Believe Big Podcast

84-Alex Swanson - Nutrition Genome & Nutrigenomics

• Ivelisse Page & Alex Swanson • Season 3 • Episode 84

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In today's podcast episode, I have the pleasure of speaking with Alex Swanson, the founder of Nutrition Genome, about the incredible potential of nutrigenomics to personalize health and wellness.

Alex shares how his journey, from running a global clinical nutrition practice to creating Nutrition Genome, led to a tool that tailors nutrition and health recommendations based on our unique genetic makeup.

We explore how nutrigenomic testing offers an individualized approach, helping people pinpoint their specific dietary needs and optimize their health. Alex explains how our genes hold a story of our ancestry, guiding our nutritional needs and sensitivities today.

Join us as we dive into how this innovative approach is transforming lives, from cancer patients to those seeking overall health and wellness.

Learn more about Alex and Nutrition Genome:
https://nutritiongenome.com/about/

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Ivelisse Page:

Hi, I'm Ivelisse Page, and thanks for listening to the Believe Big podcast, the show where we take a deep dive into your healing with health experts, integrative practitioners, biblical faith leaders, and cancer thrivers from around the globe. Welcome to today's episode on the Believe Big podcast. My name is Ivelisse Page, and it's always a pleasure to be with you. Today's podcast guest is Alex Swanson, the founder of Nutrition Genome. Alex is the founder and creative of the software generation. He is a second generation nutritionist and was the co owner of Swanson Health Center, a private family clinical nutrition practice that has been in business for over 40 years. He is also the creator of the blog, The Health Beat, the software FidoVest and FidoVest Certified. Alex ran a global clinical nutrition practice for 12 years with a focus on cancer, cardiovascular health, anxiety, depression, athletic performance, hormone optimization, and digestive health. In 2017, Alex closed his practice to focus on full time clinical research and innovation for Nutrition Genome. Alex has a post baccalaureate in nutrition sciences from Basytr University, an MS in Applied Nutrition and Business Entrepreneurship from Northeastern University, a Certificate in Methylation and Clinical Nutrogenomics, and a Certification in Genetics and Genomics from Stanford University. Wow, that's amazing. Welcome to the show, Alex.

Alex Swanson:

Thank you for having me.

Ivelisse Page:

We always like to start our podcast with our guest's favorite health tip, so what health tip would you like to share with us today?

Alex Swanson:

My favorite health tip comes from a concept called the Roseto Effect. And for those who haven't heard that before, the Roseto Effect, uh, was based on these, uh, people from Italy who moved to Pennsylvania in the late 1800s and they built this town from scratch. They called it Roseto, Pennsylvania. And they basically created this kind of small Italian village, just like they had at home. And the way it was designed was kind of all the homes were open. So they, there was really no dividing yards. The porches kind of ran into each other. There were three generations of people living in their, in their homes. And there was just this huge strength of community in that area. And during that time, around a little later, in about the 1950s, heart disease started skyrocketing in the U. S. And it was pretty universal. And then in this little town, uh, a doctor was giving a conference and was told you have to check this place out for whatever reason, the people in this town are not getting heart disease under, you know, the age of 65 and even over 65, it's half the rate of the rest of the U S and we don't know why. And so this doctor started looking into it and started researching it, and they, they went down the list. Is it their diet? Well, their diet isn't really anything special compared to the rest of the US. Is it their environment? Um, again, neighboring towns had problems, had the same heart rate issues. So nothing was really different about the environment. Was it the genetics? Well, they found people in the rest of the U. S. who were from Roseto and the biomarkers didn't, didn't change. I mean, they did change. They were different in terms of saying, you know what, it's not genetics. These people are having heart disease, but these people in Roseto, Pennsylvania are not. And then they finally lowered it and narrowed it down to this huge strength of community. You know everyone was supporting each other. There was this cooperation over competition. There was this, you know, everyone was gathering every week at church. They were, they had a huge civic duty, you know, within the town to look after everything. So there was this powerful effect that was protecting them from heart disease despite all of these other problems. And that really changed the way I looked at everything, in terms of health, because I had been in such a more, you know, rigorous scientific side of things. When I saw that. I'm like, there's a lot we can't explain. And epigenetically, that's the foundation. And that was kind of my takeaway is that if we lose that, we lose our biggest foundation of health.

