DNA Testing Gave Me The Power To Live Mindfully

DNA testing is not always something that everybody has access to. However, when you get the opportunity to do it, you’ve got to take it. In fact, there’s no better time than now to regain control over your body. This is the age of personalized nutrition and mastering the power of ‘me.’

You either have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about, or you know exactly what I mean. That’s why I want to fill you in on the tools available to help you truly figure out what works best for you, rather than being sold on another generalized ‘health’ product.

I know the feeling of being totally lost. Maybe even stuck. You think you’ve got it down to a tee, then something in your body changes and you’re thrown off. Or, you read something online and everything you’ve been doing seems like it was a total waste of time. This isn’t necessarily the truth, but having a clear understanding of your genetics and DNA makeup really helps sort through the rubbish out there. This doesn’t mean everything you read or see is rubbish, but it might be rubbish for your body.

When it doesn’t work. What do we do? We give up. Let’s stop this pattern together. I want to help guide you into a more sustainable and conscious lifestyle.

DNA Testing Helps Discover Your Best You

Remember, we are all different and sometimes what works for you might be very different from what works for a friend. DNA testing helps you understand that you may or may not have the genetic DNA responders for certain types of diets or training programs. This could be why you’re not getting the most out of whatever you’ve been trying to do.

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Having said that, a lot of the problem comes from being inconsistent. However, I feel that many of us do remain consistent and still find ourselves struggling to achieve our desired goals. I get you. We need solid answers! This is what I have kept asking myself on my personal journey.

Why Can’t I Seem To Find The Correct Balance?

For me, it wasn’t a case of not exercising enough or eating poorly. I had already created good habits around these two spheres. The only issue was that I had no clue what my body really needed. Therefore, it’s been fighting half the things I’ve exposed it to, which will give you undesired results. Trust me! These results show up in more ways than one. Random hunger cravings, blemished skin, random mood swings, fatigue, sickness, water retention, inflammation, injury, and even depression or anxiety.

It’s crazy but your body is very smart. It knows what it needs and when it’s engaging in something that’s potentially dangerous then it’s going to try and warn you in all kinds of ways. For me, it was a case of not eating enough of the right foods, undereating, then overtraining, then trying out a new strength building program and then realizing that none of those were going to keep my body happy and balanced.

Healthy Food Can Be Toxic For Your Body

A lot of people assume that just because you’re eating vegetables or ‘healthy’ foods, that you must be healthy. Not necessarily, because even vegetables and ‘healthy’ food can be a trigger for inflammation or illness in your body. However, you’d only realize this after understanding your genetics.

For instance, after receiving genetic testing, I realized that my body is naturally susceptible to inflammation. My liver basically sucks at naturally getting rid of toxins. I’m one rubbish truck short. In other words, my liver is a little bit lazy and unlike most people who have four rubbish trucks, I’ve got three. Therefore, I need to eat lots of anti-inflammatory foods like leafy greens, colourful fruits, berries, fatty fish, turmeric, and cruciferous veggies to help boost the process.

How do I know all of this now? Well, thankfully DNAlysis provided me with the complete DNA testing experience. I received a DNA test for my general health, skin, oestrogen, mind, sport, and diet.

One Size Does Not Fit All

I think we can all agree that this is the raw truth of the world we live in today. Nothing works for everybody. This is why faddish diets have led to a huge amount of confusion and even eating disorders like orthorexia and body dysmorphia. The trend to be super healthy and eat clean is now an obsession for many. On the other hand, there are those who lean towards calorie counting, forgetting about the quality of the food they’re eating entirely. You might lose the weight, but it’s not sustainable because you’ll gain it all back and maybe even more than you started out with.

This is why personalized diets can also end the frustration among wellness-seekers who commit to difficult lifestyle changes. According to the Global Wellness Summit, diets encouraging you to cut out dairy, coffee or gluten might be causing false hope. You might think these changes will lead to weight loss or feeling better. However, these drastic changes might be completely wrong for your body. This is the reality I had to be made aware of and thankfully companies like DNAlysis are making it easier for us.

My Struggle With Body Image

When I was a little girl I would just live, eat and move normally. Didn’t really think much about weight and had no idea what calories were. In fact, I just ate what I wanted when I felt like it. I probably only figured out the concept of calories when I was in my late teens and early twenties. Yeah, sure, my parents might have gone on a few diets here and there, but I never really tried. Until the tender age of 12. Body image issues started to flood my mind.

In fact, no matter what I did I couldn’t go anywhere without double-checking the mirror, the scale or dressing really well. It got progressively worse as I got older and I suppose there were times when I’d obsess over particular parts of my body more than other times. Weirdly, as a teenager, I never seemed to be excessive about fitness or dieting, but I was fully aware of my image. Yet I was always self-confident and nobody really knew about how I felt inside. To be honest this feeling of self-hate was always there.

Never Ignore The Signs

It’s funny how something can start as a small issue within and then if you leave it, it gets a lot stronger when you’re older. Don’t get me wrong, I discovered fitness and health and knew I was passionate about it. But I also discovered the amount of control it provided me and nothing seems to be enough. After achieving your first weight loss goal, you want to achieve a muscle definition goal, then it’s another body fat cut goal and another and another. Does that leave room for self-love and acceptance? Not really.

