Why do you feel like you need significantly more vitamin C in winter than others? The answer: We all have different genes. Therefore, not everyone tolerates all foods equally, and what boosts performance for one person may cause discomfort for another. Here you'll find all the information you need about personalized nutrition and the options you have to boost your performance in a completely individual way.
Table of contents
- 1. What is personalized nutrition?
- 2. Why are we all different?
- 3. What is epigenetics and what does it have to do with nutrition?
- 4. What is nutrigenomics?
- 5. Nutrigenetics: Why your genes influence how you react to food
- 6. How to test your DNA
- 7. Providers and opportunities in Germany
- 8. What can you specifically do with the DNA test results regarding your diet?
- Conclusion
1. What is personalized nutrition?
Personalized nutrition is an innovative food trend from the USA that opens new doors to self-optimization for you as a biohacker. Have you ever noticed that after a healthy meal, you don't actually feel as productive as you hoped, while your colleague is sitting in a meeting full of energy?
For many years, new diets have been constantly appearing on the market, promising to make you slim, muscular, and fit. Low fat, low carb, high fat, high carb – for some, they can certainly help you build muscle, but for others, who have adhered to their dietary guidelines with equal discipline, success simply doesn't seem to come. This is simply because no two people are the same; everyone has a completely unique DNA pattern inherited from their parents. Your genes play an important role in how your body metabolizes a food. This is precisely the aspect that becomes interesting for you when it comes to personalized nutrition.
Once you understand how your body's system works, you can eat personalized foods that bring you into balance. With this knowledge, it will be easy for you to eliminate the foods that drain your energy and increase the nutrients that boost your performance. You can also learn, based on your genes, which vitamins or minerals you need to eat to avoid deficiencies.
The Food4Me study [food4me] examined whether the idea of personalized nutrition serves as a genuine motivation for a healthier lifestyle. Participants adhered more strictly to the personalized guidelines than to general nutrition recommendations. This alone could help many people realize their potential even more fully. After all, the more individualized the diet, the better. It sounds logical and is effective. That's why a personalized meal plan is now not the exception but the norm for many US professional sports teams.
Take-Home Message #1: Your DNA, your environment, your lifestyle, and your gut flora mean you metabolize energy differently than everyone else. That's why personalized nutrition can be the key to increased performance and energy.
2. Why are we all different?
No two people are alike and there are various reasons for this:
- Unique genes: Every person is unique, thanks to their genes. Each of us has our own DNA, which stores all of our genetic information. This DNA is difficult to change and determines not only your eye color and height, but also your health, for example. Of course, lifestyle and nutrition also play a significant role in determining what you can achieve.
Research has now recognized the connection between DNA and nutrition and, for example, has clearly demonstrated, based on a study of athletes, that each person metabolizes caffeine differently [2]. Some people are able to process caffeine more quickly thanks to special liver enzymes and experience heart palpitations as a result. For others, however, the breakdown is slower and they can't fall asleep in the evening, even though they last drank their coffee in the early afternoon. Learn more about the exact effects of caffeine on your body here.
More about caffeine & L-theanine
It works similarly with nutrients such as vitamins and minerals. For example, approximately 28 percent of the population has a significantly higher vitamin C requirement due to genetic factors, as the nutrient is less well metabolized in the body than in other people. Generalizations about daily requirements should therefore be considered guidelines, as each of us has our own specific requirements, as the results of a study from Oregon State University demonstrate [3]. Genetic analysis can be used to determine personalized nutrient requirements. Likewise, there are people who can metabolize carbohydrates better and others who are absolute protein metabolizers.
Do you want to know how you function and what you need? Then simply conduct a self-test at home using cerascreen® technology. The company enables you to precisely determine which nutrients you are lacking using microsamples (e.g., capillary blood from a finger, saliva, urine, and breath samples). Check your vitamin D, omega-3, serotonin , and melatonin levels in your body now with cerascreen®'s simple at-home tests.
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Environmental influence : In addition to your genes, your environment also influences which foods you can best utilize to optimize your performance. For example, in the heat of Africa, your metabolism will react completely differently to food than in colder Europe. In a big city, you are exposed to more environmental toxins than in the countryside. Environmental toxins can also influence your epigenetics.
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Individual lifestyle : But above all, your very own lifestyle, which is unlike any other, also influences your performance. Some people like to get up early because they're more productive at the start of the day, others prefer it later. Some go to bed early, others later.
