10.2) Interpreting the Reports
You will have learned about each of the reports in detail in Part Three – Diet, Fitness and Health Test Areas. This section provides additional insight in preparing to lead a report review.
10.2.1) Interpreting DNA + Diet
The Diet Report provides the foundational starting point for people to understand their body and how they can eat to support their unique genetics. It provides the most immediate actionable information on how to target their diet to work with them, not against them. This is the longest report, includes the most DNA information and has the most information to cover.
Diet Management
In the Diet Report, start with Diet Management. Look to see the green/red proportions of the carbohydrates, fats and proteins. These macronutrient groups are key to understanding a client’s genetic makeup and the macronutrient balance that is likely most to provide their body with optimal health over their lifetime. Often there is a clear problem area that shows red results. This will help you recommend a diet balanced in carbohydrates, fats and proteins.
Examples:
- If carbohydrates are green, and fats are red, focus the diet on healthy carbohydrates and lower the intake of healthy fat diet to the recommended level.
- If fats are green and carbohydrates are red, the client may be suited to a ketogenic type of diet.
- If protein need is red, the client’s body may not be absorbing the protein it needs to function optimally. Suggest smaller, more frequent, easily digestible forms of protein, such as plant-based proteins. This can also increase satiety.
- If you client is red in each of these macronutrient categories, then a clean carbohydrate, fat and protein diet is important for a long, healthy life.
- Individuals with more risk have less latitude to indulge in fast food or junk food. Use risk indicators as the wake-up call that healthy eating is essential for wellbeing.
The chart below is an example of how diets can be designed based on the fat, carbohydrate and protein results. Each client has their own individual needs, and there will be other factors to consider, however, it can provide a starting point for diet plan design. This table is provided as an example reference and guideline only.
Figure 10-1 An example chart to provide an idea of how diets can be designed based on the fat, carb and protein results. This table is provided as an example reference and guideline only.
LDL Cholesterol
In the Diet Management area another critical macronutrient to consider is LDL Cholesterol. If your client has an LDL Cholesterol result that is approximately 50% red or more, the client could have increased genetic risk for cardiovascular and brain health (including Alzheimer’s and dementia).
Ask your clients about their family history. If your client has high LDL Cholesterol variation, you may wish to ask if there is cardiovascular disease or dementia history in the family. The APOE gene is reported on in both the LDL Cholesterol and Alzheimer’s Disease test panels. If there is risk, check Your Genetic Profile at the back of the report and compare it to the table on the Alzhiemer’s test page to see if the client has the APOE4 risk alleles. You will notice that in the Alzheimer’s test area, having 3 C alleles in the two APOE SNPs tested indicates an increased risk.
Finding out about APOE4 risk early gives your clients the opportunity to take preventative steps to avoid disease. Remember this is genetic risk but there is also environmental risk factors and those are largely within your client’s control and you are here to help!
Insulin
Insulin is also important. If this is >50% red, be sure to ask the client if there is any diabetes in the family. You may wish to suggest they have their blood sugar tested regularly. These clients may wish to learn more about the glycemic index and steps they can take to avoid insulin resistance.
Remember with test areas that are red and indicate genetic risk, proper diet, exercise and lifestyle can be a strong modulator for health.
Weight Response
Body Mass Index is helpful in understanding if there may be genetic weight issues in the family. Someone may be quite red and slim – however, often if you ask about the family, there may be others that have had more challenges.
Food Tolerances
This is an important section to review with clients. If Gluten or Lactose are >50% red, then these are areas to reduce or remove from the diet. It may be a validation of something the client already knew, or it may be the sign that this is an area that could be a source of inflammation or weight gain now or in the years to come. It can present in many ways: it may not be showing up yet, it may create some discomfort, it may show some sensitivity, or it may have developed into an intolerance or allergy. Regardless how it is showing up, the genetic results indicate this is an area to pay attention to.
For Caffeine, people who are 50% red or more, should limit their caffeine to one cup every few hours as the caffeine does not metabolize quickly and will ‘layer’ in their body. This puts additional stress on the heart and organs.
If someone is green in Alcohol, this does not mean you should drink more alcohol! It indicates you have normal genes in this area. If someone is green and still sensitive to alcohol, they may have some underlying liver, gut or other issues that should be respected. Remember, always listen to your body!
Food Taste and Preference
This section is more for interest’s sake. It helps a person understand why they may prefer some foods over others. For Food Preference, if it is green, the food preference is normal. If it is >50%, then it is an area they may find they crave more. In Food Taste, if it is green, they have normal taste. If it is redder, they may not taste the food as well, and it often leads to the ability to eat more bitter foods, wanting to add more salt, or having more sweets.