Ivelisse Page:

That is such an incredible story. And I think it just makes so much sense. And I think we all focus so much on the physical side of our health that we don't many times take account our emotional side and even the empowerment that comes from being in a community living together, people supporting each other in so many ways I mean it makes sense physically because when you are supported in a community your cortisol levels lower, your stress levels lower because you feel, you know, that support from people around you. So it makes sense, but it's incredible.

Alex Swanson:

Right. And then the fascinating part of it was the researchers thought if they started becoming more Americanized, as they said, as the years went on, their heart rates, their heart disease rates would become the same as the rest of the US. And 20, 30 years later, that's exactly what happened. They started building kind of more of these mansions. They had the fences and everyone became a little more focused on, you know, their, their own lives and making money. And then their heart disease rates became the same.

Ivelisse Page:

That's really incredible. I'm going to definitely link that study if you could send that to us.

Alex Swanson:

Sure.

Ivelisse Page:

Roseto Village, just to let people read more about it if they're interested. So I, I'd like to get right into it. I love what you do at Nutrition Genome. And so I'd like to just to start off is how does it help individuals optimize their health, not just people with cancer, but just in the general population? How does it help individuals optimize their health?

Alex Swanson:

So, Neutrogenomic testing helps you narrow down exactly where you need to focus, because it can be really overwhelming to hear all these dietary trends. What is the best diet? Um, and really the answer to these questions is what's best for you? What is specific to your own biochemistry that works? What kind of environment are you living in now? Because really the Neutrogenomic testing is a story. It's a story of thousands of years of your ancestors. Where they lived. What kind of environment they lived in, what the pressures were in that environment, what their diet was like. Um, because that really has shaped who we all are today and what our requirements, what our, what our sensitivities are. And so when you look at these tests, you're, you're basically seeing history. You're reading history. And, these variants and genes are not something to be afraid of. It's something to understand and say, okay, these are trade offs. I am who I am, you know, from a biochemical standpoint because of trade offs to survive. And I think what you're going to get out of it is I can narrow down exactly where my, you know, susceptibilities are, where my genetic weaknesses are, and I can focus on that. And that's going to turn into a strength. And over generations going forward, they'll become strengths and that will be the baseline change in the future.

Ivelisse Page:

So what inspired you to start Nutrition Genome and how has your personal experience, you know, shaped the company's mission?

Alex Swanson:

So it, it started around 2012, 2013. I was, uh, working in the clinical practice. I was focusing on cancer patients during chemotherapy and how to, you know, make them as strong as possible during that time. And, my now wife, she came to me with, this health issue that she had in the past, which was she had a very bad, life threatening drug reaction to an antibiotic and a drug. And at that time, they, the doctors could not explain why it happened, and it was just a terrifying experience. And she was struggling with it because she said, you know, what if this happens again? How do I, how do I prevent this? How do I know what happened? And she said, do you think, is there anything genetically that can explain this? And that's when I started really digging into research and learning about this field and kind of understanding what's called pharmacogenomics, which is how you metabolize drugs, and then nutrigenomics, how you metabolize vitamins and minerals and compounds and these different rates. And I was able to explain what happened. I was able to actually look at her genetic variants. See how they interacted, how the drug interacted, how the antibiotic interacted, and what she experienced. And that was really eye opening, because I thought, if I can do this with her, how many types of cases can I do this for? What can I help explain that I couldn't before? So I started utilizing it in practice with different clients, and with these kind of mystery disorders, or things, again, that they couldn't really explain why they were having the issues that they had. And it was working. And I just kept building and building this, um, you know, database of research and, uh, eventually ended up making a software for it to make my life easier because I was spending eight hours, you know, per, per patient, per client. And doctors started noticing what I was doing. They said, can you do this for me? And that's kind of how it started and how it was really just to make my job a little easier. I wasn't really thinking of making this company, but it just, that's what it turned into.