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Intestinal flora : The intestinal flora plays an often neglected, yet incredibly crucial role. It's an extremely complex system consisting of countless microorganisms. These ensure that you digest all the food you eat and utilize the nutrients it contains. If there's a disruption here, you may, for example, feel weak and unfit despite a healthy diet rich in vegetables and protein. You can find out more about healthy intestinal flora here:
So, a whole host of factors come together that, in addition to your unique genetics, make you even more different from other people. So you see: Given this uniqueness, how can a nutritional recommendation apply to everyone? A genetic diet that specifically personalizes the nutrition plan to the individual can be the first step toward better conversion of food into energy. So, if you're ever told about the new super diet for everyone in the future, know that this is absolute bullshit. It doesn't even exist. The key to better performance lies in individualizing your diet.
3. What is epigenetics and what does it have to do with nutrition?
We often hear from athletes or office workers: "I can't help it, it's my genes." Do you think you have no influence on your genes? Recent studies show that you can do more than you think. Specifically, various factors can influence gene expression. This is called epigenetics. Learn more about this from Dr. Akuma Saningong, a PhD in natural sciences, author, and keynote speaker, in his guest article.
Epigenetics deals with everything that happens around genes and influences them. In principle, our genetics, i.e. the genome including our DNA, is the hardware of our body. The epigenome, on the other hand, is like software that makes our hardware usable. It lies like a switch above the genes and can turn them on and off if it is correctly controlled from the outside. In the case of nutrition, you can influence how your body reacts through the intake of nutrients and even switch individual genes on and off. Certain nutrients can, for example, ensure that certain sequences of your genome are read or not read. This may sound unbelievable at first, but it is the current state of science and has a separate area of research with nutrigenomics.
You can learn more about epigenetics in our podcast with Dr. Akuma Saningon.
52 | Personality Development with Epigenetics & Quantum Physics - Dr. Akuma Saningong
4. What is nutrigenomics?
Nutrigenomics addresses the question: How do epigenetic nutrients control our genes? This is divided into methyl donors and nutrigenomic modulators.
Methyl donor
These are EPI nutrients that provide the basis for methyl groups. Without methyl groups, there's no energy – in many ways. Among other things, they form creatine and phosphatidylcholine for our cell membranes, ensure the production and transport of neurotransmitters and hormones, support DNA regeneration, and boost the immune system. Methyl donors include the following EPI nutrients:
Methionine (found in sesame, fish, peppers, spinach, Brazil nuts)
Folate (e.g. in leafy vegetables, sunflower seeds, liver)
Vitamin B12 (e.g. in meat, liver, seafood, milk)
Vitamin B6 (e.g. in meat, whole grain products, vegetables, nuts)
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SAMe (S-adenosylmethionine, is formed in the body from methionine)
Choline (e.g. in egg yolk, liver, soy, cooked beef, chicken, veal, turkey)
Betaine (e.g. in wheat, spinach, seafood, sugar beet)
Nutrigenomic modulators
The EPI nutrients that directly affect our genes are the nutrigenomic modulators. They feed our genetic hard drive with information, or can also delete it. These include, for example,
Sulforaphane (e.g. in broccoli, cabbage, sprouts)
Tea polyphenols (e.g. in green tea)
Resveratrol (e.g. from red wine, dietary supplements )
Genistein (e.g. in soy)
Butyrate (produced by the fermentation of fiber by intestinal bacteria)
Diallyl sulphides (DADS) (e.g. in garlic)
However, there are also EPI toxins that we don't want in our bodies. They also directly affect your genes and hormonal system, but change them negatively. They can severely reduce your performance. Examples of EPI toxins include:
Environmental toxins
BPA
Phthalates
Pesticides
Fungicides
Herbicides
Heavy metals
Chemicals
Medications
nicotine
Take-Home Message #2: Nutrigenomics explains how and which substances can influence your genes. It is divided into two major groups of substances: methyl donors and nutrigenomic modulators.
5. Nutrigenetics: Why your genes influence how you react to food
The field of nutrigenetics deals with the influence of your genes on how your body absorbs certain nutrients. The aforementioned EPI nutrients are not absorbed equally well by everyone. This is due to changes in a specific DNA sequence, the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). These SNPs occur in different genes and, depending on the genes, affect how the nutrients from food are utilized – better for some, worse for others. Two examples:
If the SNP occurs in the MTHFR gene, the EPI nutrient folate cannot be sufficiently converted into methylfolate. This can result in a reduction of 30 percent to 70 percent, depending on the composition of your DNA compared to that of your parents. If a genetic test has identified this SNP in your genes, it means: Eat more leafy greens for more energy.
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If the SNP occurs in the PEMT gene, however, phosphatidylcholine production can only be limited. The result: Your cell protection doesn't function optimally, and your cell membrane can become permeable and more easily absorb harmful substances. The consequence: You need more choline, for example, from eggs or beef.
