Episode 002 | The Science of Nutrigenomics

Are you ready to take your pharmacy practice to the next level and truly transform your patient's lives? Then you're in the right place. I'm Dr. Tamar Lawful, Doctor of Pharmacy and Certified Nutritional Genomics Specialist. In this episode, we're exploring the innovative field of nutrigenomics and how it can empower pharmacists to provide personalized care.

You'll discover how certain genetic variants influence health conditions and medication response. You'll learn practical ways to guide patients toward lifestyle changes and supplements based on their unique biology, and you'll realize your potential to strengthen relationships and truly partner with patients on their health journey.

The future of pharmacy is here. Are you ready to step into your role as a pioneer on the frontier of personalized medicine? Then join me to explore how nutrigenomics can transform your practice and empower your patients. Welcome to Pivoting Pharmacy with nutrigenomics, part of the Pharmacy Podcast Network.

A must have resource for pharmacist entrepreneurs seeking to enhance patient care while enjoying career and life. Join us as we pivot into nutrigenomics. How to improve chronic conditions using pharmacy and nutrition for true patient focused care. Explore how to improve chronic conditions rather than just manage them.

Celebrate entrepreneurial triumphs and receive priceless advice. Align your values with a career that profoundly impacts patients. Together, we'll raise the script on health and pivot into a brighter future.

Just the other day, I was catching up with a dear friend who's also a pharmacist, a pediatric pharmacist. You know, as we sat there sipping our iced coffees and watching our girls play in the water park, our conversation took a nostalgic turn. We were reminiscing about our early days in school, fresh faced, eager, wearing that short white coat with a sense of pride.

That fire in our bellies to make a real difference in our patients' lives. You remember that feeling right? As our chat wove itself around years of experiences, our triumphs, our teary eyed moments, the hustle to keep up with the ever changing landscapes in our respective pharmacy specialties, a realization dawned on me, just like health care itself.

Our roles as pharmacists have significantly evolved. We are not just dispensers of medications, but rather custodians of comprehensive health care armed with new, exciting tools with a broader, deeper potential to touch patients' lives. And that's why I'm here today, to dive into nutrigenomics.

We're no longer just stewards of pills and potions. We're pioneers on a new frontier where genes and nutrition intersect an exciting realm, right? With possibilities of personalized health. Yes, we're venturing into unexplored territory as pharmacists, and it could be a bit scary and overwhelming, but my friends.

It's also unimaginably exciting. So buckle up as we embark on this journey together towards a more complete, a more holistic vision of patient care. So grab your iced coffee or tea. We don't discriminate here. Get comfortable and let's together navigate this remarkable field of nutrigenomics. Just you, me, and our collective thirst for making the world of pharmacy a more vital, vibrant space.

Now, in the last episode, we'd only just started scratching the surface on nutrigenomics. Today, I want to dive deeper past the generic surface and into the tantalizing specifics of this incredible field. Nutrigenomics is more than just a fancy term. It's a revolution. It equips us pharmacists to craft personalized potent health plans for our patients.

It's transformative potential can go beyond outstanding health outcomes to reshape the very fabric of the pharmaceutical world. You and I, we both know that a hefty chunk of us pharmacists still wear our conventional roles, like well loved old sweaters. You know, the kind I'm talking about, comfortable, familiar, but perhaps a bit worn out and not exciting anymore.

We're dispensers of medications, pills, potions, powders, you name it. We fill the prescriptions, but funny enough, in the process, we might just be filling our practices with missed opportunities. Why are we so comfortable? It's what we've always done. Always been taught. True. We've been shaped by years and years of ingrained beliefs, traditions, deep pharmacy, culture, and an academic and system wide emphasis on medications, our exposure to broader, potentially life changing fields like nutrigenomics has been limited.

dump the entire pill bottle out, but if we keep marching down this single lane path, we're running the risk of not offering our patients that big holistic health picture. Imagine you have a jigsaw puzzle, but you're only ever given the corner pieces.

That's what we're doing by not expanding our scope. We're limiting the patient story. We can piece together. We miss crafting a tailored and effective health narrative for our patients. The narrow focus on medications alone restricts us from fully realizing our potential to better patients' lives and ultimately result in less satisfying professional fulfillment.

But there is a better way. nutrigenomics, I may be biased, but I'm going to explain. It's the innovative science of understanding how an individual's genetic makeup interacts with their diet, affecting health and disease risk. It resonates on a deeper, just for you level. By leveraging this knowledge, we can create personalized health plans to guide patients hand in hand on a wellness journey that's tailored to their unique genetic tune.

Think of it as giving a backstage pass to your patient's life. You won't just be the pharmacist behind the counter. But rather that trusted guide with a deeper understanding of how their biology meshes with their nutrition. It's like having a VIP ticket to the concert of their health, complete with a comprehensive insight.

That wasn't possible before connecting those puzzling pieces of genetics and nutrition, but here's a sweet spot with nutrigenomics. We can go beyond influencing our patients. Well, being. It strengthens their confidence, empowering them to claim the reins on their health journey, transforming them from passive spectators to active participants.

Who wouldn't want that? I know change can be a bit daunting. But rather than see it as change, I want you to think of it as a merger. You're not leaving pharmacy behind, you're morphing your skills with nutrigenomics and joining your patients on a grand adventure. You aid them in enhancing their health story from cover to cover, not just managing an illness, but also bolstering their overall life quality.

It becomes a beautiful duet of care. So how exactly does it work? What are we looking for? What helps us guide our patients, nutrition and lifestyle changes. It's all in a SNPs, S N P, a single nucleotide polymorphism. It's a genetic variation occurring. At a specific position in the genome where a single nucleotide, that is a single DNA building block, which could be adenine, guanine, thiamine, or cytosine, differs among individuals.

