Health and Wellbeing | Gene Testing

A Gene Test Shows You Which Food is the Best Choice

Annette Health and Wellbeing July 10, 2019September 4, 2023

Food Choice is a gene test that tests your genetic predisposition to health issues associated with 5 common foods or drinks plus histamine and your likelihood of being susceptible to food allergies

The gene test identifies whether or not you should avoid or limit these foods to prevent a range of health conditions and help promote health and wellness.

The Genes tested have been grouped in the following categories.

Coeliac Disease Risk
Lactose Intolerance
Alcohol Intolerance
Caffeine Sensitivity
Salt sensitivity
Histamine Sensitivity
Food Allergy Predisposition

Coeliac Disease Risk

Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disease caused by the reaction of your body to gluten.

Symptoms of coeliac disease can be diarrhoea, bloating, pain, fatigue, and weight loss. However, you can have celiac disease and not necessarily know you have it.

Celiac disease results in damage to the microvilli, which are involved in nutrient absorption, so people with coeliacs become extremely deficient in nutrients.

A positive genetic result doesn’t mean you have the disease but indicates a very high likelihood compared to the normal population. Reducing or cutting out gluten would be important, and if you are experiencing any gastric symptoms, then a Coeliac test would be essential.

It is worth noting that if you have a test specifically for Celiac disease, then it is important to keep including gluten in your diet till you have the test.

Otherwise, you may get a false negative result.

Lactose Intolerance

Lactose Intolerance can produce symptoms such as gut pain, swelling, flatulence, diarrhoea, and other more obscure symptoms.

Lactase is the enzyme that breaks down Lactose which is present in milk and other dairy products. If Lactase activity is low, then lactose intolerance results.

It has been estimated that 65% of the world’s population is lactose intolerant, with rates up to 100% in some Asian and African communities and down to 4 % in some European countries.

If a gene test comes back with High risk, then avoiding dairy products, especially those high in lactose, is advised. Sometimes the use of a digestive enzyme containing lactase can be helpful as well.

Alcohol Sensitivity

Knowing how well your body processes alcohol is important as you all know it can have a detrimental effect on your health and disease risk.

If you have a genetic weakness around alcohol, it means your body cant detoxify the toxins present in alcohol. You are also more likely to be affected by symptoms such as flushing after alcohol, hangovers, nausea, runny nose, and sleeplessness.

More importantly, it is the inability of your body to process the toxins that can have far-reaching effects on your health.

Caffeine Sensitivity

Caffeine is present in many beverages, including coffee which has become part of a daily routine for many.

Some of you can seemingly tolerate coffee and caffeine better than others, with symptoms of anxiety and an increase in blood pressure reasonably common in some of you. The genes tested in this panel.

Are those associated with the risk of hypertension and, sleep loss, and anxiety associated with caffeine

Salt Sensitivity

Salt sensitivity is generally defined as an increase in blood pressure of at least 10% due to an increased salt intake. Any increase in blood pressure is a risk factor for kidney diseases and also cardiovascular disease.

Food Choice’s genetic profile allows you to make better food choices around the most common foods and beverages you regularly consume.

Up until now, this test was only available if you had already had a Health and Wellbeing profile or in conjunction with it.

Now, this is being offered as a stand-alone test as well.

What Causes Telomeres To Shorten?

Annette Health and Wellbeing May 11, 2019September 1, 2023telomeres

Lifestyle factors can cause Telomeres to shorten.

Telomere length can be reduced by stress, cigarette smoking, obesity, poor sleep, and insufficient sleep.

Shorter Telomere Length

This can be viewed as a biomarker of genomic damage and advanced cellular ageing.”

There has been a lot more publicity of late about what causes telomeres to shorten and the significance to ageing, risk of cancer, chronic illness, and telomere length.

What are Telomeres?

As you will know, the body is made up of cells and in each cell is a nucleus that contains all the genetic material.

Genes are composed of strands of DNA called chromosomes and on the ends of the chromosomes are telomeres. Telomeres protect the genetic material and make it possible for the cells to divide. You can imagine a telomere looking a little like the plastic tip on the end of a shoelace. It protects the chromosome from fraying and damaging.

