I am dedicating this article to the late Dr Michael Mosley, who I had the great honour of watching live at the Hay book festival in May, whilst he was recording his, very sadly, last radio 4 show “Just One Thing”.
“JUST ONE THING”
Each show inspired listeners to adopt just one habit to improve our lives and health, such as standing on one leg, whilst cleaning our teeth, great for balance, coordination and core strength. He also raised the profile of the benefits of fasting to improve metabolism and manage weight and in doing so has greatly helped the health of the nation. He empowered listeners and readers of his books with knowledge to look after their own health often in fun and interesting ways.
“KNOW THYSELF”
The one piece of advice from this last show was to “Know Thyself”. A saying from the 5th century BC Greek philosopher Socrates. Even in his passing, Michael Mosley so poignantly reminded us to be aware of our environment and our limitations, while he was walking in hostile 40C temperatures on a Greek Island.
We can use Nutritional Genetics to know ourselves better, in relation to our environment, by looking at our unique profile and honouring our inherited genes from past generations. This enables us to provide the specific nutrients and lifestyle factors that suit our genes and remove what doesn’t suit our genes.
It could be argued that our environment is becoming more and more hostile and toxic to our biology, as it has changed far quicker than our genes have been able to keep up with and adapt to.
Indeed, the increase in chronic health conditions that are crippling the NHS and taking up 70-80% of budget, are largely diet, lifestyle and environmentally driven. Medications do not treat the root cause, but instead can create side effects, for which more medications are needed, adding more toxic burden.*
By taking a science led approach, focussing on the unique genetic profile of our metabolism, we are much more likely to stick to healthy dietary and lifestyle habits, tailored to our individual needs, as we can better understand how it relates to us, since one diet does not fit all.
It is the unique combination of our genes with our diet and lifestyle that can drive certain food choices and eating habits. This can be addressed naturally and often quite simply, by going back to basics, when we know our genetic profile.
All that is required is a simple cheek swab sample to extract and test the DNA, with results usually returned within 2 to 3 weeks in a comprehensive report, with actionable nutrient and lifestyle recommendations.
As a trained and registered practitioner in nutritional genetics, with a degree in genetics and 20+ years working in biomedical genetics research, I help to explain the meaning of your results with recommendations. Results can be referred back to and honoured throughout the different stages and scenarios of your lifetime, depending on what you want to address, since our DNA doesn’t change.
By understanding our unique genetic profile along our metabolic pathways, in combination with our dietary and lifestyle factors, we can work towards optimising our health and bringing this into balance, reducing our risk of chronic health conditions, looking at root causes, improving quality of life and even slowing down the aging process *
The genetics variations that are reported are not the rare single disease causing genes that would be looked at in a clinical genetics lab, they are the commonly found natural variations in the general population and it is the combination of these that can have an impact on health and wellbeing,
If you would like to do “just one thing” and look at your nutritional genetics to “know thyself” I would be delighted to help.
* This approach is for information purposes only and is not meant to replace medical advice. Do not stop taking any medications without consulting your G.P.
Article written by Tracy Mills for Local People Magazine, Aug 2024. Tracy is a full time Reflexologist and Nutritional Genetics practitioner https://toptotoetreatments.com/, trained in Functional Medicine, registered with Association of Reflexologists (AOR), Federation of Holistic Therapists (FHT), Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) and Federation of Nutritional Therapists (FNTP). She has 20+ years of Biomedical Genetic Research experience. She works from her treatment room in Bollington, mobile to your home, remotely via zoom and is available to hold workshops on the genetics of nutrition and lifestyle. She can be found listed on the https://www.lifecodegx.com/ register of trained practitioners.