Working with Genetics & Epigenetics Testing as a Health Coach

On Thursday, March 20th, FMCA hosted a webinar exploring how health coaches can integrate genetics and epigenetics into their practice to better support clients.

In this compelling session, Dr. Priscila Arbex, Director of Clinical Innovation & Research at NBX Wellness, joined FMCA’s founder Dr. Sandra Scheinbaum to discuss the cutting-edge role of genetic testing in personalized wellness. Together, they explored how understanding genetic and epigenetic markers can help coaches craft more targeted, effective strategies for client health.

In this webinar, Dr. Arbex and Dr. Sandi discussed:

• The science behind genetics and epigenetics and how they influence health outcomes
• How to incorporate genetic testing into health coaching in a responsible, impactful way
• Real-world examples of how personalized strategies improve client results
• The expanding role of health coaches in the era of personalized, precision wellness

This replay is a must-watch for health coaches and wellness professionals who want to stay ahead of emerging trends and provide personalized support grounded in science.

About NBX Wellness

NBX Wellness is at the forefront of personalized health innovation, leveraging genetics and epigenetics to empower health professionals with science-backed insights. Through advanced genetic testing and research, NBX Wellness provides tools and education that enable practitioners to create tailored wellness strategies for optimal health outcomes.

Watch the Replay

Working with Genetics & Epigenetics Testing as a Health Coach, With Dr. Priscila Arbex

Transcript

Dr. Sandi: I want to say how thrilled I am to welcome Dr. Priscila Arbex. And she is the Director of Clinical Innovation & Research for NBX Wellness. So, take it away Dr. Priscila.

Dr. Priscila: Hey, good morning, everyone, or good afternoon for some of you that are here. So, it’s a big pleasure for me to be here. I hope you can see me and also hear me. I’m looking forward to share with you what we have and how we are progressing with genetics and epigenetics. Today, we are going to explain and explore a little bit more on where we are, how health coaches can use genetics and epigenetics in your business.

So, first of all, as Sandra explained to you, I am a part of NBX Wellness team. And as most of you… I don’t know if you’re familiar with our company, but we are here to support you and give your clients personalized recommendations based on the SNPs, on the genetics and also epigenetics that we can explore a little bit more together here. With that, we can target specific tailored recommendations for your clients.

So, let’s explore a little bit where we are, what is coming from you as health coach, and what is the future, and how can you improve your business using these tools that we have here. So, as you see, my name is Priscila Arbex. I’m from Brazil. I got my PhD there in health from the Faculty of Medicine. And also I did a fellowship in a big center of epigenetics in Switzerland. So, I spent a couple of years there. I’ve lived in the Netherlands for a period of time in my life. So, I kind of know how the healthcare and wellness system works around the globe, I would say to you, because I’ve been to Brazil, Europe, and now I’m in the U.S. So, I’m kind of familiar on how that works.

So, giving you some background about who I am, I had my own practice as a dietitian in Brazil for 12 years. Before I moved to Switzerland, I used to have my day to day clinic, my day to day patients there as well working with MDs along the way. So, during my journey, I was able to be part of pharma companies as well when I was able to develop genetic testing and given to providers and also to health coach ways to make the personalized recommendations that they were looking for, for their clients or with the providers, with their patients. Also, I was able to review and write a couple of papers, publications that some of them we can use to explain genetics and epigenetics.

So, that said, let’s go and see what are we going to cover today. So, basically what we’re going to do, we are going to make a short introduction about genetics and epigenetics, like key concepts and the relevance in health coaching. We are going to see how can we read and explain to your clients the genetic testing results that we have and what are the practical applications on that to your business. And at the end, Sandra, we’ll host a Q&A section for us.

So, first of all, what is genetics? For some of you, it might be complex at the beginning but it’s not. We want to make that simple for you. So, what is the definition of genetics? Everyone has heard about genes, right? And genes, they are what is passed on from your father, from your mother. And how the genes are going to be part of how you express your genes. That’s part of it. So, you have the DNA, you have the genes, and how they are expressed. So, we know the DNA is a blueprint of life that drives the biological functions in our body. So, we need to right now make the link, the connection between the genes, health, and how will that lead to the personalized recommendations that we can have.

Just going back a little bit here into biology to give you some content here, everyone have heard about DNA and RNA. They are different between each other. There are difference between them. And here, when we say about genetics and genetic testing and everything related to that with us, we are going to discuss DNA, right? As you can see here, RNA has just one helix while DNA has two. And you have different base of pairs on them. I will not explore too much on this. It is kind of the basics and too deep right now to go, so I can answer questions about that. But the important part for you to know here is that we are going to discuss DNA. And when we see here the base, the pairs that we have here, for example, you see a gene from guanine, you see a C from cytosine, you can see an A from adenine, and so on. Those are the base of pairs that we have on the DNA. And some of them, they’re going to be different on RNA. Just keep in mind that, here, we are going to explore and discuss DNA.

