Discover the latest in Vitamin D testing with SNiP’s expanded SNP panel for tailored supplementation and optimal wellness.
Recognizing the pivotal role of Vitamin D in achieving optimal wellness, SNiP Nutrigenomics has diligently expanded its testing panel to encompass all SNPs discussed in this article. This enhanced approach to genetic testing is another leap forward for personalized health, ensuring your body receives the precise amount of Vitamin D it needs for optimal functioning.
What’s New at SNiP Nutrigenomics
We’ve upgraded our genetic testing methodologies to provide a more comprehensive understanding of your Vitamin D needs. This breakthrough allows SNiP supplements to be finely tailored for improved Vitamin D absorption and utilization, ensuring your body gets exactly what it needs.
Until now…We looked at one specific SNP (VDR-Fok1), to see how your body uses Vitamin D. This helped us decide how much Vitamin D to include in your supplements.
Now…We’re incorporating three additional SNPs (VDR-Bsm1, VDR-Apa1 and VDR Taq1) for an enhanced view of your Vitamin D needs. Including four total VDR SNPs helps us to determine with even greater accuracy how much Vitamin D should be included in your personalized CODE Complex formula.
Why This Matters…Understanding the intricate dance of VDR SNPs and their role in Vitamin D utilization allows us to craft supplements based on the latest scientific research and support your body in the most efficient way possible. The recent update to your Supplement Fact Panel (SFP) within your CODE Complex shipment will reflect your optimized Vitamin D dosage. Your CODE Report will soon be updated to reflect the changes as well.
About Vitamin D
Vitamin D is a “prohormone” (a substance the body converts into a hormone) long known for its critical relationship to bone health.
But healthy bones are just the tip of the iceberg.
Vitamin D’s importance transcends bone health, affecting various bodily systems. From regulating blood pressure and supporting immune function to influencing mood and disease prevention, Vitamin D’s impact is vast. Our genetic testing panel sheds light on how your body uses this critical nutrient, enabling tailored health interventions.
Here are eight key roles Vitamin D plays, as well as how VDR informs its functioning:
- Blood Pressure Regulation: Vitamin D is thought to help regulate blood pressure. It’s believed to influence this through several mechanisms, including modulating the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), which plays a critical role in blood pressure regulation. Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with an increased activity of this system, leading to higher blood pressure. Fok1 and BSM1 can play a role here.
- Calcium and Phosphate Homeostasis: Vitamin D, influenced by VDR, is a key player in balancing calcium and phosphate in the body (essential for bone health and metabolic functions).
- Cell Differentiation and Growth: Variations in VDR can influence how cells grow and differentiate, affecting skin health.
- Endothelial Function: The endothelium is the inner lining of blood vessels, and proper functioning is crucial for vascular health. Vitamin D is believed to positively affect endothelial function and maintain healthy blood flow.
- Immune Function: VDR’s role in the immune system is significant. It modulates the body’s response to infections and may influence the risk of autoimmune diseases.
- Thyroid Health: VDR and Vitamin D levels can impact thyroid function, influencing hormone production and the risk of autoimmune thyroid diseases.
- Mood and Mental Health: There’s a potential link between Vitamin D levels and mood disorders like Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
- General Health and Disease Prevention: Adequate vitamin D signaling through the VDR might help prevent certain diseases and infections.
Where Does Vitamin D Come From?
Only about 10% of Vitamin D is obtained from outside the body– through diet (i.e. oily fish), exposure to sunlight, or supplementation. The remaining 80% is made by the body itself.
Here’s how…
When sunlight touches the skin, it triggers a chemical process that creates cholecalciferol, which is then transformed by the liver into calcidiol. The kidneys further process calcidiol into calcitriol, the hormone’s active version that our body can use.
Understanding this process and your genetic predisposition to Vitamin D metabolism is crucial for addressing deficiencies and optimizing health.
Vitamin D and Your DNA
Not everyone can absorb and or utilize Vitamin D efficiently or effectively. If this is the case for you, having one or more variants on key SNPs influencing Vitamin D metabolism may be a contributing factor.
