Using DNA Testing to Optimize Your Health

Have you ever looked at your genetics? If you’ve gone through a cancer journey perhaps they ran some genetic testing to help dial in your treatment plan or determine your risk for recurrence. Or maybe you’ve completed a DNA test to learn more about your ancestry. The world of genetics is a positively fascinating place to explore. 

Recently, in the Fall of 2022, I started using DNA testing with my private coaching clients to help us better personalize their plans. By looking at your unique genetics we can determine what type of diet will work best for you, how well you detoxify & methylate, what your inflammatory risks are, and so much more.

My Personal Story with DNA Testing

Before I started running this test on my clients I first wanted to see what I could learn about myself. After completing this testing on myself all I can say is…wow!! I believe this is a game-changer in supporting long-term health and cancer prevention. It provided an explanation of why I tend to react to things in a certain way and areas of poor functioning that could increase my risk for cancer or other diseases. 

The results are organized by category; Mood & Behavior, Diet & Nutrition, Sleep, Hormones, Fitness, & Body Type, Anti-Inflammatory Profile, & Cardiovascular Disease. As I started moving through my reports I have to admit my initial reaction to the Mood & Behavior findings was…”That’s not me!” However when I really started to think about it I could recognize that actually yes, those are my tendencies when I’m not being mindful about my behavior.

Here are a sampling of just some of the things I learned about myself:

• My tendencies towards addiction, anxiety, frustration, procrastination, & burnout
• How well I metabolize carbs & fats, my risk for insulin or hunger dysregulation, how well I convert & transport key micronutrients, & my risk for a weakened microbiome.
• My sleep-wake profile & circadian rhythm tendencies plus how my sleep might be influenced by stress, food, or my environment.
• Preferred fitness strategy for my body type & how well I recover from exercise.
• My risk for hormonal (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone) dominance or toxicity.
• My risk for toxic burden & inflammation, both systemically & cardiovascularly.
• My risk for high cholesterol & high blood pressure.

Without divulging too much personal information I will say that I now understand why stress impacts me so much and I have a hard time moving on from intense emotional feelings. I also understand why as a kid & young adult I had such intense sugar cravings and was always wanting to snack. I even understand now why perfumes and strong scents have always given me a headache. The best part though is not only do I understand the why but I can now be more intelligent in my diet, lifestyle, & supplement strategies to make sure I’m making up the difference for some of these genetic tendencies. And although I never had the chance to do this testing on my Dad, I can assume that at least some of my genetics were the same as his and it makes sense why he struggled with Diabetes, Inflammatory Issues, & ultimately Cancer.

Now although ALL of these points can be important in considering how to support optimal health, there are certain areas that rise to the top when we want to assess cancer risk. And that starts with your diet!

Your Ideal Diet

One of the 7 root causes of cancer is nutrient deficiencies. Now a big part of this comes from people not eating enough nutrient dense foods and instead choosing foods (or food-like substances) that can damage DNA and cause toxic burden in the body. But another problem comes when people don’t metabolize their nutrients well. Or perhaps they have a genotype that makes it much harder for them to convert certain micronutrients, like Vitamin A, into its active form. For someone where this is true, like me , it means we can be Vitamin A deficient even if we’re eating plant based sources of beta-carotene. That means animal sources of Vitamin A are going to be better for my body OR I need to be more mindful with my supplementation. You can see how even this one example becomes really important for someone who is following a vegan diet.

Another factor that influences what type of diet would be best for you is how well you metabolize carbs & fats. This information alone can help you decipher whether a Vegan or Ketogenic Diet might work better for you. Your risk for insulin dysregulation is also going to be an important consideration in crafting an ideal balance of macronutrients plus timing of meals…including whether or not intermittent fasting would be helpful. Remember, high blood sugar & high insulin levels are risk factors for cancer. So knowing your genetic predisposition for those things will be very helpful in designing your prevention plan & ultimately what type of diet you should follow.

