#epigenetics #genetictesting #SNPs #geneticmutations #tailoredapproachtohealth #bioindividuality #MTHFR #COMT #BDNF #NOS3 #HNMT #DAO
Most people are making health decisions based on generalized recommendations without ever truly understanding what their body needs. Let’s be honest, generic diets and protocols have their place, but they rarely take you the distance…
You are unique and for you to truly heal you need to honor your bio-individuality and figure out what YOUR body needs.
A nutrigenetic test can help you identify your bio-individual profile when it comes to metabolism, specific nutrients, exercise, detox....
Knowing what your predispositions are will help you optimally support your health and work against these predispositions or use them to your advantage.
You might be thinking that your DNA is not changing after birth? Yes you are right, that’s not what I’m referring to - let me explain....
Ever heard of epigenetics?
The term Epigenetics can be defined as the way your genes express, basically defining a change in your genetic expression as opposed to an alteration of your DNA. Your DNA does not change after birth, but your genetic expression can and is highly influenced by our lifestyle, nutrition and toxin or chemical exposure. We can actually work with your genes to create optimal health. Understanding your individual genetic blueprint can guide you to make health choices that help you to be the best version of yourself.
If you were not breastfed as a baby for instance and/or were exposed to high medication in early childhood, this has a profound effect on the robustness and diversity of your microbiome and immune health for the rest of your life. That’s a lifestyle factor that has influenced your genetic expression.
Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are a variation of your genetic puzzle and some of them might not affect you much while others can make a huge difference in your health like for instance a slow COMT SNP will affect your body's ability to clear toxins and if on top of that you are exposed to a lot of toxins and environmental stress, you will be much more affected by them than other people who do not have a slow COMT SNP. The great thing is that if we learn about these "imbalances" in our genetic expression, or as Dr. Ben Lynch calls them "Dirty Genes", we can work against that and reverse them with the right tools. So in the case of a slow COMT SNP, you can minimize its effect or expression by adapting your diet and lifestyle accordingly.
There’s a wealth of genetic tests available on the market today. The one I am now using in my practice is a nutrigenetic test by 3x4 genetics. Nutrigenetic tests provide information about your responsiveness to a particular nutrient or diet and how this affects your metabolism, health status and risk of disease.
This test will not tell you if you have the BRCA gene putting you at risk for breast cancer, but it will tell you if you have trouble clearing your estrogens and may need to put daily focus on specific nutrients and lifestyle habits to extra support your estrogen metabolism (you might remember me talking about the impact of estrogen dominance on risk of breast cancer). So this type of testing only focusses on the SNPs that you actually can positively impact with diet and lifestyle changes.
For whom is nutrigenetc testing useful?
Genetic and genomic testing does not need to be repeated – you only do it once and it can be referred to repeatedly long into your future. Actually, you might have a genetic expression that is not relevant for you today, but may become it in future. So while you would not pay much attention to it now, you can come back to your test results when it becomes relevant for you.
With the 3x4 Genetics test, we can answer questions like:
Does a certain nutrient enhance your genetic expression or suppress it? What other factors will affect how this gene expresses?
For athletes: this test will tell you if you will benefit more from a focus on endurance activities or strength? Do you recover quickly or do you need extra time for recovery between intense workouts? Or Do you have a high injury risk?
Do you have a predisposition for not absorbing specific nutrients like Vitamin D, Folate, B12, choline…. - this can impact fertility, immune function, hormone balance, migraine
How is your detox capacity? Do you need to pay extra attention to supporting detox and avoiding toxins?
How is your memory and brain function?
Do you need to pay attention to salt intake? Saturated fats? Is your caffeine metabolism slower than normal?
Are you prone to inflammation?
How is your bone health?
Are you prone to blood sugar dysregulation?
How is your metabolism - aka what’s the best weight loss strategy for you? What kind of macronutrient ratios work best for you?
Are you at risk for cardiovascular disease (often linked to migraine too)?
For migraineurs: this test will tell us about sources of inflammation, is histamine overload (DAO or HNMT) or MTHFR an issue for you? Are you impacted by the expression of NOS3? Or BNDF?
This information helps you make the right choices for YOUR body and prevent the development of anything serious down the road.
I'm currently accepting the first test orders and am offering this as a one-off bundle. This includes:
the test itself ($350)
1x60 minute test results session with me to go over the results
a tailored plan with focus nutrients, lifestyle, supplement and further testing recommendations
Contact me for more info or sign up here to secure your spot!