Ivelisse Page:

So can you walk us through the process of neutrogenomic analysis and what kind of information can clients expect to receive from it?

Alex Swanson:

The, the foundation of the report is based on, on each section of health, meaning that it's with digestion and macronutrient metabolism, toxin sensitivity, methylation, hormones, DNA repair and protection, uh, cardiovascular health. So we separate it out so you can kind of look at it and say, where do I need to focus right now? You know, I always tell people pick three sections. Start with macronutrient metabolism where you can see where your micronutrient needs are higher or lower, your protein, carbs, fat and fiber, kind of those percentages that work for your biochemistry. And these are based on how you respond to them. So there are people who, you know, respond better to more carbohydrates. And some people respond better to less or different types of fats. And there's reasons for that. And a lot of them have to do with, you know, where we're from. Um, but if your focus is, you know, cancer, for example, you want to look at toxin sensitivity, you want to look at DNA repair and protection. And start there, because it can be overwhelming to try to go through everything and try to do everything. And we try to make it more simple by having these priority sliders, so you can see where, where do I need to focus in the toxin sensitivity. Um, Okay, my glutathione, you know, is a lower baseline level. That's something that I should pay attention to. Or, uh, you know, catalase is something that's a high priority. I need to be really careful with BPA plastic, for example. So that's how we kind of lay it out. So you can just summarize your focus. And then at the end, we put in a grocery list that's customized to those results. So you say, here's why the foods I need to focus on. Here's blood work that might, you know, be of interest to me to look at. Um, and that kind of makes it an easy way to have those, those takeaways that you can apply.

Ivelisse Page:

Yes, I, I found it extremely helpful for me. Even recently, I had gotten the test done last, after last fall when I had my endometrial cancer and, you know, we had the surgery and, when you have a complete hysterectomy your estrogen levels and all of my hormone levels would be changing. I was going into surgical menopause and one of the questions, and we actually did a whole podcast on hormone health is, would it be okay for me, you know, to take supplementation of, of, of estrogen? estrogen, you know, even vaginal estrogen that they said is not harmful according to surgeons and others, but because of my family history I was really concerned especially with Lynch syndrome that I had. And my integrative practitioner, I was so grateful for her because she says, I want to do this nutrition genome test for you because before we even consider it, I want to see how you process out estrogens, what SNPs you have, and do you have multiple ones or just one that might be an issue and it might be okay to do this cream or that cream if you absolutely needed it. And sure enough, we do the test and she evaluates it. And, she said, absolutely not. You cannot. You, instead of just one, I think you have all of them that would hinder your ability to process out estrogens and, and you know, it would be very more harm for you than good. And so it was really such a relief to have a tool that we can then see for me personally, because everyone's, as an individual is different. But for me personally to know, Okay, for my case, absolutely not. And I can just go in peace and find other solutions that would help with the symptoms that I would then be experiencing. And I then actually had each of my kids go through the process and my husband because I was so fascinated with the information that was received. And it also gave me peace and my kids empowerment because 5 percent of cancer is genetics. So. I'm part of that 5 percent and potentially, you know, my kids could potentially have that gene. And so this test was fascinating to them because they were able to be empowered to know these are my weaknesses. Just because I have these genetics does not determine my outcome. And so they are empowered to then go, okay, I'm going to avoid this. I'm going to focus on these aspects of my care and they can be the strongest self that they can possibly be physically. And so it was very empowering for them and encouraging to them to read those reports and, and have a doctor evaluate that. And for anyone who's listening and wants to get a nutrition genome test, we do have practitioners at Believe Big under our integrative practitioner list that can, you know, get this information, evaluate it because it does take time. And I, I believe in, especially in the cancer side, a professional to really fully evaluate all of it and really make a good plan for you. Would you agree with that?

Alex Swanson:

Absolutely.

