Day 12 of 12 Education: MTHFR. What did you say? Is that some new abbreviated way of cursing? No, but it sometimes feels like it. As a genetic counselor who had to start dealing with all the MTHFR variants showing up in prenatal clinic 25 years ago, I developed a real love/hate relationship with this […]
NGx
Day 10 of 12 – PGx and NGx Education
Day 10 of 12 Education: Fatty acids are important building blocks for the human body. They are essential to the structure and integrity of cell membranes and are involved in other processes such as inflammation, immune responses and the production of hormones. As an aside, I remember while in pharmacy school I mentioned fatty acids […]
Day 8 of 12 – PGx and NGx Education
Day 8 of 12 Education: Do you experience any of the following: migraines, stomach issues, dizziness, flushing, itching, anxiety, fatigue, sinus issues? Your body may be prone to histamine overload. This isn’t an issue of “allergies”. Rather, it is an issue that your body has difficulty breaking down and clearing histamine. A nutrigenomics test can […]
Day 6 of 12 – PGx and NGx Education
Day 6 of 12 Education: Hypothyroidism, also known as low thyroid function, affects about 10% of the population in the United States. Standard treatment is replacement of the T4 (thyroxine) hormone using levothyroxine (Synthroid). T4 must be converted to a thyroid hormone called T3 (triiodothyronine). This is accomplished by an enzyme called DIO2. Some individuals […]
Day 4 of 12 – PGx and NGx Education
Day 4 of 12 Education: Nutrigenomic testing looks at more than a dozen genes involved in production, utilization and processing of hormones in the body. Women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) will often have variants in several of these genes, including ESR2, CYP17A1 and CYP19A1. Knowledge about these variants can assist in lifestyle modifications to […]
Day 2 of 12 – PGx and NGx Education
Day 2 of 12 Education: I use the nutrigenomics test from a company called 3X4 Genetics. The test looks at variants in more than 130 genes. Three of the genes studied are involved in the body’s use of vitamin D. My genetics suggest I have a difficult time converting vitamin D (both from the sun […]