healthy body tips

As a nutritionist, I work with many different clients who have diagnosed genetic disorders.  This work is fascinating as we look at the significant role nutrition plays in the powering of our cellular functions. 

There are a far ranging assortment of genetic disorders.  Some of these genetics disorders are caused by genetic mutations and genetic duplications. Commonly known genetic disorders include: cystic fibrosis, down syndrome, poly cystic kidney disease, turners syndrome, ALS, anemia, breast cancer.... and the list goes on.

One of my newest clients is a young toddler who has a very rare genetic duplication.  So rare, she is the only one in the whole entire world who has this particular genetic duplication.  The result of the duplication is slowed motor skills, weakened muscles, developmental delays, digestive dysfunction, slowed metabolic process and mitrochondrial disease.  Many might classify this young child as mentally handicapped or severely delayed- yet as we peel back her specific genetic duplication, we can begin to identify areas for improvement and nutrient needs to power chemical interactions within her young body.  By feeding her body, balancing her system and working to maximize her metabolic process and feed her mitrochondria - we are beginning to see positive changes.  Our work is complex yet individualized to maximize cellular power to create changes within this little one's body. 

Nutritional genomics is a science studying the relationship between human genome, nutrition and health. It can be divided into two disciplines:

                       

Nutrigenomics: studies the effect of nutrients on health through altering genome, proteome, metabolome and the resulting changes in physiology.

Nutrigenetics: studies the effect of genetic variations on the interaction between diet and health with implications to susceptible subgroups.







More specifically, nutrigenomics studies how individual differences in genes influence the body's response to diet and nutrition. For example, people with an enzyme deficiency caused by mutations in a particular enzyme interaction cannot metabolize foods containing the amino acid phenylalanine and must modify their diets to minimize consumption.

With modern genomic data, severe gene mutations with less severe effects are being explored to determine whether dietary practices can be more closely personalized to individual genetic profiles.

At Healthy Being Wellness Center we incorporate nutritional/food based supplementation, blood testing, nutrient deficiency testing,  toxicity testing and hormone testing to identify areas to focus on with our nutrigenomics work.

Balancing the body is key in our work.  Feeding the body with nutrient dense foods and nutrient (vitamin, mineral, antioxidant) rich supplements is an essential part of our work in minimizing the impact of various genetic disorders, genetic dysfunctions.

If you or a loved one has a genetic disorder or genetic dysfunction, please call to set up an appointment with our resident Nutritionist, Melissa Gallagher.  Melissa conducts phone consultations for individuals who live outside the Tampa Bay area.  727-502-3464


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