The DNA Diet Could Get You In The Best Shape Of Your Life

University of Michigan

Scientists have devised a way to leverage DNA testing to give you insight into how your body reacts to certain foods and workouts. The advancement builds upon the use of DNA testing to reveal what diseases you may be prone to by digging into your ancestry.

Enter, the DNA diet, also known as nutrigenomics. It gives you the opportunity to learn about what your body needs to be in the best shape of your life.

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Here’s the deal:

Companies, like FitnessGenes, are using nutrigenomics — the scientific study of the interaction between nutrition and genes — to give you insight into how your body functions. This type of testing goes way beyond ancestry and dives right into your genetic profile. FitnessGenes maps 42 genes and their variants, called alleles, to find any predispositions or sensitivities to particular foods and workouts. Essentially, you get a guide to your body: how it reacts to certain foods, what workouts make sense for you and whether you have a tendency to gain weight. MIND BLOWN, right?!

It gets better. FitnessGenes offers detailed diet and workout plans based on your personal goals. Do you want to lose weight? Tone? Gain muscle? Or, just get fit? You can set a goal and order testing based on how many weeks of plans you want. Most of the premium plans are under $300.

Here’s what the DNA diet entails:

Like any other DNA test, you send a swab and container to the lab you’re working with. You swab your cheek for a saliva sample, send it off and wait for your results. If you use a company like FitnessGenes, you will receive login credentials once you buy your plan, and your results will show up online along with any updates as the research continues.

Since this process is still fairly new, there is no proof that the test has predictive power, especially if the plans outlined are not followed. The only way to know if the results are real is to try it. Testimonies on whether testing produces positive results suggest simply that as of 2017, the testing provides general guidelines to follow. For example, you have a gene that makes it hard to lose weight, so try hard to eat clean.

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In many ways, the test can reveal common sense practices that perhaps you were ignoring all along. Most people know if they’re prone to weight gain and what workouts work for them. Still the test may be a source of motivation to make lifestyle changes.

Has the testing reached a point of perfection? No, but this is a huge first step to one of the biggest diet and fitness breakthroughs in history. Personalized diet and exercise plans based on DNA are the future. So keep an open mind, you may learn something that helps you live your healthiest life.