Ivelisse Page:

So what are some other common variations, genetic variations that you've seen talking about genetics significantly impact, you know, nutritional needs, and how can understanding them help people make better health decisions?

Alex Swanson:

I think one that stands out to me is APOE, the APOE gene in terms of how it impacts nutritional decisions. Um, and APOE is a gene that often people have heard of because of its association with Alzheimer's disease. And APOE, um, essentially it's, so there's, there's three different forms of APOE. There's, there's APOE2, E3, and E4, and that's how the genotypes work. And what's fascinating about APOE is that the, the E4 allele. represents a hunter gatherer time period, the E3, E2 represent agricultural time period. So those, those adaptations that occur during agriculture really show up in a lot of the genes because it was just such an explosive time for adaptation to dairy and grains and, you know, different environmental pressures that were happening as we started living closer together. And, uh, it really helps determine those sensitivities to this higher carbohydrate intake, sugar intake. toxin sensitivity because it reduces that protection against toxins as well. Um, alcohol, you know, there's always this kind of debate on that one and, and that one seems to show up consistently being, no, these, this ApoE4 people are much more sensitive to the toxic effects of alcohol. And I, I think, you know, we use that as when on our main page on the macronutrient page, we first designate, you know, hunter, gatherer, farmer, with this understanding of this is kind of where it starts and then we'd use this cumulative value from there of understanding your nutritional requirements, but that really starts with a bowie. Um, another one that everyone really talks about is MTHFR. And MTHFR is, is one I really like to talk about because I think it's, it's fairly misunderstood and I think it has been for a while, but about 10 years ago, you know, that became a huge focus of nutrigenomic testing and there was a lot of fear, you know, around that variant and say, people, I have the mutation, you know, I, I, I need methylfolate, something's not working correctly. It was kind of this impression of it. And what I was worked hard with understanding was, well, these variants are fairly common. and there's a reason for them. Let's understand the reasoning so we can eliminate that fear and better target this from a different place of understanding. And so MTHFR has to do with folate metabolism and variants in it increase the need for methylfolate, for example, folinic acid, um, because there's lower folate levels and that regulates homocysteine. And homocysteine is a big part of, of, uh, inflammation. In north, in Northern Europe or northern latitudes, you'll see more of the, what's called the wild type or the normal, you know, most common genotype of MTHFR. As you start to go closer to the equator, the Mediterranean, the variants become much more common. And if you think about it, in northern latitudes, there's less folate rich plants growing and there's less UV radiation. As you go down closer, UV radiation goes up. There's more folate rich plants, rich plants year round. Um, and that's where you start to see those associations because as you're getting more folate, your body down regulates saying we're getting plenty of dietary folate, we can put our energy elsewhere, or there's a lot of UV. Um, you know, damage that can occur in this environment, we're going to start putting some energy towards that. And then as you go to the eastern Mediterranean, there's also protection against malaria. So as you reduce folate levels in the body, you're more protected against malaria. And so you start to see how these adaptations work. And I think that's a really important part of nutrigenomics.

Ivelisse Page:

That's fascinating. It really is. So, what role does epigenetics, and for those who are listening, epigenetics is the study of how our environment and behaviors change the chemicals attached to our genes and affecting our health. So, what role does epigenetics have and how do those factors play in the expression of our genetic code and how does Nutrition Genome factor these into the analysis?

Alex Swanson:

Very important concept to really understand with this testing is that your, so your DNA is fixed, but the epigenome is flexible. So when you see your variants, a lot of, you know, sometimes we get questions are is this the same for your whole life? You know, these variants, is this at birth, does this change? And so the variants that you have, that wild type, heterozygous, homozygous, those are fixed. But the way each gene is, uh, basically express changes throughout your life, and that includes your diet, your exercise, uh, your environment, your community. So, your stress and your sleep, all of those are factored into the actual expression of the gene. So, when we have our recommended blood work, you know, the important note that we say is it doesn't mean any of these are going to be out of range. There's just a, there's a higher chance that they could be if you're not doing these specific things. And our strategies are all best, all based on epigenetics. It's all based on here are the exact vitamins, minerals, compounds, lifestyle factors that target those genes and to turn those weaknesses into strengths. So, yeah, the entire analysis is based on that concept.

