What Is Genetic Testing?
Gone are the days of waiting to develop a disease. Genomics (the study of DNA sequencing) is offering new possibilities for diagnosing, treating and even preventing diseases. With currently available genomic testing, it is possible to know what diseases you are at risk for. With this knowledge, lifestyle changes and even early treatment can be initiated to prevent diseases. A growing understanding of human genetics holds the promise to dramatically change health care through customized preventative care and treatments.
What is The Difference Between Genetic Testing & Genomic Testing
First, it is important to understand the difference between genetic testing and genomic testing. The word genetics refers to the study of individual genes and their role in disease or inheritance. Genomics refers to an individual’s entire genetic make-up. Genomic testing is used to the study of all of a person’s genes, including interactions of those genes with each other and with the environment. Genomics can provide a better understanding of how genes, lifestyle choices, and environmental factors can impact disease. Certain environmental or behavioral factors play a role in whether a disease develop; for instance, diet, exercise stress levels, and proximity to pollutants or toxins.
What Can Genomic Testing Be Used For?
Currently, genomic testing can be used to determine risk of developing cancer, heart disease, asthma, diabetes and certain inherited diseases. This type of testing can be used to improve or maintain health and wellness as well. Targeted nutrition and exercise, as well as drug response to specific medications, can be determined via genomics. Importantly, genomic testing can indicate treatments likely to cause adverse effects, and can also indicate what treatments may be most effective.
Genomic testing can also act as a catalyst for behavioral change. Clinical studies have shown that individuals who follow a genetically appropriate diet lose weight more easily. The genomic testing offered at SoCal BHRT tests a variety of genes that influence response to diet, metabolism, and exercise, as well as the propensity to develop certain health conditions and likely response to specific medications.
Related Content
Genetic Testing @ SoCal BHRT with TruAge
Anti-Aging Services
Los Angeles Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy
Peptide Therapy Main Page
Testosterone Replacement Therapy
Human Growth Hormone (HGH)
Science now has an answer for midlife women wondering how long their menopausal heat waves can persist.
The answer: a long time. The typical duration of frequent hot flashes and night sweats is seven years, and for some women, symptoms persist for a dozen years or more, says a study published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine.
That’s much longer than the six months to two years long thought typical. It is also longer than the time limits many doctors put on treating the symptoms with hormones.
The findings suggest a need for better, longer-lasting treatments, and they also should reassure some women. There’s a lot of variability, if you experience symptoms for a long period of time, that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong.
Hot flashes and night sweats can start at any point in that transition. A hot flash is a sudden, intense feeling of warmth, often accompanied by sweating and followed by chills. A night sweat is similar and often disrupts sleep.
Previous research showed that about 80% of U.S. women have at least some hot flashes. The cause is unclear, but it is thought that hormonal changes disrupt the body’s thermostat.
Among those who had frequent episodes, the median duration was 7.4 years, meaning half had symptoms longer and half had them for less time. Some were still having hot flashes after 13 years.
The median was 10.1 years for African-American women, 8.9 years for Hispanic women, 6.5 years for non-Hispanic white women, 5.4 years for women of Chinese descent and 4.8 years for women of Japanese descent.
The reasons for the racial and ethnic differences, seen in several studies, are unknown. Differences in genes, diet, childbearing histories and other factors could be at work.
Lifestyle changes can help with flashes!
• Avoid any hot flash triggers (such as spicy food, alcohol and caffeine).
• Sleep in a cool room.
• Dress in layers that can be removed easily.
• Have a cold drink of water when you fee a hot flash coming on.
• Don’t smoke.
In Dr. Goldstone’s opinion, bioidentical hormones combined with lifestyle changes are the best treatment options of all. Bioidentical hormones have the same structure as hormones in the human body and are made from plants.
Ref: JAMA Intern Med. Published online February 16, 2015. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.8063
Now you can have your third daily cup of coffee and not feel unhealthy while you do it! According to a recent study, a third cup of coffee per day may be good for your heart.
Researchers found that people who drink between 3 to 5 cups of coffee per day are more likely to have less coronary artery calcium (CAC) than those who drink no coffee at all.
The study also found a correlation between people who drink between 1 to 3 cups of coffee a day and a reduced prevalence of CAC, according to a paper published Monday in the Journal Heart.
But you shouldn’t overdo it! Drinking more than 5 cups of coffee per day can be associated with higher levels of CAC, the authors note.
Calcium in the coronary artery isn’t always a major health risk, however at high enough levels it can be an early sign of coronary heart disease.
Coronary heart disease occurs when plaque builds up in the coronary arteries, which in turn reduces the flow of blood to the heart.
The authors of the study write that their results add to a growing body of evidence that moderate consumption of coffee is good for the heart.
