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DNA Diets: Do They Work? (Part I)
Posted on Sep 6th 2010 11:00AM by Jonny BowdenFiled Under: Jonny's Take, Diet & Weight Loss
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OK, I admit it. I'm not a big fan of getting nutrition information from popular magazines. But I am a fan of Dr. Mehmet Oz -- with whom I once spent an hour being interviewed on his "Oprah and Friends" radio show. Which is why a recent magazine headline -- "Dr. Oz's Diet Breakthrough!" -- caught my attention in the supermarket checkout line.
(Note: The magazine article, from Woman's World, isn't available online, but here's an excellent summary.)
(Note: The magazine article, from Woman's World, isn't available online, but here's an excellent summary.)
Oz said that when you match your diet to your DNA, you get better results. He's probably right. But, as readers of this column know, God is in the details.
The overarching principle -- that people are different metabolically, hormonally and genetically -- is, of course, 100 percent correct, and it certainly stands to reason that individual differences account for a big part of why some people (but not all) thrive on Atkins, some people (but not all) do OK as vegetarians, and even others find Snooki and Justin Bieber endlessly fascinating.
But teasing out exactly what those differences are -- and how to measure them -- has proved very difficult. Bill Wolcott tried it with Metabolic Typing, just as his predecessor William Kelly and the late Harold Kristol did. D'Amato tried it with blood typing. Mercola recently tried it with a system called Nutritional Typing, designed by my colleague Glen Depke.
None of these systems are perfect, but all are attempts to find information that will let us match the "right" diet to the "right" person. Enter genetic testing.
A bunch of companies have recently sprung up offering relatively inexpensive DNA testing, the purpose of which is to help you find the diet that's right for you based on your genes. Sounds like a good idea, right?
Well, maybe. The big critique here is that these companies test for a handful of genes. You have about 30,000. Who's to say that the particular genes these companies test will tell you anything you couldn't figure out by filling out a good questionnaire?
The jury is far from out on genetic testing for diet. Next week I'll tell you about a very interesting study in which the principles of genetic testing were applied to some real-life data -- the results were interesting to say the least!
Stay tuned!
Jonny Bowden, author, nutritionist and weight loss coach, cuts through all the misconceptions about diet and fitness to help you transform your body, your health and your life. Visit his website to learn more.
The overarching principle -- that people are different metabolically, hormonally and genetically -- is, of course, 100 percent correct, and it certainly stands to reason that individual differences account for a big part of why some people (but not all) thrive on Atkins, some people (but not all) do OK as vegetarians, and even others find Snooki and Justin Bieber endlessly fascinating.
But teasing out exactly what those differences are -- and how to measure them -- has proved very difficult. Bill Wolcott tried it with Metabolic Typing, just as his predecessor William Kelly and the late Harold Kristol did. D'Amato tried it with blood typing. Mercola recently tried it with a system called Nutritional Typing, designed by my colleague Glen Depke.
None of these systems are perfect, but all are attempts to find information that will let us match the "right" diet to the "right" person. Enter genetic testing.
A bunch of companies have recently sprung up offering relatively inexpensive DNA testing, the purpose of which is to help you find the diet that's right for you based on your genes. Sounds like a good idea, right?
Well, maybe. The big critique here is that these companies test for a handful of genes. You have about 30,000. Who's to say that the particular genes these companies test will tell you anything you couldn't figure out by filling out a good questionnaire?
The jury is far from out on genetic testing for diet. Next week I'll tell you about a very interesting study in which the principles of genetic testing were applied to some real-life data -- the results were interesting to say the least!
Stay tuned!
Jonny Bowden, author, nutritionist and weight loss coach, cuts through all the misconceptions about diet and fitness to help you transform your body, your health and your life. Visit his website to learn more.
