How Genetic Testing Helps
Before we dive into how genetic testing helps, let me ask you a question. Have you ever been overwhelmed by information on how to heal? Everyone seemed to have an opinion on it. Some even shared what worked for them.
But all of this usually triggers another question; where to start?
Well, this is where genetic testing comes in. Genetic nutrition testing helps by granting us access to our genes and how they interact with the environment. Your test results tell us where to start and how to create the biggest change.
Your genetic test reveals juicy information specific to your genome, your DNA and genes, and how they interact with your environment. This is used to determine actions we can take at a cellular level to address the root causes of conditions you may be experiencing.
Having this blueprint makes general statements like eat healthier more approachable and practical.
It’s likely we’ve all heard the generic command to eat and be healthier, but it’s more complicated than that. Some may find maintaining a healthy body weight to be easy, while others might struggle completely. Those who find it challenging may do so because of a lack of motivation or trying approaches that aren’t best for them.
When working with a coach or practitioner, you receive a built-in accountability system along with your DNA blueprint. Together, you solve both issues. You get both the support you need and the insight into your genetic makeup.
Diet, Nutrition, and Genetics
Diet culture has been booming since the early 1900s. And there’s still a constantly growing number of restrictive dietary plans that all claim to be the best. Ketogenic, vegan, gluten-free, whole-30, low-carb, and so on.
However, none of them highlight that we are each completely unique. What works for me, may not work for you.
Because of this truth, when you sign up for my standard coaching program, the package includes a genetic test from 3X4 Genetics.
With your blueprint in hand, I can form extremely accurate suggestions for how to help. This means less guesswork and more results.
Click here for a peek into the coaching process and how it works.
Finding the Root Cause
Genetic testing is a great addition to holistic, functional, and integrative approaches to medicine. The holistic approach to medicine, generally speaking, considers the ‘whole.’ This means not just symptoms, but taking the time to determine the root cause.
It answers the following questions:
- Where did this start?
- What interactions are growing it?
- How can we change it?
Nutrigenetic testing provides a shortcut. With these results, we can see quickly how any number of things are interacting and creating the current challenges you find yourself in.
So, instead of temporarily fixing your discomfort, holistic and functional medicine views your symptoms as signals. We use what your body tells us through these signals, or symptoms, along with your test results to find a lasting solution.
What Makes 3X4 Genetics Different Than Other Genetic Testing
“One of the problems of Western medicine and even nutrition is that we tend to focus on diseases…but the reality is that these diseases happen over time…They happen because it’s an interaction…between our genes, our diet, our lifestyle, and the choices we make.”
—Dr. Yael Joffe, Chief Scientific Officer at 3X4 Genetics
3X4 Genetics leads the industry in genetic testing. Their test and process were formed after 20+ years of scientific research and clinical practice. The testing is based on understanding two things: your genetics, or DNA blueprint, and how your choices impact this blueprint.
The process works upstream. They start with the cell and treat it first, creating optimal conditions. This prevents the imbalance or potential disease response from spreading downstream or becoming bigger.
It’s like stopping momentum early on. Imagine being at the top of a huge hill with your car in neutral. If you push it a little at the top of the hill, it starts to slowly roll. However, once it’s at the bottom of the hill, the car will be moving so fast that it’ll be way harder to stop.
How to Use Your Genetic Report
Your report is extensive but made to stay simple. The company understands that you can’t make a thousand changes at once. With your test results, they determine the 3 pathways to make the most impact on your health in the long term.
For each of these pathways, 3X4 provides the following:
- Three diet recommendations
- Three lifestyle or behavior interventions
- Three possible supplements or behavior suggestions
The testing is meant to empower you, not define you. You’re given bite-sized action steps to inspire small daily choices you make to create significant change to your DNA in the future.
Click here to see a sample report and sign up for information from 3X4 Genetics directly.
Genetic Testing for Health
Using genetic testing for your health journey gifts you a you-specific plan, that includes personalized nutrition. In your report, you receive three suggestions for each of the three pathways. These include recommended supplements and behavioral changes where they’ll make the biggest difference.
It’s not always obvious why women don’t experience PMS or any other condition in the same exact way. A nutrigenetic test provides deeper insight into why symptoms or responses occur.
Your results paired with the help of your coach create a safe environment for your success.
How Genetic Testing Helps with PMDD
With PMDD, or Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, women exhibit abnormal responses to a normal function, and the only way to realize this discord is through observing her genes. Her genes are telling her brain and body how to interpret hormonal changes.
When we dive deeper into her genetics we can find out which pathways are either influencing or further impacted by this disturbance of her menstrual cycle and address them with specific actions so she experiences fewer, less intense symptoms.
How Genetic Testing Helps with BV
If a client has BV, or Bacterial Vaginosis, it could mean that her cellular pathways have been impacted somewhere along the line.
For example, we may need to work on getting her body to complete methylation properly. This means better handling stress, detoxifying, and producing energy. These functions support immunity and would prevent BV from returning.
How DNA Testing Helps with PCOS
In the case of PCOS, or Polycystic Overy Syndrom, it is a complex condition that challenges all cellular pathways, vascular health, and brain health. The female sex hormones are impacted along with oxidation and methylation.
By looking at her genes we can see exactly what pathway or body systems need the most attention to provide her with relief.
How Genetic Testing Helps with Weight Loss
For anyone not feeling their best, a nutrigenetic test is going to be helpful as a reference because their practitioner can always revisit the results of their test to make lifestyle modifications for their current symptoms based on the genes of their bio-individual pathways.
Knowing your genes can help you and your practitioner/coach decide on the best treatment plan for you.
If you’re interested in a genetic test, book a call, and let’s get started. I will answer any questions you have and see if coaching is the perfect fit.
The Difference Between Nutrigenomics and Nutrigenetics.
Nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics are two different divisions of lifestyle genetic testing that work together. They are two parts of a whole. Think of them as opposites.
Nutrigenetics is how our genes naturally respond to our environment. We can uncover these details through a simple saliva swab. And nutrigenomics speaks to how our environment (internal and external) influences our genes.
Lifestyle habits like nutrition and exercise can prevent or delay adverse health outcomes that are associated with one’s genes. We can turn gene expression off or on depending on our choices.
Knowing both helps with taking precise action on how to make changes that best suit you and your body.
However, as a client, it’s not essential that you understand the differences between nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics. Don’t worry if these terms are confusing.
What is Nutrigenomics?
Nutrigenomics is tagged by 3X4 as “the story of you.”
Nutrigenomics refers to studying the relationship between the genome and the diet. This means we look at how nutrients affect the way our DNA is written and what proteins are produced from that DNA.
More simply put, it’s how the choices we make impact our DNA in the future.
Down the line, these results impact our metabolic function and how genes are expressed, including the way the body responds to a diet. Every single demographic that a woman falls into can inform what kind of nutritional advice she needs.
The goal of nutrigenomics is to get as specific as possible to that woman’s dietary needs.
What is Nutrigenetics?
Next, is the term nutrigenetics. Sets of genes work together to express a singular trait. Nutrigenetics is how your body interacts with your environment and your choices.
So, from the perspective of nutrigenetics, we can see how our genes create certain experiences or responses for us.
An easy example is how coffee affects everyone differently. Some get the jitters, some have no effect, and some have instantaneous bowel movements.
Finding Your Women’s Health Coach
I hope this gives some insight into why practitioners and health coaches like me choose to include genetic testing.
You deserve support and health. You’re never alone. Let’s work together to approach your current challenges in a brand new way.