Along with the excitement of the holiday season, there often come quandaries around maintaining a healthy balance to feel our best. Festive indulgences, late nights, and social gatherings can easily throw wellness routines off track, especially when they depend on restrictive habits that already feel like a chore to maintain.
What’s the secret to making realistic health goals, and what should we even prioritize with so many conflicting opinions to find at the tap of a button? A look into the diverse human genome can provide some answers: There’s no “one-size-fits-all” answer to lifestyle and diet, but when we listen to our bodies and lean into what makes us unique, we hold the key to better health and happiness both now and down the road.
Gain Insight with Nutrigenomics
While many of us grew up with the message that we need more self-discipline to achieve optimal health, statistics suggest that forcing our body into a narrow mould with extreme habits rarely works. In fact, around 95 percent of diets fail, and although nearly half of New Year’s resolutions revolve around fitness goals, these are notoriously difficult to stick to past January.
Analyzing the clues hidden in your DNA story, nutrigenomics–or the science of how genes respond to nutrients–can reveal a one-of-a-kind “blueprint” to help you navigate your wellness journey with greater ease and success.
Dietary sensitivities, for instance, can make holiday meals feel like a digestive minefield at times. Dairy causes discomfort for some, while others experience issues with gluten, excess sugar, or even specific types of fats. Nutrigenomics provides clarity on potential sensitivities so we can make more informed choices at the dinner table, or even enjoy a favourite treat with a few tweaks to the ingredient list.
Genetics can also predict how well we metabolize alcohol along with our detox pathways, which can be particularly important after a season of heavy indulgences. Some people’s bodies naturally process toxins less efficiently than others, for instance, meaning they may need different types or amounts of support—whether it’s antioxidant-rich foods or specific supplements—to feel their best after the holiday season winds down.
While it’s beneficial to challenge ourselves at times, it’s also easy to get discouraged when the “life-changing” fitness routine of a loved one or influencer feels impossible or just doesn’t motivate us in the same way. A look into specific genes can give clues about our body’s natural tendencies toward endurance versus strength training, ideal recovery times, and even whether we thrive exercising solo or with a buddy to cheer us on. Research also indicates that our enjoyment of exercise is associated with better fitness levels–the most sustainable routine begins with what you feel motivated to do.
MyBlueprint: A Guide to Better Health
Understanding what makes your body unique can be a game-changer for setting more realistic goals this season. To gain this personalized insight, MyBlueprint offers a comprehensive and accessible lifestyle report based on a detailed analysis of your DNA. Simply order your kit, swab and ship your sample, and await an email notification to access your results. It’s that simple.
Drawing on over 30 years of trusted scientific research, MyBlueprint translates genetic findings into simple, actionable advice across eight key health categories:
- Diet: How fats and carbs affect your risk of obesity and diseases such as diabetes
- Sensitivities: Your predispositions to food sensitivities and ability to metabolize alcohol and caffeine
- Specific Nutrient Needs: Your individual needs and ability to absorb, transport, and utilize certain nutrients
- Physical Fitness: Your best exercise regimen and predisposition to injury
- Mental Wellness: How your genes affect cognition, stress, emotions, and potential substance addiction
- Detox: How quickly your body removes toxins and what you can do to adjust
- Obesity Risk: Identifies your risk level and ways to minimize it
- Hormonal Health: Your genetic predispositions towards factors that affect hormone balance, including thyroid, estrogen, and testosterone
MyBlueprint’s lifestyle report provides straightforward strategies to address health needs, whether through specific foods, supplements, or lifestyle changes. And with AOR’s commitment to data security, you can trust that your personal information will always remain private.
By embracing a more personalized approach to wellness, you can set yourself up for success not only through the holiday season, but into a new year filled with more intentional, lasting goals.
To see an example of how MyBlueprint works and can support your needs, give this article a read.
At AOR, our vision is to transform health through natural, personalized, and therapeutic care. We seek to catalyze change and challenge conventions through continuous innovation. For twenty-eight years, it has been our mission to transform scientific research into evidence-based, natural health products that empower people to lead their best lives.