The more we know about our bodies, the better equipped we are to manage our health and well-being. Although healthcare is largely a reactive practice, the importance of proactive care is more apparent than ever.
Investigative tools, such as lifestyle genetic testing, are becoming increasingly important within medical science. The insights obtained allow healthcare providers to intercept symptoms before they arise.
Your physiology is as unique as your photograph
A critical element to consider when planning any health intervention is the probability of individual responsiveness to the plan.
Due to genetic variation, every body will respond differently to specific dietary interventions and daily exercise. This explains the wide diversity of opinions on the ‘healthiest’ way to live and the ‘best’ way to achieve weight loss.
The ‘most beneficial lifestyle practices’ are, in fact, entirely subjective because our genes influence our receptiveness to change.
Our genes dictate metabolism efficiency, addictive tendencies, satiety signalling, ability to mobilise fat stores through exercise, and optimal sleep requirements – just a few of the many areas that differentiate us at DNA level.
Thus, the key to any successful health intervention lies in knowing exactly where to focus your attention to achieve positive results. These focal points are unique for each person (even within the same family) and can be conveniently determined through DNA testing.
3X4 Genetics is a preventative screening tool used to examine genetic predispositions that may exist or arise in the future. A 3X4 Genetics Test allows you to nurture your health according to the specific priorities found within your unique genetic code.
Your genetic blueprint: A comprehensive user-manual for your body
The 3X4 blueprint examines 36 metabolic pathways across six categories of health:
- Weight balance: Achieving weight balance starts with your genetic code.
- Fitness and tissue health: Exercise more efficiently and reduce your potential for injury with personalised performance insights from your genetic blueprint.
- Hormone health: Pinpoint the processes by which your body manufactures and breaks down hormones to better understand possible hormonal imbalances.
- Brain health: Confidently navigate mental health with a deeper understanding of the unique way your brain functions.
- Heart health: Identify any potential contributors to impaired cardiovascular function through reliable genetic insights.
- Blood sugar regulation: Understand how your body regulates glucose and insulin based on your genetic results.
This foundational knowledge can identify potential problem areas within your DNA and empower you with intervention techniques to prevent genetic risks from being expressed.
Your health can be shaped by your environment
Genetic expression often depends on environmental conditions, meaning some genetic risks will only manifest under certain circumstances. In other words, you can adjust your risk by changing your environment.
For example, if you are genetically predisposed to cognitive decline with age due to inadequate omega-3 intake, then adjusting your daily environment to include omega-3 supplementation could mitigate the risk. On the contrary, a lifetime deficiency in omega-3 could result in the expression of that genetic risk (i.e., cognitive decline with age).
Similarly, if you are genetically predisposed to fat storage in the context of a high-fat diet, limiting dietary fat would initiate weight loss. On the contrary, limiting carbohydrates in favour of a high-fat diet would induce weight gain. However, if you do not carry a strong genetic propensity for fat storage, a high-fat diet may be suitable for you.
Lifestyle genetic testing will empower you to make the right decisions for your body.
DNA testing is not a method of disease prediction, but a means of risk assessment
There is no need to fear the results of a 3X4 Genetics Test, as it is not a diagnostic tool. It simply identifies individual risk areas and provides evidence-based intervention guidelines to avert detected risks.
The ability to manipulate genetic risk is defined by a concept called gene penetrance:
- Low penetrance genes impact genetic risk. These genes carry a variable risk, as environmental changes can alter the outcome of the risk.
- High penetrance genes impact biochemistry. These genes carry a fixed risk, regardless of environmental changes.
All genes examined by a 3X4 Genetics Test are low penetrance genes, meaning their expression can be manipulated. Discovering which low penetrance gene variants you carry will enable you to fine-tune your environment for optimal health.
Health = genetics + daily choices
Your health is not determined by genetics alone but by a combination of your genes and lifestyle choices. The interplay between genetics, nutrition, and health is known as nutrigenomics.
Although your daily choices may seem picture-perfect, unless they complement your genetic profile, you might not be reaching your full health potential.
No matter where you are on your health journey, enlisting the help of a registered 3X4 practitioner to interpret your DNA for genetic testing can be transformative. Click here for a list of experienced practitioners.
The more you learn about your body, the less likely it is to let you down.
References:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10298527/
- https://www.physio-pedia.com/Muscle_Fibre_Types