With growing popularity of genetic testing, many individuals naturally ask, what kind of DNA testing is right for me? The answer to that is driven by your immediate and long-term needs, interests and budget. The following gives you an overview of different DNA testing methods, features, limitations, and costs.
| Type of assay | Details | Examples | No. of genes | Estimated costs | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Specific genotyping test | This type of DNA testing is typically prescribed by your physician or dietitian or other professional practitioners to check the type of a specific gene. | Lactose intolerance, Gluten Intolerance, MTHFR, Plavix response, Warfarin sensitivity | typically less than 10 | < $50 | You only learn about a specific gene and other genetic data is not captured. |
| Small panel genotyping test | This type of DNA testing is typically prescribed by your physician or other professional practitioners to check on a set of several genes relating to an area of interest. | DNA testing for Weight Loss, Skin, Nutrition, fitness, Health predisposition | ~10-100 | < $100 | You only learn about a specific set of genes and other genetic data is not captured. |
| Large panel genotyping test | This type of DNA testing is typically prescribed by your physician or other professional practitioners or cab be opted for by yourself, to learn about a large number of genes relating to a number of attributes, traits, and conditions. | DNA testing for Ancestry, Health, Nutrition, Fitness, Allergies, Cognition, Skin, and Hair | >500,000 | < $200 | You get to know your genotypes on a large number of genes. You may or may not use all of this info today, but it’s available for future use without having to redo the test. |
| Single or a set of genes sequencing test | This type of DNA testing is typically prescribed by your physician to check the full sequence of one specific gene or a collection of them. | Cancer DNA testing or other inherited disease | typically up to a 100 genes | $200 to $1000 | You only learn about a specific set of genes and not capture the full genome. |
| Full genome sequencing test | This type of DNA testing is typically prescribed by your physician to check the full sequence of your entire genome. It’s estimated that only 98% of human genome is known today. But, once you do this test, you do not have to do it again. | Cancer genes, other inherited disease, DNA testing for other known attributes such as nutrition, fitness, physical attributes, ancestry, etc. | not applicable | $1000 to $2000 | Even though you have the full genome data, only a small part of it is understood today. |
You can find a list of some of the popular genetic testing companies here. Please feel free to get in touch with us in case you have any questions in relation to genetic testing.
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If you have seen a baby formula pack, it highlights in bold that the formula is fortified with EPA and DHA and that it’s good for brain development. The long chain Omega fatty acids, EPA and DHA are essential to humans for brain development, controlling inflammation and immune system performance.
People who are non-vegetarians acquire these directly from the meat and fish they eat. Since vegetarians are unable to get EPA and DHA, their bodies must develop a way of producing those from the plant based diets they eat. It turns out that over thousands of years, this has change has taken place in the bodies of people whose ancestors had been vegetarians. These people are able to produce EPA and DHA from plant based foods, whereas bodies of people whose ancestors were non-vegetarians, do not have this ability.
[Example of evolutionary adaptation: Bodies of people whose ancestors have been living in hot and sunny places for thousands of years have a darker skin tone because their bodies produce more melanin to protect them from sunlight. Bodies of people whose ancestors have been living in cold and less-sunny places for thousands of years have a lighter skin tone because their bodies produce less melanin to produce more vitamin D. This is known as adaptation. If subsequent generations of people are exposed to the same environment, they tend to adapt to the foods that are available in that environment. This happens over hundreds of generations].
Regarding vegetarian and non-vegetarian adaptation, a Cornell University study found such an adaptation occurring in humans via a gene called FADS (FADS1 and FADS2). There is a vegetarian and a non-vegetarian version of this gene. The vegetarian version is great at producing EPA and DHA from plant sources, whereas the non-vegetarian version is not. The consequence is that- if you are a non-vegetarian shifting to a vegetarian diet, you should pay attention to your EPA and DHA needs and adequately supplement.
The FADS1 gene found in the ancestral vegetarian farmers produces enzymes that play a vital role in the biosynthesis of omega-3 and omega-6 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA). While omega-3 and omega-6 can be obtained directly from animal-based diets, they are absent from plant-based diets. Vegetarians need FADS1 enzymes to biosynthesize LCPUFA from SCPUFA found in plants (roots, vegetables and seeds).
There is also a consequence to carriers of the vegetarian version of the FADS1 gene, shifting to non-vegetarian diets. Possibly due to excessive omega’s in the system shifting the omega 3 to omega 6 ratio, they may be at higher risk of heart disease and cancer. So, if you are making that shift, moderate your non-veg intake.
