This is not about diet and exercise for weight loss, but genetic control of hormones controlling hunger, diet and, exercise.
Genetics accounts for 40 to 70% of a individual’s predisposition to obesity. In other words being over weight is a genetic condition. If you are planning a weight loss program or just maintaining a healthy diet, the goal for our clinic is to provide you with the information about yourself. This will help you modify your behavior and use your genes to help you become a healthier you. This is unique diagnostic tool that unlocks genetic control of your eating and exercising behavior. Individuals will gain an understanding of their eating behavior and metabolism, and how to get the most benefit from exercise and physical activity.
74% of the population is over weight and are tired and wired!
Who can be helped with this test?
We help all individuals who want to lose weight, but our main target is for those who eat well, exercise but are not able to lose weight. Stress is the major block to weight loss.
For weight loss the focus of treatment is on the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and the adrenal glands, which is called the HPA axis. The three hunger hormones are affected by stress. Increased stress results in increased cortisol, adrenaline, and noradrenaline levels. The reason to focus here is because HPA axis dysfunction causes: Chronic stress, sleep disorder, inflammation, mood disorder, and thyroid disorders, which leads to weight gain and health issues.
Genes regulate the three hunger hormones adiponectin, leptin, and ghrelin. A gene is a sequence of DNA and DNA has four building blocks which are call nucleotides; Adenosine (A), Thymine (T), Cytosine (C), and Guanine (G). Genes have variations called alleles, for example one location of the allele could be “G” or “C”, while the other location would be “A” or “T”. The two allele locations combine to make up the genotype. These variations in the alleles of the gene are what makes us unique and determines our genetic make up. Science has now been able to isolated those areas of the genes, genotypes, responsible for certain characteristics like eating and physical activity. Genotypes give a predisposition to the behavior or activity but are not absolute. For instance, when you receive your report you might find that the healthiest diet for your body is a mediterranean diet, yet you may not like fish. You may prefer red meat. Does that mean you have to change your diet? No, but only you would receive improved health benefits, if you did.
Do I need an experienced doctor to read my report?
Actually if you are just curious and want to have your genes tested, the report is self explanatory and can give you a basic understanding of your eating and fitness behavior. But if you really are serious about getting the maximum benefit from this report you will need a licensed physician experienced in reading these reports.
For instance there is a gene tested for hunger and another for satiety, most people would think this is just the polar opposite of the same problem. But, no it is not, they are different. Some people experience hunger much more intensely than others, while some individuals can never feel satiety even after a large meal. Furthermore, these to feelings are under different hormones. Ghrelin is the appetite hormone and leptin is the satiety hormone. When the body is secreting too much ghrelin then one always feels hungry. Some one with low leptin or increase leptin receptor resistance is never satisfied after a meal. The brain never gets the done message, and so these individuals have general food cravings and not specific foods and are slow to lose weight. Because these hunger and satiety centers are located in the hypothalamus region of the brain, they are effected by stress.
Adiponectin is a hormone that is produced by fat cells and functions in the body to trigger your liver and muscles to get energy from fat. Higher levels of adiponectin are considered good for weight loss and health, but if you have low levels it increases the susceptibility to the metabolic syndrome and difficulty with losing weight. People with the genotypes of A/A or A/G are associated with possibly low levels of adiponectin, while those with G/G have normal levels. Stress decreases adiponectin levels by way of the HPA axis, that is why it is important to decrease stress, especially individuals with genetic susceptibility to low adiponectin levels.
Why can I not just go on a low carbohydrate diet to lose weight?
Many weight loss regimes will have you believe that going on a low carbohydrate diet is the answer to weight loss, this is entirely wrong because low carbohydrate diets cause more stress. We have now learned that stress is a major cause in lowering adiponectin levels and causing weight gain not lost.
How do I get started with getting my results interpreted?
Contact the office and a kit will be sent to you with the instructions, all the test requires is a saliva sample and the required paperwork filled in.
Once your results are returned and analyzed by Dr. Palmer, he will go over the results with you and answer any questions you might have and then will construct a plan for you to help you lose the pounds you have struggled with for some many years. Some individuals will require specific supplements to take before and with meals. What is being addressed is the hunger hormones, adiponectin, leptin, and ghrelin and there relationship to your body and stress, in some cases we will need to increase these hormones and in others reduce them or their effects. Lifestyle modifications will be addressed, but the main focus will be on making the necessary changes in your diet and fitness regime to help reduce stress.