Red Wine Compound Raises Neurogenesis
Note: Posted on March 12, 2015 in Anti-Aging Research Science Brain and Mental PerformanceFunctional Foods
The hippocampus – the region of the brain responsible for memory, experiences structural changes that are thought to contribute to aging-related memory and mood impairments. Ashok K. Shetty, fro, the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine (Texas, USA), and colleagues employed a lab animal model to study the potential effects of resveratrol – an antioxidant that is found in the skin of red grapes, as well as in red wine, peanuts and some berries. Among rats given resveratrol, neurogenesis (the growth and development of neurons) approximately doubled (as compared to control rats); as well, the resveratrol-treated rats also had significantly improved microvasculature, indicating improved blood flow, and had a lower level of chronic inflammation in the hippocampus.
Consequently, the team observed that spatial learning and memory improved in the resveratrol-treated rats, with the ability to make new spatial memories significantly declining among control rats at 22 to 25 months. Observing that: “These results provide novel evidence that resveratrol treatment in late middle age is efficacious for improving memory and mood function in old age,” the study authors submit that: “Modulation of the hippocampus plasticity and suppression of chronic low-level inflammation appear to underlie the functional benefits mediated by resveratrol.
Kodali M, Parihar VK, Hattiangady B, Mishra V, Shuai B, Shetty AK. “Resveratrol prevents age-related memory and mood dysfunction with increased hippocampal neurogenesis and microvasculature, and reduced glial activation.” Sci Rep. 2015 Jan 28;5:8075.
An estimated one-third of all cancers may be attributable to excess body fat – including cancers of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, reproductive organs, urinary tract, blood, bone, and thyroid. Nour Makarem, from New York University (New York, USA), and colleagues analyzed medical and dietary data collected on 2,983 men and women enrolled in the Framingham Heart Study. To ascertain the relationship between the cancer prevention recommendations and cancer incidence, the researchers created a seven-point score based on the recommendations for body fat, physical activity, foods that promote weight gain, plant foods, animal foods, alcohol consumption, and food preparation and processing. Whereas the overall score did not associate with obesity-related cancer risk, the team did observe that when score components were evaluated separately, two different measures emerged as strong predictors of cancer risk.
Specifically, the adherence to alcohol recommendations – limiting alcoholic drinks to two for men and one for women a day — was protective against obesity-related cancers combined and against breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers.
In addition, among participants who consume starchy vegetables, eating sufficient non-starchy plant foods (fruits, vegetables, and legumes) was associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer.
The study authors conclude that: “Lower alcohol consumption and a plant-based diet consistent with the cancer prevention guidelines were associated with reduced risk of obesity-related cancers in this population.”
To find out more about anti aging, and the best behaviors to prevent cancer, contact the Southern California Center For Anti Aging today.
Source: Nour Makarem, Yong Lin, Elisa V. Bandera, Paul F. Jacques, Niyati Parekh. “Concordance with World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research (WCRF/AICR) guidelines for cancer prevention and obesity-related cancer risk in the Framingham Offspring cohort (1991–2008).” Cancer Causes & Control, 6 Jan. 2015.
Lack of sleep is a serious problem in our constantly moving, 24/7 society. People are getting thousands of hours less sleep than they once were. Sleep is being “decimated” by our over stimulated culture with so much technology and gadgetry that distracts everyone all the time. Plus, people are overworked, so they no longer have enough time to do the things they want during the week. As a result, they stay up even later on weekends so they can compensate.
Sleep is just as important as good nutrition, physical activity and wearing a seat belt, but many people greatly underestimate their need for it. Decision making, reaction time, situational awareness, memory, and communication goes down by 20 to 50 percent with decreased sleeping. When sleep gets shorter than seven hours a night, there can be an increased risk for obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and even Alzheimer’s disease.
Interestingly, sleeplessness increases an appetite for fatty foods, and ‘short sleepers” consume 500 more calories a day than people who get enough sleep.
Almost all mental illnesses have associated sleep problems. In fact, sleep deprivation is nearly universal in every psychiatric condition, from bipolar disorder to anxiety disorders.
During sleep, the brain clears out toxic chemicals. One of the proteins that accumulates in the brain during waking hours is associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Some research has shown a link between poor sleep, clear thinking and Alzheimer’s.
Many factors are out of our control when it comes to sleep, especially for those who have long hours at work or work in specific occupation. There can be special problems in shift workers required to work overnight, as it becomes much more difficult to manage blood sugar with those hours. Another issue is people who operate machinery in late hours. People that operate (driving their car, flying an airplane, running a train) during the night have to overcome physiological programming in their brain that says you’re supposed to be asleep.
There’s a term known as “microsleep,” defined as momentary bouts of sleep that occur involuntary and can last up to 5 or 10 seconds. It could occur at any time and have fatal consequences. Imagine if you were driving a car and suddenly nodded off. The consequences could be disastrous. In fact, the top cause of high-severity crashes is fatigue.
Washington Post, December 2, 2014
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2014/12/02/no-youre-not-sleeping-enough-and-its-a-big-problem-15-scary-facts-in-new-natgeo-doc/
