Nutrigenomics is a field of science that explores the relationship between nutrition and genetics, and it’s changing the future of health and medicine.
Your DNA consists of chemical instructions that is present in every body cell that make us who we are and drive every body function. We can investigate how individual genetic variations affect the body’s response to nutrients, and how nutrients affect gene expression. In simpler terms, it looks at how the food we eat interacts with our genes, and how this interaction can influence our health and susceptibility to diseases.
This biological code from your DNA doesn’t just impact gender, height, and eye colour. It tells the body how to do everything, including how well you absorb and use specific nutrients like vitamins, affecting your nutrient needs. It impacts production of sex hormones, reproduction and fertility, and neurotransmitters, influencing thinking and emotional wellbeing. It regulates how well your cells can grow and repair, even how efficiently they produce energy, or how readily you store excess energy as fat. In short, it’s the very code of life.
Common variations in our genetic code, called SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms) create our individuality, and can also result in important differences in function, affecting, for example, how much of a chemical in the body is made, how well it works, or how our cells respond to it. These SNPs don’t create ill-health in themselves, but in combination they can affect our energy, mental wellbeing, detoxification, and in the long-term is likely to contribute to development of specific health conditions. Looking at your genetic differences unlocks a personal health ‘blueprint’, offering a detailed insight into your unique biological strengths and weaknesses and a deeper understanding of your health.
Jo Gamble provides an overview of Nutrigenomics.
Of course the environment plays a big part too. What we do, and what we are exposed to, interacts dynamically with our body and mind. As an example; if our body is not very good at processing caffeine, understanding that can encourage us to reduce our intake of coffee perhaps, or there are ways to support the body’s system to handle it more effectively.
Nutrigenomics aims to provide personalised dietary recommendations based on an individual’s genetic makeup to optimize health and prevent or treat diseases.
Jo Gamble is a renowned, highly experienced, advanced Functional Medicine Practitioner specialising in Nutrigenomics, and we’re delighted to have her onboard. Discover your DNA blueprint with Jo, and find out how to maximise your genetic potential, and health through nutrition, environmental, and lifestyle choices.
Given the abundance of fad diets, weight loss regimes, and alternative medicine options, discerning the ideal solution can prove challenging. Despite experimenting with various elimination diets and supplements, achieving desired levels of health may still elude you.
The root of this challenge lies in the fact that each individual is distinct from one another. Your genetic composition defines what constitutes “health” for your body specifically. Nutrigenomics endeavors to decipher your unique genetic blueprint and devise a personalised nutritional strategy tailored to your DNA.
By understanding nutrition at the genetic level, nutrigenomics can help determine the exact lifestyle necessary to help you feel more energized, healthy and balanced.
Nutrigenomics can potentially help with a variety of health conditions by providing personalised dietary recommendations based on an individual’s genetic makeup. Some of the health conditions that nutrigenomics may assist with include:
This foundational report analyses how gene variants can affect food tolerance (and intolerance), appetite control and blood sugar balance, vitamin and mineral needs, detoxification ability, and susceptibility to inflammation and infection.
A Nutrient Core Report will help you understand the fundamental genetic interactions with diet and lifestyle and indicate whether specific functions require further genetic testing.
Here are some key aspects the Nutrient Core Report can reveal:
It includes genes that have been shown to affect:
Metabolism is the complex network of biochemical processes that occur within living organisms to sustain life. It involves the conversion of nutrients from food into energy and the synthesis of molecules necessary for cellular function and growth.
A Metabolic Report in nutrigenomics offers personalized insights into your genetic metabolic profile, providing valuable information to support optimal metabolism, improve nutrient utilization, and enhance overall health and well-being.
Metabolism is essential for sustaining life by providing energy, building and repairing cellular structures, eliminating waste products, and regulating physiological processes to maintain internal balance and health. Dysregulation of metabolism can lead to various health conditions, including metabolic disorders such as diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome.
These complex processes of anabolism (‘build up’ e.g. synthesis of sugars, fats, proteins, and nucleic acids) and catabolism (‘break down’ e.g. releasing energy in the form of ATP). The balance between them are the key to energy metabolism, healthy cell structure, and cellular function.
Here are some key roles of metabolism in the body:
Here are some key aspects a Metabolic Report can reveal:
Detoxification is the physiological removal of toxic substances from the human body. It is mainly carried out by the liver, and to a lesser extent the small intestine, kidneys and lungs.
A Detoxification Report offers personalised insights into your genetic detoxification profile, providing valuable information to support detoxification pathways, optimize health outcomes, and reduce the risk of toxin-related health conditions.
Substances such as nutrients, food additives, pesticides, medications, air pollutants, alcohol and hormones are transformed from being fat-soluble to water-soluble, allowing them to be more easily excreted from the body.