Detoxification Potential

Another root cause of cancer is toxic burden. Not only are we inundated with chemicals from our modern-day world but many of us have genetic factors that make it more challenging to detoxify the chemicals we’re exposed to…like myself! This has to be one of the most important take-aways from this test when looking at cancer risk. DNA testing can show us how well your body can move toxins through Phase 1 and Phase 2 detoxification pathways. If there’s suboptimal function at any of these steps this can result in chemicals (or even hormones) staying in your system longer than they should and causing damage. 

Knowing your genetic predisposition is important so we can be proactive in making sure we support these pathways better with more targeted foods & supplements…in addition to identifying & lowering exposures. 

Inflammation Risk

As toxins build-up in the body this causes inflammation to climb as well. Chronic inflammation is another primary root cause of cancer and there are many important pathways involved. Within the DNA test we can measure your methylation pathways, anti-oxidation pathways, & how well you convert, transport, bind, & ultimately use Vitamin D. Understanding how these systems work for you will help us know how at risk you are for inflammation. In myself, I have suboptimal functioning in parts of all 3 of these pathways…not great for my cancer risk!

But knowing this I can do something about it. I can bring in more Vitamin B rich foods plus methylated B vitamins to better support methylation. Interesting side note here, the DNA test can actually show us what form of B12 & folate will work best for you based on your genotype…and that’s not always the methylated form. For some people they can actually over-methylate; which causes other issues. I can also be more intelligent in my Vitamin D supplementation. Knowing that I have a deficiency in all 3 phases of my Vitamin D pathway, means not only do I have to supplement to get enough on board but I also will do better if I divide my doses. 

Hormonal Balance

If you’ve had a diagnosis of breast, prostate, ovarian, or uterine cancer you know how important your hormone levels are to your risk for cancer. This is why hormonal imbalance is yet another root cause of cancer. High hormone levels can stimulate the growth & division of cells, including cancer cells. They can also cause immune suppression, promote inflammation, & increase blood flow to tumors.

Knowing your propensity to be hormone dominant is one piece to the puzzle. Knowing how well you detoxify and remove those hormones is yet another piece. I believe this is one of the most common causes of hormonally driven cancer. I recently met with a woman who was recovering from breast cancer. She explained to me that most of the women in her family have had breast cancer although none of them were positive for the BRCA gene. After running this test on her we saw that she was at a very high risk for both estrogen dominance & toxicity. It’s likely that this genetic predisposition runs through her family; which would explain why so many of her relatives also had breast cancer.

Having this information can help us design a plan where we are more more focused on reducing hormone levels and improving their detoxification so they don’t build-up and become toxic.

Sleep & Stress

The last area where we can gather information that is important in a cancer prevention plan is around stress & sleep. Now of course everyone will benefit from getting optimal sleep & having healthy stress management strategies at the ready. However, understanding how you genetically respond to stress & stressful situations as well as how likely you are to have interrupted sleep cycles can further help us refine your plan, especially as it relates to nervous system support.

How Knowing Your DNA Can Help You

Personally, I’m so grateful to have this information about myself. It reinforces why I need to continue to be mindful about my diet & lifestyle and it also gives me specific information that can help me be more targeted in my supplement support (especially around detox & inflammation support). I also have much more awareness around my stressors and how to better support myself in recovering from stressful situations.

DNA testing allows us to take customization to a whole new level! Going forward I can’t imagine not using this tool to help me craft truly personalized plans for my clients; especially my clients working on cancer prevention.

Ready to Dive Into Your DNA?

Are you ready to look behind the scenes at your DNA and incorporate this valuable information into your long-term health plan? If so, then let’s connect. The next step is to book a Free Strategy Session where we can talk more about your goals & how DNA testing can help. This testing is included free of charge in all of my private coaching packages and it is also available at wholesale pricing to the members inside our Holistic Cancer Collective.