalist\u201d bloggers. These are the bloggers who like to focus on the sensational. They delight in writing about \u201cnew findings\u201d that go against what the medical profession has been telling you for years.<\/p>\n

The bloggers don\u2019t stop there. They usually expand the claims. They \u2018cherry pick\u201d the scientific literature by quoting only studies that support their viewpoint and ignoring studies that refute it. In short, they put together a very compelling story. Soon the story is picked up by other bloggers who embellish it further. After it appears in enough sites, people start believing it. A myth is born.<\/p>\n

Then supplement companies get in the act. They sense there is money to be made. They manufacture supplements to provide nutrients supported by the myths. They embellish the mythology even more and put together a compelling story to market their products.<\/p>\n

This is where the mythology becomes deception. Companies have the responsibility to design their products based on the best science. They have an obligation to tell the truth about their products. When they make claims they know cannot be true, they are lying to you.<\/p>\n

The saga of methylfolate is a perfect example of how observations based on a kernel of truth became myths and eventually became downright lies. Let me share that story with you.<\/p>\n

The Kernel Of Truth About Methylfolate<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s start with one of the \u201ckernel of truth\u201d that launched the whole methyl folate saga. It started with a doctor who was having a very difficult time finding a solution for a patient with some significant health issues. The doctor ordered a genetic test and discovered the patient had a deficiency in the methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene.<\/p>\n

\"MTHFR<\/a>The doctor remembered the reaction catalyzed by MTHFR, and a light bulb went off. \u201cEureka\u201d, he said. His patient must be unable to make N5-methyltetrahydrofolate (commonly referred to as methylfolate or methyl folate), and methylfolate is required for some very important methylation reactions in the cell.<\/p>\n

He gave his patient methylfolate, and the patient\u2019s symptoms got better. The doctor leapt to the conclusion that other patients with MTHFR deficiency needed methylfolate as well. Many of those patients responded to methylfolate as well. He didn\u2019t bother to check whether they responded equally well to folic acid. He just assumed methylfolate was the magic elixir.<\/p>\n

He wrote a paper on his clinical observations, and the methylfolate story was launched. It all seemed so logical.<\/p>\n

However, the story was not nearly as straight forward as the doctor and the people publicizing his findings assumed. Let me walk you through some \u201cMetabolism 101\u201d. Don\u2019t worry. There won\u2019t be a quiz.<\/p>\n

Why The Original Assumptions About Methylfolate Were Misleading<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

MTHFR mutants only have a partial loss of activity.<\/span> <\/strong><\/p>\n