Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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Have you extracted any actionable, effective and yet counter-intuitive (to conventional wisdom and general paleo knowledge) conclusions from 23andme or other genetic testing companies?

flag	asked Feb 2 2012 at 10:41 John 1,982●12●28

Gazelle · Answer 1 · 2012-02-02 13:08:06Z UTC

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I found out I'm supposedly a "slow metabolizer" of caffeine from 23andme (and so is my father) which means it might increase my risk for heart disease and that generally I don't tolerate it so well. I love coffee, but have known for years that it's problematic for me, so now instead of trying to live with it and drink it for its various purported health benefits, I am careful about avoiding it or carefully controlling the amounts I allow.

answered Feb 2 2012 at 13:08

Gazelle
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I found out the same thing! I don't drink coffee, soda, or any other caffeine-laced beverages so it's not a problem, but it was good to know anyway. – barefeet Feb 2 2012 at 13:18

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I found out the same thing and I still have my morning coffee. – Senneth Feb 2 2012 at 17:10

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I am the same on this. – TedB Feb 2 2012 at 17:15

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Same here. I had already figure out by experience that caffeine after 11am is a bad idea for me. I cold-turkey'd for a few weeks, but it didn't seem to make life all that much better. – stoic Feb 4 2012 at 15:13

FWIW, I am not a slow metabolizer of caffeine, yet I don't tolerate it well at all and avoid it. – BaleoNub Feb 15 2012 at 17:21

Dorado Galore · Answer 2 · 2012-02-15 20:24:58Z UTC

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You probably are not looking for grounds upon which to sue 23andme, but...

The word "actionable" means "affording grounds for legal action" and "violating principles of justice."

I get that you mean something closer to: "Based on one's genome, what behaviors should one adopt."

One thought. If your genetic tests reveal you are a carrier for genes related to, say, cystic fibrosis, you may want to avoid procreating with another human who is likewise a carrier, because two parents with that gene create a far greater chance of producing a child with cystic fibrosis.

Otherwise, the main fact remains: Genetic testing reveals risk percentage. Follow a low inflammation lifestyle, eat real food and work up a sweat several times per week. Do what you love.

answered Feb 15 2012 at 20:24

Dorado Galore
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I'd upvote this twice if I could. Not just a good answer to this question, but great advice in general. – Rose Feb 15 2012 at 20:31

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Definition #2 here: merriam-webster.com/dictionary/actionable – Sara S. Feb 16 2012 at 0:03

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I think the point of this question is seeing what information genetic testing has revealed to people, such as whether it gave them a key to a health puzzle, or led to some other insight (like maybe high fat low carb isn't the way to go). ... As for procreation, the decision is entirely a person's whether they want to procreate or not. I personally think it's helpful to know what risk factors one might have, but it seems strange to me to tell someone else they may not want to procreate. – Sara S. Feb 16 2012 at 0:25

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Sara, I don't think Dorado was suggesting not procreating. The sentence in question says "you may want to avoid procreating with another human who is likewise a carrier. Big difference. – Rose Feb 16 2012 at 16:16

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Rose, I don't think we choose who we fall in love with based on whether they are carriers for certain diseases or not. – Sara S. Feb 16 2012 at 16:43

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Neuroleptic · Answer 3 · 2012-02-02 13:55:32Z UTC

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I found out that I am homozygous for the defective form of the MTHFR enzyme, meaning that my body is a very poor metabolizer of folate. I've read some studies that have linked this to mental health issues. I've had schizophrenia since I was 13. Most mental health professionals give very little focus to diet in the treatment of mental illness. I wonder how well I would have responded to diet changes when I was 13 instead of riding the psychiatric medication merry-go-round.

I am not criticizing mental health professioanals by any means because there is very little research into the relationship between diet and mental health. Still, it would be nice if I didn't have to deal with the side effects of the medications I've been on.

answered Feb 2 2012 at 13:55

Neuroleptic
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Hi Neuroleptic, great to hear that you are improving by dieting. Has your improvement been significant compared to conventional medicine? Are you using GAPS? The reason i am asking is that i have a family member who seems stuck in the conventional schizophrenia treadmill. I really want to help him in some way, do you know if there are any good resources on dieting in relation to schizophrenia besides "Gut and Psychology syndrome". Many many Thanks in advance! – lmkc Feb 2 2012 at 14:48

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I have very little knowledge about GAPS, unfortunately. I would give the blog of Dr Emily Deans a look at though. I can't say that there has been substantial improvement in my mental health since I started the paleo diet. I haven't been on it very long compared to the amount of time I've had my disease, though. My guess is that if you start the diet before the disease progresses significantly it could offer substantial help. Once the disease progresses past a certain point I feel the diet could still help, but it definitely wouldn't be a substitute to conventional treatment. – Neuroleptic Feb 2 2012 at 15:12

