Your blood tests come back "normal", but you don't feel normal.

You wake at 3am with your mind racing, your hands and feet are always cold, the fog won't lift and your energy has gone. In this solo episode I unpack methylation, one of the most important systems in your body and one almost nobody is testing for. In this episode: - What methylation actually does, and why SAMe and homocysteine matter so much -

The gene team behind it: MTHFR, MTR, MTRR, TCN2, FUT2, DHFR, COMT, PEMT, HNMT, CYP1B1, NOS3, CBS and BHMT - Who is most at risk, including medications and lifestyle factors that quietly drain B12 and folate - What high homocysteine means for your bones, heart and blood vessels, brain, mood, hormones and histamine -

Why I don't use folic acid, and what I use instead: methylfolate, folinic acid and the right forms of B12 - The methyl trap, and why folate and B12 always need fixing together -

Why taking SAMe on its own isn't the fix - The supporting cast: riboflavin, B6, choline, TMG and omega-3 -

How to test properly: homocysteine, active B12, folate, MMA and MCV If you're pregnant or planning a pregnancy, don't change your folate on your own.

Get properly assessed first.

Want to know what your own methylation genes are doing?

My DNA Blueprint Package covers methylation, COMT, PEMT, your oestrogen genes and much more, with a personalised plan and a one-on-one consult with me. https://lisatamati.com/dna

Watch the full video on YouTube: search "Lisa Tamati methylation" More episodes: https://www.lisatamati.com/ptl-podcast/

Shop: https://shop.lisatamati.com

This episode is for education only and isn't individual medical advice.

heir average age was 22 and 77% had artery disease. What are your genes doing to your heart?

That's what doctors found in 1953 when they examined the hearts of young US soldiers killed in the Korean War. Heart disease doesn't start at 60. It starts decades earlier, quietly.

In this episode I go gene by gene through the heart, artery and blood pressure genes on a DNA test: APOE, LPA, PON1, F5 (factor V Leiden), ACE, FADS1 and FADS2, 9p21, ABCG2 and NOS1. For each one: what the research actually shows, what your result can and can't tell you, and the practical steps that follow. I also cover the blood pressure toolkit, omega-3s and plasmalogens (the work of Dr Dayan Goodenowe), inflammation and immune ageing (Dr Elizabeth Yurth), and why women's heart risk changes at menopause.

Find out what your own genes say with my DNA Blueprint Package: https://lisatamati.com/dna
Available in New Zealand, Australia and the USA.

Chapters
0:00 Heart disease at 22
0:43 Heart disease starts decades early
5:57 What a gene test can and can't tell you about your heart
9:20 APOE: the cholesterol transporter
12:24 LPA: the cholesterol particle you can't diet away
17:04 PON1: your HDL's bodyguard
19:18 F5: your clotting gene
22:19 ACE: blood pressure and saturated fat
25:53 Your blood pressure toolkit
28:37 FADS1 and FADS2: making your own omega-3s
35:43 9p21: the heart disease hotspot
38:47 ABCG2: uric acid
41:54 NOS1: nitric oxide
44:07 Inflammation: the fire in the artery wall
48:28 Women's hearts
50:09 Putting it all together
52:54 The long game
54:00 Your next step

Key research mentioned
Enos et al., JAMA, 1953 (Korean War autopsies)
McGill et al., PDAY, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2000
Fernández-Friera et al., PESA study, Circulation, 2015
Cohen, Hobbs et al., PCSK9, New England Journal of Medicine, 2006
Yusuf et al., INTERHEART, The Lancet, 2004
Khera et al., genetic risk and healthy lifestyle, New England Journal of Medicine, 2016
Bennet et al., APOE and coronary risk, JAMA, 2007
Kamstrup et al., Lp(a), JAMA, 2009; Clarke et al., New England Journal of Medicine, 2009
Bhattacharyya et al., PON1, JAMA, 2008
Bertina et al., factor V Leiden, Nature, 1994; ESTHER study, Circulation, 2007
Schüler et al., ACE rs4343 and saturated fat, Journal of the American Heart Association, 2017
Neal et al., Salt Substitute and Stroke Study, New England Journal of Medicine, 2021
Edwards et al., exercise and blood pressure, British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2023
Lemaitre et al., FADS and omega-3s (CHARGE), PLoS Genetics, 2011
Helgadottir et al. and McPherson et al., 9p21, Science, 2007; Do et al., PLoS Medicine, 2011
Woodward et al., ABCG2 and uric acid, PNAS, 2009
Kapil et al., dietary nitrate and blood pressure, Hypertension, 2015
Ridker et al., CANTOS, New England Journal of Medicine, 2017

Disclosure: I'm a certified Prodrome practitioner and stock Dr Goodenowe's products in my store. I'm also co-founder of Aevum Labs, which makes Re:juvenate Pro (scientific advisor Dr Elizabeth Yurth).

More from me
Watch the full video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrlVQhShH24
Shop: https://shop.lisatamati.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisatamati/

Educational content only. Genetics shows tendencies and priorities, not diagnoses.

Why can one person drink a flat white at 3pm and sleep soundly, while another lies awake until midnight? Why does one glass of wine turn some people bright red? A lot of it comes down to your genes.

In this solo episode, I break down the caffeine and alcohol genes I look at in my clients' myDNA reports, what your results can and can't tell you, and the simple changes that follow.

In this episode:
- How CYP1A2 shapes how long caffeine hangs around, and why your cut-off time matters
- What the research shows about caffeine, genetics and athletic performance
- ADORA2A, and why some people feel caffeine far more strongly than others
- The ALDH2 variant behind the alcohol flush, and why it matters for more than a red face
- The ripple effects: vitamin B1, REM sleep, APOE, and the unfiltered coffee and cholesterol link
- Why genetics loads the gun, and environment pulls the trigger

Find out what your genes say with my DNA Blueprint Package, available in New Zealand, Australia and the USA:
genetics, DNA test, nutrigenomics, myDNA, caffeine, coffee, alcohol, alcohol flush, red face after drinking, ALDH2, CYP1A2, ADORA2A, APOE, caffeine metabolism, sleep, REM sleep, thiamine, vitamin B1, cholesterol, longevity, personalised health, functional medicine, Lisa Tamati, Pushing the Limits

More on thiamine: my full interview with Elliot Overton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qwb_XmDqqk

Chapters:
0:00 Same coffee, different genes
0:18 Why blanket health advice fails
1:00 Your caffeine gene: CYP1A2
2:48 Caffeine, sleep and the cut-off
3:27 Caffeine and athletic performance
4:34 ADORA2A: how strongly you feel caffeine
5:35 Alcohol and the ALDH2 gene
7:45 Ripple effects: B1, sleep, APOE and coffee
10:25 Genes load the gun
11:14 Your next step

Educational content only. Genetics shows tendencies and priorities, not diagnoses.