Genetic Testing to Improve Health and Longevity: 71

Hey everyone, welcome back to the Heal Nurse Grow podcast, or welcome if you're new here. I'm Cheryl McColgan, the founder and the host of the podcast, and today I wanted to check in. Uh, just, I had a meeting today that was very, very interesting. It's something that I have been wanting to share about for a while, but I've been waiting for this meeting before I actually share about it. And, um, Yeah, I'm still processing, so this might not be completely clear what I'm about to tell you about, but I thought sharing it in the moment while I'm still processing is actually a kind of an interesting way to do this podcast. And then in the future, I will go into this in more detail and potentially have on one of the founders of this company that I've been working with. But what it is, it's a service called Wild Health. And so what they do is they do some genetic testing and they're trying to basically help you discover things in your genetics that could potentially affect your health in the future. And then they go over the results with you, um, with a doctor. And then you also have a health coach, which is very interesting as a coach myself, having, uh, met with the health coach once and discussing some of these things. It has definitely, uh, been an interesting process so far. So today was my meeting with the doc, and I had had the blood test a little while ago, but you have to obviously wait to have your appointment with the doctor before they go over the genetic results with you, because obviously there are some things in there that could potentially be scary or that you might misinterpret if you were left to your own on your own devices. And so certainly getting back the blood test results, I'm familiar with a lot of those numbers. They do test things like typical things like your cholesterol and your thyroid function and some inflammatory markers. So if you have done any of this sort of health and wellness or functional medicine sort of interesting things in the past for yourself, you're probably familiar with most of those types of things that would come up on a blood test. However, what is— we're not as familiar with, mostly as laypeople, are the genetic tests. And there were a few tests in there that some of them I had had done in the past. I had done ancestry.com quite a long time ago. And if you know anything about ancestry.com, you, you know, you send in your DNA, and that service is really about just getting to know more about, you know, people that you're related to and kind of your genetic history as far as where you're from. Like, are you from Europe? Are you from Africa, those sorts of things. But your DNA is the same regardless. So what happens when you do a test like a genetic test like Ancestry, you get this output of data that's kind of the raw data. And what you can do with that is you can send it into other services to get the results interpreted in a different way. So example, if you take that raw data that's from your gene— genetics, and you send it to a service that is more focused on health, then they give you some information about, you know, things that you're more prone to or the way that your body handles cholesterol, for example, and things like that. And there are tons and tons of these types of services out there. So in the past, I had taken that data and I had sent it to one of those that just kind of gives you the results. There's no coaching involved, there's no doctors involved. So because one of the reasons I had wanted to have that done is to learn more about my risk as far as my ApoB status. So if you know anything about ApoB, and it's been a while since I looked into all this, so I'll just tell you the very basic version now. And like I said, when we follow up on this at some point in the future, I will give a more detailed explanation. But your ApoB status is in relation somewhat to how you process fats, but it's also highly related to your increased risk or not for dementia in the future. And so the one that is the most risk is ApoB 4/4 is the highest risk. And then if you have any copy of 4, in your genetics, then you're at increased risk for Alzheimer's. So it's really important to know that status because there are a lot of lifestyle things that you can do to mitigate your risk for Alzheimer's in the future. And there's more and more data about that coming out. In fact, I just heard a very interesting interview recently. I'll have to look it up and put the link in the notes here for you, but it was in regards to just lifestyle factors and Alzheimer's. And the doctor was basically saying, you know, we don't really have to let people go down this road anymore. There are so many things that you can do to prevent this in the future. And he was really adamant about these, um, knowing your risk and then doing some of these things in your life to try to mitigate that risk. So I'll put the link for that interview below, but that is one of the main things that I had wanted to learn about. And when I had sent my data in at that time, it came back that I was 3/3. And so of course I was very thrilled about that because, uh, given that I've had high cholesterol— I'm going to put that in air quotes, high cholesterol, because, you know, there's so many things that we think we know about that or we don't know about that, and that's a whole nother rabbit hole to go down. But for now, just suffice it to say that that made me glad because obviously I wasn't as increased risk for