This is why it’s critical to understand your VDR (Vitamin D Receptor) status and to know whether your VDR SNPs are likely to be functioning optimally.
Know Your Optimal Vitamin D Level
Typically, vitamin D status is assessed by measuring the serum concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), the blood’s main circulating form of vitamin D.
Optimal Vitamin D levels vary, but guidelines help identify sufficient, insufficient, and deficient states. Here’s a general guideline provided by the National Academy of Medicine:
- Deficient: Less than 20 ng/mL (50 nmol/L)
- Insufficient: 21-29 ng/mL (52.5-72.5 nmol/L)
- Sufficient: 30-100 ng/mL (75-250 nmol/L)
While some experts recommend aiming for the higher end of the sufficiency range (e.g., 40-60 ng/mL) for specific health outcomes or prevention, it’s essential to consult with a healthcare provider to determine appropriate levels for your individual needs.
Note: If your SNiP DNA reports reveal moderate to significant genetic VDR vulnerability, you may want to speak with your healthcare provider about an additional test looking at 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D), which is primarily regulated by the parathyroid hormone and is less influenced by vitamin D intake.
Because vitamin D levels can appear normal even when a person’s Vitamin D status is insufficient or deficient, this test looks beyond standard testing to assess the level of active Vitamin D in the body.
The results of this test may be useful when measured and interpreted in the context of the individual’s overall health status and additional laboratory results.
Of course, genetic testing offers an added layer of understanding of your body’s needs, guiding supplementation for better health outcomes.
Information for Healthcare Providers
SNiP Nutrigenomics equips healthcare professionals with detailed genetic insights, facilitating personalized care strategies. Our expanded testing panel, including key VDR and CYP SNPs, informs on Vitamin D metabolism, aiding in precise health interventions.
Our DNA-precision formulation (CODE Complex) is based on the analysis of 22 “heavy-hitting” SNPs, including the four VDR SNPs: Taq1, Bsm1, Fok1 and Apa1. However, every SNiP DNA test includes additional allele-specific results generated on a total 103 SNPs.
This expanded analysis allows for an even deeper understanding of your clients’ and patients’ genetic strengths and vulnerabilities, and together with an understanding of the 22 SNPs upon which we formulate, can help guide your approach to adjunctive intervention or support.
In addition to the four VDR SNPs discussed above, it may be useful for you to consider two additional SNPs when evaluating your clients’/patients’ capacities for Vitamin D absorption and utilization.
- CYP2RI (rS10741657): This variant affects the initial step of vitamin D processing, like a transporter that takes the vitamin D ‘key’ from the blood to the liver. Variations here can change how much vitamin D is stored and available for use.
- CYP27B1 (rs10877012): This variation impacts the final activation step of vitamin D, akin to a key-maker transforming vitamin D into its active form. Ensuring enough active vitamin D to interact with the VDR is crucial.
A Deeper Dive: Vitamin D’s Lock & Key Analogy
Vitamin D’s journey in the body is fascinating, much like crafting and using a key to unlock vital functions.
The VDR gene is like a lock that needs Vitamin D to work. The way this lock works can be different in each person because of tiny differences in the gene.
In this article, we discussed the importance of VDR as well as two CYP genes responsible for storing and activating vitamin D. For an even deeper understanding, here’s how this process aligns with the lock and key analogy:
VDR: Lock and Key Basics
- The VDR gene helps your body use Vitamin D. Think of it like a lock that needs the right key.
- Genetic variations, or SNPs, in the VDR gene can change how well this ‘lock’ works.
- The Vitamin D Receptor (VDR) is a crucial player in the body’s use of vitamin D. Just like a lock waiting for the right key, VDR needs active Vitamin D to unlock its potential.
- VDR-FokI (rs2228570): This variation is like having a unique pattern on the lock. It can affect how well vitamin D fits into the VDR. In some people, this might lead to differences in bone health, immune function, and possibly the risk of certain diseases.
