DNA Testing and Nutrigenomics

When I read reviews of the consumer DNA tests, I read the same things over and over.  "DNA testing didn't help me lose weight."  "The diet they gave me to follow didn't work for weight loss."

This doesn't surprise me.

Not because of what you might think.  It's because "Will DNA testing help me lose weight?" is not the right question.

Right now, the consumer DNA tests we take give us some pretty fluffy information.  Nothing very specific.  Unless you know how to look at it.  When you know what genes to look at and how to interpret that information, it gives you a whole lot of very specific information.

While companies like 23andMe and Ancestry do take your saliva and test your DNA, they don't give you useful health information.  Other companies or health care practitioners can use that data to tease out the useful bits.  The useful bits are called SNPs, pronounced 'snips'.

SNPs are when you have a slightly different DNA than most people and it alters how you function.  Some of these SNPs have very little effect.  Some have a lot.  And of those, there are still only a fraction that we know how to support with our food and lifestyle choices.  This is where nutrigenomics comes in.  It's how health care practitioners can use your DNA to inform your care.  So we can better understand where your particular body needs extra support and we give it what it needs in the form of food, lifestyle changes and supplements as needed.

Here is the most popular example of what you might learn from a DNA test when working with a health professional who knows how to read them...

MTHFR

Your DNA might contain SNPs that code for a rather slow MTHFR enzyme.  This is a key enzyme in the folate cycle, or methylation pathway. This cycle is important in your liver detoxification process, making key neurotransmitters like serotonin and melatonin, and in growth and development. When this enzyme is not functioning properly, it can lead to more cancers, frequent miscarriages, mental health trouble and early heart disease. Even if your enzyme is really slow, you might be quite healthy, depending on what else is going on and how you are eating.  But if you're not doing well, this is a place you can target.  See, most of the packaged food we buy in the store is fortified with synthetic B-vitamins including folic acid, like cereal and bread.  When you have a sluggish MTHFR enzyme, that folic acid throws a wrench in your metabolism.  This way you know to avoid it, and consume other food sources of folate like leafy greens, beans and liver.  It might mean, you need to supplement, but to supplement with a particular form of folate.  Experienced health care practitioners can then run labs to get an idea if these methylation pathways are operating well and give you suggestions based on those results.

HISTAMINE 

Are you a little itchy?  Another very useful finding from these tests is in your histamine metabolism.  There are a few different enzymes we can look at now to see what might be causing higher and normal levels of histamine in your body.  For those experiencing excessive allergy symptoms like hives and congestion.  And there is research to help us know how we might approach supporting those enzymes better.

HOW SHOULD I EAT?

Some of our tests look at our ability to convert carotenes (the orange/yellow pigments found in fruit and veg) to vitamin A.  Not everyone can make that conversion well and some of us need to get pre-formed vitamin A from our food (as well as the beautiful carotene-rich vegetables).

In addition, some people don't make choline very efficiently.  Choline is an important nutrient (found in egg yolks) that we use to make acetylcholine (a neurotransmitter involved in memory and cognition) and it's also important in cell membranes as phosphatidyl choline.

Some of us have a harder time utilizing vitamin D in our diet.  For all three of these, someone on a vegan diet would really struggle without massive supplementation or choosing to add a few key animal-based foods to their diet to support their metabolism.

DRUG SIDE EFFECTS

We can test for enzymes involved in breaking down certain compounds like caffeine and common drugs.  When we do have an illness requiring medication, our doctors typically have a few different choices about which drug to try first to minimize harmful side effects.  We all react differently to medication and this is one reason why.  It's just one example of how by knowing our DNA better, we can make more informed decisions about what drugs we use and the dose we start at.

DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY

We can also test for the enzymes that make our neurotransmitters and the enzymes that clear them away.  Why do some of us have a stronger stress response?  Why are some people naturally more chill than others?  Why are some of use just more anxious and have trouble sleeping?  Again, by understanding your DNA and the pathways they are involved in, we can use specific tests and then foods, lifestyle modifications and sometimes supplements to support those pathways to make life just a little easier.



These DNA tests are not the only answer.  They are just one more tool in our toolbox for supporting good health.  The ones we are using are few, but they have good research to back up how we approach them with diet and lifestyle choices.  If they can bypass months or years of trial and error when finding solutions to our health problems, then I'm all for them.