X-Men in the comic book series and movies have genetic anomalies that give them specific strengths and weaknesses. Similarly, your genetics determine your own gifts and flaws. For every gene pair you have in your body, you were given one half by your mother and one half by your father. Hopefully you have lovely, optimized gene pairs that allow you to lead a lovely, optimized life. However, if you did not inherit perfectly partnered genes, it may be a clue as to why you struggle with health issues, depression, and hormone imbalances while others sail through life seemingly unscathed.
The good news is that there are ways you can combat a less-than-perfect genetic inheritance – you just need to know what they are. And in today’s world, your first concern should be your genetic detoxification pathways.
There are two phases of detoxification within humans. The first phase has its own particular line-up of enzymes and actions while the second phase takes the refuse of phase I and turns it into something the body can eliminate easily.
Below is a sample of a genetic profile done by Genova Diagnostics (www.gdx.net) covering Phase I genes.
This particular profile shows the person has anomalies on 2 genes: the CYP1B1 and CYP3A4. But why does that matter? Because it explains why this person has problems clearing estrogen and metabolizing many pharmaceuticals. Translated, it explains difficult menstrual cycles and why some medicines just don’t seem to work right for this person.
Apparently, eating lots of cruciferous vegetables and increasing the intake of herbs and spices would help this patient greatly. I have a hunch that this advice applies to all of humankind – but in this individual it is crucial to lower the possibility of cancer and toxicity. Yet another testament as to why eating fruits and vegetables are good for us!
The second thing this patient should realize is that many pharmaceuticals may cause unwanted side effects and reactions. These negative responses are likely due to a lack of enzymatic ability to break down the delivered chemicals (whether ingested or injected). Genova Diagnostics provides a list of pharmaceuticals digested by this hampered enzyme pathway that one may want to avoid.
Coming up next: information on Phase II genes and detoxification pathways.