Telomeres shorten each time the cell divides, and when the telomeres are too short, the cell can’t divide and therefore dies. Shortened Telomeres are a marker of disease risk, disease progression, and premature mortality. Therefore, the risk of illnesses such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and even Dementia is increased.

For a healthy long life with a reduced risk of chronic illness, you need long Telomeres.

Stress and Telomeres

A stressful childhood and adverse life events that cause anxiety can influence Telomere Length as an adult.

It is interesting to note that higher levels of Pessimism are also associated with shorter Telomeres and increased levels of inflammation and oxidative stress in the body.

Factors that can increase telomeres length include a healthy diet.

A study showing how effective this can be done on 30 men with biopsy-diagnosed low-risk prostate cancer. They were asked to make lifestyle-related techniques which included a low-fat whole food diet, low in refined carbohydrates, moderate exercises ( 30 minutes a day), stress management techniques such as meditation, yoga, and supplements which included fish oil, vitamin C vitamin E, and selenium and a protein powder. Telomerase activity increased by 29.84% in 3 months (Telomerase is an enzyme that repairs and lengthens Telomeres)

No doubt we will hear more in the future about Telomeres and health and premature aging.

We hear so much that a healthy diet, low stress, a balanced lifestyle, supplementation with good quality Nutrition, and moderate regular exercise can have a huge impact on our wellness, disease risk, and longevity.

These factors influence all aspects of our health, from our immune system to our nervous system, in fact, everybody’s system. Now, also at the subtle genetic level and this interesting world of the Telomere.

In its wisdom, the body gives us ways to help influence and change our health for the positive at even these critical genetic levels.

Gain Better Health Through Epigenetics

Annette Health and Wellbeing January 1, 2019September 3, 2023epigenetics, gene expression

Your genes indeed contain your unique blueprint for health and disease risk. However, your genes are controlled by a powerful external influence called epigenetics. Knowing about this enables you to gain better health through epigenetics.

This is why your genes are not necessarily your destiny and why you have more control than you realise as to whether your genes will express or not. It is also why knowing your genetic blueprint is so beneficial because it allows you to know what epigenetic influences to target.

What is Epigenetics?

Epigenetics is almost everything and almost everywhere. It’s how you and your genes respond to your environment.

Epigenetics includes

The food you eat
The stress in your life
The chemicals you are exposed to
The quality of your sleep
If you exercise and the type of exercise
Where you live
The people you surround yourself with
The use of medications and drugs
The use of supplements

Epigenetics Controls Whether Your Genes Express or Stay Switched Off.

You want to up-regulate the gene expression with some genes, while in other genes, you want to down-regulate the expression. For example, some genes cause inflammation while others control inflammation.

In this situation, you would ideally want to switch on the genes that control inflammation and switch off the genes that cause inflammation.

Everything you do and everything around you will send messages to your genes, influencing the behavior of those genes.

This means there is the potential to make your genes work for you by controlling as many epigenetic influences as possible.

I Eat a Good Diet and Exercise so I Should be O.K.

It would be easy to think that if you ate a healthy diet, reduced stress, and did some exercise, then your genes should be reasonably happy. That is right only to a point. It is obviously beneficial to eat well, exercise, and de-stress, but what is the right food and exercise for you. Our genes are all different, and so what is right for someone else may not be right for you.

For some of you, eating a high-protein diet with limited carbohydrates works really well. For others, it can cause pain, inflammation, and injury more easily, especially when exercising. A high carbohydrate diet works well for some, but it causes weight gain, diabetes risk, and inflammation.
Exposure to certain chemicals and sprays can cause huge health risks in some people, and more vigilance is required to avoid exposures. Some people have the ability to clear toxins more effectively.
Some people need to be sure their vitamin B12 status is good because they have problems absorbing B12. A low B12 causes all sorts of health issues, including poor memory, musculoskeletal problems, and cardiovascular problems. For others, b12 is never a problem.
Twenty minutes of sun exposure daily is ample for ensuring vitamin D levels in some people. Still, that would make no difference for others, and they would remain low in this essential vitamin.

