MTHFR stands for Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase. It is a key regulatory enzyme in the metabolism of folate. It also refers to a specific gene that plays a major role in the body’s methylation process. Both the enzyme and the gene have the same name, MTHFR.  

Well, what does it mean to have an MTHFR mutation or MTHFR deficiency?

At the crux of it, the body has trouble converting folate from the food we eat into methylfolate (L-5-MTHF), the bioavailable folate enzyme needed to optimize health. The truth is our cells cannot actually use folic acid directly. Upon ingestion, folate must go through a 4-step process (called a metabolic pathway) in order to be converted into methylfolate, which is the “active” or usable form of folate that our body’s cells require.

The MTHFR gene defect inhibits this metabolic pathway and prevents our cells from getting the methylfolate they need.

While, Magnafolate, as a kind of active folate source, it can be absorbed directly by our body, no matter whether you have an MTHFR mutation.