Vitamins & Supplements
This provides a great snapshot of where someone may need more supplement support over time. In general, people are more vitamin deficient than they were 50 years ago. Illness is influenced by nutrient deficiency and body toxicity. If you have too few nutrients for your body, it will emerge in different challenges over time – depending on where your system is weakest. If you have toxicity (chemicals, bad food) or gut issues, it can affect your body from absorbing the nutrients it needs.
In general, most people will benefit from a multi-vitamin. Additionally, most North Americans are vitamin D deficient due to the seasonal weather and benefit from D supplementation.
Women entering menopause or people under stress often need more vitamin B. If someone is red in vitamin Bs and does not take vitamins, you may want to see if they have had any fatigue issues. If so, this is a good area to recommend. For any other areas that are red, supplementation may be a way to provide additional support.
10.2.2) Interpreting DNA + Health
The Health Report can often show up a bit redder than other parts of the report. That is because several test areas only report on a single gene versus the polygenic multiple genes. Do not be alarmed by it being overly red. Referencing Your Genetic Profile at the back will give you an indication if there are several genes or one gene being tested. When there is one gene, you can only get 100% green, 50%/50% green/red or 100% red as the result. That gene result is valid, but it may have other moderating influences that are not reflected. The message – don’t over react to the result. However, do use the recommendations provided as they are useful for the individual.
The test areas are broken out more finely to provide health practitioners with more detailed information.
For example, Methylation has 6 test areas and 5 of them report on a single gene only. A 50/50 result is less worrisome in this case as the normal allele will try to manage for the weaker allele. However, over time, if health is out of balance, the gene may not perform as well as it should so having awareness of it is important.
Detoxification
If Detoxification is red, encourage the client to shift to a more anti-oxidant diet and undertake exercise, saunas and other to promote detoxification. An organic diet to reduce chemicals is helpful.
Hormones
If the Hormone section is red, care needs to be taken to help hormones stay in balance. For women, more attention should be paid to the method of birth control as it can lead to a higher level of hormones in the body. They may need much longer to get their body ready to avoid fertility issues. If your client is deaing with hormone imbalance, it may be worth suggesting they find a health practitioner that can order a urine test to test the current level of hormones in their body. Care should be taken to avoid xenoestrogens which include plastics, pesticides, herbicides and insecticides and can be found in cleaning products, cosmetics, non-organic food, sunscreens, processed food and even feminine products. Again, you can rely on the Action Tips to guide you here.
Inflammation
Inflammation is a critical contributor to chronic disease. If a client has overly active inflammation genes, more care should be taken to eat an anti-inflammatory diet. Adhering to their DNA diet becomes more essential to ensure foods are not the cause of unintended inflammation. People with increased red in the Inflammatory Immune Response test area often react more strongly to mosquito bites and take more time to recover after an injury. In Inflammatory Tumour Response, if it is red, there may be a slight correlation to a reduced ability to fight tumours.
Methylation
The Methylation tests can be difficult to explain to clients. Methylation is a chemical reaction that occurs in every cell and tissue in your body. It is commonly used by cells to control gene expression – the on/off switches of the body. It influences the immune system, DNA maintenance, production of energy and detoxification. It keeps DNA in good working condition and is foundational to good health. If a client has poor methylation genes, it can impair new cell synthsis. However, if you know you have weak methylation genes, simple steps like more vitamin B12 and B9 can help put things back on track. That is why this important function is included in the report.
10.2.3) Interpreting DNA + Fitness
Fitness! This report helps you and your client to understand their personal fitness genetic profile so that you can customize their workout to get the best results.
Power and Endurance
Some of the genes in Endurance Activity and Power and Sprint Activity are shared and opposite, so if one is red, the other is green and vice versa. That means that you should not worry as much about the amount of red in this category. Typically, the one that is green is generally where an individual finds they have a preference for exercise.
If Endurance Activity is greener by 25% or more than Power and Sprint Activity, you will likely find that the person prefers and has a better response to endurance activities. If they are roughly equal, the person may be equally interested and respond well to both. That is not to say, if someone does not have world class endurance genes, they cannot be an endurance athlete. They may just have to be more focused and work harder than some others.
Fitness trainers often have an affinity for developing training programs using the type of training that gets the best results for them. Many fitness leaders have been highly successful at selling programs that delivered their world class results. However, if you have the benefit of understanding a person’s DNA, you will have insight into what is more likely to provide the best result for that person.
Fitness trainers should take into account whether the client’s body is better suited to endurance or power/sprint in designing a training program. You will likely find the client feels better and is more likely to stick with it when they do.
