The Best DNA Diet Tests Go Beyond Supplement Reporting
Article at a Glance
- The microbiome is ever changing, and anyone who gets regular blood draws knows that the results can vary wildly based on what we ate the week before.
- Most of us who develop an interest in genetics, especially lifestyle genetics, are drawn to the genomic data set so we can establish a foundation upon which to build our health and wellness protocols.
- A good DNA Diet test goes beyond supplement advice by creating a baseline for cardiometabolic traits, such as whether an individual can achieve ketosis, making it easier to choose between different popular ways of eating.
Genes Mentioned
Contents
I first created the Gene Food scoring algorithm in 2017 with the renowned San Diego based endocrinologist, Dr. Steven Brody, and several friends who worked in biotech at UCSD. Prior to creating our first DNA Diet scoring matrix, which evolved into our twenty proprietary diet types system of eating, we compiled the Guide to Nutrigenomics, which is still live on our website.
One of the fascinating thing about nutrigenomics, or DNA Diets as they are often called, is learning how the micronutrients we eat affect the actual expression of our genes and how our genetic predispositions impact nutrient deficiency risk. For example, the BCO1 gene and the role it plays in converting beta carotene to retinol (vitamin A) or the famous MTHFR SNPs that can result in folate deficiency or folic acid build up, especially in the case of homozygotes for rs1801133.
The micronutrient pathways is where most DNA diet apps start and end their analysis.
Going beyond micronutrients
This limits many DNA diet tests to analysis based on just a handful of SNPs, which is a big part of the reason the industry has come under fire. The early blogs deriding DNA diets did so after underpowered weight loss studies failed, and the subsequent big wins haven’t gotten the same clickbait headlines. We can say for sure that three or four genes will offer very little guidance on what to eat or what supplements to take.
And while the supplement pathways are relevant and often important, they are only part of the story when choosing a good DNA Diet test.
A good “DNA diet” test will give you just that – foundational principles of eating and living that can serve as the foundation upon which you build your health protocols. The best DNA diet tests combine supplement insights with cardiometabolic predispositions.
Of course, I am biased in favor of the test that I developed almost ten years ago now and the way it systemizes the often confounding topic of how to eat a healthy diet.
But, I can back up my claims.
Unlock Your Personalized Nutrition & Supplement Report
Gene Food uses a proprietary algorithm to divide people into one of twenty diet types based on genetics. We score for cholesterol and sterol hyperabsorption, MTHFR status, histamine clearance, carbohydrate tolerance, and more. Where do you fit?
The reason why Gene Food is the best DNA Diet test, is because we do something very unique.
Not only do we factor in the nutrient deficiency and the supplements a user should focus on at a foundational level, we have created a mapping system for cardiometabolic health.
Most of our competitors tell the end user very little of value about how they can personalize nutrition beyond supplementation.
Gene Food’s algorithm evaluates these pathways
At Gene Food, we report on B12, B9, B6, magnesium, glutathione, methylation, sulfur, vitamin D, and several other supplement reports, but micronutrients are not part of our core algorithm, they are part of our health reports library that users can reference to build on the foundation of our diet type system.
Our core test is designed to evaluate users for these traits:
- Saturated fat sensitivity
- APOE4 status
- Dietary fat metabolism
- Carbohydrate metabolism
- Histamine clearance
- Lactose
Saturated fat and ending the diet wars
In one combined report that relies on a series of polygenic risk scores, we score users into one of twenty diet types. The purpose is to point the user in the right direction so they can wade through the online nutrition dogma and get a clearer picture of what works for them.
In most DNA diet tests, you will get rote analysis of fat or carbohydrate metabolism as standalone reports that leaves you with nothing actionable.
Users fall for the marketing, but are usually underwhelmed by the insights they receive, which can skew heavily towards supplement sales for greater monetization past the “one and done” DNA kit sale. And I have said this before, part of the reason we have seen so much buzz on microbiome testing has more to do with the repeat nature of microbiome testing, which is the darling of venture and PE money.
The fact is though that we have the science to do so much more with genetic data than what is usually on offer from companies who refuse to go beyond the micronutrient angle. Genetic data, properly scored by the right system, offers deep insight into cardiometabolic traits. For example, I have written a lot about the concept of saturated fat sensitivity, which isn’t my term, it was advanced by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology in their State of the Art review from 2020. Even while arguing for removal of what they called “arbitrary upper limits” on saturated fat consumption in the dietary guidelines, they acknowledged that many of us (such as APOE4 carriers) are saturated fat sensitive. Similarly, we know that some PPARA and PPARG are better suited to diets high in polyunsaturated, but lower in saturated fats.
At Gene Food, we take into account genetic markers like APOE4 and PPARA to give the user macronutrient ratios, whether they have the ability to achieve ketosis, the likelihood of being a cholesterol hyberasorber, and whether they are saturated fat sensitive.
Unlock Your Personalized Nutrition & Supplement Report
Gene Food uses a proprietary algorithm to divide people into one of twenty diet types based on genetics. We score for cholesterol and sterol hyperabsorption, MTHFR status, histamine clearance, carbohydrate tolerance, and more. Where do you fit?
Breaking down a case study
We maintain a case study on the site that documents Gerald Holbrook’s journey. Gerald was an ultramarathon runner, but despite his dedication to fitness, he was struggling with rising cholesterol levels, increasing blood pressure, and low energy.
Gene Food identified Gerald as an APOE 3/4 carrier, and combined with polygenic analysis of other fat metabolism SNPs, completely ruled out a Keto style or carnivore diet for him. In Gerald’s case, he could lean much more on his carbohydrate metabolism than his fat metabolism.
When he implemented this new protocol, his athletic performance took off and he was able to keep his APOB below 80 mg/dL with diet alone. Gerald’s Gene Food reports contained the supplement reports he wanted, but these optimizations happened downstream of the core cardiometabolic insights that allowed him to tune out a chorus of influencers and take his own path toward better health.
