The story of genetics and nutrition
Nutrigenomics is replacing generalised nutrition advice. Personalised nutrition is now becoming possible thanks to the study of your genetics.
What is the relationship between nutrition and genetics?
The relationship between nutrition and genetics is not one-sided. There is a constant interplay between your genes and the nutrients in your body.
Nutrients in your body can influence the activity of your genes, but they do not change your actual genetic code. Instead, nutrients act like switches that can turn genes ‘on’ or ‘off.’ This means that food can tell the body to either ignore instructions for harm or send messengers for health.
And this, everybody, is one of the biggest breakthroughs in medicine: the ability to modify gene expression with nutrition. We call this EPIGENETICS.
How does food affect my genes?
Nerding Out on a Simple Example: Spinach
When you eat spinach, your body absorbs folate. Folate itself is not the magic nutrient. Your body changes folate to a special form called 5-MTHF. The transformed folate can now enter your cells. This transformed folate (among other nutrients) acts as a spark plug to get a chemical process going in the cell known as methylation. Imagine methylation as a switchboard that turns certain genes ‘on’ or ‘off.’
The Role of Methylation in Gene Expression
This means that a simple green vegetable like spinach can actually communicate with your body at a very intricate level. Proper methylation helps your brain produce chemicals that affect your mood and supports the repair and protection of your DNA. By eating spinach and getting the right nutrients, you can boost your mental health and keep your DNA healthy.
Folate: The Power of a Simple Green Leaf
Now, you probably understand why Popeye told us to eat our spinach. This is just one example of how food ‘talks’ to your genes.
How do my genes affect my diet?
Let’s look at an inverse example. Remember, there is a two-way interaction between your genes and food.
Nerding Out on the Sunshine Vitamin: Vitamin D
Consider vitamin D and its interaction with the CYP2R1 gene (Cytochrome P450 Family 2 Subfamily R Member 1). When you get vitamin D from food or sunlight, your body needs to convert it to its active or ‘usable’ form. The CYP2R1 gene helps with this conversion.
Genetic Variations and Their Impact
However, some people have variations in the CYP2R1 gene that make this conversion less efficient. This means they might need more vitamin D from their diet or supplements to stay healthy. Without enough active vitamin D, these individuals may experience issues like weaker bones, poor immune function, and even mood disorders.
So, just as spinach and folate can positively influence your gene expression through methylation, your genes can dictate how well you use nutrients like vitamin D. This two-way interaction shows how personalised nutrition can be tailored not just based on what you eat, but also on your unique genetic makeup.
What can I learn from a nutrigenomic test?
Ultimately, your genes determine your health potential by managing your body’s chemistry. Genetic testing basically reveals your inherent biochemical weaknesses (thanks mom and dad) which can lead to gut issues, autoimmune conditions, fatigue, nutrient deficiencies, hormone imbalances, anxiety and depression, poor blood sugar management, bad skin, weakened immunity, and even reduced productivity or mental clarity.
Genetic testing allows us to ask the following questions about youself:
Which genes do you need to silence? Which genes do you need to activate?
Where do your body’s weaknesses lie? Is it in your inability to repair damaged cells? Or do you perhaps have ‘sluggish’ detox capabilities?
And which nutrients do you require to silence harmful genes? Together, we can finetune your nutrient requirements to overcome your biochemical downfalls.
And which nutrients do you not absorb and process as well as your best friend? Together, we can determine whether you have increased needs for certain nutrients.
How can nutrigenomics help to improve my health?
Here’s a real-life story from Steph’s rooms.
Patient A, a 31 year old female, came in with a list of issues. She was exhausted all the time, struggled with constipation and bloating, had iron-deficiency anemia, and her blood results revealed low levels of Vitamin D and B12.
Her fatigue and iron deficiency was related to her heavy menstrual cycles. Her gut health was impacting her ability to absorb nutrients effectively, and eliminate toxins and hormones from her body. She had been on every ‘nutrition approach’ in an attempt to lose weight, but came in defeated as she hadn’t budged an inch. She was on no medication, and only took iron supplementation occasionally.
