By Mark Sisson 26 Comments Print As I mentioned earlier this year, our personal ancestry can help determine how we respond to certain dietary, behavior, exercise, and lifestyle patterns. The big question remaining is this: does going Primal mesh with some of the more common polymorphisms? The Primal Blueprint is a living document. Its foundation rests on pre-agricultural human evolution, but by remaining flexible and offering ample room for personalization, it acknowledges the fact that evolution has continued to occur. Rather than experience health and fitness benefits, an exercise non-responder might see no changes, or even detrimental ones when they exercise. These non-responders seem to cluster in families, an indication of genetic influence. Aerobic exercise non-responders are the most common. Whereas about 85% of the population experiences big improvements in VO2max after sustained endurance training, about 15% do not. They can work hard, about as hard as the others, and follow the same protocol yet experience almost no improvement to their oxygen consumption rates. In some people, endurance training can even degrade their health. They actually experience worsened insulin sensitivity, lower HDL, and elevated blood pressure when they train. If a person is an aerobic non-responder, they do the work but see little benefit unless they really up the intensity and duration of their aerobic training. What does seem to work is high-intensity training. For instance, sprint interval training works for exercise non-responders. But that same non-responder may have a blast playing Ultimate Frisbee, or learning a martial art, or breaking through the clouds to reveal a stunning sunrise on an early morning hike. Incorporating, or indeed focusing on play as the proximate goal of training and movement is a winning strategy for people with a genetic aversion to exercise. Genes associated with soft tissue injuries This is me. Based on my genetics, I have an increased risk of incurring soft tissue injuries like arthritis and the various tendinopathies. But those genetic polymorphisms are linked to soft tissue injuries across the population. When I went Primal, they stopped. Going Primal helps in multiple ways: By promoting correct movement patterns. By reducing systemic inflammation. Fewer unnecessary carbs, more anti-inflammatory plants and spices, better sleep, more omega-3s, and an increased awareness of stress and the danger of chronic inflammation lead to less of it. Since glycine contributes to rebuilding and repairing collagen in the body cartilage, tendons, ligaments, fascia , inadequate collagen can open you up to soft tissue injury. By promoting the consumption of bone broth, gelatinous meats, and collagen supplements, the Primal eating plan usually leads to greater collagen consumption. PUFA metabolism variants FADS1 controls elongation of shorter-chain polyunsaturated fats into their longer-chain counterparts. People with certain FADS1 mutations are bad at converting alpha-linolenic acid ALA into the longer-chained and extremely important omega-3s EPA and DHA. In pregnancy and nursing, these mutations can lead to impaired levels of omega-3 in the breastmilk and lower IQ in the fetus. To get enough of the physiologically relevant forms, they need to eat them directly. Indeed, certain people simply need to eat more fatty fish to be healthy. Other PUFA metabolism variants affect the conversion of linoleic acid into inflammatory compounds. If you have these variants, higher intakes of linoleic acid around 17 grams per day in one study, which is typical for people eating regular modern diets are associated with breast and prostate cancer. In the end, no one benefits from excessive intakes of omega-6 PUFAs and some are harmed. On the other hand, eating adequate amounts of omega-3s through marine foods and pastured eggs is safe for everyone and especially crucial for some. Going Primal takes care of all that by eliminating the most concentrated source of linoleic acid processed seed oils and emphasizing regular fatty fish consumption. The modern western model of high omega-6 intake through seed oils and low omega-3 intake is bad for every polymorphism; going Primal reverses that. Multiple genes determine how much glutathione we synthesize. Among them, GCLC is the gene regulating the cysteine-to-glutathione conversion pathway. GCLC-knockout mice with the cysteine-to-glutathione pathway severed normally develop severe steatosis and die from total liver failure within a month. Giving them a concentrated source of n-acetylcysteine NAC , a widely available and inexpensive supplement, restores some glutathione synthesis by providing the necessary building block and rescues them from liver failure. The Primal eating plan includes many of the richest sources of cysteine and other glutathione-boosting foods, like whey protein and dietary flavonoids found in colorful fruits and vegetables. MTHFR mutations Forget any other diet. This makes it a great choice for MTHFR mutation carriers with an impaired ability to convert folic acid to folate. Folic acid, the most common supplemental form of the vitamin, can work for folks without a MTHFR mutation, but the form of folate found in food is the most helpful for people with a mutation. What about veganism, Sisson? Sure, vegans—at least the ones who actually eat vegetables—have the biggest folate intakes of anyone. And because B12 is only found in animal foods, vegans are almost guaranteed to be deficient without supplementation. So when it comes to correcting the common deficiencies inherent to MTHFR polymorphisms, going Primal helps. There are other polymorphisms—too many to cover. But these were five that jumped out at me. What about you, folks? Got any questions or comments about these or other genetic variants that interact with your Primal lifestyle? Prefer listening to reading? Get an audio recording of this blog post, and subscribe to the Primal Blueprint Podcast on iTunes for instant access to all past, present and future episodes here. The Secret to Athletic Longevity How to Feed, Train and Care for Your Cartilage If you'd like to add an avatar to all of your comments click here! I do know the PCRM is responsible for most of the vegan propaganda. I started to get extreme anxiety attacks and even had to go to the hospital a couple times. I tried a vegan diet once and it hurt me. My blood pressure would shoot up and my heart rate would increase, felt like an anxiety attack. You should look up the PCRM, they are at the center of all vegan propaganda. I like to have examples to share with vegan apologists. I took prenatals with folate not folic acid and ate mostly primal throughout my pregnancy and preconception time period. All three of us are heterozygous for MTHFR mutations. Its foundation rests on pre-agricultural human evolution, but by remaining flexible and offering ample room for personalization, it acknowledges the fact that evolution has continued to occur. Especially that remaining flexible part. We as a species continue to evolve and change. Also significant decreases in LDL. I have a genetic form of high cholesterol hyperlipidemia. Do you happen to know which genes specifically which genes I can look for in my results that pertain to these things that you discuss in this article? I have a lot of my genetic disposition type stuff e. Of course, now the test costs twice as much as what I paid. Thanks for the article! There are a page full of hits for that. Such as: LOC100506310, MTHFR 11846198 rs15854 A or G AA MTHFR 11850365 rs4846049 G or T GG etc. Or is it something set in stone? Lots to learn once you do get your raw data ran in a program, many free ones out there too, but to get a complete run of 50 plus pages best to go to MTHFR support program. Now I take a daily supplement of bioavailable methylfolate and that has done the trick. Bill 1 year 5 months agoWhat a great article Mark, with other great comments from the gallery, so to speak. It is interesting to note after practicing Functional Medicine for awhile that many of these Polymorphisms are actually being brought out by our SAD or Standard American Diet. Also, Magnesium and Zinc deficiencies are more and more common as well as Sulfur. I have followed the primal way of eating for many years, now going to try the autoimmune version. Did you have a particular website or person you got your information from regarding the MTHFR gene mutation? I have not been tested but obviously passed the C677T gene to my daughter.