More importantly, it will help you to find out which version of the FADS1 genes you carry to understand whether your body is optimized for EPA and DHA via vegetarian or non-vegetarian sources.
You had been wondering about your friends who could eat all the starchy carbohydrates and not put on an ounce of weight. Well, you were not the only one thinking about that. Quite a few scientists were trying to find an answer to why not everyone puts on equal amounts of weight on equal amounts of carbs.
Our bodies can't effectively utilize complex foods such as starches in our diet unless they are first digested into simple sugars.
Various enzymes are responsible for digesting complex foods into simple sugars. Amylase is one such enzyme which is responsible for digesting starch. Amylase, is produced by a gene called, AMY.
As it turns out, not all of us have the same amount of it in our bodies. Some have more and some have less. And depending upon how much you have, your ability to digest starch is more or less. Scientists wanted to investigate, why different human populations have different levels of this enzyme in their body?
The answer came by way of a scientific study published in Nature Genetics. In this study, researchers found that groups whose ancestors tended to eat more starch had more amylase in their spit. This makes some sense as amylase is the protein that breaks down starch into sugars we can use. The groups which tended to eat more starchy foods were predominantly farmers as well as hunter-gatherers of the desert. In contrast hunter-gatherers of the rainforest don’t or people of the cold north who mostly relied on fish and fats, don’t tend to have much Amylase in their saliva.
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Several groups of people were studied and there was a lot of variation within each group but on average, groups who ate more starch had more copies of the amylase gene. Groups with a high starch diet averaged seven copies of the amylase gene compared to the five copies seen in groups who ate a low starch diet.
In other studies, a connection has been shown between high levels of amylase and better enzymatic activity and obesity. A better active enzyme leads to lower BMI.
So, do you know how many copies of amylase enzyme gene you carry, five, seven or more?
Tracy is a 40-year-old African American who is an aerobics instructor, a mother of two and a college student pursuing a degree in business. She looks like any other normal person, except that she is not normal. Not normal in the sense of her LDL cholesterol levels. Her LDL cholesterol is 14, where as the normal range for the population is somewhere around 100.
Scientist have been studying the anomaly in cholesterol levels in people like her and investigating what makes them have such low levels. And whether, there is a negative health effect of having such low LDL levels. They found their answer. Tracy and people like her are carriers of a mutation in a gene called PCSK9. People who carry this mutation have very low cholesterol levels and have a 90% reduced risk of heart disease.
Tracy has a genetic gift. But there are millions of people who suffer from high cholesterol and have to endure the side effects of cholesterol lowering drugs called statins.
It’s estimated that up to 20% of patients cannot tolerate statins' side effects, which include muscle pain and even forgetfulness. And in many others, the drugs simply don't control cholesterol levels well enough.
Now Tracy’s gift has been put to good use, leading to the development of a new class of cholesterol lowering drugs, called, well, PCSK9 drugs. Unlike statins, this drug works naturally and is not likely to produce side effects. These drugs worked so well that FDA had to halt the clinical trial early.
The human body has many sensors that allows it to sense and control the levels of various biochemicals, hormones, enzymes and proteins. If the sensors are not working properly, things can go haywire. For example, the smoke sensor in your room is supposed to sense smoke to trigger the sprinkler in the event of fire. However, if there is dust accumulated on the surface of the sensor, then the smoke is not detected and sprinkler not triggered.
Another example is that of a temperature sensor which shuts off the air conditioner once the set temperature is reached. If the sensor is not functional, the AC will continue to operate without shutting off and cool the room to much lower temperature than desirable. Similarly, the liver has a cholesterol sensor. If the cholesterol sensor does not detect enough cholesterol, because there is biological “dust” accumulated on the sensors, then the liver thinks there is not enough cholesterol in the system, and starts producing more and more of it. This dust is PCSK9. For people like Tracy, their body does not produce PCSK9, hence no “dust” to block the sensor.
Though Tracy is an extreme case, a lot of us have various mutations in the PCSK9 genes and other genes such as APOA, LDL, LPL, APOB and other genes that modulate our cholesterol levels and predisposition to heart disease. Being informed about the various mutations we carry can help develop a personalized diet, exercise and preventive program that is uniquely tailored for us.
Yes, you read that right, the absence of a gene allows you to consume large quantities of fats without having to worry about your triglycerides levels.
Scientists have long known the effects of Apolipoproteins (APO) in human fat transport and utilization. When present, ApoC-III that limits the body’s ability to metabolize fats called triglycerides. When absent, the body metabolizes all available triglycerides, leading to very low levels in blood. One of the best ways to to get more definitive answers about a gene is to completely remove it from an organism and observe the effects of its elimination. If the gene is absolutely essential to life, the organism does not survive. Otherwise, the organism survives with the effects of the genes removal, which the scientists study. The poor thing I have been referring to as “organism” is the humble mice, the organism of choice. Mice and other animals have to date saved countless human lives by sacrificing their own. Thank you!
