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Finding a diet just for you

A nutritionist uses genetic testing to decide how a person should eat.

By PAUL SWIDER
Published July 23, 2006

Sometimes, no matter how much you diet, you can't lose weight. It might not be your fault.

"We've trivialized diet," said Betty Wedman-St. Louis, a St. Petersburg nutritionist who develops individualized diets based on patients' specific genetic makeup. "It's not just calories in, calories out. Much of weight issues are related to inflammatory responses."

In short, no matter how popular the diet book, if it's not right for you personally, your body won't process the foods properly, Wedman-St. Louis said. The consequences can be even more serious for other aspects of diet, she said, which is why she urges people to have their own genetic tests done so she can teach them about what they should eat, not what some fad diet says.

"We're not taught very well how to listen to our bodies," said Wedman-St. Louis, an author who also teaches nutrition at the Tampa campus of the University of Phoenix. "My focus is to have people start looking at a personalized nutritional approach."

Wedman-St. Louis said she sees many patients who are using expensive prescription medications. After evaluating their diet and their genetic profiles, she says she can show them eating the wrong food is causing their illnesses. They not only don't need medications but can also be healthier still by knowing the foods their bodies truly want.

Wedman-St. Louis said she has seen children who have been diagnosed with eating disorders only to discover they actually have celiac disease, a genetic inability to process wheat products. When such children complain after eating crackers or bread, traditional medicine misdiagnosed them not knowing they simply couldn't digest those foods.

Likewise, Wedman-St. Louis said osteoporosis sufferers might do better with a specific diet than with calcium supplements. Those with cardiac problems might benefit more from folic acid in dark green vegetables or colored fruits than from medicine.

"But I would not have the evidence to convince them without the genetic test," she said.

Tests are becoming almost commonplace, Wedman-St. Louis said. Patients can buy kits in the drugstore, swab their mouth or poke a finger, then send the sample to a lab. The tests can be expensive, running hundreds or even a thousand dollars for a full battery, but the results last a lifetime and can help health in many ways. Wedman-St. Louis charges $65 an hour for her consultations.

"They're usually not motivated until it becomes a medical necessity," Wedman-St. Louis said of most of her patients, who usually come to her by physician referral or word-of-mouth recommendation. "If we can pick it up earlier, they have a much better health for a longer period without the need for toxic drugs."

Pharmaceuticals themselves can be a problem, Wedman-St. Louis said. Geared to treat a specific symptom, some drugs can accumulate in the body to toxic levels, if a patient's diet is not geared toward cleaning their system.

Such cleansing can also be part of weight-loss issues, Wedman-St. Louis said. The once-popular Atkins diet was as much about cleaning people's gastrointestinal tract as anything, she said. Carbohydrate-rich foods can foster growth of certain yeasts that can lead to bloating and weight gain.

"If we can clean up their GI tract, they lose weight," Wedman-St. Louis said.

Wedman-St. Louis also said some problems have to do with the speed and efficiency of digestion. Our society is geared toward eating three meals a day, she said, but there is evidence that grazing, or eating small amounts throughout the day, is better for some people's bodies. Some studies indicate grazing can improve people's immune systems.

There is some concern, Wedman-St. Louis said, about privacy issues and genetic testing. She said she is bound by privacy law from revealing patients' personal genetic information, but she regularly hears about fears that it could fall into the hands of an insurance company or employer. She said such concerns have hampered what could otherwise be very effective dietary treatments.

"If we can intervene with improving people's eating habits, hopefully we can keep them away from the pharmacy," she said.

Wedman-St. Louis offers some information and advice on her Web site, www.betty-wedman-stlouis.com, but can also be reached at 727-391-6198.

Paul Swider can be reached at 892-2271 or pswider@sptimes.com or by participating in itsyourtimes.com.

[Last modified July 22, 2006, 20:31:00]