EDITED BY

Nancy Mullan, MD

WRITTEN BY

Dr. Amy Yasko Ph.D., NHD, AMD, HHP, FAAIM

Introduction: Why biochemical testing?

Feel Good Biochemistry is a book that allows you to take control and chart your own path

to health and wellness. Unlike my other books, it is not a book that you read all the way

through once, garner the necessary information, and set aside. This book is meant to be

an interactive guide that you refer to frequently, more like a dictionary or the GPS in your

car. It is intended to help you and your doctor know how to proceed when you get a test

result back. It explains what I would do if I were commenting on your tests, and gives you

the science and the rationale that is behind my thinking.

Your unique DNA, and the traits defined by the genes in that DNA is something that has

been inherited from your biological parents. While your DNA does not change over time,

the ability to turn on or off the genes within your DNA is affected by external factors

including diet, toxins, and nutrients.

Nutrigenomics includes the study of how nutrients may turn on or off specific genes to

alter the risk of health issues. Nutrigenomic testing is a measure of imbalances, or

mutations in the DNA of these nutritional pathways, that in turn influence the ability to turn

on or off your genes.

Nutrigenomic SNP testing is something you run only once in your lifetime. The Feel Good

Nutrigenomics book that I have written, describes in detail the value of nutrigenomic

testing, and approaches supplementation based on nutrigenomic data. I have also shared

a computer based program for looking at SNPs that is available online at no cost through

www.knowyourgenetics.com. Additional information about nutrigenomics, as well as

biochemical testing, is available in the DVD series that covers both of these topics

comprehensively.

Nutrigenomic data is just one piece of a larger puzzle that relates to health. The

comprehensive program that I introduced assumes that underlying genetic susceptibility,

infectious agents (virus, bacteria, yeast), environmental toxins (mercury, aluminum,

cadmium, lead etc), and stress, all impact your health. The idea behind the program is

not only to look at SNPs, but also to work with your own doctor to run a variety of non-

invasive tests that are designed to detect imbalances in your biochemical pathways, and

to address those imbalances with natural supports and dietary choices. The goal is to

address underlying issues, not just band aid symptoms.

I view biochemical tests as signs along a highway. They let you know where you are in

your journey towards optimal function, and how much further you need to go to reach

your goal. Many individuals run nutrigenomic testing to see where the imbalances are in

their Methylation Cycle. They then add what appears to be appropriate supplementation

based on those nutrigenomic results to support the short cut and the long route around the

cycle. Then they ask me on the discussion group what they should add next. My question

to them is always, What are your biochemical tests looking like? Asking me what to do

next without running biochemical testing is like being on your way from your hometown

to my rural town in Maine, and calling me to ask what route to take. How can you ask

which route to take if you cannot answer where you are located? How can you ask how

much longer your trip will take if you dont know where you are on the Roadmap? This

program can help you to plot your Roadmap to Health, but you need to have a sense of

where you are in order to know what step to take next.

Nutrigenomic testing is a wonderful place to begin as it indicates specific

supplementation to bypass mutations that are identified by SNP testing. But the next

critical piece is to be sure you are running biochemical tests to be sure the support you

are adding is sufficient and having the impact you desire. Biochemical tests are the

signposts along the highway on your Roadmap to Health. You can get started on your

journey without nutrigenomic testing, however, it is virtually impossible to know where

you are on the path to health without running biochemical testing.

The purpose of biochemical testing is to follow up on the supplementation you are using

based on nutrigenomic testing. While you would not want to try to get along without

nutrigenomic testing, especially if your illness is significant, biochemical testing might be

considered even more clarifying than nutrigenomic testing. If you have not run a

nutrigenomic test, you can still get a sense of where you are on your Roadmap to Health

by running biochemical tests. Regardless of whether or not you have nutrigenomic SNP

data, regular biochemical testing lets you know where you are and what supplements

may make a positive impact for you. Nutrigenomic SNP testing gives you an idea about

your underlying genetic weaknesses, but sequential biochemical testing gives you

indispensable feedback on how well your current nutritional support is working.

Unlike DNA based SNP testing, follow up biochemical testing is something you should

run routinely to check that the supplementation you are using is actually making a

difference.

The tests I work from are noninvasive in nature and can be run from the privacy of your

own home. I find that there is much better compliance when you have control over when

and where you take a test. You can also run additional blood tests with your own doctor

to supplement the results from urine, hair and fecal testing.

The information contained in this book represents an approach to interpreting test results

that is based upon a significant background in molecular biology and genetics. It is

reflective of my conviction that physical manifestations, such as symptoms and behavior,

have their origins in biochemistry. Those origins can be discovered and addressed,

giving you greater control over your own health and overall sense of wellbeing.

This book systematically goes through the various biochemical tests that I use for my

protocol. It steps you through how to use these tests to guide your supplement choices.

This program is designed to be implemented in conjunction with your doctor, to help you

and your doctor understand how to use biochemical test data to guide supplementation

choices in order to customize this program for your optimal health.

My hope for this book is that it helps each one of you achieve your maximum possible

health and wellness. Many of the adults looking toward this protocol have been sick for

ten or twenty years, having tried most of the options available, and come to this program

on only a very thin thread of hope. Others reading this book have children on the autism

spectrum and have been depleted emotionally and financially without significant

progress. My goal is to give all of you hope, and the guidance necessary so that you can

implement this program with the help of your own doctor

For those of you reading this book merely looking to increase your lifespan or for

prevention, I am thrilled that you are not dealing with chronic illness, and I expect this

book will help you and your doctor to choose supplements based on biochemical testing

to address longevity and overall health.

At this point, we have almost 70 thousand individuals on my facebook page worldwide,

and almost 20 thousand following the program on the chat group. Those individuals

include adults with a range of health problems including CFS, FM, POTS, MS, ALS,

Lupus, and depression, as well as younger individuals with autism, ADD, ADHD, bipolar

disorder and schizophrenia. I am filled with love and hope for health for all of you, and I

extend those wishes to anyone reading this book. It is my hope that by sharing my

rationale behind supplement suggestions based on biochemical testing, it will enable you

with your doctor to achieve the health you desire.

With love and hope for health always, Dr. Amy

!