So, as I mentioned before, DNA is a polymer. Based on DNA, what we have is nucleotide chains. Each nucleotide that we have there is made up of sugar, phosphate group, and the base. And the base that we have on the DNA are four. They would be adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine. Those are the four bases that we have there. And what is the goal of our DNA, how that will express something in our body? We are always relating that to the protein synthesis. So, proteins, as we know, they are made up of long chains of amino acids. Everyone has heard about that. So, in humans, we have 20 different natural amino acids, as we know. A sequence of three bases codes for a single specific amino acid. The order that we have in these bases, whether it’s an A, a G, a C, determines the sequence of the amino acids that we have. And the order of amino acids will determine the shape of the protein. And finally, the shape of the protein will determine the function of this.

So, these proteins, they are responsible for all the cellular functions that we have in our body here. That said, what is a gene? The gene is the basic unit of heredity, which is made up of a DNA sequence. And from that, we have the gene expression. What is important to keep in mind? When we say something about gene expression, keep in mind that genes, they can be turned on or off, depending on the body’s needs. I’ll give an example here, right? Everyone has heard about the lactase gene, which is the gene that encodes for the enzyme called lactase that breaks down lactose. This plays a crucial role in our body, right, but maybe a client of yours might have a mutation in that specific gene that do not encode for this protein. And in this case, the client will not be able to break down the sugar, the lactose. So, that will be a lactose intolerance.

So, when I say about a mutation, I’m sure that you heard about that before. We are going to think about, in this case, for the DNA testing, the genetic testing, about a SNP. I’m sure you heard about that before. And what is a SNP? SNP stands for single nucleotide polymorphism. It’s a common type of a genetic variation. What is the importance of that? SNPs, they can influence how individuals respond to drugs, disease, or conditions in this case. What is important to consider when we are going to analyze a SNP? We need to consider their frequency in the population, the impact on the gene function, as I mentioned before about the lactose, and association with specific traits. SNP can increase the predisposition of a client for vitamin D deficiency or gluten sensitivity. We are going to explore a little bit more on that.

When we think about the mutation, we need to keep in mind that will be a change in the DNA sequencing. Remember that I said before about the base of pairs that we have there. So, what we have is the change in the sequencing, and I’ll show you how that happens. Keep in mind that different types of mutation can happen, and some of them can be beneficial, some of them can be harmful, or some of them can be neutral. One example of a harmful mutation would be the sickle cell disease.

Here is just an example for you to see which type of mutations we can have. So, we can have the deletion, which would be the first one. We are going to delete a base or more than one base from the DNA sequencing. Number two, substitution. We’re going to swap in base in the sequencing by the same number of base. We’re going to keep the number of base. Inversion, a segment of DNA is flipped 180 degrees. Insertion, we are going to add the new base or base into the DNA sequence. Or duplication, duplicate a pair of base. As you can see, all of them, they are going to change the DNA sequence that we have.

So, when we have a genetic testing, when we test for these mutations in the sequence that we have in the DNA, what can it tell us? The first thing that it can tell us is a disease predisposition. So, a genetic testing can identify predisposition to different disease, different conditions. Also can reveal how individuals metabolize nutrients. That would be fat, carbohydrates, protein, minerals, vitamins. And also we have pharmacogenomics in the same sense of that, that can predict how would be the response for different medications.

How can we read the genetic results? The first thing that we need to keep in mind and understand are these SNPs. We need to learn how to identify and read all these SNPs that we have. You don’t have to be an expert into genetics, know one by one. But we need to know how would be the impact of those SNPs on your client’s lifestyle, and body, and functions and everything. Second part, we need to access the significance of that SNP. We need to differentiate between significant and minor genetic variations in this case, and we need to connect to lifestyle, which is that something that we’re going to do here, because we need to make the translation, right? Your client, they want to see, “Okay, I do have this mutation. What I do now? What is a practical part of it?”

Let’s give you some examples, because so far I’ve been talking about biology, genes, and all these kinds of things, but let’s go to the practical part of it. Here we have some examples. We have a gene that I think you are familiar with, which is MTHFR is related to folate metabolism, right? And if you have a specific mutation in this gene, we can recommend a supplement like methylfolate in this case for your client. We have APOE also related to cholesterol and Alzheimer’s risk. In this case, we could recommend omega-3 in this case. Then we have also another gene called COMT. The function is related to stress and dopamine regulation. In this case, we can also recommend magnesium, B vitamins. GSTM1 relate to detox efficiency. In case the client has a mutation, that can be recommended antioxidant support for this client of yours. What is important to keep in mind? That, here, we match the supplement with the gene, with the mutation that we have there. So, they are linked. So, we match supplement to specific genetic variations.

