Can a DNA test predict your food allergies?

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Companies are jumping on the nutrigenomics bandwagon – the emerging science of how nutrition interacts with your individual DNA.

Every time Rebecca Castle sat down to eat her favorite food, she says she suffered excruciating abdominal pain.

That pain went on for more than two years. Castle saw multiple doctors and then took a saliva DNA metabolic test.“I was allergic to starch,” she said. “That’s mostly root vegetables, corn, peas, sweet potatoes.”

Ahmed El-Sohemy is the chief scientific officer at Nutrigenomix. “Individual genetic differences can help us understand why some people respond differently from others,” El-Sohemy said. Nutrigenomix says their DNA test looks at a person’s 45 genetic markers. The company makes recommendations based on the patient’s genetic profile, pointing out attributes like “an elevated risk for low iron.”

“DNA tests for diet and exercise just are not validated,” [said Dr. David Agus, a CBS News contributor.] “There are very few of them that actually have data behind them.”

There is a kernel of science behind the interaction of nutrition and genetics. But the ability to use your own genome to predict how you will respond to specific nutrients – that science is not there yet.

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: Company Claims DNA Test Can Predict Dietary Problems

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