Alzheimer's, and it made me think that eating a higher saturated fat diet might not be as much of a problem as I, you know, had thought it could be, just based on— given the fact that when I started eating low-carb keto that my cholesterol had increased. And so that has been a question that has really been on my mind for years now. Because at this point, I started doing keto back in, what, 2016 or 2017? So it's been many years. Today, this is September 6th, 2023, if you're listening to this in the future. So it's been a lot of years that I've been eating this way, and I don't, I don't consciously seek out more fat in my diet. I really am focused on getting the proper amount of protein per day, per day, which is, for someone my size and with my lean mass, is somewhere between 100 and 130 grams protein a day is reasonable. And, you know, when you're getting that much protein a day, some of it's going to be saturated fat inevitably. And we have also learned in more recent years that, you know, we do not need to fear saturated fat as much as we did in the past. However, if you have certain genetics where you don't process saturated fats as well, you might need to be more focused on that. And, um, so what I learned today, and like I said, I'm still processing this, so it's a bit of a shock, is in their genetic testing I actually came up as a 3/4. And he did have an explanation on why that might be different. Um, they, they do an algorithm. Their confidence interval on that particular number was something like 70%, so pretty high. And given the fact that my cholesterol is what it is, they really think that I have familial hypercholesterolemia, which is not very prevalent in the overall population. And I feel like I had actually been tested for that before and that I did not have that, but You know, technology evolves. There's this algorithm that takes into effect— takes into account, excuse me, so many different factors that it now appears that that is maybe incorrect. And then if you really want to know definitively, there is a blood test then to do. So that is probably something that will be in my future, is learning whether this is that I'm definitely a 3, 4 or not, because that could affect some of my decisions going forward. On what to do or not to do about cholesterol and what to do or not to do about how much saturated fat is in my diet. So needless to say, this was a very interesting conversation and something that, uh, is going to make me do a lot more research again, because this is something that over the years I've definitely gone back and forth on. You know, if you listen to so many interviews with health experts and longevity experts about saturated fat and about LDL and about ApoB and the implications for heart disease risk, there are a lot of conflicting opinions and there is a lot of conflicting research and information. There's some studies that show that just as many people with high cholesterol as low cholesterol have heart attacks, and then there's some more advanced research about saturated fat intake and heart disease and not being as related as we thought. But you know, you're dealing with, in those instances, you're dealing with the general population. If you're somebody that truly has familial hypocholesterolemia, that is very hard to say properly each time, then you might need to have a different perspective on this. And there's certainly studies with people with familial hypocholesterolemia. Those studies show some different things from the general population. So if it turns out that I do indeed have that, then I will probably be making some different decisions than I've made in the past when I thought that I did not have this particular issue. So that was very interesting. It's a very, very detailed report, and this is something that now since we had the appointment, you know, he went through some of it Cheryl McColgan went through some of it with me on our call, on our Zoom call, but I haven't really looked at the full report yet. So I'll be curious to see kind of what else that report has to say in regards to my health. So, but the program, I became aware of them through one of their employees. They were looking for people who are in the health and wellness space to sort of try out the service and give them input and you know, obviously if it's something that I found useful or found interesting that I could share about it. And so that's where I am now, because obviously for me, this did turn out to be quite interesting. It's not just, uh, something that, you know, it kind of came back and everything's okay. Everything came back and there are definitely some very concerning things. And so what I think the benefit of sharing about this and learning about this is Number one, uh, you'll learn more about my decisions going forward based on this information. But number two, that this is available to anyone. And of course there is a cost associated with it. But what I think is important about this is you really have to be an advocate for your own health because doctors don't have all the answers. Research does not have all the answers, but the further we get down the road with artificial intelligence and with genetic testing and with, you know, knowing about your risks for certain things, Certainly that is very important information to have. For some people, if it's not as clear, it might be, well, just, you know, live your healthy life. But for other people, if you have something that's very high risk, like what it turns out I might