Just to give you a case study here. So, let’s say that you have a client with the MTHFR mutation, right? We have the genetic test of this patient, the results come like that. You can make personalized folate recommendations that will improve overall health and energy levels. Of course, we can have, for example, mutation into APOE4, and that is related to cholesterol. So, in this case, we can make change in the lifestyle and also in the diet of this client to manage the cholesterol levels in this case. And that specific case that is a well-known gene is called GSTM1 that’s related to Phase II to the detox path. If your client has a mutation into this gene, supplements like glutathione can support detoxification pathways. In most of the case, that would be the recommendation, like supplements that can support antioxidant pathways in the body of the client. So, we have the supplements linked to the gene and how that would be beneficial for your client to take them.

Of course, when we say about lifestyle and health coaching, something that we need to keep in mind is that how we can tailor the intake, diet and supplementation based on the genetic dispositions that we’re going to see on the results of the testing. So, we would be able to personalize macronutrients in the diet of the client. We can personalize the amount of carbohydrates, protein, fat, lipids, whatever you wanted to do there. We can also target supplementation. As I mentioned before, we can consider specific supplements to support genetic needs based on the outcome of the test. And last but not least, which is important, risk mitigation. So, the genetic results will give you predispositions, and you can use that insights to avoid potential risks with your client. So, also could be a way to prevent something that’s about to happen or that is showing there that the client has a predisposition too so we can manage that in advance.

We know that when we think about genetic testing, we have a bunch of considerations that we need to have in mind. The first one is that genetics, not destiny, right? Does not mean that if your client has a predisposition for, let’s say, high cholesterol or, I don’t know, something closer to that, vitamin D deficient, vitamin C deficient. It does not mean that your client will have that. Let’s keep in mind that lifestyle, diet, environment plays a role into that. And I said here, after you see the gene environment interplay, we do have the interaction between genetics and environment, which is crucial and play a role in the way you express the genes. And of course, we need to keep in mind ethical considerations when we run genetic testing for your client. Privacy. How are they handling the lab, the company, the data security and how are they responsible for the use of genetic information?

Moving forward a little bit, this is basic what we have for genetics, right? How can we apply that to your practice? How that can impact the outcome of the results? How you add that to your business to make it easier and smooth for you and for your client to design the protocol that you want to follow with them and all these kinds of things. The second part of that is epigenetics. I know that something that’s coming up, we do have a lot of people talking about that, and we need to understand what is the main difference between genetics and epigenetics.

So, let’s see. So, what is the definition of epigenetics? That refers to change in gene expression without changing the DNA sequence. Remember that something that I mentioned before. When we are discussing genetics, we are talking about mutations, and we are changing the DNA sequence. It’s always like that. In epigenetics, we’re not changing the sequence itself. We have modifications. That can be DNA methylation, histone modification, and no coding RNA interactions. That would be a lot, but I’ll explain to you and simplify that a little bit. And the magic on epigenetics is that we can reverse. So, epigenetics chains are often reversible through lifestyle interventions. So, that’s the magic when you can with lifestyle change, environmental change, and all these kinds of things, especially diets, we can reverse some of that.

And to give you some perspective, what is a common misconception that we have about genetics and epigenetics? The first one is the genetic determinism, as I mentioned before, is a myth. Genetics will not determine everything. We need to consider all other things that we have on that, lifestyle, environment. We have a lot to consider. The second one is epigenetic permanence, saying that epigenetic chains are permanent. No, they are not. As I mentioned before, we can reverse some of them, change in lifestyle, environment, diet, and all these aspects. And what is the most important on that? You need and we need to educate clients on the balance between them. What is the real expectations on that? What is a plan that we have together? What we expect to change? What is a timeline that we expect to change? What are the changes that we make to your life to see a real impact on your results, on your day-to-day, on your body, on everything?

Getting back a little bit into DNA and gene expression, as I mentioned before, DNA is a structure, right? We have the blueprint of life there. All the genetic instructions are there. We have the RNA translation. What we have with RNA that I mentioned at the beginning, here, the RNA will translate genetic instruction from DNA into functional proteins. Remember, the functional part of that that we need are the proteins. And by the end, we have the gene regulation. As I mentioned, genes can be turned on or off based on cellular needs. That’s where epigenetics plays the role.

How epigenetics works. There are three different ways that I mentioned. The first one, and that’s the one that I’m going to explore and the most common one I would say for you nowadays is the DNA methylation. How that happens? We have the addition of a methyl group to DNA. Typically, that will silence the gene expression. The second one would be the histone modification. That will alter protein DNA interactions, affecting the gene accessibility. So, the gene would be more accessible or less accessible. And the third one would be non-coding RNAs. That would be a little bit more complex, but basically that would work regulating gene activity without coding for proteins at the end. So, here I have just an illustration on that showing whether we have the methylation, whether we have the histone modification or whether we have the no-coding RNAs.