For example, a SNP might replace the nucleotide cytosine with the nucleotide thymine in a certain stretch of DNA. These genetic variations can influence health, disease susceptibility, and individual responses to medications, making them a crucial element in the study of nutrigenomics. In general, for a variation to be considered a SNP, it must occur in at least 1 percent of the population, as a SNP is a germline substitution, meaning it's present in egg or sperm cells, and therefore can be passed on to future generations.

SNP’s serve as biological markers, helping scientists locate genes that are associated with particular diseases. Even though most have no effect on health and development, many snips in the human genome do play important roles in defining the unique traits of each individual, including appearance, personality and predisposition to certain conditions.

For instance, there is a SNP or variant of the PPARG gene, P P A R G gene that influences how individuals respond to dietary fat. Knowing this, we can help patients with this variant, the SNP, make dietary adjustments to optimize their fat intake and reduce the risk of heart disease or obesity. Research suggests that they may have a tougher time dealing with saturated fats, the kind prevalent in meats and high fat dairy products.

But before you start picturing a life devoid of flavor for your patients, here comes the twist. Monounsaturated fatty acids, MUFAs, the fats in avocados, olive oil, and almonds could actually turn out to be helpful. So they can still intake those types of fats. They would need to have a balanced intake of the saturated fats and also the polyunsaturated fatty acids, but as resolute as it sounds, remember genetics is not destiny.

I'm [00:10:00] going to say it again. Genetics is not destiny. It's just 1 bit of the puzzle. Everyone will have their own lifestyle needs with exercise, stress management, sleep and so on. All these play significant parts, not to mention there's variation from 1 individual to another. Let's take a look at a gene I'm sure you're probably heard of the MTHFR gene.

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase is a key player in our body's folate pathway with critical implications for DNA synthesis and methylation. Methylation affects detoxification, mood, hormones, and much more. How is this relevant to us as pharmacists? Well, a variant of the M T H F R can sway Foley metabolism and consequently levels of homocysteine.

Another major player in our body. Individuals with two copies of the T variant could have reduced M T H F R activity. REDU reduction of up to 70% is possible as well, which may result in elevated homocysteine levels and low folate levels. Now, the implications are hefty. Research is hinting towards links to health conditions, ranging from cardiovascular disease to infertility.

It could even change response to certain medications. As pharmacists, we can suggest lifestyle modifications, dietary interventions, and also specific supplements for individuals with this variant. They may benefit from increasing intake of folate or choline and supporting it. Vitamins like B12, and this can be done through nutrition.

They don't necessarily need a pill or supplement form. For example, folate can be found in edamame, lentils, liver, and various vegetables like broccoli and spinach. They may also need to be supplemented with the methylated form of folate,  methylfolate. And also, as we mentioned earlier, fats are important.

Omega 3 is the polyunsaturated fatty acids. This has actually been shown to significantly reduce homocysteine levels. The beauty of nutrigenomics lies in its ability to unravel specific health risks and allow us to make meaningful data driven recommendations that cater to each of our patient's unique needs.

However, amid the wonder and excitement of nutrigenomics, be mindful not to fall into the trap of tunnel vision. Focusing only on a single snip at a time, this can be limiting and might not provide the holistic understanding of the patient's health that we desire. Instead. We need to widen our lens and view the individual as an interconnected system, evaluating the implications of various genetic factors together.

The comprehensive reports produced by nutrigenomic testing are designed to help you do just that. They present a detailed overview of a patient's genetic data, enabling practitioners to consider their patient's health from a broader perspective. These reports even go further to provide specific dietary supplement and lifestyle recommendations specific to your patient.

This inclusive approach supports the development of a well rounded and thorough treatment plan. So there's no need to feel intimidated or overwhelmed. You just have to be ready and willing to guide your patients in the implementation. You just have to be ready and willing to guide your patients in the implementation of the recommendations found in that neutral genomic report.

So, I have a tailored action plan for you. Understand the science, but crucially understand the individual, their lifestyle, their preferences, their quirks, work hand in hand with them to follow the dietary recommendations specific to their genetic makeup, but also that fit in with their life because my friend, the best tweaks and diet and lifestyle are the ones that actually stick.

That is all I have for you today. Thanks for joining me and pivoting pharmacy with nutrigenomics. If you want to connect with me personally, hang out with me on Instagram and LinkedIn, you can find me at Dr. Tamar Lawful. If you're ready to become a pharmacist, who's making a difference in your patient's lives, and you want to work more hand in hand with them.

I welcome you to explore our racist script blueprint program. This comprehensive program will guide you on incorporating nutrigenomics, personalized health coaching, and taking a patient centric approach into your pharmacy practice. Discover more. And apply at www.raisethescript.com. So, thank you for joining me today.

Now, if this episode spoke to you, it would mean the world. For you to share it with a friend, and if you love the show, you've been listening and you haven't let me know how the show is impacting you. I would love to hear from you as well. All you have to do is scroll down in your Apple app, tap the five stars, and write a quick review.

Just one sentence to let me know how this show is impacting you. It's a fantastic way to add value and nurture a relationship with your colleagues in your community because we are all in this together to elevate health care for our patients. Be sure to tune in next week. We're rolling out our sleeves to tackle a biggie, the mystery of patient non-compliance, just like that elusive pill that's gone rogue.

We're going on a hunt to find out why some patients aren't taking their medications. So grab your detective spirit because we are going to crack this case open. So join me next week and until then, always remember, in your journey as a healthcare professional. Always raise a script on health because together we can bring health care to higher levels.