Gene report
Learn how environment, lifestyle, and nutrition interact with gene expression
For people wanting to
1.
Better understand their genetic susceptibilities
2.
Adapt daily habits and nutrition for optimal gene expression
3.
Better control their health by being an active participant
It's all about your internal and external environment
You can’t change your genes but you can help improve expression. Our environment controls how our genes express themselves (called epigenetics). Imagine, they express themselves, like you or I express an opinion. Diet, lifestyle, and mindset all affect what genes are turned off and on. Eating the good stuff and feeling relaxed will literally make your genes happier and in turn you happier. So even if you have gene variations (called single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs for short) giving you trouble, you can optimise their function by giving them the right environment and nutritional support.
The genetic report
Genetic reports show gene variations you may have in your methylation cycle. Methylation is the process that switches genes off and on which is mostly determined by epigenetics (lifestyle factors). Reports are not diagnostic, they show susceptibilities to possible dysfunctional states. This is then viewed in light of your medical history, lifestyle habits, nutrition status, environmental exposure, and presentation of symptoms. Altogether this suggests what pathways may need more support by which nutrients and lifestyle changes. This is still a developing field and not all reports are created equal. I recommend reports that only include SNPs that have the greatest impact on daily function with the strongest research.
Recommended timeline
Diet and lifestyle factors are so strongly implicated in how genes express themselves, that this is why I always take an initial consult first. Genetic reports are viewed in the context of your symptoms and lifestyle factors.
-
I have a slow-acting MAO(A). This contributes to my issues falling asleep, being easily startled, headaches, anxiety, irritability, and trouble powering down once I'm revved up.
MAO stands for Monoamine Oxidase. It’s an enzyme that is encoded by the MAO(A) gene.
Because of this gene variation, my enzyme is slow (it can also be fast). This means neurotransmitters (serotonin and dopamine) can build up and help produce the symptoms listed above. We all have gene variations. Many of them. Most don't affect us in any way but others can have huge effects on the way our body functions.
-
Every human has almost identical DNA, 99%. Every cell in our body has DNA tucked away in its nucleus (apart from mature red blood cells which don't have a nucleus). DNA is made of 3 billion pair bases (of nucleotides: adenine [A], guanine [G], thymine [T] cytosine [C]). The order of these base pairs (A, G, T, C) is as important as spelling a word correctly. Genes are sections of the 3 billion pairs of DNA, a small part, only about 20,000. Some sections are small, around 300 base pairs, while others contain over a million. And genes code for our inherited characteristics, the way we look, height, hair colour, and risk of disease.
Genes have coding areas and non-coding areas. The coding areas are instructions for the production of a particular amino acid. Amino acids are the basic units that produce proteins. And protein is the building block of all living structures. Super importantly proteins also act as catalysts (or enzymes) of biochemical reactions. In the absence of catalysts, reactions would take years. Acceleration rates are well over a million-fold. Thank you enzymes for making life happen. But these enzymes need nutrients to trigger reactions and if they are not available, the pathway is compromised. As well as your capacity to function optimally!
This brings us full circle to our MAO(A) enzyme. A gene variation may create a tendency for the enzyme to go a little faster or slower. But this only becomes a problem in light of exacerbating life experiences: chronic (mental or physical) stress; poor diet and lifestyle choices. Conversely, we can help them function better with better diet and lifestyle choices.