- VDR-ApaI (rs7975232) and VDR-BsmI (rs1544410): These variations are akin to slight alterations in the lock mechanism. They might influence the efficiency of Vitamin D in managing calcium and phosphate levels, impacting bone density and overall metabolic processes.
- VDR-TaqI (rs731236): This SNP can be thought of as altering the sensitivity of the lock. It may impact how Vitamin D affects cell growth, differentiation, and the immune system’s response to threats.
Synthesis and Activation: Crafting the Key
- Sunlight Exposure and Initial Key Formation: When our skin is exposed to the sun’s ultraviolet B (UVB) rays, it starts crafting the preliminary form of the Vitamin D key. This initial version, however, is not yet ready to unlock anything; it’s inactive.
- Liver’s Role– Refining the Key: The first crucial step in refining this key occurs in the liver. Here, the inactive Vitamin D is transformed into 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], a slightly more refined version of the key. This form of Vitamin D is what doctors measure to assess your Vitamin D status.
- Kidneys’ Role– Final Key Crafting: The last step occurs in the kidneys, where the key undergoes its final transformation. Vitamin D is turned into its most active form, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)2D]. This fully crafted key is designed to fit perfectly into its corresponding lock.
Hormonal Action: Using the Key
- Binding to the VDR Lock: Once Vitamin D has been crafted into its active form (1,25(OH)2D), it’s ready to function like a hormone. It does this by finding and fitting into the Vitamin D receptor (VDR) – the lock – present in many cells across the body. These locks can vary slightly in design, influenced by specific genetic variations (SNPs).
- Unlocking Genetic Expressions: When the active Vitamin D key fits into the VDR lock, it turns the lock effectively, influencing the expression of numerous genes. This action is characteristic of steroid hormones, which can bind to specific receptors and modify gene expression directly.
Vitamin D is pivotal in regulating various bodily functions, including bone health, immune response, and cell growth, through this elegant lock and key mechanism. Understanding this process highlights the importance of adequate Vitamin D levels and how our body utilizes this vital nutrient.
Your Unique Vitamin D Needs
While sunlight is a natural source of Vitamin D, relying solely on sun exposure and guesswork is often insufficient for meeting your individual health needs. Even regular Vitamin D testing can fall short of providing a complete picture. This is where understanding your genetic makeup becomes crucial. Certain genes significantly affect how your body utilizes Vitamin D and other nutrients. Without this insight, knowing where to start and how to effectively address potential deficiencies or imbalances is challenging. That’s why we offer the all-in-one CODE Complex – a solution custom tailored to optimize genetic expression with research-driven nutrients.
If you’re uncertain about how your genetic makeup influences your wellness, now is the time to gain clarity. We encourage you to take our comprehensive genetic test, a cornerstone of our cutting-edge nutrigenomics approach. This test doesn’t just assess your unique health needs; it empowers you to effectively address them, ensuring you receive the right nutrients in the right forms and amounts. With SNiP’s personalized insights and DNA-tailored solution, you can confidently make informed decisions and take science-backed steps to further your health and wellness journey.
Summary
The expansion of SNiP Nutrigenomics’ testing panel marks a significant advancement in personalized health.
By understanding the genetic factors influencing Vitamin D metabolism, individuals can achieve optimal wellness through tailored supplementation.
In summary, the VDR gene and related CYP genes play a pivotal role in how our bodies utilize vitamin D, pivotal in regulating various bodily functions, including bone health, immune response, and cell growth.
The variations in these genes can be thought of as different types of locks and key-makers, each impacting how well the vitamin D ‘key’ can unlock crucial processes in our body. Understanding these genetic nuances helps tailor health strategies and sheds light on the complex interplay between genetics, nutrition, and health.
Understanding how your genetic blueprint may help or hinder Vitamin D absorption and utilization is an important first step. Thanks to SNiP Nutrigenomics, your genetic insights can be turned into an all-in-one foundational supplement that can help offset your unique generic vulnerabilities, including those impacting Vitamin D.