Ivelisse Page:

And I just love that because, you know, we've always said this, you can turn your genes on and off. And people at that time, years ago, were like, what? You can do that? And it's a huge thing now. People are finding out more about metabolic health and being more flexible and how our food matters, our environment, stress, our emotional health factors into those genes switching on and off. I love that this test is like a tangible visual of those things that you can actually do to shut them off. And so I really, I really love that. Can you share an example of how someone was able to overcome a genetic weakness through personalizing nutrition and lifestyle changes? Do you know of someone that you could share about?

Alex Swanson:

Yes, I was, I was thinking about, you know, the different, um, testimonials that we've had and, you know, what has really stood out to me. And the first kind of just as a general, um, testimonial feedback that we get is people will say to me, you know, intuitively, this is what I thought was best for me. And this confirmed that. And I always thought that was powerful because we get, it's easy to get confused and it's easy to think, okay, is this better? Is this better? But if you really listen to yourself, you know, I think that is a very strong voice and this was confirming and validating that for people, but we had one recently where it was a practitioner who had breast cancer and she was actually told by a colleague to try this. And she was pretty skeptical, you know, about how much it could actually do for her at that stage. And she was going through chemo and she followed everything to a T. And she said, not only did I sail through that therapy. I, you know, I've felt, I've felt better my whole life and it's been years and it's in, you know, cancer's in remission. She's doing better than she has her app. She follows everything in the same way. And now it's, you know, she uses it in her practice for every client that comes in, you know. And I, I really think that I've seen consistently that kind of, that ability to take that information, put it into practice, but also keep doing it. And that's really the key. If something can keep you consistent, that's everything.

Ivelisse Page:

Yes. You know, my, my kids were fascinated because, you know, they would, they can have organic coffee all day long and I have to stop by noon so that I can sleep well at night.

Alex Swanson:

Mm-Hmm.

Ivelisse Page:

And sure enough, their nutrition genomes came back saying that they process out caffeine very quickly. And I'm like, they're like, see, I told you mom, I have no issue drinking at eight o'clock and going to bed at 10 and being fine And I'm like, so it was just, that was just kind of like a fun part of the report. So in your opinion, can you discuss the impact of food sensitivities on health and how Nutrition Genome identifies and addresses them in the analysis?

Alex Swanson:

Sure, so it's a great question because it has its limitations when it comes to food sensitivities. So you can, we can test for genetic, you know, susceptibilities to like celiac disease or lactose intolerance. Those are very, have very clear genetic links. However, food sensitivities are often the result of an alteration of the microbiome. And so if it's not a true allergy from the beginning, it's something that occurs later, there's something that has changed and that's not something you typically can see with genetic testing. So a question we often get is, you know, I, well, I can't eat this food or I can't eat that food. It's on my grocery list. But you have to also understand that we can't see that those changes are going to happen, that there's digestive issues are going to occur and all of a sudden you have allergies or sensitivities you didn't have before. So it is limited in that regard.

Ivelisse Page:

So where do you see the future of Nutrogenomics headed and how do you envision its role in the larger field of personalized medicine and cancer even?

Alex Swanson:

Well, I think the focus on nutrigenomics is pretty early when you think of the timeline. I mean, it, I would say about 12 years ago, you know, it really started, just kind of started to get more known. And how much has happened in that amount of time? I mean, how much I've learned from 12 years ago until now. I think that the computing power is just going to get massive when it comes to looking at thousands of snips. And using this cumulative value model of high impact and how they work together as a synergy and lowering and increasing those risks. We'll have that data more and more and we'll get more and more precise as time goes on. And I think with cancer especially, it's going to become a very powerful tool. Um, but I'm pretty excited about the future of it and how it's going to be able to help people.