Thanks for the answer, already read a bit of Emily Deans stuff :) You should take a look at the gaps book it's quite interesting in relation to mental health in general, and therefore applicable to almost everyone as it seems we all have our quirks just at different levels. – lmkc Feb 2 2012 at 16:02

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I also have the defective MTHFR! My doctor independently discovered this doing tests when I got pregnant 8 months ago, and put me on an extra special folate supplement. Very interesting about the mental health connection... – Gazelle Feb 2 2012 at 16:03

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MTHFR defective here, too. I take a Multi and try to eat more foliage. No mental health issues besides overthinking my diet. – stoic Feb 4 2012 at 15:16

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Beth-WeightMaven · Answer 4 · 2012-02-02 14:35:02Z UTC

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I have found out that I'm a little bit more neanderthal than John Durant ;). I also supposedly have a low risk of obesity (as if). So for me, not so much in the area of actionable findings (yet).

answered Feb 2 2012 at 14:35

Beth-WeightMaven
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Senneth · Answer 5 · 2012-02-02 17:12:35Z UTC

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I found out I have the genes for "hemochromatosis".

Yet I have been severely anemic my whole life.

I guess those genes just haven't been expressed.

answered Feb 2 2012 at 17:12

Senneth
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I came here to say something similar to this...having the genes doesn't mean much, it's the epigenetics (expression of the genes) that matters. And having a non-inflammatory, non-autoimmune diet prevents a lot of the bad things from ever being expressed. – miked Feb 2 2012 at 22:19

I sort of wish this one had been expressed, just so every doctor I see would quite having a fit when they see my blood results. haha! – Senneth Feb 3 2012 at 18:00

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You might want to get your Ferritin levels checked. Definitely take your hemochromatosis results to your doctor when you ask for the blood work. You may be absorbing and storing excess iron (bound up as Ferritin) even if your hemoglobin levels are low. – ABP Aug 16 at 23:18

HA · Answer 6 · 2012-02-15 05:23:37Z UTC

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I don't know, I work a lot in the field of breast cancer, and I know that the BRCA tests on the 23andme or similar home genetics test are not done with proper scientific process (this is per the oncologists I work with). So I probably wouldn't trust these results in general much.

answered Feb 15 2012 at 5:23

HA
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Can you elaborate for someone interested in genetics and with an understanding of most molecular bio techniques? What are they doing wrong? – Helicat Aug 13 at 13:32

Sara S. · Answer 7 · 2012-08-13 03:01:51Z UTC

Woah, I just got my results and there's one that has me stumped. It seems I may respond poorly to high levels of saturated fat in my diet. Does anyone else have this in their report (for the APOA2 gene)?

http://www.snpedia.com/index.php/Rs5082(C;C)

I'm not quite sure what to make of this. I guess I'll try a lower-fat diet for a while and see if I notice any fat loss? I haven't been losing weight on paleo, so maybe that's why?

Edited to add: Actually, 23andMe has turned out to be super important. Despite a gluten free diet for over a year, I'm still suffering symptoms from celiac disease, especially mood, energy, and mental problems. I found out I am heterozygous for a MTHFR mutation, as well as homozygous for a COMT mutation. Taking folate, methylcobalamin, and SAM-e has been very helpful. I also have a Leiden factor II mutation, which further complicates homocysteine blood clotting problems. It continues to be a scavenger hunt to piece things together, but the SNP analysis has been invaluable.

Brad · Answer 8 · 2012-08-13 14:31:21Z UTC

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I highly recommend checking out Promethease: http://www.snpedia.com/index.php/Promethease

It takes your raw 23andme data and gives you much more info with useful suggestions.

answered Aug 13 at 14:31

Brad
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I've gotten some benefit out of Promethease and snpedia, but I'm still unable to get some of the information I need. – Sara S. Aug 13 at 14:36

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I've just run my 23andme data through Promethease and it says that I am carrier of a rare metabolic disorder (Tetrahydrobiopterin deficiency) that impacts ability to metabolize certain proteins.Yikes! Maybe I should have left that can of worms unopened. No symptoms (yet), luckily. – Sigrid Aug 13 at 22:55

Sigrid, I think you're better of knowing, than in suffering for years and having no idea why, with doctors treating you like you're crazy. – Sara S. Aug 14 at 14:38

Adulescens Appetens · Answer 9 · 2012-02-21 06:45:05Z UTC

The only information I found relevant to my diet is that I have a genetic predisposition towards lactose intolerance. I emphasize 'predisposition' because they mention that certain environmental factors can affect this. Sadly, they don't list them or refer to any clinical studies though.

23andme actionable findings

9 Answers