A study on knockout mice in 2011 indeed showed that knocking out a gene known as APOC3 leads to very low levels of triglycerides. What is more interesting is that in 2017, a group of researchers studying inbreeding populations in Pakistan found a human equivalent of the APOC3 deficient mice.
In Pakistan, first cousin marriages are fairly common. That raises the chances of parents passing identical copies of genes to their children. The research group sequenced the DNA of 10,503 Pakistanis who are participating in a long-term heart disease and diabetes study and found several fully knocked-out genes. The team then looked for abnormalities in about 200 clinical blood biomarkers such as cholesterol, triglycerides, etc.
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In this study, the group identified a whole family where both parents and all nine of their children lack the APCO3 gene. When the family members were given a fat-laden milkshake, as part of the study, their blood fat levels barely rose, suggesting they have little artery-clogging fat in their bodies and should be protected against heart attacks. The family also seemed perfectly healthy, so ApoC-III–blocking drugs now in clinical testing should be safe.
Though, this study was about human knockouts (people in whom this gene is completely absent, which are extremely rare), the rest of us carry variations in the APOC3 gene which affects our triglyceride levels and heart health in various ways.
Learning about the APOC3 and other gene polymorphisms you carry can help you modulate dietary fat intake and other appropriate interventions that are optimal for your genetics.
You may have prescribed to various diets plans to lose weight fast, or another “best weight loss diet” or a “quick weight loss” scheme etc. But if you are reading this article, chances are that you have figured out by now, that those are nothing more than “quick” marketing schemes and whether you lost weight or not, you certainly lost your money. It is estimated that the global weight loss industry is USD 600 Billion and much of it is wasted.
The internet is filled with “advice” for the gullible- promoting anything and everything from Foods to lose weight, best weight loss diets, healthy diet plans, to fancy home delivered meal plans.
In this article you will learn the key to a successful diet to lose weight and how to avoid falling prey to misinformation about weight loss and how to know which is the best diet plan for YOU!
You have heard it all- Low carbs, low fat foods, low salt, low everything. Well, on a low everything diet, I promise you that anyone will lose weight. But you will also lose your mind!
The “low everything diet” will make your life so miserable that you will not be able to follow it for much long. Plus, much of that sacrifice would have been unnecessary!
But first, let’s examine how the low-everything movement started. It started in ignorance. Ignorance of the fact that human bodies are significantly different from each other. So, when people are ignorant and don’t know what to do, what do they do? Spray and pray- precisely what the nutrition and diet professionals and individuals have been doing all along. They have been doing all the unnecessary things that only make it difficult and complicated to follow but potentially do bodily and mental harm to individuals.
Remember, before science discovered the facts about earth, it was thought by various cultures that the earth was flat, that it was resting on the nose of a dolphin or on the tip of a cow’s horn, etc etc. Unfortunately, much of nutritional advice today sounds like that. Same advice doled out to everyone, online and offline.
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A little thought experiment for you- if carbs are bad, why doesn't everyone become obese on carbs, likewise, if fats are bad, why not everyone become fat or have a heart attack, why doesn't the widely recommended "bullet proof" diet work for you and many others?
We live in a one size fits all world of nutrition. Due to lack of knowledge and innovation, the same stuff is repeated and recycled often, even if it's worthless. So, if you have tried many things and failed, it’s not your fault.
But, thankfully, things are changing fast, thanks to the new science of human genetics.
We don't look the same. We are different down to our fingerprints. If I pass your fingerprints for mine, it won't fly anywhere. But we are happy to pretend that something far more complex in human biology, human Nutrition, can be treated the same across all humans. Pure BS!
These are but a few examples, there are many more nutritional aspects in which you may be different than others. Unless you learn about your specific metabolism, much of your weight loss efforts will be trial and error.
If you have been struggling to lose weight and tried everything under the sun, please stop abusing yourself! You have been following what is known as "trial and error" method (aka. Spray and pray), which is the "I don’t know what I am doing" approach.
First step is to understand your body. Understand your genetics. Understand your metabolism. Understand what works for YOU. Only then can you succeed in reaching an optimal body weight. Otherwise, you are wasting a lot of time and not to mention money.
Only YOU can truly understand what works for you and knowledge of your biological self will guide you in the right direction. So take action today to understand your genetic metabolism.
