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COFFEEPHOTOBYIRINAROSTOKINA/SHUTTERSTOCK.COMJONNY BOWDEN, PhD, CNS Board-certified nutrition specialist, motivational
speaker, author and expert in the areas of weight loss and health.that is associated with “increased
food desire.” If you have this variant,
here’s the advice: “Try to tame your
eating behaviors.”
All that said, the Pathway
Genomics test is pretty good and
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you have a genetic disposition to
“enhanced” bitter taste perception,
or that your genes make it very likely
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(But really, don’t you kind of know
that already?) They do, however,
offer the best test I’ve seen so far
if you’re looking for some basic
guidelines (i.e., eat a low-carb diet,
or emphasize endurance training).
Youtrients takes a slightly
different approach to genetic
testing. Their goal is to design
a completely individualized
supplement program based entirely
on your genetics. They do this by
looking at genetic vulnerabilities
and strengths in different metabolic
pathways (i.e., methylation), and
then design supplement programs
to proactively counter any
weaknesses found in the genetic
report. One of the markers they
test for is something called PK21,
which tells you how susceptible
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substances. One variation of PK21
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while another variation — the one
I happen to have – tells you they’re
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lot of scrapes in the surface. If you
have a “not so good” variant of that
gene as I do, you’d be well-advised
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sugar and gluten) from your diet.
And the Youtrients algorithm
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personalized formula.
Further to these forms of genetic
testing, the Weizmann Institute of
Science in Israel, which has one of
the largest microbiome databases in
the world, is beginning to offer apersonalized genetic test that
investigates how foods affect your
individual microbiome. A company
called DayTwo has developed an
extraordinary app using the
Weizmann Institute’s research –
it is individually programmed with
your results and lets you see exactly
what foods will have a net positive
effect for your microbiome (for
instance, foods that increase energy
and support digestion) and what
foods have a net negative effect.
These tests — and the app — are
available now. (A good place to learn
about this kind of genetic testing
and personalized diet is the TED
lecture entitled, “What is the best
diet for humans?” by Professor Segal
of the Weizmann Institute.)
The takeaway is this: DNA
testing is the future of personalized
medicine. Everyone I know in the
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come when doctors won’t have to
guess which dose of statin to put
a patient on because they’ll knowexactly what dose this particular
patient is likely to respond to and
will prescribe accordingly. DNA will
ultimately tell us more about what
diets work best for us, what exercise
routines will be most productive,
what we gain muscle on, what makes
us feel sexy or depressed, and what
makes our little dopamine reward
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in Tommy.
We’re just not there yet. Not
even close.
In the meantime, companies
like Youtrients, Pathway Genomics
and the Weizmann Institute are
offering really interesting reports
that go into far more detail than
those heritage-type kits they sell
on Amazon. Just remember to take
what you learn about your genes
with a big grain of sea salt.
Predictions based on DNA are
about as reliable as predictions in
elections. Many times they’re right,
but they’re wrong enough times that
you shouldn’t take them as gospel.ask dr. jonny
You might fi nd that
you have a genetic
disposition to “enhanced”
bitter taste perception,
or that your genes make
it very likely that you’ll fi nd
snacking irresistible.