Which is the best diet for you--low carb, low fat, or balanced? Find your diet by DNA testing

According to the latest feature article, "Dr. Oz's Diet Breakthrough," that appeared in the August 9, 2010 issue of Woman's World (The date refers to how long the magazine is to be kept on news stands), there's a questionnaire with 14 questions. Asking what's your diet DNA also is part of the personalized medicine revolution in popular media.

It's more than asking what's your type or what's your sign. It's about genetic markers that create body shapes that in turn create different diet needs. You tailor your food to your genes and metabolism.

And your answers tell you whether a low-carb, low-fat, or balanced diet similar to the "Zone Diet" is best for your health. You're also given a choice to take an actual personalized medicine DNA cheek-swab test online that will tell you "what your diet DNA" is, according to the article in Woman's World (a magazine on most supermarket racks).

Personalized medicine for dieting is such a hot topic that it has been the focus this summer and all year on many popular TV news shows, from the Wall Street Journal to the Today Show, in U.S. News and World Report, and other major news magazines and TV programs reaching millions of viewers. What can genetic tests tell you about what diet is best? And if you don't take the DNA tests, can your body shape tell you basically whether you're a low-fat or low-carb person regarding your diet?

Can genes be simplified into saying that if you're apple shaped, it's low carb, and if you're pear-shaped, it's a low-fat diet you need for health? What other body-shape traits reveal your DNA that shapes your eating cravings, habits, and what foods you need balanced for your maximum health?

The topic of dieting by DNA and/or body shape is popular in the news. Last year it was metabolic diets. This year it's your diet DNA. Basically, your genetic markers give you information for what you should be eating. But, again, without checking your entire genome which is not affordable presently, how can you really tell?

The affordable DNA for diet testing is within almost anyone's reach. It's online. You take a cheek swab and mail it to the lab. And it's around $149, according to the Woman's World article dated August 9, 2010. The article gives the website of Inherent Health, a DNA testing company that has been interviewed by mainstream media all year. Check out the mainstream news videos listed below on DNA testing for nutritional health.

What about genetic tests you can take to guide you in choice of foods, weight management, and nutrition? It's called personalized medicine. Check out the website of Inherent Health. The Wall St journal covered this story. View the video, Wall Street Journal Covers the Inherent Health Weight Management Test. Check out this June 23, 2010 article, Cover story featuring the Inherent Health Weight Management Genetic Test. Looking at genes for weight management or weight loss is a hot topic in medical and nutrition news. See the article, U.S.News & World Report article about Weight Management and Genes.

The company, Inherent Health offers a health and wellness brand of genetic tests from Interleukin Genetics that empower consumers to help prevent some of the chronic diseases of aging through diet and lifestyle recommendations uniquely based on insights from a trusted source of genetic research.

Check out the news videos on genetic tests to find out which diet is best. View the Today Show Madelyn Fernstrom Talks about Genes and Dieting. Also see the CBS Morning News Story on the Weight Mgmt Test and view the video, Today Show Kathie Lee talks about the Weight Managment Test.

Think about it. Can a simple genetic test tell you what and how to eat? Or would you have to have your entire genome sequenced before you could understand what your risks really are and how you could help your health by nutritional changes? Results are important, and the tests have been described in the Wall St. Journal and on the Today TV Show.

Results from the Inherent Health line of genetic tests provide individuals with a clear understanding of their genetic profile as it relates to a particular health concern, a summary of the role those genes have on their present health and steps to improve their future health outcomes. Relating to nutrition, the article, "What's Your Diet DNA?--Find out fast and for free," appeared withing a larger article "Dr. Oz's Diet Breakthrough," that appeared in the August 9, 2010 issue of Woman's World (The date refers to how long the magazine is to be kept on news stands). In this article, is a questionnaire with 14 questions.

The people with apple shapes, flat derrieres, those who hate skipping meals, those struggling to not overeat sweets, those getting bloated or gassy from eating carbs, those with high blood pressure, diabetes, or heart disease in their families, those with a family history of high triglycerides (above 150) are classified in the article as needing to be on a low-carb diet.

Those classified as needing to be on a low-fat diet check off questions in the article as having a clear "pear body shape." The pear body shapes who need a low-fat diet (not a low-carb diet) check off questions asking whether they "have junk in their trunk," tend to skip meals, then pig out, have a struggle not to overeat high-fat foods such as bread and butter, chips with dips, pasta, and cream sauce.

They answer questions such as "eating too many rich foods sends you to the toilet," and "low energy levels run in my family." Also on the questionnaire for pear-shaped people who need low-fat diets would say 'yes' to having a family history of high LDL cholesterol.

That's the simple 14-question test in the article. But what about those with mixed answers? Then the article refers you to a balanced diet because you have a mixture of genes for both, and suggests the "Zone Diet." The key idea there is balance, not too many carbs, and not too much fat and proteins. What about the actual genetic DNA test for diet and nutrition suggestions? For $149 (at this time) you can take a cheek swab DNA test that would reveal which of three types of diets will work best for your health and be easiest to eat. The three types of diets are low-carb, low-fat, and balanced (similar to the Zone Diet).