As you can see, it can be very helpful to better understand your genes and get a genetic test done. There are several laboratories that specialize in genetic metabolic analysis of food. It's also worth consulting a specialist, such as a functional nutrition specialist.
Take-Home Message #3: Epigenetics, nutrigenomics, and nutrigenetics deal with the function and influenceability of genes. They can be controlled with the right nutrients.
6. How to test your DNA
In addition to metabolomics and proteomics, which analyze your cells' metabolism and protein composition, you can have your genomics analyzed. To perform a genetic test for your diet, you can contact laboratories that specialize in this field. You can contact many providers online. They will then send you the necessary "tool" with which you can collect and send back a saliva sample. Each genetic test works a little differently, but the instructions are usually very simple and can be easily performed by anyone at home. The evaluation of the results usually takes a few weeks.
BRAINEFFECT HACK: We recommend anonymizing your data, i.e., using a second email address and fake address details. This way, you can be sure that no one can access your sensitive information.
After DNA analysis, you can tailor your diet precisely to your genetic profile. Personalized foods may be your key to more energy and increased performance.
7. Providers and opportunities in Germany
Blood type diets, metabolic balance, or supplementation based on a blood test are the forms of personalized nutrition currently available in Germany. Long-term insulin levels, omega-3 to omega-6 ratios, vitamin D levels, and serotonin levels have been used for several years to improve fitness and performance. However, the advances made in the United States in genetics, epigenetics, and nutrigenetics in nutrition are gradually coming to us as well.
For your personalized diet, it's not enough to just know your DNA. The complete package of genetics, epigenetics, and your lifestyle must be integrated into a perfect diet.
Furthermore, science is still in its infancy in the field of genetic analysis. While these tests can provide a guide to the direction a person should take in their diet, a 100 percent definitive conclusion cannot yet be made. Researchers at the University of North Carolina noted that there is still a great need for more reliable results in this field that can also be applied to consumers [4].
Epigenetics, due to its individual nature, is still very difficult to analyze. Data protection and transparency also deter many from undergoing genetic testing. European providers are therefore preferable in terms of data security. Another disadvantage is the still very high costs, which, however, will decrease in the future once personalized nutrition becomes established.
Take-Home Message #4: A genetic test can easily be done at home and sent to a lab. However, it should always be done through a trusted provider.
8. What can you specifically do with the DNA test results regarding your diet?
The DNA test determines your individual metabolic predisposition. In concrete terms, this means that you know how efficiently your body converts the three macronutrients carbohydrates, fats, and proteins into energy and how much is stored as reserves. From this, you can then work with a nutritionist to precisely define the amount of each macronutrient you should consume so that you have enough energy for your daily tasks and excess energy is not stored as fat. This puts your body in balance, which is essential for your performance. What's particularly exciting is that the results of the DNA test allow you to optimally adjust the amount of macronutrients to different situations. For intensive athletic training sessions or competitions, for example, you need more energy than for your everyday office life. This allows you to precisely adjust which nutrients provide you with energy most efficiently for which phase.
You can find out more about personalized nutrition and the evaluation of your genetic test in our podcast Talking Brains:
44 | Personalized Nutrition - Eating Based on Your Genes
Conclusion
Our genes influence how nutrients are absorbed and processed by the body. Conversely, genes can also be influenced by the right nutrients. These nutrients vary from person to person – and this is where personalized nutrition comes in. If you take a closer look at your genes through a genetic test, you'll learn which foods boost your performance and which ones you metabolize less effectively.
You can find out more about personalized nutrition in our newsletter, which informs you about the latest trends once a week. Follow us now!
Studies:
[1] Food4Me Study (2017). TU Munich, Munich, Germany. Int J Epidemiol. Effect of personalized nutrition on health-related behavior change: evidence from the Food4Me European randomized controlled trial. [ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27524815 ]
[2] Pickering C, Kiely J (2018). University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK. Are the Current Guidelines on Caffeine Use in Sport Optimal for Everyone? Inter-individual Variation in Caffeine Ergogenicity, and a Move Towards Personalized Sports Nutrition. [ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28853006 ]
[3] Alexander J. Michels, Tory M. Hagen, Balz Frei (2013). Oregon State University, Corvallis, USA. Annu Rev Nutr. Human Genetic Variation Influences Vitamin C Homeostasis by Altering Vitamin C Transport and Antioxidant Enzyme Function. [ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4357493/ ]
[4] Kohlmeier M, De Caterina R, Ferguson LR, et al (2016). University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, USA. J Nutrigenet Nutrigenomics. Guide and Position of the International Society of Nutrigenetics/Nutrigenomics on Personalized Nutrition: Part 2 - Ethics, Challenges and Endeavors of Precision Nutrition. [ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27286972 ]
