Genetic Testing
It is exciting that advances in genetic research have finally reached a point where we can begin to look at specific genes and know their functions. With the completion of the human genome project, research is mounting as studies are being conducted and associations are being made between genetic variants and the causes of disease.
It was once believed that once grown to adulthood it was impossible to change the brain or the body. You were dealt the genetic cards you were given and there was nothing you could do about it. If Mom had breast cancer or Dad had heart disease, then you were just hoping and praying that you were not the unlucky one who got the “bad genes.” This causes some people to fear genetic testing.
We all have genetic variants, inherited traits that impact our health. However, recent research in the field of epigenetics, the study of the changes caused by modification of gene expression rather than alteration of the genetic code itself, shows that it is how we treat our genes that makes the difference
We can modify how our genes express.
What does that mean for you?
It means you don’t have to develop the same diseases as your parents!
It also means that you can change and influence the expression of your DNA by how you think, how you move, and by what you eat.
Using the latest research into our genetic make-up has given great insight into the true causes of chronic diseases. Armed with this information, we can begin to help our bodies work like they are supposed to. Our office does this by giving support where it may be lacking nutrients due to these genetic variants. This simple concept has dramatic effects on overall health.
Today’s Environment
Unfortunately, in this world of processed foods and factory farms we often don’t eat enough of the right foods to get all of the nutrients that we need. Others of us have these genetic variants that create a lack of specific nutrients or difficulty using the nutrients we ingest.
How can it be better?
This is where our testing comes in. Looking at your genetics, the individual SNiPs, single nucleotide polymorphisms, reveals the strengths or weaknesses of individual genetic expression. If there is a weakness inherited from one or both of your parents, it is possible to plug-in specific nutrients to help the body function more effectively.
It is not a test to fear.
The testing is not looking to see if you are going to develop a specific disease. It looks to see if there are ways, working together, to get your body to function better for a lifetime.
Admittedly, this testing does not look at every bit of your DNA. Science is continuing to explore and expand this field of information.
This testing does, however, look at multiple processes that occur in the body including:
- How efficiently you make energy
- Whether you have a tendency for inflammation
- How well you sleep
- How happy you are
- How well you prevent diseases; such as heart disease, diabetes, or cancer
- Your ability to eliminate environmental toxins
Should You get tested?
If you have chronic problems of your own, have a family tendency that you want to avoid, or you just want to have more energy and age more gracefully, then this testing is for you.
Insight Genetic Program includes multiple reports, evaluation, and designed supplements based on the individual’s genes.
Genetic testing is done through a totally private and confidential laboratory that will never sell information.
Once the results are available, typically 4-6 weeks after the kit is sent to the company, the reports are ready. These reports include:
- Mood and personality report
- Diet and lifestyle report
- Healthy genes report
- Biochemical report
- Supplement recommendations report
All of this information is utilized to optimize your genetic function. The reports contain multiple links to research and to explore the findings more deeply. One discovers the balance of foods to eat based on genetics and has a personalized supplement protocol based on the individual’s DNA.
Dr. Prahl will spend approximately 90 minutes on the initial visit going over the reports and making initial recommendations. Two weeks later, she will schedule an additional 60-90 minutes to address any concerns or questions that may have arisen after reading and digesting the abundance of information contained in the reports.
Prevention of conditions that were once considered “inherited” is well within our grasp.
- Repairing and building RNA and DNA
- Immune function (how your body responds to and fights infection)
- Digestive Issues
- Neurotransmitter balance (mood stabilization)
- Toxic Metal Detoxification
- Inflammation
- Cell Membrane fluidity and function
- Energy production
- Myelination
- Cancer prevention
When methylation, a biochemical molecular function of the body that when it is working properly you are healthy, but when it doesn’t work well, important processes are not carried out effectively. A dysfunction can negatively impact the immune system and the detoxification system. If the methylation cycle, one of the major biochemical processes of the body and the primary process evaluated, remains blocked for an extended period of time, infections and toxins will build up in the body. It also affects the way a person uses folate, important for DNA repair and cancer prevention.
Methylation disruptions are associated with:
- Aging
- Allergic reactions
- Alzheimer’s
- Anxiety
- Arthritis
- Autism
- Bipolar disorder
- Bowel dysfunction
- Cancer
- Chronic bacterial infections
- Chronic viral infections
- Cytoskeletal breakdown
- Diabetes
- Down’s syndrome
- Heart disease
- Herpes
- Huntington’s disease
- Language and cognition impairment
- Leaky gut
- Metal toxicity
- Miscarriage
- Mitochondrial disease
- Neural tube defects
- Pneumonia
- Psoriasis
- Renal failure
- Rett’s syndrome
- Schizophrenia
- Seizures
- Sleep disorders
- Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE)
- Thyroid dysfunction
Modifying our Genetic Expression (Epigenetics)
We can’t change our genes but we can affect how our genes express.
Through focused genetic testing and energy medicine evaluation, along with the addition of specific nutrients, the expression of DNA can be enhanced, symptoms can be relieved, and imbalances corrected.
It is possible to circumvent many inherited DNA limitations to improve health expression and health-span.
Contact our office for a DNA test kit. It is a simple cheek swab, done at home, and sent to the private laboratory that respects your privacy and never sells your information. (if you have had previous genetic tests through another service, talk to our office about this. We may be able to use this information but it may not be as complete) You register your kit and are in total control of the information. Once you receive word it is completed, it is important for you to save the data. You then share the information with our office. We can send it in anonymously if you prefer our office to handle the kit for you.