The Inherent Health Weight Management Genetic Test is featured in the June issue of FitnessRx for Women, when Registered Dietitian Susan Kleiner talks about the clinical study Interleukin Genetics conducted on the test with Stanford University. According to the article, “the ultimate vision of genetic researchers is to use the information coded in our genes to understand exactly how our own bodies work. This would make public health recommendations, based on population averages, obsolete.”

Based on your genetic makeup, your test results include specific recommendations to help you live happier and healthier. Plus, you can always visit your Member Page for useful tips, tools, news, and support, 24 hours a day. There also are several uTube news videos on this topic.

Nutritional Needs
Identify variations in your genes crucial to your B-vitamin metabolism and the ability to manage oxidative stress. Individuals that show suboptimal results for the genes can be at increased risk for ineffective utilization of B-vitamins and potential for cell damage caused by oxidative stress, both of which can in some cases lead to increased risk for certain diseases and cancers.

Weight Management
As featured on The Today Show and The Wall Street Journal. For the first time ever, lose over 2.5 times more weight with a plan matched to your genetics and validated by a recent clinical study with a major university. Cut through the clutter. Discover the right percentage of carbs, fat and protein for your body, and the right type of exercise. Finally - the answers you need to get results faster, stay motivated, and take control of your weight.

Heart Health
Identify your genetic predisposition to heart attack based on inflammation. This genetic analysis identifies individuals with a lifelong tendency to overproduce certain chemicals in the body that lead to inflammation. Overproduction of these chemicals can start a chain reaction that ultimately may lead to a heart attack. Knowing your genetic risk will enable you to take specific actions to decrease your overall risk.

Regarding studies of inflammation in Sacramento, at UC Davis in the Sacramento-Davis regional area, researchers reported that both amyloid plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients and structures made by some gut bacteria likely elicit the same response by human immune cells.

Genetic Tests for Bone Loss Risk or Severe Gum Disease

Bone Health
Identify whether you are more likely to be susceptible to spine fractures and low bone mineral density associated with osteoporosis. Early intervention now can help prevent osteoporosis later. Preventive measures can reduce the risk of bone loss and fractures, which in the case of vertebral fractures leads to a hunched appearance.

PST®
The PST® Genetic Test identifies an individual’s genetic risk for developing severe periodontal disease, which can lead to tooth loss.

Weight Management Brochures
The Customer-focused brochures feature the Inherent Health Weight Management genetic test. These sales aids are designed to help you and your customers learn about the benefits of the Weight Management test. Each compact 8-panel brochure comes with a spot to put your contact information and will fit into a standard #10 envelop for mailings. (25 per pack)

Role of Inflammation in Alzheimer's Studied at UC Davis

Check out the study published in the July 2010 issue of the journal Cell Host & Microbe, UC Davis. See the article at the UC Davis Health website, "Alzheimer's-causing amyloid and bacteria trigger same immune response Amyloid plaques, bacteria biofilm both cause inflammation that destroys neurons."

“Alzheimer’s disease may be a case of mistaken identity,” Andreas Bäumler, a professor of microbiology and medical immunology, reported in the UC Davis article. Bäumler and his colleagues showed that the immune systems of mice injected with E. coli and salmonella are triggered by curli fibrils, fiber-like structures consisting of curli proteins that allow bacteria to stick to host tissue and to each other and form colonies.

Also check out the article in the July 22, 2010 issue of the UC Davis publication, Cell Host & Microbe, "The Blessings and Curses of Intestinal Inflammation," Summary | Full Text | PDF. The intestinal immune system has to strike a delicate balance between initiating inflammatory responses against invading bacterial pathogens and avoiding their induction against microbiota colonizing the lumen.

Adequate inflammatory responses against bacterial invasion result in the lumenal secretion of antimicrobial peptides, as well as the release of cytokines in tissue that recruit and activate phagocytes. However, pathogens have evolved to utilize these environmental changes in the inflamed intestine to promote colonization. The review focuses on the costs and benefits of intestinal inflammation and the fine interplay between the host, its microbiota, and enteric pathogens.

Some people are born with a genetic tendency to overproduce chemicals in the body leading to inflammation. These chemicals start a chain reaction that can lead to a variety of diseases. But changes in your diet and lifestyle can help your body produce less of those chemicals leading to inflammation. And you know what diseases can flare up as inflammation increases inside your body.

See the article, Chronic Inflammation & Chronic Disease. In inflammation, your immune system acts up in response to infection, irritation, or injury. Certain foods calm down inflammation. Numerous allergy and asthma sufferers are all too familiar with inflammation, that also plays a key role in arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, irritable bowel syndrome, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and a variety of chronic disease currently under study. In the last 30 years, scientists found that the process of inflammation is virtually the same in different diseases.

Nutrition knowledge and changes can help with inflammation. Current research focuses on how a better understanding of inflammation could lead to better treatments for numerous diseases. Inflammation is a hot topic in medical research. Recently, in California, researchers at U.C. San Diego found a link between inflammation and cancer in the form of a specific protein. Check out the article, Study: More Americans at Higher Risk of Heart Disease.

References

View these recent news videos on genetic tests for diet and weight management.

CBS Morning News Story on the Weight Mgmt Test

Chronicle HD Reports on Personalized Medicine

KDKA News Story about Weight Management Genetic Test

WBZ Boston News Story about Weight Management Genetic Test