have, then, um, knowing this information could potentially be life-altering. So, uh, that is why I wanted to go ahead and put this podcast out here right after I had the meeting today, even though I'm still processing it and I still don't know exactly what I'm going to do with this information. Um, but I I do think that the service is extremely valuable. And then what is even more valuable going forward from here is that the coach, uh, that the coaches that they have in place, they are all trained and well-versed on kind of what you do with this information and what each individual person needs to be doing to impact their health going forward. So that is certainly a conversation that I'll be having with my health coach after learning this information. And it was kind of funny because A couple of the things we discussed, obviously we're talking about saturated fat. We are talking about alcohol intake being very highly related to a couple of risk factors. So you've heard me talk about in the past how I have a lot of cancer in my family. And so for me, really part of my interest in doing this test was more in relation to the cancer risk in my family. Uh, not as much in relation to the heart disease risk in my family, because that is not something that we really have a family history of, and probably because all the people in my family, um, have died of cancer, and they probably got cancer before they had a chance to get heart disease, or vice versa. Um, but now it appears that not only do I need to be worried about my future cancer risk— and as you know from my history, if you've been around here, that is the reason why I eat a low-carb, low-sugar keto diet, that is the reason why I do regular fasting, although that has changed over the years since I've gotten older and in relation to what I've learned about the importance of muscle mass and how, you know, we tend to lose that more as we age. And, you know, the older you get, the less— the more you want— not the less you want to fast, but the more you want to approach it in a different way. So as you know, if you've heard some of my other content over the last couple years, I used to do a 60-hour fast every single month. And now with getting older and being focused on body composition and muscle mass, I've switched that to just a extended fast a couple of times a year and then still doing time-restricted eating on an everyday basis, but not as much longer fast on a very regular basis. And that is because I'm trying to preserve muscle mass, trying to build muscle mass, and that kind of becomes at odds a little bit the older you get. But it's finding a fine balance based on your risk factors. And so obviously, knowing the amount of cancer I've had in my family, that's why I just decided to do a more extended fast on either a biyearly or quarterly basis, something like that and ditch the longer monthly fast so that I'm not impacting my muscle mass month after month potentially. Um, you know, there's always an argument there whether that's really happening, because if you are practicing a ketogenic diet and you're in ketosis, then that is very muscle sparing. And so when you're fasting, um, running on a ketogenic metabolism, it's questionable if you are as susceptible to muscle mass or muscle mass loss as maybe the average person. But, you know, the problem is there's no— there's really no studies on all that kind of stuff because it's very, very specific and it's not something that most people do. So this is— sorry, this is probably a little slightly disjointed because I, like I said, I am still processing this, but I'm just trying to share with you, you know, the, the information about, well, a few things like why would I even go through this, why would I even go through this advanced testing.. And again, I think for the average person, you're going along in your life, you don't know that you have higher risk for certain things. Um, if you're somebody that's health-focused and if you do want to impact not only your longevity but your healthspan, like how good are you going to feel for the amount of time that you are alive, and balancing that with the choices that you make, um, you know, it's very important to know some of this stuff, and it's not things that your average doctor will test for. So if you're somebody that's really interested in your health and wellness, these are things that you might need to have testing done outside of kind of your annual physical. And the other thing that we're— what I started to go down the road is I'm getting ready to go to France. And so we're tired. We are— we're talking about the saturated fat risk, which of course, you know, the French paradox, butter. And then we're also talking about the risk for both breast cancer and Alzheimer's in relation to alcohol consumption. And what the doctor was telling me basically, basically was that anybody that is an ApoE4/4, he would recommend they do not drink at all, period. Um, for a 3/4, he said, and obviously we all know alcohol is a neurotoxin, it's really not healthy for you. Um, the best policy would be no alcohol intake at all. But barring that, uh, he said 4/4, you definitely want to avoid it if you're trying to mitigate your future risk of Alzheimer's. If you're a 3-4, then he's like maybe 2 or 3 drinks a week. And then I also happen to have a genetic thing, which I always was curious about this because I've always said that, you know, obviously being on keto, I don't really eat gluten very often, but it doesn't bother me