The internet buzzes with fad diets claiming amazing results for all-comers even to the extreme of becoming a Breatharian (eating only air and light). While I profess no interest in giving up food for a breakfast of air and light, I do strive to guide others in finding an optimal nutrition plan for them. Several factors go into my patient’s optimal nutritional approach. We start with needs and preferences. While preferences reveal themselves with a few questions about tastes and dislikes, nutritional needs take a little more time.
While a person’s preferences for spicy versus sour foods may hinder creating a one size fits all approach for society’s best diet, the greatest obstacle to the “one” best diet for all lies in the needs being so different between each patient. The underlying explanations for why each person’s nutritional needs vary so greatly include both environment and genetics factors. Putting aside environmental influences like toxicities and life stressors for now, the genetic endowment one receives from mother and father often rises to the top in research reports.
In this case researchers working with the Karolinska Institute evaluated the effect of linolenic acid on human metabolism depending on the presence or absence of a FADS1 polymorphism. They found that a since letter change in DNA coding at location rs174550 on the gene changed how that person responded to adding linoleic acid, a poly unsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) from sunflower oil to their diet. For those study participants with a thymidine (T) at both chromosome sites (one from mom and one from dad), the increased linoleic acid intake also increased arachidonic acid levels (inflammatory fatty acid) and C-reactive protein (CRP, inflammatory marker) levels. For the participants with two cytosines (C), no increase in these inflammatory markers occurred.
In simplest terms, some individuals appear to be genetically determined to have more inflammation occur in response to this fatty acid while others don’t. Unless some other environmental or other genetics factors outweigh this influence, those individuals probably should limit their intake of linoleic acid rather than augment it.
In the age of personalized or precision medicine, the knowledge of one’s genetics allows functional MD’s to guide patients in optimizing their nutrition in ways never before possible. We are just beginning to understand the effect of genetics on dietary needs, yet our firstfruits can already benefit our patients wanting to live a healthier, more abundant life.
Reference:
Maria A Lankinen, Alexander Fauland, Bun-ichi Shimizu, Jyrki Ågren, Craig E Wheelock, Markku Laakso, Ursula Schwab, Jussi Pihlajamäki; Inflammatory response to dietary linoleic acid depends on FADS1 genotype, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 109, Issue 1, 1 January 2019, Pages 165–175, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqy287
Sanctuary Functional Medicine, under the direction of Dr Eric Potter, IFMCP MD, provides functional medicine services to Nashville, Middle Tennessee and beyond. We frequently treat patients from Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and more... offering the hope of healthier more abundant lives to those with chronic illness.
As with all medical decisions, we ultimately are responsible ourselves for the decision. Our Doctors recommendations are just that, recommendations. I am aware of a W/C case where a genetic test was preformed at a time when the results would be inaccurate. This was for factor 5 liden. The test is NOT accurate when performed with an active blood clot. Yet, this was exactly when it was done. I do believe the tide is turning to more responsible medicine, yet it is slow going and we need to be educated from a trustworthy source and remember how far reaching our decisions in this area will be. In this case the false positive would have resulted in a recommendation that all females in the family be tested. You can arrive at your own speculation as to the reason this was handled improperly.