Weight Management: Using Genetics to Determine Diet and Exercise

What Should You Eat – Part 1

Weight Management: Using Genetics to Determine Diet and Exercise

Over the next several weeks we will journey through appropriate diets for not only weight management, but will go into food allergies, sensitivities, autoimmunity, diabetes, and neurological disorders. You will learn that each of these has the ability to impact the other, and they need to be addressed as a whole to have the best results. This week we are going to focus on weight management through genetics of diet and exercise.

Since the early 2000’s there has been constant talk about dieting. We have seen many diets come and go, while others still persist. Many people have seen great results with diets, but then others are unable to achieve the same results. This leads them to continue searching for the perfect diet. Many times this search goes on for years and can end with a feeling of despair. Are you sick of guessing and not knowing?

Thoughts to Consider

1. There is no perfect diet, there is only the perfect diet for you
2. There is no perfect exercise routine for everyone
3. Each person has different genetics and factors that have helped them develop

This brings us to the main point. Our genetics are used to determine many things such as risk factors for disease, mental illness, pregnancy, and which medications your body can best utilize. If genetics can be used to tell us predisposition to diseases or which medications our body can utilize. Then why can’t we use it to see which type of diet our body is able to process the best, as this includes ratios of carbohydrates, protein, and fat. Is there a predisposition in processing of different nutrients and minerals that we need to be aware of? We need to consider that nutrients have the ability to impact the function of cellular processes. If we have the ability to process different macro molecules in different ways, then is it reasonable to think that different exercises impact the ability of utilization? Many people go to the gym and are counting calories burned to calories consumed, but even with precision and discipline there is still difficulty achieving their goals. Some people do better with high burst, endurance, resistance, or cardio exercises. Others need a mix to best achieve the desired results. Our genetics have the ability to help us identify which path we should take concerning our dietary and exercise routines.

References:
Vergères, G. (2013). Nutrigenomics – linking food to human metabolism. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 31(1), 6-12. doi:10.1016/j.tifs.2013.02.002