Injury and Recovery
Use information from the injury and recovery test areas to keep your client healthy and injury free. If Ligament and/or Tendon Strength are red, your client needs a longer warm up, especially as they age, to keep the ligaments and tendons safe.
If Muscle Strength is 50% red, be careful not to exhaust the muscles. Do not go to muscular failure in doing weight training, especially if there are genetic variations with tendons and ligaments. The muscles may not be able to support the ligaments and tendons which increases the chance of injury. Put the weight down before you reach muscular failure. Too much muscle and weight stress will cause the client to reach exhaustion. The same goes for other sports. After you know the risks, you can push the muscles better and more safely.
If Muscle Repair is 50% red, then provide more time between workouts for that part of the body. If you see variations in recovery and muscle repair allow more time between workouts, particularity for boot camps, full body workouts and CrossFit, this allows time to repair. If muscles are regularly sore, give time to recover.
While weight training, individuals who are better suited to endurance activities tend to do better with higher reps and lighter weights. They are also better suited to slow controlled movements. In contrast, individuals who are better suited to power and sprint activities tend to do better with lower reps and heavier weights. They can do either more explosive movements or slow and controlled motions. The number of sets depends on what the client is trying to achieve – more sets if they are building muscle, less sets for tone. The weights used will depend on muscle, ligament and tendon strength.
For both your endurance and power/sprint clients, consider genetic injury and recovery factors in addition to current joint, muscle and body health in designing programs.
For example, if you have a client with a high risk of ligament and tendon injury, they would need to be extra aware and take caution when participating in burst exercises such as jumping or sprinting, and this should be factored into their exercise plan. Proper warm ups and dynamic stretching should also be recommended to increase blood flow and oxygen to the soft tissues. Injuries like these are detrimental and can undermine hard earned fitness progression.
Exercise Performance
Exercise Performance is useful to know when designing a successful fitness program. If someone has variations in the Blood Pressure test, be careful you do not overwork them (without the client having their blood pressure checked). If the heart rate goes too high, there is a higher risk they cannot get the blood when they need it. Some trainers and naturopaths have recommended NO2 boosters, arginine, citrulline and aspirin to increase blood flow, however, a doctor should be consulted in these cases.
If Energy Availability is red, this is a person who may benefit from a pre-workout snack, light meal or shake to ensure they have energy to sustain their exercise. Caffeine half an hour before may also help boost energy. Ask your client when they feel like they have the most energy in their day and time workouts accordingly if possible.
If Energy Metabolism is red, the client may need a healthier diet, more regular exercise and sleep to boost metabolism. If this is green, working out will produce good results.
Oxygen Uptake will give some indication of the oxygen available for the workout. If green, and depending on the client’s personal health factors, you may be able to do more intense aerobic training. If red, then they may need more time to build up their aerobic capability. If oxygen uptake is low, then they may need to rest longer between sets or exercises.
Exercise Response
The Exercise Response area is critical to be sure there are no underlying health conditions to be aware of when you are training someone.
If Blood Sugar and Insulin is red, then consideration needs to be given to their blood sugar regulation. Ask if they have had their blood sugar checked recently. Physical activity is a tool they can help to regulate blood sugar. Learn about their energy in and out. Ask your client when they feel the most energy throughout the day and try to determine what time of day may be best to workout. It is different for different people. It is best to exercise when you have the most energy. If you do when you are tired, it puts additional stress on the body.
Stroke Risk and Cardiovascular Health are important to have an idea if there may be any hidden risks. Too many apparently healthy people have fallen dead of a heart attack at the gym or unexpectedly experienced a stroke. These test areas are not to create fear but awareness of managing health. Exercise is an excellent way to decrease risk in both of these areas. Up to 80% of strokes could be prevented through healthy lifestyle changes such as healthy diet and physical activity (CDC, Preventing Stroke: Healthy Living, 2020). In these areas, it is important to remember that red is simply a measure of variations in the genes being tested. This measures a few important genetic variaitons related to stroke or cardiovascular risk, but it does not take into condsideration their weight or current state of health.
A few other tips:
- If Stored Body Fat is red in dietPower, it is best to do cardio after a workout when glycogen is depleted to get better fat burn and help shed stored body fat.
- Your client will get better personal fitness results if they are following their DNA diet as well.
- Trainers are often taught to push client to feel the pain. Some people feel the pain is getting value. DNA can give insight whether this has a higher injury or health risks.
- As you are building programs, take the DNA variations into account. Military boot camps, full body workouts and crossfit have their place, but if your client has high variations, be aware of the frequency so they do not tax their body too far.