Remember that I mentioned to you that the DNA methylation would be the most relevant nowadays where we can see based on science and publications and all the research that have been doing around the globe about that. Basically, when we have the gene, the DNA sequence, as we can see here from five to three, at the beginning of that, we have what we call the CPG island. After that, we have the gene expression. Basically, in words, it’s that. When you have this region, the CPG island, methylated, which would be the image below, we don’t have the gene expression. And when it’s not methylated, when we don’t have the methyl group added to that part, you have the gene expression. So, we can see here sometimes it’s turned on, you see that lamp here, and sometimes it’s turned off. And where is the biggest issue here? Sometimes when it’s off, we have more risks related to that.

Thinking about epigenetics, that’s something that I’m sure that you have seen in your business. What leads to age acceleration? We see here infections, stress, smoking, and alcohol. We see gender-related and also we see the BMI. The highest is the BMI. Fats would be the age acceleration. Smoking and alcohol, we know a lot about that, right? Stress as well, and infections. And what’s the opposite side of that? Age deceleration. What can decrease and slow down the acceleration? It could be sleep plays a huge role on that. Health, diet, and active lifestyle.

I want to show you what are the possibilities that we have in the science and also in the literature regarding epigenetics here. Right now, if you see here, the Dunedin, which is the latest aging clock that we have published in the literature, is the one from 2020. And it’s the one that we’ve been working with because this is based on blood work. We need to collect blood samples like fingertip, and it’s the one that measure the CPG island that I mentioned to you before. In simple words, at the beginning of the gene, we have this region. When you have the methyl group added to that, sometimes we don’t have the gene expression, right? So, that’s the clock that we have right now. The Dunedin, if you want to search more on that, we have a lot of papers, a lot of publication on that, that we call the aging clock. We have different options here. They are a little bit older and they use different methodologies to check on that.

And how can we make interventions based on epigenetics? As we do not have the DNA sequence change, we just have in this specific case a methylation, right? So, we can apply diets because you know that certain foods can support optimal gene expression, exercise, regular physical activity. We know that can possibly modify epigenetic markers. And mindfulness. That’s so important. I’m sure that you know a lot about that, right? That practice can reduce stress-related epigenetic alterations. Let’s explore a little bit on that.

So, when we say about sleep and circadian rhythm, we know that can influence on epigenetics because the disruption on that can have a negative impact on metabolism and immunity. The gene regulation, we know that sleep plays a crucial role in regulating gene expression, affecting different body functions in this case. So, how can we improve that? We can talk to your client and guide them with supplements to promote sleep optimization. Improving sleep habits to lead to better genetic expression and overall health in this case. Second one, stress management for better genetic expression. So, chronic stress will impact the way we express the genes and will impact in negative way. We have the relation between cortisol and inflammation that can trigger epigenetic modifications. We and you as health coach can apply and can recommend stress reduction strategies that will be based on supplements by lifestyle modification, different techniques that you can apply to your client.

Of course, I cannot leave this presentation without saying about microbiome and the gene expression related to that. We know that probiotics, they have an impact on epigenetics that can improve health outcomes. And we know that there is a super tight correlation and connection between gut and gene, right? And that will affect everything in our body. And then you can apply and we can suggest to your client strategies to optimize gut health, whether it would be from diet, from lifestyle, from supplement, everything together.

Exercise. Physical activity can induce beneficial epigenetic modifications, right? We know that. So, certain types of exercise can be more beneficial. And we know that we have some studies in place showing that different genetic dispositions can respond in different way for different exercise. So, that would be something that we can discuss also with our client and help them to make their best out of it.

Aging and epigenetics, of course, we need to talk about that, right? Epigenetic alterations can contribute to aging. Diet, fasting, lifestyle modifications can influence on that, right? And that would call on job interventions. And also with that, we can support with supplements that support healthy aging for your clients based on the outcome that we have for the test. As I mentioned before, what’s important to have in mind when we consider genetics for your clients. Privacy concerns, that would be the first thing that we need to have in mind. Address the privacy implications of genetic testing. Informant consent. Make sure that your clients fully understand the implications and what they are doing. And data handling, best practice for responsible handling data. That would be for the company that you are working with, for the lab that are running the samples for your clients.

And what we have here on mental health as well. So, we say mental health, genetics, and personalized coaching. Genes can influence neurotransmitter function and mental health. We give them personalized support, right? What is important to have in mind here, holistic approach. We can give the supplements, the lifestyle modification, everything together to improve the results of your client in this case. And we know mental health is a huge topic right now, so it’s something that I also address together when we have the explanation to your client, how we communicate the findings of the genetic testing to your client, right? It’s important the way we communicate. Help them to understand how they can positively influence their gene expression. Put the positive side on them, explain to them how that applies, and keep in mind that genetics or epigenetics is not their destiny, right? They can change that. Epigenetics, they can change the way it’s done. And with genetics, we can improve or we can prevent some of the things.