Ivelisse Page:

Yeah, I am too. I find it to be such a helpful tool. What are some of the most surprising findings that clients discover through their nutrigenomic reports that you've heard?

Alex Swanson:

Surprising findings? Um, I think that one that stands out to me is we'll have somebody who's following a specific diet. And say it's a vegan diet or a ketogenic diet. And they feel like they're maybe doing something that they thought would be helping them. They take the test and then they realize, Oh, wait a second. I have a very high need for choline, for B12, for zinc. I have a much higher sensitivity to saturated fat intake. This now explains why my blood work, you know, is looking out of range or why I just don't feel well on this, on this diet. And I think that is kind of that, that confirming test again of saying, okay, this is why this isn't working. I can, I can feel better making these changes.

Ivelisse Page:

Now we are coming up to the end of our 30 minutes of our podcast. And so I would like to just ask you, is there anything that I didn't ask you that you think would be helpful to those listening today about nutrigenomics? And what you do.

Alex Swanson:

That's a great question. Um, I think, you know, I'd also really like to hear a little bit more about how it helps you and what exactly, what exactly stood out to you the most where you said, this is it. This is what I really need to take away from this report, because I feel like that's what's really helpful when people hear that and they think this was my biggest takeaway from this test. And I can tell you mine too.

Ivelisse Page:

I would say a couple things. The first is what I shared about the, my hormones and how I process them out. And I also really appreciated that I had a physician who was able to evaluate all of it because in one section, it said, you know, that this was a strength and, actually, I'm sorry. It says that these are your strengths and these are your weaknesses. And But what she was able to do with those weaknesses was combine them with my strengths. So it really encouraged me. Instead of me feeling down about what weaknesses I had, she really focused and said, wow, because you have all these strengths, that really overrides these weaknesses. And it really empowered me to, you know, really dive in a little deeper with those. But I think also for me, it was, it was peace for my kids. and their future. Knowing this information really empowered them and that's kind of what I really wanted them to do is like we as parents can share with our kids about healthy eating, healthy lifestyles, emotional health, but until they, they're all adults. Mine are, my youngest is 21 and my oldest, goodness, is going to be 30 this weekend. But for them to now hold this information and be empowered by it to move forward in their own health, was such an incredible gift to me as a parent, so I, I just really love that. And I also like the food list that you also have, because sometimes we can get so focused on the same recipes and same things that we're making, and when I saw the food list and I'm like, oh, I really need to, um, add this into my diet. That's super interesting. And I didn't realize that this food was really high in glutathione or whatever the, the minerals and nutrients that I needed for my body. And so that, that aspect was really helpful.

Alex Swanson:

Good. I'm so glad to hear that. Yeah. I just wanted to add, so I have a one and a half year old daughter and I can already see, you know, that she takes a little more after my wife's side in terms of the foods that work and the foods that don't. And. I'm looking forward to doing her test, you know, when she's two, where you can actually get a clean saliva swab and understanding this from the beginning. You know, that's information that we didn't have before, but I can look at it in a new lens now and kind of start her off on the right foot.

Ivelisse Page:

That's amazing. I love this. Well, thank you so much for what you do. I am going to put a link to the website for anyone who would like to get more information about Nutrition Genome and the tests that Alex and his company have so that you can get a little deeper dive into your own health or that of your family. We'll make sure to include that in the show notes so that you are able to do this for yourself and really be fascinated by the information that that you receive. So thank you so much for joining us this afternoon. I know you're a super busy man and appreciated you taking the time to share with us about this concept of Neutrogenomics.

Alex Swanson:

Thank you so much for having me.

Rebecca Arcarese:

Hi, I'm Rebecca Arcarese, Development Director for Believe Big. As 2024 comes to a close, your generosity can make a life changing difference for a cancer patient. At Believe Big, we empower patients and their families with significant resources and much needed hope. Your donation today will help us provide essential care, education, and a community of strength for those in need. Together, we can help more people face, fight, and overcome cancer. Visit www.believebig.org and make your gift today. Thank you.

Ivelisse Page:

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