There are so many variables, from person to person and gene to gene.

Another common misconception is:

‘My granddad smoked a packet a day, drank whiskey every day, and lived till he was 90 years old. I must have good genes. “

Several things are going on here. Firstly, your mum or dad received half their genes from your granddad, and you received half your genes from your parent. You don’t know what half of what half you received.

There are also different epigenetic influences at play.

In your grandparents’ or even parent’s day, there was much less processed food.

There were fewer sprays and chemicals used in the food and sprayed in the environment.
Cities were less busy, and there was less pollution
Seafood was less contaminated.
Farming used fewer sprays.
Work hour expectation was less. In many professions, the working week was 5 days instead of 6 or 7.
Very little EMF (electromagnetic radiation) exposure.

Obviously, there are many variables here, but the bottom line is that some people were just lucky and got away with abusing their bodies. They probably did have good genes as well, but at best, you may only have a sprinkling of those genes. You also have many unfavourable environmental challenges your parents and grandparents didn’t have to deal with.

Genetics and Epigenetics go hand in hand when it comes to health and longevity.

Knowing your genetics allows you to use the powerful epigenetics environment for the best health outcomes for you and your family.

DNA Testing For Weight Loss

Annette Health and Wellbeing November 18, 2018September 2, 2023DNA test for weight loss, Fat genes, genetic testing for weight loss

As with all genes, we know they are not necessarily your destiny but knowing you have certain gene variants through a DNA testing for weight loss will help you make better decisions about diet and exercise.

If I have Fat Genes, Am I destined to Become Fat?

The FTO, which is considered the Fat gene, and is tested in the Health and Wellbeing profile.

Variations in this gene can influence hunger and how the body responds to food.

Hormones Affected by Fat Genes

Key hormones such as leptin, ghrelin, and adiponectin are all influenced by the variations in the FTO gene, resulting in a bigger appetite and less satiety.

Adiponectin has been associated with blood sugar instability and increased belly fat. Some variants in this gene will increase the likelihood of snacking at night and eating excess fatty foods.

Fatty foods will then stimulate ghrelin which will further stimulate hunger.

Leptin controls satiety, making it hard to control the appetite if you always feel hungry and not completely satisfied.

The FTO variants can inhibit the UCP1 gene (also tested in the Health and Wellbeing profile), inhibiting fat from being converted to heat. This results in less fat burning.

Protein, Carbohydrates, and Fat Ratios.

Certain variants in the FTO gene require different levels of protein, carbohydrate, and fat. It is useful knowing this, especially if you are having trouble losing weight. While a higher protein diet and lower carb diet can work for many people, it’s not ideal for everyone. If protein is too high and you have certain FTO gene variants, inflammation will result, inhibiting fat burning.

Genetic or DNA Testing for Weight Loss.

Key genes and their variants affecting fat metabolism, energy metabolism, and fat burning are tested in the Health and Wellbeing Profile.

They include

FTO- associated with obesity, weight problems in childhood, overeating, and eating high-fat foods.
ADRB2 and 3-associated with rebound weight gain, decreased tolerance to carbohydrates, difficulty losing weight, increased belly fat, risk of obesity.
UCP1 and UCP3- associated with decreased ability to convert fat to heat.
FAB2- decreased glucose tolerance, increased fat absorption, and difficulty losing weight.
PPARy- poor tolerance to fats, prone to rebound weight gain, difficulty losing weight.
PPARgCIA-risk of obesity and diabetes due to poor glucose regulation, fats, and energy balance in the body.
MC4R- the risk of obesity and childhood obesity.
LEPR-1 and 2-regulates appetite and metabolism.

Having specific Fat genes can predispose you to weight gain, however if you know what genes you have from DNA testing for weight loss, you can use that information to your advantage. It enables you to put together a healthy diet and exercise regime targeting those genes and ensuring they express favourably.

The bottom line is: You Can Be Slim and Healthy and Have Fat Genes.

To purchase DNA testing for weight loss, you can go to our website https://naturalmedicine.nz/ or click the link below