10.3) Conducting the Report Review
Once you have analyzed and interpreted the reports, it is time to review with your client!
The overall goal of the report review is to help the client identify actions that can positively support their health based on their DNA.
The first step for a Genetic Diet, Fitness and Health Specialist in reviewing reports with a client is to let them know what they can expect. There is a lot of information to cover so outlining a 45 to 60-minute consultation can help you and your client stay on track. Time will depend on the person’s health and goals, their genetic testing results and their questions.
Your suggested meeting timeline may look like this:
5 minutes | Introduction |
20 minutes | dietPower |
10 minutes | healthPower |
10 minutes | fitPower |
5 minutes | brainPower |
5 minutes | Summary and review of Action Plan |
55 minutes | Total |
Your Zoom or in person report consultation for diet, fitness and health genetic testing if you are meeting via with a new client.
Hi Sophie,
I’m excited to go through your DNA diet, fitness and health results with you. Thank you for choosing to work with me for your genetic testing. I’m a certified IFPA personal trainer and Genetic Diet, Fitness and Health Specialist. I have a background in (list) sports and family health.
DNA is an exciting new way to learn more about your unique body. It’s your biological blueprint and roadmap to your body’s health.
Why did you choose to do genetic health testing?
What are your top health objectives, goals or concerns?
Can you tell me more about your current state related to your health goals?
(These questions are to help you learn if there are any health issues or areas of particular interest to focus on.)
With your DNA reports, we are looking at your genetics. This information stays the same over your lifetime, so you only have to do this testing once. DNA provides information about your body’s genetic roadmap. It shows where your genes are normal and where they have variations. Where your genes have variations is where you are more likely to have health issues over your lifetime.
The test will not show where your health is today. It does not look at rare diseases. It looks at the genetic factors that influence your day to day wellness – such as diet, fitness and health.
While your DNA doesn’t change, it is also not your destiny. It is impacted by epigenetics and lifestyle. That is why knowing your DNA is so important – because if you know where your genetics are weak, you can take action to protect your health.
This information is to give you a simple plan to eat better and live better based on your DNA. To work with your body, versus against it.
Does this make sense? Any questions so far?
We will look at the Summary Report. I will start with dietPower, healthPower, fitPower and finally brainpower.
In the graphs, green is good and red is poor. We look at areas that are 50% red or more. That is where you are more likely to see issues over time. Anything under 30% red looks good. Anything over 30%, look at how you might support that area. Anything 50% or over will have a recommendation in the Action Tips and is an area to focus on.
We will spend about 10-20 minutes on dietPower, 5-10 minutes on healthPower, 10-15 minutes on fitPower and 5 minutes on brainPower. I encourage you to take notes on the Action Tips pages. At then end, I will be asking you for the 5 most important actions that you will be taking to support your unique genetics. These are areas you will want to remember and focus on over yourlifetime. At the end we can decide if there are any further actions you would like to take (such as a personalized diet plan or fitness program).
Let’s get started!
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During the consult, ask questions, be curious. For example, if you see strong fat and poor carb genes in your client, ask if they have noticed different results on different diets. If they have poor insulin or BMI genes, you may wish to ask in a sensitive way if this has shown up in any way in their family. When you review endurance and power genes, ask what type of exercise they prefer and see whether that is reflected in their results.
If this is a long-term client, you may wish to add notes to your client’s file.
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Well Sophie, we’ve covered a lot of information on your unique DNA. What would you say are your top 5 take aways? How can you ensure you focus on these over your lifetime to stay healthy?
These may seem like modest changes. But because they are unique to your body, these changes can change the trajectory of your health. I’d suggest you print out the Action Plan pages and refer to them often to remind you of the most impactful steps you can take to stay healthy.
You have taken an important step with your DNA test in taking power over your health. Let me know how I can continue to support you.
Thank you for working with me. Wishing you power over your health.
Figure 10-2 Your Action Plan, provides practical recommendations or action tips.
Using the blank space provided after the Action Plan to take notes, record 3-5 easy to follow take-aways from the session that they can implement and track. This is also a great opportunity to discuss setting up a following session to prepare a more detailed plan.
Question: If a test area comes up as red, does that automatically mean that you should remove or reduce it from your diet?
Answer: No, not always – Make sure to read each category individually. For fats and carbohydrates, if the test area comes back as more than 50% red than yes, you would want to decrease your consumption of that item from your diet – remembering we all need healthy carbs and fats. However, for Protein need (not protein weight response), if it came back as more than 50% red than you would actually want to increase your daily amount of easily consumable protein.
Make sure to always look at the Action Tips for specific recommendations.
Some tips for the DNA pros:
Sometimes variants will contradict each other, this does not mean the report is wrong. It means there are more challenging genes to work with. You will need to weigh the risks and come up with the best recommendation.
Do no harm. When in doubt always err on the side of safety.
If there are less SNPs (one or two) in a category the result is likely to be more polarized (i.e. 100% red, 50%/50% red/green – 100% green). If very red, remember to check to see if it is a single gene or not and to reassure someone that the extra redness is due to it being based on one gene only.
Recommend a positive behavior change. Use science to support your reasoning for the necessity of the behaviour change.
Set attainable, actionable health goals. Leave your client feeling empowered and excited about how knowing their DNA can help them take more truly personalized and proactive health steps for their life.
Keep in mind that these recommendations are based on a specific genetic variation result and don’t take into consideration any medical history, dietary or lifestyle habits of the individual’s current state of health. Each individual has to be looked at as a whole. Remember to take their health into consideration as you review the report.
Use genetic information as a tool, in combination with your client’s health goals to help prioritize what is most important, rather than trying to change everything at once. Take the client’s/patient’s medical history and current health into consideration when making recommendations. Strive to empower people to make healthier choices.
Remember, you do not have to know everything to be an effective Specialist. If you follow the results and recommendations in the reports, this will give people the key information they need to make the changes that are most important for them. The more reviews you do, the more you will become comfortable with the information.