Carb Sensitivity

[JWA]

Hello, I'm new here and looking to make a change in my lifestyle. I started eating paleo about 3 years ago and it was great in the beginning. I ate lots of delicious, fatty foods, etc. and lost a total of 60 lbs.

It served it's purpose, but within the last year, I have a consistent feeling of a lack of energy, brain fog, etc.

I need to make a change and am overly excited about eating carbs!!! I know that sounds silly, but I can't wait.

I recently participated in a DNAFIT test and it concluded that I have a high carbohydrate sensitivity.

The report shows that I have a association with the PPARG and TCF7L2 genes, which indicate that I should only get 8% of my total daily calories from carbs.

I don't know what to believe at this point honestly and need some guidance.

What Dr. McDougall is preaching makes sense to me, but this test is throwing me off.

Please chime in with anything you can share to shed some light on the issue at hand.

Thank you,

Wilson

[f00die]

...

I recently participated in a DNAFIT test and it concluded that I have a high carbohydrate sensitivity.

The report shows that I have a association with the PPARG and TCF7L2 genes, which indicate that I should only get 8% of my total daily calories from carbs.
...

what does "high carbohydrate sensitivity" mean?
what happens?
and why 8%?
thats curiously specific
coz if you eat 2000 calories thats one number
if you eat 3000 calories thats another number
if you hog out on the holidays thats another number
are all these numbers ok? just coz they are 8%?

some information is worse than useless

dr mcdougall has been helping sick people get well
avoiding surgeries level of effectiveness
vs. whatever dnafit is selling

[Mark Cooper]

This article seems relevant regarding the "accuracy" and junk science of "genetic diet" tests.

https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/20/16613650/helix-dna-testing-kit-fitness-genes-results-dnafit

But that’s only true if you trust the research, and some of it doesn’t hold up. Eric Topol, a geneticist at the Scripps Research Institute tweeted that Helix was “giving consumer genomics a bad name” because it relied on shaky science. The sequencing itself is accurate, he says, calling Helix’s sequencing “first-rate,” but the analysis often isn’t. Many of the studies that suggest a link between a gene and a trait are based on poor data and studies that don’t replicate, according to Topol.

Helix offerings like the genetic screening for disease are based on good science, he says, but other add-ons — including Fitness Diet Pro — are useless. (Consider that a biologist came up with a satirical version of Heix’s wine DNA test before realizing it actually existed.) “I looked at many of these and they had no science to support them,” says Topol. “The customer is at a loss because they usually don’t have the time or ability to interpret the scientific article, which often they can’t access anyway. So how are people going to get the truth?”

[Mark Cooper]

Here is a very relevant study on this topic - https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2673150

(Emphasis added)

Effect of Low-Fat vs Low-Carbohydrate Diet on 12-Month Weight Loss in Overweight Adults and the Association With Genotype Pattern or Insulin Secretion
The DIETFITS Randomized Clinical Trial

Key Points
Question What is the effect of a healthy low-fat (HLF) diet vs a healthy low-carbohydrate (HLC) diet on weight change at 12 months and are these effects related to genotype pattern or insulin secretion?

Findings In this randomized clinical trial among 609 overweight adults, weight change over 12 months was not significantly different for participants in the HLF diet group (−5.3 kg) vs the HLC diet group (−6.0 kg), and there was no significant diet-genotype interaction or diet-insulin interaction with 12-month weight loss.

Meaning There was no significant difference in 12-month weight loss between the HLF and HLC diets, and neither genotype pattern nor baseline insulin secretion was associated with the dietary effects on weight loss.

Abstract
Importance Dietary modification remains key to successful weight loss. Yet, no one dietary strategy is consistently superior to others for the general population. Previous research suggests genotype or insulin-glucose dynamics may modify the effects of diets.

Objective To determine the effect of a healthy low-fat (HLF) diet vs a healthy low-carbohydrate (HLC) diet on weight change and if genotype pattern or insulin secretion are related to the dietary effects on weight loss.

