Inside Scoop: Jenni here, co-founder of Naughty Nutrition and I wanted to share with you my DNA Nutrition results & how they can help me shape my health plan.

If you’ve read Mirna’s article What Genetic Testing Made Me Realize About my Body then you know that both of us have been incredibly curious about genetic testing for diet and DNA nutrition.

Although the times we live in have a habit of wreaking havoc on anxiety levels, we do have some seriously smart people working on incredibly unique advancements. We’re at the forefront of science, and it seems that we’re about to make a technological shift into the future with information that we once only dreamed about.

One of those scientific advancements comes in the form of personalizing nutrition based on our genetic code, and we are all for it!

As a matter of fact, both Mirna and I have had it done, and after receiving my totalPower DNA test through dnaPower, some pretty interesting facts about my genetic code made me take a deeper look into the dietary shifts I should make in order to live a full and healthy life.

WHAT IS DNA NUTRITION & HOW DOES IT WORK?

Polygenic Scores

The one thing that I found incredibly interesting with DNA nutrition and genetic testing for your diet, especially with dnaPower, is that Polygenic Scores are used as the predictive method to give you a more complete picture of each genetic trait.

Polygenic scores assess a group of genes, rather than just 1 variation, in order to get the most accurate prediction of a trait.

For example, dnaPower will assess SERPINA6 to get a picture of my body’s ability to regulate cortisol levels normally. But, instead of testing just 1 genotype, it tests multiple variations that research shows contribute to cortisol regulation: SERPINA6AA, SERPINA6TC, SERPINA6GT, SERPINA6CT. This is done for every test area that is being assessed to provide a more fulsome picture of that function for your body!

Genetic Variations Made Simple

I also really loved the way that dnaPower presented its findings. The results are incredibly thorough, and they use easy-to-read visual guides to represent how each genetic variation popped up with my individual testing.

For example, the use of a Genetic Composition graph displays how many variants there are to the genes by showing you in red or green where you lie.

They also show you what genes are responsible for each trait.

And last, they give you full and detailed descriptions of each trait and what you can do to ensure your nutrition path can support the potential outcome of that trait.

For example, if the trait is ‘Cortisol Regulation’ and your genetic composition is a 50% variant or higher, it means that you are genetically predisposed to have issues regulating your cortisol levels. This could mean that you struggle with managing your stress response and you could consider some dietary and lifestyle work in order to ensure that those gene traits don’t pop up in the future. They give actionable suggestions to ensure that you can live the most optimal healthy life, based on what your genes are saying.

Here’s an example of what suggestions were given to me based on my polygenic score for cortisol regulation:

• If you have symptoms related to irregular cortisol levels talk to your health care provider about getting your cortisol levels tested.
• If your cortisol levels are irregular there are health care measures that you can take to increase your quality of life.
  
• Try to increase your sleep, decrease your stress, and take up relaxing activities such as yoga and meditation.

And we wanted to empower you to create your own roadmap for your health. You can order the totalPower DNA test here and the dietPower DNA test here.

WHAT WERE MY DNA NUTRITION RESULTS?

Some of my genetic variations didn’t come as a surprise at all. I had genetic variations of 50% or greater for being unable to process vitamins B6 and B12, genetic variations for how efficient my body transports B12 in the methylation process, among other genetic variations for the efficiency of my methylation and detoxification.

When you see your overall DNA results on paper, it’s almost as if you can map out your genetic framework to your current symptoms or physical issues. The following are some of the other traits that had a higher % of gene variants in my results.

*Please remember, these are just genetic variations. Even though your tests say that you have a variation for a trait, it does not mean that you carry that trait.  These tests are not used to diagnose, but rather used as preventative measures.

MY TOP GENE VARIATIONS

Gluten Sensitivity

Though my genetic risk for gluten sensitivity was around 38% (they say that 50% or higher are the numbers that they look for), the genes responsible for that variant (HLA and HLA-DQ 2.2) popped up as ‘poor’ under my results. HLA-DQ 2.2 is the gene variant that you tend to see has a higher risk for those with Celiac disease.

Though I have not been diagnosed with Celiac, genetically speaking my predisposition for having a sensitivity is greater than those who had lower variants on the scale.

Given that I have been gluten-free for years now, this was one result that came as no surprise. We can apply this in real time for those who may be having symptoms related to celiac or the gut, by saying that if their genetic risk for gluten sensitivity was high, try cutting out gluten for a period of time to see if there is any relief.

METHYLATION

Methylation and detoxification was another trait that had a high score as well, and this also didn’t come as a surprise. That, along with my potential inability to process certain B Vitamins, was just another reminder of all of the symptoms that I currently have.

For example, I had a 100% gene variation for my body’s ability to eliminate estrogen and estrogen metabolites, meaning, genetically speaking, I suck at detoxifying estrogen. No big news. I have had PMS, estrogen and hormonal problems for as long as I can remember. However, there was never really a clear picture of my issues.

So now I know, based on these results, that instead of solely focusing on hormone support, I could shift my focus to support my detoxification process to try and help regulate some of those specific hormones.

This could mean, adding more antioxidants to my diet, avoiding environmental pollutants, xenoestrogens, drugs and carcinogens, and potentially supplementing with a B-Complex vitamin or GABA promoting botanicals, such as magnesium, noni fruit or chamomile.

*All of these suggestions were found in my totalPower DNA test.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR DNA NUTRITION

The dnaPower testing was truly a unique perspective of my own body’s genetics and how they may shape my personal nutrition plan. I absolutely loved how dnaPower added in information, small details and gave strategies for any genetic variation that could potentially affect my health.

And we wanted to empower you to create your own roadmap for your health. You can order the totalPower DNA test here and the dietPower DNA test here.