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<\/p>\nHaving made it mostly in one piece to the age of 60, I was slightly fearful at having my genetic health put under the microscope.<\/p>\n
Four years ago, I was diagnosed with dangerously high blood pressure due to work stress, which led to me quitting my job and taking two daily heart tablets. More recently, I lost my mum to dementia, an illness I dread. What would my bespoke body map unearth? Would I like what I heard? (Not entirely, as we will discover.)<\/p>\n
The offer to have my bloods and genetics assessed came from a US company called 10X Health System. The global wellness industry now dwarfs the pharmaceutical industry and was valued at \u00a34.7 trillion in 2023. Bespoke profiling is enjoying a super boom, with the husband-and-wife co-founders of 10X, Brandon and Natalie Dawson, seeing revenue increase from \u00a31.3 million to \u00a389 million since the company\u2019s launch four years ago.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
They have recently partnered with wellness company REVIV in the UK to bring \u2018the world\u2019s leading health optimisation program\u2019 over to us Brits. It\u2019s a one-stop genetic shop \u2013 you get your bloods and DNA analysed (\u00a3999 for a gene test, \u00a3320 for bloods), before being introduced to dietary advice, vitamin drips and supplements.<\/p>\n
The brand boasts starry clients. In an episode of The Kardashians, Kendall Jenner<\/a> and Hailey Bieber<\/a> discuss their 10X \u2018health journey\u2019 while being pumped with nutrients on IV drips. Tailored to tackle everything from weight loss<\/a> to hangovers \u2013 the precision drips (from \u00a3399 a pop), along with bespoke vitamin and mineral supplements (\u00a3750 for a three-month supply), are extras pushed by the brand.<\/p>\n At a REVIV branch on London<\/a>\u2019s Great Portland<\/a> Street, I am given the full works. I spit into a tube from which my DNA will be extracted, then have six vials of blood (six!) removed from my arm. After admitting to stress, I\u2019m given an injection in my bottom cheek with coenzyme Q10 and vitamin B12 to boost flagging energy, before being hooked up to a drip designed to promote calm. I feel like a deflated pin cushion. However, the place is doing brisk business, and I sit near three 20-something female friends who are spending their office lunch break having vitamins injected into their veins.<\/p>\n Before I\u2019d vacated my wipe-clean chair, my samples had already been couriered to an Austrian lab to capture my personal 700,000 DNA variations. Days later \u2013 the vitamin drip and butt jab having made no discernible difference \u2013 the results from my saliva and blood vials hit my inbox. My elevated stress levels spike further, and I feel like a student about to take delivery of exam results I can\u2019t appeal.<\/p>\n My mouth drops open, not initially about what is said but at the Dead Sea Scroll of information \u2013 266 pages on nutrition, 120 on my weight and a personalised 134-page plan \u2013 much of it unintelligible to my untrained medical eye. I need an expert to translate, and for \u00a3150 you get a follow-up consultation.<\/p>\n Over a Zoom call, Dr Pascale Ricci, head of precision nutrition at REVIV Global and a former NHS intensive care doctor, delivers my health s**t sandwich in plain English. \u2018Your genes are pretty good!\u2019 says Dr Ricci, with everything from weight, blood count and heart health within normal range. I\u2019m not lactose intolerant and my cellular detoxification (how the body breaks down pollution) is excellent. So is my anti-ageing molecule (hurrah!), which slows down the damage associated with getting older. I\u2019m not short on the vitamins and nutrients commonly lacking in a woman at my life stage. I have \u2018strong satiety\u2019, which means I\u2019m not a natural snacker (debatable). I\u2019m a good carb metaboliser and my genes protect me from storing excessive fat around my organs.<\/p>\n Then the fun-sponge part arrives. My results reveal I have difficulty breaking down caffeine (a neurotoxin). More than one cup a day and my risk of a heart attack rises. This is weird, I tell Dr Ricci, as I buy coffee pods for guests but prefer instant myself (to the horror of sophisticated friends) in small doses. Any more than one a day and I feel jittery, so this news won\u2019t change much. But then comes this.<\/p>\n My alcohol results are accompanied with six red arrow symbols \u2013 the maximum \u2018bad points\u2019. This looks ominous, I joke. Does it mean I should quit drinking? \u2018Yes, quite frankly. Your geno-type means alcohol is worse for you than the average person,\u2019 says Dr Ricci. From my computer screen I eye up my drinks trolley, complete with bottle of Malbec and a couple of fine gins. This is life-changing.<\/p>\n Apparently, my genes are on the aggressive side (one of my mates reckons it\u2019s because I\u2019m a Scouser) and alcohol causes inflammation, which is bad news for my geno-type and can lead to serious illnesses. I\u2019m reeling. I love the buzz of booze. But I have always suffered more than my friends after a lively night out.<\/p>\n The bad news keeps coming. Dr Ricci recommends I see my doctor about my elevated thyroid readings. I\u2019m surprised as I have annual check-ups for an underactive thyroid and have taken medication for 20 years. But when my GP saw the report, he agreed my dose should be cut by a quarter, admitting the genetic tests are more thorough than those on the NHS. Bizarrely, my testosterone levels are slightly elevated, too. After examining myself for signs of a beard, I am waiting for a blood test to rule out anything worrying.<\/p>\n My initial cynicism of the world of \u2018health optimisation\u2019 was beginning to wane. Two pieces of information have led to medical follow-ups, plus I have been handed some stark lifestyle warnings about caffeine and alcohol. Unfortunately, these predictive tests are beyond the budgets of many. Does Dr Ricci wish genetic testing was freely available on the NHS?<\/p>\n \u2018Yes! Although we may be a long way off for it to be available. I came into this role because as a medical doctor you\u2019re given very little nutritional or preventative training. But interpreting clients\u2019 DNA helps them uncover how their bodies are working for them and how to support that process.\u2019<\/p>\n Days later Dr Ricci calls again. She has the results for how genetically predisposed I am to dementia. I hold my breath and am very happy to be told that while I\u2019m not among the ten per cent of people with a protective gene variant (APOE), nor do I have risk-increasing genes.<\/p>\n Like most people, my lifestyle choices will help determine what gets me in the end. It brings me back to booze. \u2018Should I really never drink again?\u2019 I ask Dr Ricci, with pleading eyes. She advises I have no more than two glasses of alcohol on a night out and leave two clear days in between. Having glimpsed my health future, I realise I have enjoyed my last espresso martini.<\/p>\n For more information, go to 10xhealthsystem.com and revivme.com\/en-GB<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Having made it mostly in one piece to the age of 60, I was slightly fearful at having…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":60589,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[539,254,1328,61,60,82,4508],"class_list":{"0":"post-60588","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-genetics","8":"tag-dailymail","9":"tag-genetics","10":"tag-home","11":"tag-ie","12":"tag-ireland","13":"tag-science","14":"tag-you"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60588"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60588\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}