Tag Archive for: NIH

All of Us: Genetic Results

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Almost two years ago, I wrote about the All of Us Research Program. Their goal was to get 1,000,000 partners who would be subjects in the largest study ever done within the U.S. I decided to participate fully and that means answering questionnaires as well as giving blood samples and other basic health information. I’ve gotten some results but this past week, I finally got some of the analysis of my DNA and genetics.

Paula likes to call me a pure-bred: all of my ancestors were Polish (with the exception of one maternal great-grandfather), while her ancestors came from all over Europe. While I was curious what the ancestry portion of the DNA test would reveal, there wasn’t much doubt. The All of Us program goes through great pains to explain why some people might want to know their ancestry while others might not. I would describe it as fairly rigorous just to make sure that you really, really wanted to know the outcome.

My DNA confirmed that there was a 79% chance that I was from Eastern Europe, specifically Poland or the Ukraine. The rest of the probability was northern or western European. No great surprises there. They also tested for four other genes, and I’ll talk about those on Saturday.

They’re still looking for participants. I would urge you to go to https://allofus.nih.gov/ and be part of something greater than yourself. You might also find out why you love cilantro or think it tastes like soap.

Super Bowl Webinar Replay

If you missed out on the webinar, you can still watch it in its entirety by purchasing the replay. It was the kick-off event for longer term focus on helping you become the best version of yourself. Aging with a Vengeance is just the beginning; you’ll see more as the year goes on.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Investigating Supplements

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Let’s turn to what the author I wrote about on Tuesday said and examine it in detail. She interviewed a variety of experts; I checked them out and they were most definitely legit, especially those who worked in the research arms of the NIH. She asked them a simple question that went something like “Which supplements have well-established benefits?” The scientist who works in the complementary and natural approaches research arm said the list was short: ginger for digestive issues, peppermint for the same, melatonin for sleep, and fish oil for cardiovascular disease all have established benefits. The clinical trials that weren’t as beneficial were for turmeric, St. John’s wort, ginkgo biloba, and echinacea. (That doesn’t mean they won’t work for you; we’re all different.)

Then she talked with an expert in vitamins and minerals who recommended folic acid for neural tube defects, vitamin B12 for vegans and the elderly, the combination of nutrients that seems to help with an eye condition and finally, that multivitamins have some benefit.

She then asked the same question of a senior representative of a dietary supplement industry group. The person replied with much the same list of supplements and benefits.

In effect, the government agencies and the industry group agreed about benefits from some supplements. The next logical question in the writer’s mind was “What about all those supplements that neither group addressed? What about those supplements that fill the shelves of pharmacies, health food stores, and on the Internet? The type that say ‘good for energy,’ ‘may help your immune system,’ and so on.”

The author suggested that a curious person should just bop on over to the FDA website to see how easy it is for companies to get these statements on the product labels. So I did. I’ll let you know what I found out and finish this on Saturday.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet