Nutrigenetic testing provides important information about certain genes that each of us has, specifically the ones that are influenced by our diet and other lifestyle choices. Genes are specialised units within our genetic material. The information they contain is in code and must be “expressed” in order to be useful to us. Gene expression involves converting the coded information into the wide variety of activities that are needed to run a living organism.
Not surprisingly, since each of us needs to carry out the same basic set of activities to support life, each of us has the same basic set of genes. What makes us different from one another is that virtually all of our genes come in slightly different versions, called “gene variants”. These slight variations are enough to give us the rainbow of eye colour, hair colour and skin colour that we observe among humans, along with a great many other differences. Similarly, some gene variants make us more (or less) susceptible to developing chronic conditions, such as arthritis, cancer, diabetes, heart disease or stroke, or osteoporosis.
For a long time scientists thought we had little control over the expression of our genes, that we were stuck with whichever gene variants we received from our parents, along with the benefits and disadvantages these variants led to. Genetic research has shown this is not the case. The expression of many of our genes is influenced by the lifestyle choices we make, such as the food we eat, the environmental toxins we may be exposed to, and the effects of stress. Research is providing an ongoing stream of knowledge as to which genes are influenced by which lifestyle factors and how particular gene variants respond to these factors. When we know which gene variants we have, what they make us susceptible to, and which factors have positive or negative influences on those gene variants, we have information that can help us make lifestyle choices that will move us away from disease and towards better health.
Nutrigenetic testing does exactly this – it analyses particular genes that respond to lifestyle factors and tells us which variants we have. The testing process itself is
simple. The process involves collecting cells from the inside of your cheek using a special swab and mailing the swabs to the testing laboratory. The results come back as a report of which gene variants you have, along with recommendations for appropriate diet and lifestyle choices.
Because the genes analysed by nutrigenetic testing don’t cause disease by themselves, the information we receive concerns our susceptibility to developing particular diseases, not the inevitability of developing those conditions. This knowledge can give us a great deal of control over our health. In addition to the genetic analysis, nutrigenetic testing should include an analysis of our lifestyle habits so that recommendations about our diet and other lifestyle choices appropriate for our particular gene variants can be made. This combined information can help us to lose weight, minimise disease and maximise our health and, ultimately, achieve the genetic potential that is unique to each one of us.
Biotechnology leader DNAlysis will launch a range of affordable nutrigenetic testing options in South Africa in March 2010. For more information visit
www.dnadiet.co.za
MEDIA CONTACT:
KATHLEEN BARTELS, WORDSMITHS SA
082 548 9405, kathleen@wordsmiths.co.za