The leftover product eventually becomes homocysteine, which can be toxic if not converted. B vitamins are necessary for the conversion of homocysteine. Homocysteine can also be converted by betaine, a product of choline. When this occurs, abnormal activation and deactivation of genes occur. This finding has major implications for aging as well as cancer since DNA damage occurs naturally with age.
Free radicals do most of their damage by inhibiting methylation.
Maintaining and enhancing methylation is the next therapy for aging and disease, including cancer and heart disease. Researchers from all over the world met last summer in closed-door sessions to discuss methylation and cancer. We're going to be hearing a lot about CpG islands in the future. Methylation acts as a check on cancer genes. When methylation is deficient, good genes get turned off and bad genes in these islands turn on.