The Full Story

Genes

• Genes are segments of DNA that are organized by 23 pairs of chromosomes in the nucleus. Chromosomes are structures in the nucleus of your cells that hold most of your DNA. People have about 20,000-25,000 genes in their genome. The “genome” refers to the complete set of DNA. 

• The nucleus is where 99.9% of genes exist, but there is also mitochondrial DNA from your mom.

DNA

• DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid. It is molecule composed of a double helix that is inherited from our parents and contains the genetic instructions for life.

• We share 98.5% of the same DNA as a chimpanzee and 99.5% of the same DNA as other humans.

• DNA is transcribed to RNA, which is then translated into a protein. Proteins are considered the workhorses of the cell, and enzymes are proteins.

• Approximately 22% of all enzymes require a nutritional co-factor to function optimally.

SNPs

SNP stands for Single Nucleotide Polymorphism and have been inherited from our ancestors over thousands of years. DNA is made up of a double helix, sugar, phosphate and 4 bases: Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine and Guanine. These bases are also called alleles, and are abbreviated by A, T, C and G. and are the letters you see on a genetic analysis next to a gene.

Each gene has two alleles at a place on a chromosome. When the base pair changes from the normal (wild type) base pair for that gene, it is known as a gene variant or SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism). The wild type genotype is the most common genotype in the current studied population. Certain genotypes can alter enzymatic function and increase the requirements of certain nutritional co-factors or increase the sensitivity to certain heavy metals, toxins and carcinogens.

A single allele change is called “heterozygous” (from your mother or father) and a double change of both base pairs is called “homozygous” (from your mother and your father).

There’s roughly 10 million SNPs in the human genome. A SNP array (or your whole DNA data text file) will typically look at 500-900,000 SNPs, and most software testing currently looks at under 100 SNPs.

Fixed DNA vs. Epigenetics

The DNA code remains fixed for life, but the epigenome remains flexible. For example, how you eat and exercise can change how your genes function despite your genotype.

Research continues to confirm the powerful effects of epigenetic changes, showing even if you have a higher susceptibility to certain health disorders, you can reduce your risk dramatically through epigenetics. Your family health history does not necessarily determine your future health history, but it does tell you where you need to focus your efforts.