Knowing Your Genes is the Key to Personalised Care

Why? Because you can learn a lot from your genes! Unfortunately, many people tend to think that genetic testing is just for ancestry, or to see if you're predisposed to a specific disease. And while those things maybe true, the genetic testing we do here at Perinatal is different - it is your personalised genetic blueprint that allows you to gain insights into how your genes function and how they impact your overall health and wellness.  It is a mouth swab test, that reports on a selection of genes  to provide you with a blueprint for how your own body functions, and where you can make better diet and lifestyle choices that are personalised for you. 

Our genes have an impact on our bodies and can have an effect on many processes, including some of the key processes of:
- Methylation: This is the process of repairing cells, making new DNA, and ensuring that your cells are working well overall. A genetic test can give you insight into how well this process is working. 
- Inflammation: The right amount of inflammation in the body is healthy, and helps speed up the healing process. Chronic disease appears when there's too much inflammation — and you can learn through genetic testing how well your genes keep inflammation at bay. 
- Oxidative Stress: Unchecked oxidative stress can lead to fatigue, memory loss, and other disease, and you can learn how well your genes handle this kind of stress. 
- Detoxification: A person's genes can inform how their body can dispose of toxins that build up. You can learn how well your cells work to detoxify your body, and if you need to change your environment to reduce toxins. 

Genetic testing can give you insights into your mood and behavior changes, as well as how to improve your memory and brain health. It can also inform you on your histamine tolerance, as genes regulate histamine production. You can also gain insights into your hormonal balance as well as your glucose and insulin regulation. You can also learn more about how your genes affect your joints and your bone health.  

Two clients may have the same diagnosis (ADHD, depression, anxiety) but totally different treatments.  One client may have low dopamine, another fast serotonin breakdown, perhaps issues with receptor uptake or transport into the cell of key vitamins like Vitamin B12 or Vitamin D.  Genetic testing gives us insights into genes like MTHFR, COMT, MAOA and DHFR which can impact your ability to produce, breakdown and balance neurotransmitters.  Also very helpful in understading why some medications like Ritalin or SSRIs may work for come and not for others.

Nutrients: your genes can tell you a lot about what types of nutrients are best for your body, and how well your body absorbs and metabolises them. Your genes can affect how your body processes caffeine, iron, fatty acids, choline, folate, gluten, vitamin D, salt, vitamin C, and vitamin B12, and knowing how they do can help you make better food choices.

Cardiovascular system:  Our genes also contribute to a well-functioning cardiovascular system in the following ways: 
- Blood clotting: Certain genes affect how well your blood clots, so genetic testing can help you determine if you need to take steps to stave off a stroke, heart attack, or other clotting issues. 
- Cholesterol: Genetic testing can also give you insight into how your body stores and metabolizes cholesterol, which can help you make better food choices. 
- Vascular Health: Specific genes also contribute to the strength of your blood vessels, so genetic testing can give insights into how strong or weak your circulatory system is. 
- Blood Pressure: Certain genes also impact your heart's ability to contract and relax, which may impact your blood pressure. 

Energy:  Genetic testing can also uncover what's affecting your energy levels and weight management, as specific genes can influence things like your appetite and how satiated or full you fill at the end of a meal. Genes can also influence something called adipogenesis, or the storage and release of fat cells, as well as whether fat triggers excess inflammation. They also influence how easy or difficult it would be for you to gain or lose weight. Genetic testing can also give you insight into how your body expends energy and burns calories as well. 

Activity: You can also learn more about how your body responds to various types of activities by learning more about your genes. Since genes influence aerobic training and oxygen usage, a genetic test can provide insights into your fitness levels and your potential. It can also tell you whether your body is more conditioned for endurance exercises, like running or biking, or for more power exercises, like sprinting or weight lifting. Knowing how your genes impact bone and joint health can also help you mitigate any injuries you may experience while exercising as well.

As you can see, genetic testing is the way to discover how your individual body works, and which lifestyle and diet choices you can adopt to help optimise your health, wellness, and longevity.  Understanding a person's genes and uncovering how genes uniquely impact a person's systems can provide that tailored healthcare approach —  they're insights on which you can take action.

Based on a client's history, current diet, lifestyle, and genetic test results here are some of the things we might recommend: 

- If their genes impact methylation, or the ability for their cells to repair themselves, then we could recommend foods high in B vitamins, like leafy greens, legumes, nuts, and seeds. 
- If their genes have trouble processing choline, we could recommend quality protein that provides choline, like wild caught fish, free range chicken and eggs, and grass-fed meats. 
- Where oxidative stress, we could recommend foods that provide mineral cofactors, like zinc, copper, selenium, and manganese, to upregulate important antioxidant enzymes produced inside the cells and foods that provide natural antioxidant effects like turmeric, pomegranate, and berries. 
- Some reports reveal high impact in genes that impact recovery from exercise, making gentle exercises, massage and stretching to help support recovery a top priority 

Ready to start your personalised health journey?  

Contact reception today!