Poor detoxification can cause symptoms such as:
Here are some key aspects a Detoxification Report can reveal:
Methylation helps the body to perform optimally. When it’s not working well, it can easily show up as premature aging as the body cannot detoxify efficiently.
A Methylation Report offers personalized insights into your genetic methylation profile, providing valuable information to support optimal methylation function, reduce disease risk, and improve overall health and well-being.
Methylation is a fundamental biochemical process that regulates gene expression, cellular function, and various physiological processes throughout the body. Imbalances or dysregulation in methylation pathways can contribute to a wide range of health conditions, including neurological disorders, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and metabolic disorders.
It is involved in almost every metabolic process in the body, occurring billions of times every second in our cells and contributing to numerous crucial functions.
Here are some key roles of methylation in the body:
Here are some key aspects a Methylation Report can reveal:
Steroid hormones are a group of hormones derived from cholesterol including progesterone, oestrogen, testosterone, DHEA, and cortisol (and their derivatives). They are involved in the regulation of many physiological processes in both men and women, such as the development and function of the reproductive system, metabolism, inflammation and immune system.
A Hormones Report focusing on Steroid hormones offers personalized insights into your genetic hormone profile, providing valuable information to support hormone balance, optimize reproductive health, manage hormone-related conditions, and improve overall well-being.
Steroid hormones are generally carried in the blood, bound to specific carrier proteins. Further metabolism and catabolism occurs in the liver, in other peripheral tissues, and in target tissues.
Symptoms of steroid hormone imbalance can affect men and women, and include:
Symptoms of steroid hormone imbalance can affect men and women, and include:
It’s important to note that these symptoms can overlap with other conditions, and the presence of one or more symptoms does not necessarily indicate a hormone imbalance.
The Hormones Report (focusing on Steroid hormones) analyses genes involved in the regulation, synthesis, signalling, transport and metabolism of corticosteroids and sex steroids hormones. It looks at how gene variants affects hormones imbalance and details the nutrients and environmental factors that can influence and improve their balance. Here are some key aspects a Hormone Report can reveal:
Thyroid hormones control the metabolism of almost every cell in the body, with wide-ranging metabolic, developmental and cardiovascular effects.
A Thyroid Report focuses on analyzing genetic variations related to thyroid function, metabolism, and hormone regulation.
Thyroid activity is altered by genetics and environmental factors: nutrients (tyrosine, selenium and iodine), toxins (fluoride, chlorine or moulds), psychosocial stressors, physical stressors, bacteria, and viruses.
Symptoms of thyroid imbalances:
Here are some key aspects a Thyroid Report can reveal:
The nervous system supports the transmission of messages around the mind and body, enabling an individual to respond to their environment.
A Nervous System Report offers personalized insights into your genetic nervous system profile, providing valuable information to support brain health, cognitive function, emotional well-being, and resilience against neurological disorders and age-related changes.
A neurotransmitter is a molecule that carries signals between neurons and across nerve junctions (synapses). Excitatory neurotransmitters increase the likelihood a neuron will fire a signal, while inhibitory neurotransmitters have the opposite effect. In order for us to interact effectively with our environment, neurotransmitters must remain in balance.
Symptoms of neurotransmitter imbalances can include:
Here are some key aspects a Nervous System Report can reveal:
The Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene is best known for its role in lipid (fat) metabolism by helping to remove cholesterol from the bloodstream.
An APOE Report offers personalized insights into your genetic risk factors for cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease, providing valuable information to guide preventive measures.
Here are some symptoms or health implications associated with poor variants of the APOE gene and the other included tested genes that govern Methylation, Inflammation, Toxicity, and Neuroprotection:
Here are some key aspects an APOE Report (plus Methylation, Inflammation, Toxicity, and Neuroprotection) can reveal:
Histamine intolerance is the body’s reaction to an imbalance between accumulated histamine and the capacity to break it down. When the body is unable to break histamine down quickly enough it becomes toxic, and can result in skin irritation or breathing difficulties, digestive problems, headaches, insomnia and anxiety.
A Histamine Intolerance Report offers personalized insights into your genetic predisposition to histamine intolerance, providing valuable information to support dietary and lifestyle interventions tailored to your individual needs and optimize symptom management.
Symptoms can vary widely among individuals, but common signs of histamine intolerance may include:
Here are some key aspects a Histamine Intolerance Report can reveal:
To obtain a Test and Report product or package you will need to have an Initial Consultation with Jo Gamble via a Video (Zoom) Call or failing that, by phone.
However, if you have had a Integrative Health Assessment at The Forbes Clinic, and have been recommended a product or package then there will be no requirement for a Nutrigenomics Consultation.