So, there you are, sitting in your Doctor’s office. You waited a month to get an appointment, your symptoms are vague, but you know something isn’t quite right. It hasn’t been for a long time. Your energy is low, you are not able to stay mentally alert, you’re moody, maybe your menstrual cycle is off. But you’re not “sick.”

The Doctor finally enters. You describe your symptoms. The Doctor asks questions you have already asked yourself, researched, and ruled out. Maybe they prescribe you a medication or tell you to give it time. “It’s part of getting older.” You leave without feeling any sense of relief.

Unfortunately, most of us have been there. It’s not the Doctor’s fault. Our medical schools and systems are not set up for Doctors to treat the individual. Most are trained to prescribe universally repeatable treatments. But in reality, the is no one-size-fits all approach to health, certainly not for optimal health. We each have our own unique genetic makeup and own unique requirements to function optimally.

Luckily, for those motivated to take their health into their own hands, technology is finally at a stage to provide data on our bio-individuality and the specific personalized nutritional support to cultivate optimal health. Whether you are already sick or looking for overall long-term wellbeing, the guesswork can be taken out. Through the combination of functional medicine and genetic testing (via companies like 23andme.com) we can see into our body’s mapping and performance data as both a snapshot in time and our underlying lifelong steady state. With the help of OptiGenetix’ genetic analysis and real time data from functional medicine testing, we can develop an action plan to address the impacts of genetic variances and lifestyle on the body.

For those of you wanting to nerd out, read on.

Within our DNA we each have what are referred to as SNPs, or genetic variations, where a single base is substituted for another when transcribing from DNA to RNA. Some SNPs give us advantages and others cause the body to operate in a less efficient manner. We can have SNPs on both alleles or just one, making an individual homozygous or heterozygous for the gene. By understanding where these variances are, we have the ability to develop personal nutrition plans and lifestyle suggestions for everyday optimal health and disease prevention. This could include supplementation to align your body’s Phase I and Phase II detoxification so toxins are released versus recycled in the body, or the addition of supplements like SAMe, Magnesium and/or neurotransmitter precursors to help the body methylate noradrenalin and move out of a constant fight/flight state. The beauty is that the plan is completely catered to your individual genetic makeup, lifestyle and needs. In this approach, food and supplementation is treated as medicine and long term we prevent the need to turn to prescription drugs. More than just disease prevention, we give the body what it needs to feel good every day.

As an example, let’s take a variant in the MTR (5-mthyltetrahydrofolate-homocysteine methyltransferase) gene. If a SNP is shown at the MTR gene, we know this person is at a disadvantage when converting the amino acid homocysteine to methionine and therefore burns through a higher level of B12 in order to make the conversion. Backed up levels of homocysteine have been implicated as risk factors in a number of health conditions including heart disease and Alzheimer’s. Instead of stepping in, seeing the association of heart disease to the MTR SNP and providing medication, or treating it as an unavoidable “heart disease runs in my family”, we proactively look at what we can do to improve the functioning of the cyclical homocysteine to methionine conversion pathway.

Through the insight provided in our genetic and functional medicine tests we have the opportunity to mitigate the SNP’s impact.

As an action step we:

-Increase the required daily value of B12 for this person

-Make sure the person has a healthy enough gastrointestinal environment to absorb the B12

-Provide multiple forms of B12-  liposomal hydroxyl, methylated B12, possibly B12 shots

With these preventative measures we help prevent the development of a B12 deficiency and increase functionality of the conversion process.

We also look at the necessary co-factors of the MTR gene and make sure the person has adequate levels of those as well. 

Now, with healthy levels of B12 we avoid many negative symptoms and diseases. If a B12 deficiency had occurred, and the methylation process was impacted, the individual could have experienced expression of viral genes, neurological inflammation, hormonal imbalances, impaired myelination and pruning of nerves, and/or lack of regulation of neurotransmitters for mood and cell membrane mobility and fluidity.

Without individual analysis we would only be guessing at the symptoms and not be able to find and correct the root cause of the health issue. 

Thus, the age of personalized medicine has arrived.