Nutrigenetics & Personalizing Your Keto plan for Optimal Health

1. Personalized Keto
Nutrigenetics & the science of personalized nutrition
Kristina Hess, MS, CNS, LDN
www.theketonutritionist.com

2. What is a Functional &
Integrative Approach?
• Understanding that all systems are
interconnected
• Takes a look at many aspects of
lifestyle
• Use functional lab testing when
possible
• Think like a detective and connect
dots – traditional medical model is
to treat symptoms not causes.

3. How to get best results?
80%
Psychology
-Behavior
-Mindset
20%
Strategy
- genetics
- lab tests

4. I had mood, sleep & stomach issues...
PMDD
MAT (magnesium)
Insomnia (delayed sleep onset)
CLOCK
IBS:Bloated/Gassy/stomach pain
I ate a lot of cereal and pasta
accompanied by a glass of milk

5. Many paths to ketosis..

6. Nutrition Science is Divisive!
 Is coffee healthy or not?
 Is saturated fat bad?
 What about dairy?

7. Human Genome Project 1991-2003
a 13-year quest to sequence all three billion
base pairs of the human genome

9. 3 major categories in genetics

10. The study of how diet &
lifestyle may affect the
expression of genetic
information, and how
your genetic makeup
influences your response
to certain nutrients,
dietary patterns and
lifestyle behaviors
WHAT IS NUTRIGENOMICS
& NUTRIGENETICS?

11. NATURE VS. NURTURE
Genetics = Nature
Epigenetics = Nurture

13. Food is Not Just Fuel, It’s Information

14. I was
hacked…

15. Acute vs Chronic Inflammation

16. Inflammation genes
(IL-6, TNFA)
• Sleep deprivation
• Dehydration
• Artificial Sweeteners
Smoking
Processed food
Dairy
Sugar
Wheat
Trans Fats
Vegetable oil
MSG & preservatives
Alcohol
• Molds, plastics, chemicals, pollution
• EMFs

17. Longevity = ∫ f (lifespan, healthspan)

18. Components to Healthspan
Nutrient sensing vs
autophagy (“self eating”)
Mitochondrial function,
efficiency & damage
Management of
inflammation &
reactive oxygen species
(ROS)
Insulin sensitivity &
glucose disposal
Progenitor cells vs
Senescent cells

19. What we know for sure …
• Social support is a better predictor of
lifespan than body mass index, air
pollution, and even smoking 15 cigarettes
a day.
• Caloric restriction extends lifespan
• Diet is the BIGGEST epigenetic influencer
& influences up to 4 generations

20. DNA is our Hereditary Material
• Your DNA is present in nearly every
cell in your body
• 99.9% is the same in all people.
0.1% differences create 3-4 million
DNA variations
• Wolves and dogs share 99.9% of
their DNA.

21. DNA is a language & I’m an interpreter
Information of DNA is stored as a
code made of 4 bases (like words
and sentences)
• A (adenine)
• G (guanine)
• T (thymine)
• C (cytosine)

23. Difference in response is due to spelling changes
• Wild Type (normal)
• Heterozygous
• Homozygous
• Do not put a lot of weight on
one spelling change – these are
LOW IMPACT GENES.
• Malleable!
• COL1A1 – codes for Type 1
collagen, a major protein in
tendons and ligaments. ACL
injuries reduced by the TT
variant

24. Protein
• From the Greek word meaning “first
place.”
• ADIPOQ & GATA variants lead to
elevated glucose and increased
inflammation with red meat &
processed meats like bacon.
• FADS2 variants here indicate a need for
more fish (or grass fed beef) because
you don’t convert Omega 3s from
plant-based sources. This can lead to
depression if you aren’t getting
enough Omega 3.
• OmegaQuant test

25. Carbohydrates – TCF7L2,
NBPF3 & AMY
Dietary carbohydrates have 3 main categories:
Sugars. These are sweet, short-chain carbohydrates such as
glucose, fructose, galactose, and sucrose.
Starches. These are long chains of glucose molecules, which
eventually get broken down into glucose in the digestive
system.
Fiber. Humans cannot digest fiber, but the bacteria in the
digestive system can make use of some types. These
bacteria can use the fiber to produce fatty acids for energy.
ISSUES HERE = PROBLEMS WITH STARCHY FOODS!