When I entered my early twenties, I discovered an entirely new world of amazing healthy foods, diets, fitness routines, youtube channels, and so much information. I saw images of skinny ‘fit’ girls and decided I had to be super skinny with abs to be beautiful. In fact, somebody in college made a comment that I was curvy. Another said I was plump. I think that pushed me over the edge and I entered deeper into a body image struggle. Initially, I saw it as really good motivation. But I didn’t realize how deep that determination can get and how quickly it translates into something really extreme and unhealthy.

I have done every workout under the sun. This includes boxing, martial arts, yoga, pilates, jump rope, HIIT, strength and weight training, calisthenics, Bootcamp, circuit training, barre, endurance cardio, plyometrics and so much more. All of these are great, but not when you’re doing them all at once in a stressed attempt to look a certain way. Eventually, your body does fight back. And that’s what happened to me this year.

Fitness Industry And The Health Risks

I didn’t only venture into the fitness world because of my body image struggles. I did so because I truly do love movement and everything good that it brings to your life and body. However, I have a tendency to go too far and sometimes it triggers you to tap into an unhealthy mindset. After quite a long period of doing too much of everything my body weakened and I became more susceptible to injury. I also wasn’t eating enough and was dangerously underweight at the beginning of the year.

Trying to come back from a restrictive and harsh lifestyle like that is tough. Your body acts in weird ways, making you feel hungry, tired and inflamed.

After realizing this, I knew it was time to make a change. I took things into my own hands to figure out what is best for my body. This means mentally, physically and spiritually. Moreover, blocking out the fitness industry’s social media marketing and images. Keeping that out of my brain and focusing on just myself and my own journey. Comparisons will get you nowhere and living up to unrealistic standards will exhaust and stress you out. I believe that stress is truly what kills us. To live longer lives, we must make every effort to reduce and handle stress better.

DNA testing was the only answer, especially for improving the quality of my fitness routine, diet, brain health and quality of life.

How Does DNA Testing Work?

Well, I am still busy implementing my results into my lifestyle. I’m going to keep you updated on my journey. But the first step is to reach out.

Personalized medicine and nutrition is the only way you’ll ever be able to understand your body. And if you’re somebody who has tried so many different things like me or also struggles with body image issues or an eating disorder. DNA testing is also an amazing way to refocus your brain onto something more positive that’s going to make you a stronger, happier and healthier person. Instead of trying to do everything you can to look a certain way.

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I reached out to DNAlysis because I was intrigued by the concept of genetic testing. They responded immediately and made every effort to help me. After a simple DM on Instagram, I had an appointment set up to meet with Dr. Daniel Meyersfeld – the visionary behind DNA testing in South Africa.

Then all they require is a simple sample of your saliva. That’s it! Can you believe doctors can get DNA testing done with just your saliva? And quickly too!

The results take approximately 7 – 10 working days. (I got mine after 5!) You’re then asked by an expert nutritionist whether you’d like a personal consultation or skype consultation to explain to you your results in detail.

My DNA Testing Results

Let me guess. You thought that you’d receive long and complex documents filled with tables, formulas and weird words. Nope. Sure, some reading is required but DNAlysis provides you with easy-to-read reports that clearly show you what you need to be concerned about and what you don’t.

DNA testing isn’t black and white, but it does point out exactly what you need to know. In addition, you also get assigned an expert nutritionist who sits you down to explain every aspect of your results.

These are the main things I learned about my body:

• I have a naturally inflammatory body. This means that I need to eat a diet rich in anti-inflammatory foods so that I don’t experience unpleasant symptoms like fatigue, sickness, stress, and long recovery time.
• My body has a slower ‘detox’ system because I am one rubbish truck short. This means my liver needs a little help with getting rid of waste in my body. Regular exercise and lots of green vegetables help this process.
• I have lazy serotonin receptors. This means that my brain sometimes finds it a little difficult to release this hormone. Therefore, I need more natural stimulants to ‘feel good’ or get happier. (This is interesting for those who tend to feel down sometimes.) Sun, nature, exercise, leafy greens and antioxidants can all help improve your levels of serotonin.
• My body prefers endurance-based exercise versus power or strength training. I can also perform both HIIT (high-intensity interval training) or moderate-intensity cardio to get results.
• My natural CLOCK gene is more awake a night time, which is why it’s very important for me to eat fewer carbohydrates at night to ensure a peaceful night’s sleep.
• My hormones require more folic acid and cruciferous vegetables to reduce the risk of cervical or breast cancer because I’m naturally prone to inflammation.

I could go on for years. This is not even half of what I discovered from my DNA testing results. However, it is really helpful having such insight into your body. So far, I have started to implement these changes into my diet, training and self-care routines.

Already after two weeks, I have felt more satisfied, happier and full of energy. DNA testing has also helped me find a fitness program that incorporates strength but still provides me with endurance-based exercises to keep the mind and body happy.

At the end of the day, how you feel is what will make healthy changes in your life more sustainable. I’ll keep you posted about my journey now knowing what I know about my body. 🙂

If you’re just as keen as I was to start figuring out what’s going on with you. Then pop over to the DNAlysis website or Instagram page and reach out.

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If you’d like to join in the discussion about food, well-fashion, sustainability, and conscious living send me a personal message and we might have something worth chatting about over my new Skyezee FashionFit podcast. I’d also highly recommend following The Global Wellness Summit to keep up with the latest trends.