Our roadmap looked a little like this:
Our priority (phase 1) was to sort out gut health. This improved her vitamin levels as she was able to better absorb nutrients from her foods. Within 6 weeks, after undergoing a ‘gut reboot’ with me, she was going to the bathroom daily and her bloating had reduced from 10/10 (at worst) to 3/10.
Secondly (phase 2), we included Vitamin D and iron supplementation as her levels were still suboptimal. By now, her energy levels were improving and she reported increased productivity and mental clarity at work. She was also able to tolerate the odd pizza or pasta with her friends on a Friday night, which would have usually left her in pain for 2 days. Bonus!
Next, we decided to order a genetic test. We wanted to uncover some root causes of her hormonal imbalances and her inability to lose weight.
What we found was fascinating - she was a poor detoxifier and methylator, and was predisposed to poor insulin sensitivity. Big concepts and words, I know. But this is what you need to know:
A poor detoxifier
We live in a toxic soup: we’re exposed to toxins from our external environment (think pesticides, chemicals in our household products or even pollutants in the air), and bodily toxins (like hormones or microbial toxins as a result of poor gut health).
We need to be effective detoxifiers, as the accumulation of toxins in your body can lead to unwanted symptoms, such as in Patient A’s case: fatigue, brain fog and weight loss resistance.
We lowered her toxin exposure by moving towards a plant-based approach, and ensured that she sourced the ‘real toxic culprits’ like heavily-sprayed veggies from organic grocers. We prioritised which foods she needed to source ‘cleanly’, as we needed to keep the plan budget-friendly.
Thereafter, we added in a host of foods that contain the necessary nutrients to ‘switch on’ the detox pathways in her cells. We came up with fun and easy recipes to allow for convenient and sustained consumption of recommended foods. After 2 weeks, her weight started to shift and her energy sky-rocketed.
A poor methylator
Methylation is a complex biochemical pathway to understand.
In patient A’s case, all that you need to know is that methylation plays a crucial role in processing and eliminating estrogen. Estrogen is a hormone that regulates many bodily processes, including the menstrual cycle. When methylation is not functioning optimally, estrogen can build up in the body and cause a hormonal imbalance.
We had to find the sweet spot for Patient A: we moved her to a plant-based approach, which was fantastic, as it meant that her toxic load was lower. However, some of the critical nutrients that ‘switch on’ methylation are found in animal products. We needed to include a couple eggs weekly for added choline, as well as supplement her with a full-spectrum B complex. Considering that B12 is one of the magical methylating nutrients here, we had to correct her B12 deficiency and recheck her B12 level every 6 months. Within 4 months of working together, her periods became much lighter and her pain reduced significantly.
A poor responder to carbs
Patient A’s genetic results showed a predisposition to developing insulin resistance. Essentially, her body may have a harder time processing carbohydrates, leading to higher insulin levels and difficulty losing weight.
No one wants to avoid carbs unnecessarily so we did a bit of bio-hacking with a CGM device (phase 3) to peronalise her carb intake. We found that certain carb-rich foods raised her levels more than others, and that she really didn’t tolerate carbs well at night. By adjusting her carb intake and personalizing her fasting regime, we were able to support her ‘inner body health’ and help her reach her goal weight.
Patient A is just one of many examples of how personalising nutrition based on an individual's genetics can have a significant impact on weight loss success. By focusing on inner body health, we were able to overcome Patient A's difficulty to loose weight and help her achieve sustainable results.
This highlights the importance of using genetics to address health issues and the benefits of supporting inner body health for sustainable weight loss.
Here are 3 things to keep in mind when it comes to genetic testing:
Not all labs are reliable. Beware of companies that sell you (the consumer) tests directly, without going through a healthcare professional. Some of these labs tests include genes and recommendations that are not based on science or evidence.
Genetics is only as useful as the quality of interpretation given by your dietitian. The information is only useful if you know what to do with it.
Genetics is just another piece of the puzzle to uncovering your personalised approach. Watch out for those that advertise it as the ‘be all and end all’. As with any other medical test, it needs to be combined with your health story. A journey to wellbeing is what gets you feeling your best.