By using the fitPower report, you can have a level of insight that helps you design a more targeted program for your client. The information also helps educate the client on what their body needs to get better fitness results.
10.2.4) Interpreting DNA + Mental Wellness
brainPower was created to provide insight into common areas of mental wellness that may help people in their health journey. As with each area of the tests, it includes information that you can do something about. It is influenced by lifestyle.
Alzheimer’s
While for many the results of the Alzheimer’s test area may feel scary, it is one of the most empowering parts of the report. If a person learns they have risk genes, then now is the time and this should be the motivation to make the changes to live a long, healthy life. Using this test area, you can increase both the quantity and quality of a person’s life.
Alzheimer’s is increasingly being recognized as Type 3 Diabetes. It involves increased cardiovascular and brain plaquing due to APOE gene variations. The plaquing is modulated by food. More information is arising regarding APOE diets. Should you or your client have these genes, then healthy diet and exercise become even more important. (Kandimalla, Thirumala and Reddy, 2017)
Most people will have 25% red in the Alzheimer’s test area. This does not mean you have a 25% chance of getting Alzheimer’s. This is considered low risk. Individuals who have 75% or 100% red in the Alzheimer’s test area, have the combination of APOE genes that can contribute to an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. It is important to mention that these are not the only genes that contribute to Alzheimer’s. There are other genes that have been studied and associated with Alzheimer’s disease that are not tested here. The APOE gene is the most well studied gene in relation to Alzheimer’s disease.
If an individual has 75%-100% red in the Alzheimer’s test you should refer to their Your Genetic Profile table at the back of their report. Use their genotype (for example CC and CC) for the two SNPs in the APOE gene to look up their APOE status on the Alzheimer’s test page (for example E4/E4) with this information you can better understand the individual’s genetic risk.
For example, if your client has, rs429358 CC and rs7412 CC their APOE status is E4/E4 this denotes the highest risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease by 85 years of age (any combination of three C’s denotes higher risk).
Remember to reassure someone that this is an opportunity – one of the most helpful pieces of information in their life. For most, all they need to do is push off any risk by 15-20 years and it will become irrelevant, if they plan to live past 100 years old they are likely very healthy already! Research is done on a generalized population of all different health statuses and socioeconomic conditions. The client can mitigate their risk by living their healthiest life.
Concussion
Concussion recovery is strongly correlated to the APOE genes. Two SNPs are the same as in LDL Cholesterol and Alzheimer’s related to plaquing, plus an additional one. This test is included to provide awareness on the importance of seeking post-concussion treatment if your variations are high. Concussion protocols are improving all the time. Be sure to use these results to highlight the importance of additional care should a concussion occur. The goal is to be more aware of avoiding the risk of getting a concussion, and to take more proactive action should a concussion occur.
Concussions tend to have a cumulative effect. The more head trauma you have received, the more difficult it can be to recover.
Parents may wish to consider the sport choices of their children if they learn their children are at higher risk of poor concussion recovery. The same applies to people of any age.
Cortisol
Cortisol is the stress hormone. Our world is increasingly stressful. The fight or flight system that was designed to send hormones throughout the body in response to physical threat and survival, is constantly being bombarded by modern external information that triggers the same response. The digital age has unleashed non-stop digital access which creates addictive patterns in the brain and increases cortisol response.
If someone has cortisol variations, their ability to modulate cortisol levels may be decreased. This can lead to adrenal fatigue and many other symptoms. Awareness of variations in this area should be used to encourage more calm time like sleep, yoga and meditation to provide greater recovery time for the adrenals.
Depression
Depression is a complex condition. This test is not in any way a diagnosis of Depression. It simply indicates some common genes that have been studied with respect to people who have been diagnosed with depression. Diet and exercise are strong modulators for depression. Encourage a healthy lifestyle to avoid issues. If the client has concerns about depression, encourage them to seek professional assistance.
Emotional Eating
The Emotional Eating section looks at only one gene associated with emotional eating. So, if it is 100% red, it is not cause for alarm. It is simply highlighting that one gene related to emotional eating is present. Awareness is a key step in managing this if it is an issue.
Parkinson’s
The Parkinson’s test looks at two genes related to Parkinson’s. These are rare genes and few if any of your client’s will test for this. It was included due to specific client requests and because we are learning diet and lifestyle can play a role in reducing the risk. Should you have anyone that tests red in this area, you may wish to ask about family history and suggest they follow up with a specialist to assess further.
The brainPower report provides an additional layer of insight that can be valuable for you and your client. The goal is to help you and your clients live your healhiest lives.