Methyl Folate brand recommendations for 6 yr old

[Meddyteddy]

I've been reading about methylfolate aiding in neurological, psychological health. Has anyone tested their child for the gene mutation? Started methylfolate? What brands are reliable, and what results have you seen? It's for my 6y old with ASD, ADHD and anxiety. Thank you.

[Littleme2000]

Yes, some studies say that a MTHFR variant is present in 90% of those with autism. And there is a significant correlation with an MTHFR variant and ADHD. Our son has an MTHFR variant, with ADHD and some ASD characteristics. We work with a functional practitioner and follow a variation of the Walsh protocol. It’s very complicated to try and do it on your own, and labs are necessary to ensure that your kiddo is getting the right amount of nutrients.

Long story short, we try to cut out everything with folic acid, including anything with “enriched” in the label. In the US, essentially all wheat and bread products are enriched that are not organic so we have to read all labels. I did see a difference when we cut this out, as his behaviors went through the roof after finishing normal cereal or pasta in the past. We cut out all folic acid supplements, and replaced them with methyl folate but each kiddo has a different way that they “methylate” and you can be over or under methylated, which makes a difference in whether you supplement with methyl folate.

We are going through another test now to see which type of methylated he is. Another quirk, a lot of these kiddos have low zinc, which my son was very depleted, and once we started supplementing with that he stopped getting so sick all the time.

Two resources that helped me are Dr. Wash’s book “Nutrient Power” and finding a health practitioner who is certified in his protocol on the Institute for Functional Medicine website.

It can be overwhelming at first, but having a professional walk you through it and educating yourself on it will give you power.

My son was getting worse over time and things really turned around after fixing his nutrient levels. Good luck in this journey, once you find the right mix, it is so relieving!

[Aspen797]

Our pediatrician ordered genesight testing after our kiddo had side effects with the stimulant he was taking. She wanted to find a better match, Turns out most of the stimulants were a good match, so she was disappointed, but it did say he was one of the rare homozygous mthfr cases (mthfr variants are pretty common, homozygous or compound are less common) that processes less than 30% of the folate he takes in. She just said to start supplementing with a b-complex vitamin. We read that l-methylfolate was more bioavailable so we went to our local Sprouts store and picked up some Bhealthy by Emerald labs and started him on that.

Within 2-3 months we were seeing changes but not putting it together with the supplement. By 4-5 months it was so obvious a change we knew there was no other explanation and it only kept improving with time. Changes included increased interest in other peoples interests and conversations, increased calm and ability to handle delays, disappointments, frustrations, and less impulsivity.

Since then we did more reading about precision medicine and genetic abnormalities that can affect neurotransmitters and added magnesium, zinc, and iron (MZI) and fish oil. Eventually, we switched to a broad spectrum micronutrient blend that contains all of these, but honestly, results were there within 3-5 months on a simple methy b complex. Worth a try with pediatrician approval, I think!

Edited to add that there are other causes for folate cycle dysfunction in kiddos on the spectrum besides mthfr. Binding or blocking Folate Receptor Auto Antibodies are another proposed.cause of dysfunction.

[LAJ12345]

you could try Hardys daily essential nutrients with added vitamers which has methyl folate and also many other essential nutrients which have been found helpful in adhd clinical trials.