26. Fats
• We will die or go crazy without fat!
• Your brain is 60% fat
• Omega 3 is needed for proper cellular
communication between neurotransmitters
• Production of ALL Hormones
• Vitamin D in eggs & fatty fish
• Fats regulate blood sugar
• Fullness & Satisfaction
• What about Saturated Fat?
• APOA2, FTO, ACSLI, SHBG, APOE

27. The Inuit and Ketosis:
CPT1A
 A high-fat, low carbohydrate diet in the Inuit
led to a genetic mutation in CPT1A
that prevented ketosis, detoxified excess
ammonia, increased brown fat for warmth,
required consistent snacking to prevent
hypoglycemia, and utilized gluconeogenesis
from excess protein intake.
 The Inuit have been found to have a deleted
allele in FADS1 and FADS2 that translates to
the inability to convert plant omega-3 fatty
acids to EPA and DHA, showing another
pathway that is enabling a high intake of
animal-based omega-3’s.

28. Ketogenic Diet & IF Gene: PPAR-A
• The PPAR-alpha gene plays a major role in fatty acid
metabolism, apolipoproteins, HDL, LDL, and ketone
body production during fasting.
• Like the CPT1A gene, variants in the PPAR-alpha gene
may cause lower production of ketone bodies during
fasting.
• PPAR-alpha is stimulated by omega-3 fatty acids, but
also healthy omega-6 fatty acids (nuts and seeds).
• People with variants in PPAR-alpha do better with
leaner proteins and fat from olive oil, while
supplementing with L-Carnitine.
• L-Carnitine acts like a bus
• Do best on consistent feedings with three meals per
day and less fasting.
• PPAR-G is correlated to VO2 Max – or maximal oxygen
uptake during exercise

29. MTNR1B
• Strong effects on insulin
secretion and sensitivity.
• Results have shown that
melatonin supplementation
significantly impairs glucose
tolerance w/this variant
• Eating late at night leads to a
much higher risk for diabetes.
• Folks with this variant would
benefit from an earlier eating
window like 10–4pm or 9-5pm

30. CYP1A2
The CYP1A2 gene determines whether
someone is a slow, intermediate or fast
metabolizer of caffeine.
The CC genotype is considered a “slow
metabolizer.”
Research has shown that oral
contraceptives significantly prolong the
half-life of caffeine from 6.2 to 10.7 hours.
People with the CC genotype have been
found to have elevated fasting blood sugar
from caffeine consumption.
In a prospective study, the risk of heart
attacks in heavy coffee drinkers was found
to be higher in those who not only were a
CYP1A2 CC slow metabolizer but also had
heterozygous or homozygous COMT
genes.

31. LCT gene: Can I have dairy?
• Lactase persistence
• The LP trait frequency is found in
around 35 per cent of adults living in
the world today
• In European populations, it is
mutation (−13910*T)
• There are also African & Middle
Eastern variants that have been
determined

32. MENTAL
HEALTH GENES
• GAD (GABA)
• MAO-A
• ANKK1
• BDNF
• APOE
• PEMT
• COMT

33. DETOXIFICATION - CYP
Skin
Sweat
Lungs
Breathe
Colon
Poop
Kidneys
Drink
Liver
Eat

34. Environmental Toxicity
• Getting and staying healthy isn’t just about food, sleep and exercise. Our
homes are loaded with chemicals that you would never let a child play
with…yet we spray them all over our floors and counters.
• Skin is the largest organ of your body
• While it offers protection to certain extent, the creams, oils and products
we place on our skin (including clothing & furniture) can disrupt hormones
• Synthetic fibers, flame retardants, preservatives
• “Teflon Toxicosis”: Non-stick cookware contains a chemical called PFOA.
The colorless and odorless gasses that are released when the pan reaches
high temperatures are fatal to birds.
• A good test for stubborn clinical cases is the GPL-Tox

35. Mold & Mycotoxins
• Leading cause of debilitating fatigue
• Not yet recognized by the medical
community
• It has been estimated that 25% of the
world's crops such as nuts, cereals, and
rice are contaminated by mold and
fungal growth, as reviewed by the United
Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization and the World Health
Organization (Pandya and Arade, 2016).
• Mold & Mycotoxin testing is a urine test

36. Why aren’t you getting results?
Hormone imbalance
Eating the wrong foods for you: Food sensitivities
Environmental toxicity (molds, chemicals)
Malabsorption requiring gastrointestinal fitness
External life stressors
Not eating for your genetic code

37. www.theketonutritionist.com
@kristinahessketonutritionist