MTHFR and High Blood Pressure: The Link
Do you deal with higher blood pressure? One gene linked to hypertension is MTHFR, and understanding your risk here can help you with natural ways to target blood pressure.
Here's a quick overview: The MTHFR gene encodes an enzyme called methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase, responsible for converting dietary folate into its methylated form, 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, vital for the methylation cycle. This methylated form is essential for various cellular reactions.
A recent study involving over 6,000 adults found that individuals with the MTHFR C677T A/A genotype faced a 42% higher relative risk of high blood pressure. High blood pressure, in this study, was defined as systolic >140 and diastolic >90mmHg.
What's intriguing is that the research revealed that a deficiency in riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2, in conjunction with the MTHFR C677T variant, amplified the risk of hypertension threefold. This combination of riboflavin and folate (vitamin B9) directly influences the impact of the MTHFR gene on blood pressure.
If you have just one copy of the MTHFR C677T variant (A/G genotype), a comprehensive meta-analysis, combining data from 30 studies, found that you still face a 30% higher relative risk of hypertension. This underscores the significance of MTHFR even if you carry only one copy of the variant.
Why does MTHFR impact blood pressure?
MTHFR plays a pivotal role in hypertension in several ways:
- Homocysteine and Atherosclerosis: Elevated homocysteine levels are associated with increased atherosclerosis—a leading cause of high blood pressure. MTHFR variants are known to elevate homocysteine levels, emphasizing the importance of efficient homocysteine processing.
- Nitric Oxide Production: MTHFR modulates nitric oxide synthase 3 (NOS3), an enzyme responsible for nitric oxide production. In the endothelial cells lining blood vessels, nitric oxide helps regulate blood pressure by promoting vessel relaxation.
Riboflavin (vitamin B2) also plays a role:
FAD (flavin adenine dinucleotide) is a cofactor for MTHFR, and riboflavin is the precursor for FAD. It makes sense that low riboflavin would exacerbate folate insufficiency when combined with the MTHFR C677T variant.
Check your genes:
Click here to see your MTHFR Genotype report.
If your genotype is AG, you have one copy of the MTHFR C677T variant (heterozygous).
If your genotype is AA, you have two copies of the MTHFR C677T variant (homozygous).
Action Steps:
1) Optimizing Folate for Healthy Blood Pressure
Ensuring an adequate intake of folate can be a valuable strategy to counter the effects of the MTHFR C677T variant. The recommended daily allowance (RDA) for folate in the U.S. is 400 mcg, primarily set to prevent birth defects in pregnant women.
Multiple randomized clinical trials have shown that increasing folate intake can effectively lower blood pressure, particularly in individuals with moderately elevated levels. Folate also plays a role in reducing homocysteine levels, with greater reductions observed in those with the MTHFR C677T variant.
If you have the MTHFR C677T variant, supplementing with methylfolate may be the better choice over folic acid, which needs to be converted.
However, mega doses of methylfolate aren't necessarily required. Clinical trials have shown that sufficient folate intake (e.g.400 mcg) can effectively lower high blood pressure. Therefore, you may want to look for a methylfolate supplement containing only 400 mcg rather than a higher dose.
2) Riboflavin (vitamin B2)
Riboflavin offers another avenue for managing blood pressure. The recommended daily allowance (RDA) for riboflavin ranges from 1.1 to 1.3 mg per day.
Clinical trials have demonstrated that adding riboflavin can further reduce blood pressure in individuals with the MTHFR C677T AA genotype.
Riboflavin supplements come in two forms: riboflavin 5'-phosphate (R5P), the active form, and plain riboflavin, which your body must convert into R5P.
Riboflavin is water-soluble, and any excess that your body can't absorb will be excreted in your urine, turning it a bright yellow color. There's no established upper toxicity limit for riboflavin from food or supplements.