Given personalized strategies, insights that can give personalized strategies for them, have the holistic approach, combine genetic information with lifestyle, with diet, exercise, sleep, mental health, everything together. How as a health coach can you integrate genetic and epigenetic to your business? Important to have is a practical framework. Develop a systematic approach to incorporate genetic insights. Keep track of the progress of your client. What is good with epigenetics is that we can do the tests every six months to see the difference between the first one, the second one. We keep going on that. You change your lifestyle. If we didn’t see any change, you change that again. You can change the subplans. And what is important by the end is a continuous learning. We need to stay update with the latest research. What is going on? What do we have in the market?

And how we can support you. I want to give you this highlight of some products that we have and how that would be linked to you, to your business, and also to the genes. As I just mentioned before, we’ve been talking about genes. So, here, for example, we have the methylation support. What are the key ingredients in this product? We have methylfolate, B12, B6, and other methyl donors. They are related to MTHFR, COMT, and CBS. So, our supplements, they are gene designed. How that can support? What is the benefit for your client for taking that supplement? Supports mood, energy levels, detox, and cardiovascular health.

Let’s see another one, omega here. We have high quality of EPA and DHA from sustainable fish source. They are related to APOE, FADS1, FADS2. So, you see every supplement that carry here, they’re related to a gene that can support brain function, reduce inflammation, and so on. So, if your client, they have a mutation that can link it to a supplement, that would be the case here. That’s how we make the link. Detox. That can be also linked to detoxification for your clients all the time. We have GSTM1 in this case. We have also the stress, the DAP. So, Blissful Mood, that would be the name of the supplement. We have key ingredients. We have the related genes to that, COMT, MOA, BDNF, in this case, help manage stress and supports cognitive function. We have also Daily Cell Recharge. We have the key ingredients. Related genes to that, SIRT1, FOXO3, APOE. I know there’s a lot of names here, a lot of genes, but I wanted to show you that supplements, they are linked to specific traits, specific genes. And based on that, you can have the personalized recommendation for your client. And also adding to that, the supplements, lifestyle, exercise, diet, everything that can come together.

And how to apply that to your business? How would it be the next step? How can I start with that? Further reading, that’s something that I encourage you to do is explore peer review of journals. What do you have in the literature? If you’re more interested in some traits, if you’re more into diet or more into, I don’t know, methylation or explore what you have there, make good connections, join professional networks, see what you can get from there.

And also it’s important for you to seek for certification, right? So, you can earn a certification in genetics for health coaching. That’s something that we are working together and we are exploring to have a program to host here and having you doing the program with us to learn a little bit more on all of these aspects. And I invite you to scan this keyword code to learn more about the health coach that we’ll have in place and questions or anything else that you have there.

So, I would say thank you for having me here. Now we have an open floor for the questions that you might have. And I’m here to support you with explanations, whatever you want me to say. I’m here and thank you for being here with me during this time. Thank you, Sandra, for hosting me.

Dr. Sandi: Well, thank you so much. This was a wonderful presentation, and I know I certainly learned a lot. And we have a number of great questions that have come in. The first one, and you can see those, Priscilla, if you want to pull up the Q&A. So, the first one is from Carol. And before we begin with the question, I just want to again remind everybody that you will have access to the recording in case you missed anything. And also, there was that QR code that you can take advantage of. And before I forget, I do want to say that if you are a graduate of FMCA and you are a member of our alumni group, we are going to have a follow-up webinar from NBX Wellness. They will be offering this where they will be showing exactly how you can get involved with their upcoming training program and how that will lead to your working with them to support their customers. So, that will be coming up, and so watch the announcements for where that will be. I should say when that will be. We know it will be virtual. I’ll resume.

Okay, so Carol, she says, “If a client comes in with a whole genome done, where can we send the client if they want interpretation to supply to their MDs?” So, you can read the rest of the question, Priscilla. So, it seems that MDs utilize companies who supply or advise them on results and then want to repeat the testing. So, is there a service to do this in reverse?

Dr. Priscila: That’s a good question, Carol. Thank you for sending that over. Yeah, whole genome sequencing, something that’s way more complex than what we do here, right? Because when we discuss genetic testing, we are looking for target SNPs. We do not do the whole genome sequencing. So, that will be something that I don’t have the answer for you right now. I don’t know anyone that is doing that right now. Taking the whole genome sequencing for someone and do an interpretation of the outcome. But I definitely can search that for you and come back with the answer as soon as I have it.