that much. And so for example, and I've always said this, at least make your carbs worth it, right? So going to France, you can absolutely better believe keto or not that I will have a croissant. But yeah, it turns out that I actually I have a little genetic piece that is incompatible with gluten. Probably better for me to avoid gluten. Probably better for everybody, quite honestly. Um, but yeah, knowing that now, it's probably will, um, make my resolve to be off gluten more permanently more of a thing. Um, because like I said, I never really notice that it impacts me that much. Like, if I keto for weeks and weeks at a time and then I have an opportunity, like in France, to have a real croissant where it's totally worth it, I will have that. And I don't when I, when I do it in the moment, I don't feel ill effects from it. It doesn't bother my stomach. I don't notice any major differences. Maybe I'm more tired, maybe I have brain fog or something, but I don't notice it. Like, maybe if I was really, like, really paying much more attention to it in the moment, maybe I would notice something. But in general, it doesn't seem to bother me, so I will do that on occasion. So now, having this new information, that might change that a little bit for me. Um, but so it was interesting because all the risk factors we were talking about are just like, yeah. And I'm getting ready right after learning this, I'm getting ready to go to France. And of course French people, you know, it's wine, saturated fat, and all the gluten. So pretty interesting. Um, so I think that's probably enough of an update on this for now, because like I said, I'd rather— I want to go into the report.. I want to go into more detail after I've decided what I'm going to do with this information. And certainly at some point I would love to have the founders on, cuz I did learn a little bit more about their story today. It was kind of interesting because the doc was asking where I am. And as you know, I'm in Utah now and he did his residency or something here. And actually this company ended up being founded, uh, by all these, it was like 5 or 6, uh, docs that went to school out here in Utah together. And at the time, one of them, or two of them, had decided to— actually, strangely enough, it was all due to keto. Two of them had decided to go on the keto diet at the time, and one of the docs had cholesterol that went nuts. We're talking like super, super high cholesterol. I think he told me that his— and this wasn't the man I spoke to personally, but one of his partners— um, that the LDL had gone ridiculously high. And then the other one, that all his numbers normalized on eating keto. And they're like, well, why is this? There's got to be, you know, why is it when one person does this and one person does that? Well, it's because of your genetics. And so, um, and I don't think, you know, most doctors that I've heard in the space would agree with this on keto. Like, it helps a lot of people. They're going off of processed foods, they're eating whole foods. And if you happen to have the genetic composition that allows you to process this saturated fat really easy, then probably your numbers get a whole lot better. It makes you healthier. And this is one thing I've always struggled with over the years because in my past I've always had cholesterol that's a little higher, but it was never high enough that I was really that worried. And then going to low carb keto now, for years it's been on the higher side, and I've delved into a lot of the research on that and kind of I guess had gotten to a place where I just, you know, I wasn't totally completely sure what to do. I'd rather avoid statins or any kind of medications whenever I can, especially when I'm eating such a healthy diet and eating whole foods and eating virtually no processed foods. It's just, it's hard for me to believe that that could be bad. But now, you know, faced with this new information, faced with knowing the genetics that I have, which that was a piece of the puzzle that I did not have before and kind of allowed me to maybe put off the decision in a way. It makes me definitely question now what I'm doing, what the decisions I've made up to this point have been, and what I want to do going forward. But I thought that was a very interesting way that their company got founded because they couldn't figure out. They're like, why is there such a difference in these two outcomes going basically on the same diet? And the answer to that is because we all have, you know, different genetics. And so again, the point of this is the more you know, the more you know, the more you know, the better decisions you can make. And so if I will continue to share about this, um, process and how the journey has gone for me, but like I said, I'm kind of at the beginning now, really just getting into it. And like I said, having just had my first meeting with the doc Um, but anyway, if you're interested in this, you want to learn more, definitely, uh, go to the website. I've made a short link for it from my website, and that is healnourishgrow.com/wildhealth. So W-I-L-D health, healnourishgrow.com/wildhealth. And you get a discount if you decide to sign up. But when you visit, you can also just learn more about the service, what all they have to offer you. Um, like I said, it does include health coaching, which is really cool. So if that's something that you already utilize or feel like would be beneficial to you, you're getting that all wrapped into having this