DNA TESTING
The Genomic Diet 19st chapter : DNA Testing
In addition to blood tests, today, we also have examinations at the molecular level regarding a person’s predisposition to diseases.
All living beings have had the character of their descendants transmitted to their genes for the continuation of the species.
DNA
DNA was discovered by biologists James Dewey Watson and Francis Compton Crick in 1953. They were able to decipher the genetic code.
The nitrogenous bases of this double-stranded molecule is shaped like a spiral staircase.
It’s important because it sets the blueprint for the construction and the development of an individual from womb to tomb.
The information is contained in 2 segments of DNA. Genes constitute the whole Genome.
Genome and genes
The genes dictate the rules for the manufacture of proteins that are necessary elements for the development of life.
All information that characterizes an individual such as skin color, eye color, a person’s voice, are contained in the genome but in it are also predispositions to diseases.
The genetic differences are often determined by a single base nucleotide substitutions, or SNPs, (pronounced Snip It: Single Nucletotide Polymorphisms) that can determine the s in the structure of genes and consequently, the proteins that they encode.
Genes are made up of 30,000 base pairs varying from 1,500 to 2,000,000
The nitrogenous bases of DNA are adenine (A) and guanine(G) while for the pyrimidines, cytosine (C) and thymine (T). RNA, a single-stranded nucleic acid, translates the genetic information contained in DNA. Thymine is replaced with uracil (U).
The chromosomal location of the two copies of the gene is defined genetic locus and is fixed in a given chromosome.
So, we have a non-identical pair which is called allele.
Polymorphism
Genetic polymorphism is the presence of multiple alleles at
the same locus. It is the seat where the gene is positioned within the chromosome.
If you transcibe a word and replace a letter the meaning changes:
FACE
CAFE
CAGE
That is, the sequence of ATGC (the natural sequence) becomes ACGG i.e. the base T has been replaced by a C resulting to ACGG.
We can identify genetic polymorphisms that increases the risk of developing a disease or a metabolic disease due to negative factors such as diet, insufficient physical activity, environmental degradation, and pollution.
These exams are “predictive” and can give us useful information for the preparation of diseases but, by changing our lifestyle, we can prevent the disease, slow it down, and defeat it in the future.
We can find various types of this test.
Genomic diet and DNA Testing
There are, however, less well-known tests that have great interest in medicine and the Genomic Diet.
Among the most interesting finds in “Genomic Diet”, that variants in the unfavorable genes APOA1 and FTO predisposes a person to obesity.
The gene PPARG KCNJ11 is responsible for the regulation of the metabolism of sugars and fats. Secondly, they modulate insulin release so they are a valid test for genetic predisposition to diabetes.
The functional polymorphism of the gene LPH (-13910 C> T, and G/A-22,018) is related to the deficiency enzyme lactase deficiency after the onset of intolerance to milk, sugar, and lactose.
In addition to these examples, we have the ability to obtain information about a person’s predisposition to hypertension and also to gluten intolerance or celiac disease.
Laboratories also perform tests on the genes GSTM1 and GSTT1 (Glutathione-S-transferase M1-Glutathione-S-transferase T1) that are among the major enzymes involved in the detoxification and purification of the body.
The lack of GSTM1 is a risk factor for colon tumors (S. Zhong 1993), lung cancer (A. Hirvonen 1993), skin cancer (A. Heagerty, 1994), and bladder cancer (Duglas, Bell, 1993) since it induces greater susceptibility to damage caused by AAS aromatic amines and heterocyclic amines by HAAS (xenobiotic compounds that induce the tumor).
DNA Testing
You can also perform DNA testing to determine predisposition on osteoporosis, stroke, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, atherosclerosis, heart attack, blood clots, breast cancer, and lung cancer.
It’s also possible to evaluate the metabolism of important nutrients such as folate (homocysteine, spina bifida, DNA synthesis, protein, hemoglobin), or Vit D.
The test of inherited thrombophilia is especially useful for women who use contraceptives or hormone replacement therapy during pregnancy.
We may also undertake a drug compatibility test because the drug response is determined by genetic factors.
DNA testing should be done in a person’s family tree, then the haplogroup.
Adam ancestral
From the scale of the “Y-chromosome haplogroups” or “Adam ancestral,” the genealogical branches of Homo sapiens, we can determine the genetic characteristics of a given strain, the original people, and the country of origin.
The YCC or “Y Chromosome Consortium,” has drawn a method for the definition of Y-chromosome haplogroups which is identified with the letters A-R.
The chromosome haplogroup of YA and B are the oldest. It originated from Sub-Saharan Africa. This haplogroup is found in the United States from the African American population due to the deportation of slaves.
The chromosome haplogroup YI is the oldest in Europe. It is believed that it belonged to the men of Cro-Magnon.
The chromosome haplogroup YR is the most recent and is generated in the Eurasian steppes.
David Caramels, a researcher at the Department of Evolutionary Biology, University of Florence, found that Asian and European populations both have haplogroup D which is not found in Africa and is therefore seen in Neanderthals. It can be assumed that Europeans have descended from Neanderthals.
(PLoS ONE, “The Microcephalin Ancestral Allele in a Neanderthal Individual”, doi 10.1371/journal.pone.0010648).
Thanks to the Y-chromosome haplogroup test, the concept of nationality and regionality also strengthens our ethnic descent. It gives essential information to understand where we come from.
DNA tests, or genomic, are therefore the future for the prevention of the onset of diseases.
Being “prepared “does not mean being sick, but rather, ensuring the possibility of self-defense.
Genomic tests and literature
“The major limitation of genomic tests,
for Dr. Anna Zuppini, PhD,
is literature”.
The choice of the type of test should always be carried and continuously updated. Otherwise, the analysis may not be informative or might even be misleading.
The need to update continuously is linked to the fact that within the same gene, there are several SNPs that weigh in a different manner in the same functionality of the gene.
For this reason, it is essential to choose the right SNP that allows a person to have an effective response predictive of the risks.
The importance of genomic tests, in terms of estimates, is due to the fact that DNA remains are analyzed.
Throughout the existence and coding for enzymes and proteins, all metabolic pathways of the organism are involved.
A “defect” in the SNP may lead to producing non-functional enzymes and alterations in fundamental metabolic pathways.”
Genomic test
The genomic test, to date, can perform and detect various individual profiles such as:
Cardiogenomico (metabolism and transport of fatty substances, atherosclerosis, coagulation factors, blood glucose and insulin)
Nutrition, allergies and intolerances (weight control, diabetes typeII, vitamins and minerals, food intolerances, allergies, thyroid function).
Autoimmune (rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, Graves’ disease, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis)
Metabolism of hormones (sex hormones, baldness)
Anti-aging (antioxidant system, skin-aging, hormone levels, hair loss, bone metabolism)
Sport and fitness (muscular profile, bone profile, profile cartilage, tendon profile, fitness, sports, nutrition and supplementation)
The application of the various tests available on the market are essential for the development of the “Genomic Diet”
Copyright 2018