Dr. Sandi: Thank you. Thank you so much. And I can communicate with Carol, because she is as a member of our alumni program and she regularly attends my office hours where we can follow up.

Dr. Priscila: Oh, that’s perfect.

Dr. Sandi: So, you communicate with me and then I will get that to Carol and anyone else who’s interested, of course. “Is a person able to influence gene expression for all genes or are there some that will express regardless of lifestyle?” and that comes from Elizabeth. Thank you for, Elizabeth, for the question.

Dr. Priscila: Hey, Elizabeth, thank you for sharing. Yes, we do have in this case because that can be inherit as well, right, coming from your parents most of the time. So, regardless of lifestyle, you can have mutations there.

Dr. Sandi: Okay, thank you. From Carol, “Is there types of variants that are considered more serious than others?”

Dr. Priscila: I wouldn’t say we might have some of them. We can have, right? But the most important point here is which protein would be the result of that? Which function are we going to lose in this case? We have a mutation in specific sequence of the DNA. What would be the outcome of that? Because some of them can be harmful, right? As I mentioned before, the sickle cell. So, it’s more related to the outcome of that than only the mutation per se.

Dr. Sandi: Thank you, that’s very helpful. And again, from Carol, you are wanting to know, “Are epigenetics taken into account in the variant reporting? It sounds like they are, but I’d love to hear it again from you, Dr. Priscila, that produces or is there a sense of risk versus polygenetic reporting?”

Dr. Priscila: Okay, so right now we are working on an epigenetics testing to have that. So, keep in mind that is different when we have the genetics, because genetics is the base. That will not change, right? No matter how many years we are going to repeat the test, that will be the same. From now, 10 years from now, 20 years from now, we’re going to have the same, right? But epigenetics, they will change. And the polygenic score is when we combine a set of genes to give you a trait or a predisposition or a response. So, there is this difference between them.

Dr. Sandi: All right, great answer. And another question, thank you for saying this is a fabulous presentation. I absolutely agree. Thank you. “And have you ever worked with anyone who lives with,” this is a particular condition, “NF1neurofibromatosis type 1, a mutation in the NF1 gene, which provides instructions for making the protein neurofibromin.” She would love to have, or he would love to have, any recommendations or supplements. And do you work with children?

Dr. Priscila: Oh, thank you for the fabulous presentation. Compliment, thank you for that. But no one ever worked with someone with this NF1 mutation. That’s going to be more… and we decide how they are going to handle that. And that’s more towards the diagnostic environment, right? The disease environment. Here we are into wellness. So, that’s something that we would address in a different way, in a different condition. We’ve emptied behind and so on. And, yes, we do have children. We do work with them.

Dr. Sandi: All right. Lizzie, she says, “Is this for practitioners and doctors or individuals seeking help to find their way back to health?” So, your customer base, I’m assuming that’s what Lizzie means.

Dr. Priscila: Yeah, okay. So, this is for your client looking to optimize their health, right? So, they can come here, they can come to you, do the testing, both of them, into genetics and epigenetics, and you can personalize their treatment. So, that’s for them, to support them. And also to support your business as well.

Dr. Sandi: Yes, and I just want to explain further that for you, if you are a health coach, to maintain your correct scope of practice, that you will not be directly ordering these tests and the interpretation will not come directly to you as a medical record. So, your client will be going to NBX Wellness, getting this testing, and then they will bring the results to you. And the recommendations will be in that report. So, you are not directly generating those recommendations so that you are safely within your scope of practice as a health coach.

Dr. Priscila: Oh, thank you very much, Sandra, for this. I almost forgot to mention that we are working on an exclusive platform for health coach on this end. So, the results would go to your clients, and the client would be able to share that with you. But then they are going to get all the personalized recommendations that we have here based on the supplement and everything, and you can customize a little bit the lifestyle and so on within your scope for your client. Thank you for reminding me of that

Dr. Sandi: And this is a great segue to Carol’s additional question, “Does your company supply suggesting strategies that coaches who have only certifications,” so in other words, coaches who do not have a license as a healthcare provider, “that they can support their clients?” And it sounds like yes, that’s what we are focusing on here.

Dr. Priscila: Yes, we do. We are in this path, yes.

Dr. Sandi: Yes. So, the client will be ordering their own tests, it’s their property, it’s their health records that come back, that report, and then they can share them with the coach. And you will be guiding them for the recommendations, which are primarily lifestyle or targeted supplements as needed, which you again, will not be the ones ordering or recommending. In the report, you may be explaining what those are. Okay, from Lori and thank you for saying this is a good explanation. Yes, it is a very complex topic. She says her experience with supplementing for the different gene type mutations for sensitive patients that they cannot take the full dose recommended of various supplements. So, is there any information that’s individualized for those people on how much of the product they should be taking, or is it experimental? Is there anything in gene expression that can give clues to how much a patient can take?