Design, Setting, and Participants The Diet Intervention Examining The Factors Interacting with Treatment Success (DIETFITS) randomized clinical trial included 609 adults aged 18 to 50 years without diabetes with a body mass index between 28 and 40. The trial enrollment was from January 29, 2013, through April 14, 2015; the date of final follow-up was May 16, 2016. Participants were randomized to the 12-month HLF or HLC diet. The study also tested whether 3 single-nucleotide polymorphism multilocus genotype responsiveness patterns or insulin secretion (INS-30; blood concentration of insulin 30 minutes after a glucose challenge) were associated with weight loss.

Interventions Health educators delivered the behavior modification intervention to HLF (n = 305) and HLC (n = 304) participants via 22 diet-specific small group sessions administered over 12 months. The sessions focused on ways to achieve the lowest fat or carbohydrate intake that could be maintained long-term and emphasized diet quality.

Main Outcomes and Measures Primary outcome was 12-month weight change and determination of whether there were significant interactions among diet type and genotype pattern, diet and insulin secretion, and diet and weight loss.

Results Among 609 participants randomized (mean age, 40 [SD, 7] years; 57% women; mean body mass index, 33 [SD, 3]; 244 [40%] had a low-fat genotype; 180 [30%] had a low-carbohydrate genotype; mean baseline INS-30, 93 μIU/mL), 481 (79%) completed the trial. In the HLF vs HLC diets, respectively, the mean 12-month macronutrient distributions were 48% vs 30% for carbohydrates, 29% vs 45% for fat, and 21% vs 23% for protein. Weight change at 12 months was −5.3 kg for the HLF diet vs −6.0 kg for the HLC diet (mean between-group difference, 0.7 kg [95% CI, −0.2 to 1.6 kg]). There was no significant diet-genotype pattern interaction (P = .20) or diet-insulin secretion (INS-30) interaction (P = .47) with 12-month weight loss. There were 18 adverse events or serious adverse events that were evenly distributed across the 2 diet groups.

Conclusions and Relevance In this 12-month weight loss diet study, there was no significant difference in weight change between a healthy low-fat diet vs a healthy low-carbohydrate diet, and neither genotype pattern nor baseline insulin secretion was associated with the dietary effects on weight loss. In the context of these 2 common weight loss diet approaches, neither of the 2 hypothesized predisposing factors was helpful in identifying which diet was better for whom.


Citation
Gardner CD, Trepanowski JF, Del Gobbo LC, et al. Effect of Low-Fat vs Low-Carbohydrate Diet on 12-Month Weight Loss in Overweight Adults and the Association With Genotype Pattern or Insulin Secretion: The DIETFITS Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2018;319(7):667–679. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.0245

[JWA]

Thank you all for chiming in!

I realize now that I should probably rethink the genetic testing results.....

I'm the typical guy who's at the end of my rope, looking for guidance and I think living a vegan lifestyle is the answer.

I need to just jump in with both feet and go for it.

I will keep researching the lifestyle and when my book arrives, 21 day jumpstart, I will go for it!

Thanks again for taking the time to respond.

[michaelswarm]

Hello, I'm new here and looking to make a change in my lifestyle. I started eating paleo about 3 years ago and it was great in the beginning. I ate lots of delicious, fatty foods, etc. and lost a total of 60 lbs.

It served it's purpose, but within the last year, I have a consistent feeling of a lack of energy, brain fog, etc.

JWA,

If your plate already includes whole food fruits and vegetables, and avoids processed junk, changing those habits represents considerable progress. Sounds like you need to convince yourself that whole food starches really are superior to animal foods, and really represent our evolutionary and natural diet. Get started and see how you feel after a few weeks and a few months.

Dig into the resources right here. The topics are wide and deep.
How to Begin Part 1 — Starting the McDougall Program
https://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=58221

Jeff Novick on Calorie Densisty is great, as is Doug Lisle on The Pleasure Trap, among many other things for both of them, in addition to Dr McDougall.