genetic testing and then having a doctor that really can interpret it for you. Because the other thing that he said that was very interesting, he said, knowing my family history about cancer and stuff, it's, it's challenging because now with the genetics that I have for processing fats and my risk for heart disease, we're balancing that with what my family history has been with all this cancer. Which in that case, you know, fasting and keto is very good for cancer. And you know, that's how I came to it in the place, but it's kind of at odds with this piece with the cardiovascular risk. And so what is helpful about, you know, having this information, like if you just, like I said, one of those services I'd done in the past, I got the results, but I didn't really have anybody to— first of all, it didn't have these same algorithms, didn't have these same results or same testing stuff. Um, but in addition to that, there was nobody there then to help me interpret that other than me going to look up studies on PubMed and like, what is this? Having, having having this genetic anomaly, what does that mean for— and it was, you know, not as explained in nearly a more comprehensive fashion like this one was. So, um, yeah, so like I said, I think I'll leave it here for now, but go check out the link if you just want to learn more about them. If you decide to do it, you do get a discount with using my code. But regardless of any of that, I think this is all just interesting information to know about. And like I said, if I can possibly— I kind of wish that I would have asked them today if we could have just recorded the session, because it kind of shows you how they go through it with you and the conversation that we ended up having about that. So maybe that's something in the future that I'll consider doing, is that if we go through, maybe my report is part of the podcast. I think that that could be very interesting. And yeah, so let me know what you guys think about all that. Like I said, still processing. It's a little weird over here for me right at this moment. But in the spirit of being transparent and sharing, what I think is really interesting about all of this stuff in the health space is, and going back over my history, it used to be in the early '90s it was like no fat at all, low-fat craze. I mean, it was like eat all the sugar you want but don't have any fat. So I did that for a really long time. I tried the Zone Diet. I was vegetarian for 7 years. Then I've always been very whole foods based. And then now over the last several years it's been low-carb and keto But the thing I think that is important is that when you are faced with new information, a new way of thinking about things, new data, that it is very important to reevaluate and not be stuck in a particular silo or dogma about your health or about what you've been doing, uh, because you might need to pivot, you might need to change some things. You'll never convince me that a whole foods diet is not what everybody needs doing and what's the most important thing. But within that context, is having less saturated fat or working on that in some way possibly important? For some people, it might be really important because it might be something you can change significantly with your diet. For me, if I truly have this genetic anomaly, I have this, um, familial hypocholesterolemia, if that is really the case, then unfortunately for me, a lot of what I do with my diet is not going to make enough of an impact. And so I might need to consider medication, which I, like I said, have always been pretty much against up to this point. But faced with new data, new information, I'm not going to just discount that or think that, um, you know, that all this data and the information that we do have up to this point on possibly adding things like statins or lowering your ApoB number can very significantly impact your cardiovascular risk and outcome, or in the possibility of having a heart attack in the future. So luckily, all the rest of my lifestyle risk factors, you know, I've been a— my whole adult life I've always exercised, and I'm very consistent with that. And I pretty low stress and do a good job of mitigating that in my life. So fortunately the other risk factors are low, but the ones that I do have are pretty significant. So, okay. Like I said, I tried to end this, what, 5, 10 minutes ago, but I will end it now. So thank you for listening. I hope this was helpful in some way. Uh, like I said, I will share more about this in the future so that as I learn more and as I have more details on kind of what I'm doing, I can share that with you and hopefully it will help inform and impact your future health decisions as well. So until next time, enjoy the rest of your day. And as always, get in touch if you have any questions or need any clarification on any of this. I know I certainly do, so I don't know that I'll be able to help you immediately, but would love to hear any comments you have or any experience you have with this stuff. Because if you are somebody who has been tested and knows that they have this or some other genetic thing that you want to share, leave it in the comments because I think, you know, that stuff, it always is useful for other people that find it that have questions about their health or what they're doing. You know, sharing is how we all learn that we're not alone and how you get information that might significantly impact your health in the future. So until next time, talk to you soon.