Dr. Priscila: That’s a good question, Lori. Thank you for asking that. I do understand your concern and how that happens. We do have recommendations for how they should be taking. However, we do not have any correlation into gene expression about the dosage for supplements. We might have that into the pharmacogenomic side of medications, but into this sense, we don’t have. But we have the recommendation for the supplements. Yes, the product side of that, we do have.

Dr. Sandi: Yeah, and there’s usually the old adage, slow and low. And this is up to the patient to… or if in your case, as a health coach, it would be your client. And this might be something where you would recommend a consultation going back to their medical doctor if they’re working with a functional medicine doctor, or perhaps somebody who is a nutrition professional who can provide further diagnosis. Another question is, “How do we order the testing and what is the cost?”

Dr. Priscila: Oh, that’s a good question. I need to handle that to our team here, and they can get back to you. Please send your information so they can get back to you so we have this information.

Dr. Sandi: Okay, and Karen has another good question, “Is this genetic test a blood test or saliva or other?”

Dr. Priscila: Oh, that’s a good question. So, none of them are blood tests. Some of the epigenetics tests, they are fingertip. They’re just a small blood dot that you need to put there in the cart and send that over to the lab. But furthermore, they are buccal swabs that you need to scratch and send that. It’s super easy to collect and also to get the DNA from that.

Dr. Sandi: Okay, and Elisa says she has certification with Nutrigenomics Global as well as privileges with Nutrigenomics Canada. Do you work with others such as these or only your company program? And if so, let’s see, is this the only program that’s certifications? And I believe Scott has already answered that question.

Dr. Priscila: Okay, perfect. Thank you, Scott, for that, because that will be something that I don’t have in mind right now. Thank you.

Dr. Sandi: Okay. “How does this genetic testing differ from other genetic testing?” A question again from Karen.

Dr. Priscila: Karen, thank you very much for this question. The main difference that I have here is that our supplements, they are unique. They are linked to specific genes that we have. You will not find that in the market, right? We build supplements genes-based. So, that’s the biggest difference that we have here.

Dr. Sandi: Thank you. And then from Tawna, “Do you need to be a licensed provider to interpret the testing?” And I can answer that. So, as a licensed… Yes, you would need to hold a license that would allow you to provide direct interpretations. When your client is the customer and they go through NBX Wellness to take this test as they would other types of tests they might be taking, for example, blood work, they could then choose to bring the results to you as a health coach. If you are not licensed provider, you are not interpreting those results directly. You are providing education and guidance as to how they can follow up with lifestyle recommendations or help them interpret… You can help interpret what something means. Again, you provide education, support, guidance, but you are not as a medical provider giving that interpretation because then you’d be practicing medicine without a license.

But your role, we believe, and we’ve seen this many, many times, is the most critical because they don’t need just the interpretation. They need to have that guidance and support. Okay, now when you have these results, where do you want to start? So, that the next time you get the test, things will change, or as we’re talking about here, that these lifestyle factors are going to influence gene expression. And that’s something you can work with them on.

Okay, I think we answered Lisa’s question regarding Nutrigenomics, and that is an international company but also in New York. Okay, Jackie wants to know, “How many SNPs are included in your panel? And do you test for the mold-related gene?”

Dr. Priscila: Oh, yeah, Jackie, we do test for the mold-related gene, and we have over 100. And we are planning to grow more into that.

Dr. Sandi: Fabulous. Okay, from Angela, “What role do macronutrients, like protein, fats, and carbs, play in weight loss?”

Dr. Priscila: So, that’s the key, right? That’s the key. That’s how we build a diet plan, depending on the amount that we have that we need for this patient, whether… You’ve mentioned regarding weight loss, so we just need to build a diet plan based on fats, protein, and carbohydrates, and then we need to see the amount of each one that we want to add there.

Dr. Sandi: Okay, and from James, “Does your test look at QDPR SNPs or BH2 recycling genes?” We have a really educated audience here today. Great question, James.

Dr. Priscila: Yeah, that’s good to hear. No, James, currently we do not check on those, but maybe something that you are interested to, just email me, then we can discuss.

Dr. Sandi: Okay, and another question, celiac disease. So, if that comes up, can it be reversed? Any evidence of that?

Dr. Priscila: No, we don’t have any evidence. The celiac disease itself, no. We don’t have anything.

Dr. Sandi: Okay, and from Alicia, now we’re going to be sharing this in our follow-up webinar, but can you share anything now about the certification in genetics for health coaching?

