As most of you know, I am constantly researching the methylation pathway and learning every day what is needed to know when experiencing multiple health problems and being diagnosed with MTHFR.

There are two genes that I want to talk about that can make a heavy impact on your health that need to be addressed before an MTHFR protocol is started. CBS and SUOX.

What is CBS and why does it need to be taken care of before an MTHFR protocol?
CBS is Cystathionine-β-synthase. CBS converts homocysteine into cystathionine. This pathway removes sulfur containing amino acids. When it is shut off there can be trouble.
There is natural occurring sulfur found in meat and vegetation. We can find it in poultry, beef, pork and fish as well as cruciferous vegetation such as cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, horseradish, ethiopian mustard, kale, collard greens, radish, daikon, wasabi, mustard seeds, arugala, watercress and cauliflower just to name a few. Sulfur is also found in onions and garlic.
There are medications that contain sulfur as well. http://www.stuartxchange.org/Sulfa.html
There are supplements out there that doctors will give to individual with MTHFR to help raise their glutathione which can actually cause a methylation trap. When a patient starts glutathione boosting supplements such as MSM, TMG, NAC and silymarin and they start complaining about negative side effects, this should raise a red flag that there could possibly be a CBS enzyme deficiency.
A wonderful source of information out there is heartfixer. It is basically a step by step manual on how to address this situation and clear out the sulfur in someone with CBS before starting an MTHFR protocol. http://www.heartfixer.com/AMRI-Nutrigenomics.htm#CBS
It is always best to avoid processed foods when there is a CBS mutation. Most processed foods contain sulfites which are bad for most and especially bad if you have a CBS enzyme deficiency.
Findings to be associated with CBS are low dopamine, low seratonin, cardiovascular risks and multiple chemical sensitivity. And for all of you out there with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, it can cause low ATP production.
Vitamin B6 in the P5P form also interferes with people who have CBS SNPs. So for those of you out there taking P5P as part of your MTHFR protocol, know that if you have certain CBS mutations, vitamin B6 in the P5P form can possibly have a negative effect on you and might have to be given in lower doses.
CBS and ammonia is another key factor in people with CBS mutations. People with CBS have trouble breaking down ammonia. One of the factors that plays into this is tetrahydrobipterin. There are precursers for BH4 tetrahydrobiopterin. The following precursers are royal jelly, vitamin C, iron, methylcobalamin and folate. Vitamin C and iron have been known to take folate and methylcobalamin so I like to take my active b vitamins on an empty stomach away from any other supplements to get the full effect of supplementation.
There are other factors that play a role in CBS mutations such as elevated taurine levels as well as low taurine and low butyrate. So much for me to learn.

Things that I know of that help with this pathway are going on a very low sulfur diet for two to four months, avoiding supplementation that contains sulfur and staying away from processed foods. What I have learned is that incorporating yucca root, molybdenum (Thorne’s product is supposed to be ammonia free), activated charcoal, magnesium citrate, COQ10, NADH/d ribose (for ATP function) and eating all organic and a very low sulfur diet seems to help me.

There is still much more for me to learn but one thing I do know, is that CBS must be addressed before an MTHFR, MTRR and/or and MTR protocol can be properly started.

I am in contact with many doctors who know about CBS and SUOX who get an overflow of patients with negative side effects to an MTHFR protocol because their doctor did not address CBS and SUOX mutations first.

Turning to the SUOX enzyme deficiency. What is SUOX? What can be done if you are diagnosed with a SUOX SNP and what can be done to clear up the SUOX pathway before starting an MTHFR protocol?

SUOX I even know less about but I will explain what I know. SUOX stands for sulfite oxidase. People with SOUX mutations are normally molybdenum deficient. When you research SUOX, it is said to be rare but now that more and more people have access to genetic testing, we find that it is not so rare.

With SUOX sulfite has a problem converting into sulfate. I know that I have seen some positive results with molybdenum (ammonia free), boron and I have just started supplementing with GABA. Also the COQ10 and NADH/d ribose seem to help me somewhat. I have been reading much of Dr. Amy Yasko’s absolutely incredible work on methylation and will soon be adding Carnitine to my protocol. This supplementation seems to work best plus a few others.

Now that you see sulfur must be avoided until CBS and SUOX are taken care of, this will give you an understanding as to why some people react negatively toward a basic MTHFR protocol. Getting the trans sulfuration pathways clearly is a must before any MTHFR protocol can be started.

I encourage anyone with SNPs on the methylation pathway to study the works of doctors and researchers out there like Amy Yasko, Dr. Ben Lynch and Rich Van Konynenburg that are understanding methylation is not only about MTHFR. There are many other factors involved. That is what makes us all different. We are all unique individuals.

Remember, I am not a doctor nor have I ever claimed to be a doctor. Anything that I write is about my own journey in healing. If you feel that you have any of these issues, it is up to you to decide to be tested and is up to you to find a doctor who is willing to get to the root cause and work with you on your methylation issues. What I know to be fact is that medicine is not a one size fits all. When I woke up and realized this, I ran from mainstream medicine and started healing that day.

Please feel free to leave comments and add what you know about CBS and SUOX. The more you share, the more we all learn.