A doctor's five-stage sequence for making sense of your MTHFR result, and what to do next.
Your bloods came back normal. You still feel the same.
You already know something is off. Maybe a practitioner mentioned MTHFR once and moved on. Maybe you found your own result on a genetic test and started reading forums at midnight. Either way, you're left holding a letter or a genotype with no map for what comes next.
Most of what's written about MTHFR online falls into one of two camps: dense academic papers that assume a biochemistry degree, or oversimplified advice that treats a single gene variant as a diagnosis. Neither gets you closer to feeling better.
This guide is the map. It's built around TRACE, the same five-stage sequence I use with my patients: Test, Restore, Address, Correct, Enable.
Sixty-four pages, written by a GMC-registered physician with 25 years across integrative and longevity medicine.
What TRACE means
Test: which markers matter, which ones don't, and why an MTHFR genotype alone tells you almost nothing without the biochemistry around it.
Restore: the foundational cofactors and pathway support most protocols skip. Starting here, ahead of high-dose methylfolate, is what separates a result from a reaction.
Address: the downstream systems methylation touches that most guides never mention. Detoxification. Neurotransmitter synthesis. Hormone clearance.
Correct: how to titrate and adjust once you know your starting point, including why "more" is often the wrong instinct with methyl donors.
Enable: what keeps the gains, and how to tell whether you've moved the needle or you're just guessing.
What's inside
- Introduction: Understanding MTHFR, including why a variant is a ceiling, not a diagnosis
- The full TRACE sequence, Parts T through E
- Ten Mistakes: the most common errors I see patients and practitioners make with MTHFR protocols
- Red Flags: when what you're experiencing needs an in-person clinical assessment
- Glossary of the terms you'll meet along the way
- A fold-out TRACE Roadmap for quick reference
Who wrote this
Dr Jean-Marc Sobczyk is a GMC-registered integrative and longevity medicine physician with 25 years of clinical experience across France, Switzerland, Beverly Hills and the UK. He holds an MD from Université Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris VI) and an ND from SCNM, and practises at Hooke London, where methylation genetics and functional medicine sit at the centre of his clinical work.
Who this is for
Written for anyone who has an MTHFR result, a family history that makes them suspect one, or symptoms that haven't resolved despite "normal" bloodwork, and wants a structured, medically grounded starting point.
A note on scope
This guide is educational. It's built to help you understand your own biology and ask better questions, not to replace personalised medical advice. If you're pregnant, on medication that interacts with methylation pathways, or dealing with a complex presentation, please work with a practitioner directly.