“Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food.”
According to Walsh, without an accurate metabolic analysis, you can’t really know what foods to eat or avoid. “The best diet for one person may be the worst diet for the next person,” he explains. “For example, a person who tends toward clinical depression may have low serotonin levels. These people would do very well on a high-protein diet. Then there are people with anxiety conditions that have the opposite problem: they have too much methyl in their systems. These people thrive on a vegetarian diet.”
Individualized medicine and pharmacogenomics
An article in Nature, reported that the “intersection of genomics and medicine has the potential to yield a new set of molecular diagnostic tools that can be used to individualize and optimize drug therapy.” Differences in DNA sequences that alter the expression or function of proteins that are targeted by drugs can contribute significantly to variation in the responses of individuals. “Imagine your healthcare provider knowing in advance what drugs will work for you, what you need to avoid and exact dosages that will work for you,” explains Joe Veltmann, Ph.D., nutritional biochemist and CEO, Institute for Individualized Medicine and the Genesis Center for Integrated Medicine, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Know yourself. Know your profile. Know your biochemistry.
“Your genes are part of an orchestra,” says Veltmann, “in which each aspect of your life, the level of toxins in your environment, the quality and quantity of food you eat, your emotional well-being, how you respond to stress, amount of inflammation, and your own belief systems can impact your DNA.”
“Do the best you can to avoid environmental insults (such as disease and infection, harmful food supply, natural disasters, water pH, levels of pollutants in soil), and strengthen your protection against them with glutathione, zinc, vitamin E and D,” says Walsh.
Methylation is important to your mental health.
Not all genes are active at all times. DNA methylation is one of several epigenetic mechanisms that cells use to control gene expression and is highly connected to mental health. Each of us is born with normal, under- or over-methylation. A simple blood test can identify an individual’s rate of methylation. As an example, if the antidepressant, “feel-good” brain chemical serotonin is not methylated, it will become inactive, which in turn leads to depression.
Nutrients: Heal your biochemistry to heal your brain.
According to Walsh, recent advances in epigenetics provide a road map for nutrient therapies that have potential for overcoming mental disorders and eventually eliminating the need for psychiatric medications. “The primary raw materials for the synthesis of many neurotransmitters are nutrients — amino acids, vitamins, minerals and other natural biochemicals we obtain from food,” writes Walsh in Nutrient Power. “Good mental health requires proper neurotransmitter activity at synapses. A comprehensive metabolic analysis would likely reveal several nutrients that are deficient due to genetics.”
Dr. Walsh tracks down “repeat offenders.”
“The greatest mischief in the brain is caused by nutrients that are on overload,” explains Walsh. “For example, copper overload is present in most cases of hyperactivity, learning disability, postpartum depression, autism, and paranoid schizophrenia.”
According to Walsh, other repeat offenders are vitamin B-6 deficiency, zinc deficiency, methyl/folate imbalances, oxidative stress overload, and amino-acid imbalances.
Personalized medicine
Genomic testing and interpretation is the path to truly personalized medicine. “This means you can save time and money lost with the current system of one-size-does-not-fit-all, trial-and-error method of medical care,” according to Veltmann. “People will be able to avoid the unwanted side effects that often accompany drug therapy and learn exactly what lifestyle choices, diet and nutritional supplements will help them avoid disease and lead to optimal health.”
Quantum physics and epigenetics: A provocative intersection
The publication of Bruce Lipton’s “The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter & Miracles” awakened many — scientists and seekers alike — to the reality that just because we don’t see it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, especially as it relates to our mental and physical health. With the deconstructing of the atom, scientists learned that it was an immeasurable, invisible energy that created the real power. Just as that elusive energy powers up the atom, it is the epigenetic processes that power (or weaken) our health.
“The old story told us we were victims of our own genes,” says Lipton. “The new story — epigenetics — tells us that we can control the readout of our genes and thus are masters of our own genetic fate.”
Risky business: Just who should consider genomic testing?
Veltmann explains that certain types of people are most likely to benefit from genomic testing. This includes people who are adopted; are challenged by stress, depression, anxiety, hypervigilance, or ADHD; work split shifts or have disrupted Circadian rhythms; have heavy metal loads; have inflammatory disorders; have a family history of heart disease, stroke, or hypertension; are predisposed to diabetes, obesity, or the inability to lose weight; and have oxidative stress related to aging or premature aging.
This also includes women who are contemplating pregnancy, in-vitro fertilization, taking or contemplating taking birth-control pills, hormone-replacement therapy, or bio-identical hormones; or who have fibroids, endometriosis, or heavy periods.
Other types include men who are concerned about prostate and other cancers; children with ADHD diagnosed with autism; and athletes seeking a competitive edge.
SNPs: Get better acquainted with your “snips.”
Veltmann has been studying single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP; pronounced “snips”) for nearly 15 years. 23andMe, a personalized genetic-testing service, calls SNP “typos, errors that happen when cells make mistakes in copying genetic instructions into new cells.” Identifying a person’s “snips” can potentially decrease the risk of chronic disease and eliminate the guesswork about medications, diet, supplements, and lifestyle.
Tests and treatment: Where can I get tested?
“Get your genome tested and have the results interpreted by a healthcare professional trained in genomics, nurtigenomic interventions, and behavioral and environmental medicine,” says Veltmann. “Have your children tested between ages 5 and 7.”
Resources include Veltmann’s Institute for Individualized Medicine, which applies functional genomics to improve health and wellness and offers a low-cost prostate and breast-cancer-susceptibility genomic test.