Dr. Priscila: As of today, I cannot share too much on that, the thing that is coming up on this, but what Heather mentioned to me here, she’s the CEO of our company, and she mentioned to me that we did set up a platform for the coach to manage their genetics coaching business that gives a coach a 40% revenue share for the tests. And the client cost would be $2.99. So, that’s good news from her, why I was given the webinar. She gave me this news, which is amazing for you guys. And we are planning and we are moving forward with the program to give you the certification. I’m sure you’re going to have news in the next webinar, for sure.

Dr. Sandi: So, again, if you missed the announcement, we will be offering access to a follow-up webinar that NBX Wellness will be doing for members of our alumni program, where they will get to attend that webinar, they will learn all about how to become part of the NBX Wellness community, and of course, with any affiliate commission, I just want to say that this is allowed for coaches, but it is very important that you disclose that you have a financial relationship. So, we have other good questions that have come in. I want to get to Angela, “What foods or nutrients help improve sleep quality?”

Dr. Priscila: Oh, that’s a long list, Angela. That’s a long list. I don’t want to answer all of that for you right now, but we do have a lot of supplements, a lot of food, a lot of things that can support you and improve this sleep quality. I can send that over to you, some interesting things that I have in the literature, so you can have a look.

Dr. Sandi: Okay, and Sarah wants to know your recommendation to combine genetic testing with epigenetics, or can you work solely with genetic results? And which genetic tests? And are you using combinations? She says she’s worked in this space for some time, and she knows clients receive differing ages with the various epigenetic testing.

Dr. Priscila: Hey, Sarah, so yeah, we can combine both. Keep in mind that when we have genetics, we are talking about the blueprint, right? They are what they are, right? They are checking for predispositions and risks. And we can mitigate some of that, but it will not change our DNA code, right? The sequence that we have. And epigenetics, most of the case and the case that I mentioned here, we are talking about methylation of the CPG region that we have into the sequence. And that can be reversed. So, what would be the best is you combine genetics with epigenetics. So, you see the results of your actions with your client, either when they are taking supplements or you have the personalized lifestyle with them, exercise, and so on. So, my advice is to combine both.

Dr. Sandi: Any evidence… So, people who gain weight easily, would that be genetic or epigenetic? Anything genetic about people who are propagating weight easily?

Dr. Priscila: We do have a lot of genetic predisposition on this, but we also have epigenetics playing a big role on that.

Dr. Sandi: Okay, we’re drawing to a close. We’ll try and squeeze in a few more. Supplements can interfere with prescribed medications. Would that be explored genetically?

Dr. Priscila: That would be more into pharmacogenomics side of it, but yes, that would be like a difference there.

Dr. Sandi: Okay, and can you clarify what you meant by retesting every six months? What tests are you referring to?

Dr. Priscila: Oh, sure, Gabrielle. I was referring to epigenetics because that can be reversed, right? So, that’s where you can see the results of the actions of either your plan with your client or their supplementation or anything. That’s just an idea for you to give a perspective that we can repeat the test.

Dr. Sandi: Okay. And are you available in the UK or how would your client in the UK access your service?

Dr. Priscila: That would be a question that I need to handle to business, to Heather and so you’ll see them here. For sure they can answer.

Dr. Sandi: Okay, all right. We will follow up. And from Karen, “Can a nurse practitioner or physician assistant interpret or just a physician?” I would say they hold a medical… If you hold a license, you’re good.

Dr. Priscila: Yes. If you hold a license, you can do that.

Dr. Sandi: Okay, let’s see. And Carol says, “Can we refer to your company and still be in scope or could we just refer to a nutritionist?” No, Carol, you can refer… This is a vetted company that is reputable. And so you can have that as a recommendation, but you are documenting that you have suggested it. You have not told the client that they need to do this. They should do it, but they have already, let’s say, expressed interest in testing. And now you are giving them that information as to a place to get it done.

So, from Robin, “Is it possible that current students be allowed into the trainings?” This is fascinating. So, this will be open for graduates, but after you graduate, then you will certainly be eligible for that. So, you would need to be a graduate there. This is something that is post-graduation, but we’re really excited for you to be through with your training and follow up with us.

Okay, and we are right at the top of the hour. So, this is fabulous. I want to thank you, Dr. Priscila, for the wonderful talk that you gave. And again, we will follow up. Our alumni members can look for an announcement about the training. If you are here and you like what you heard, I hope you did. I hope you will consider joining us for some of our other programs coming up. Stay tuned for an announcement. You will get the recording from today’s talk, as well as if you’re thinking, “Wow, I would like to be a health coach, because you are key to helping people to understand their genetic profiles, and more importantly, make the kind of lifestyle changes that will truly make a difference.” So, you will make a difference in this world. So, look for announcements about registration for our upcoming class, their next class beginning September 1st. So, again, thank you all, and stay tuned for more programming like this. Bye, everybody. Bye, Dr. Priscila.

Dr. Priscila: Thank you.