Hi Reader,

I hope you are well!

I wanted to pop in today to share a bit about topic I've been really excited about recently- genomics! If you've caught my past emails, I've shared a bit about detox genes that are important, as well as specific genes that can increase the risk of gut issues and food sensitivities.

Today I wanted to tell you a bit about a powerful gene called COMT(catechol-O-methyltransferase). COMT is also known the "worrier" vs "warrior" gene(depending on which variant of the gene you have).

COMT is responsible for:

• Maintaining a healthy balance of catecholamines("fight/flight/freeze" neurotransmitters) (1)
• Detoxing catecholamine-specific drugs (1)
• Metabolizing estrogens & detoxing xenobiotics (2)

So depending on your genetics(and what's "turned on"/expressing in your body), you could have:

• Fast COMT(that works too well)- AKA "warrior" - degrades catecholamines too quickly
• Intermediate functioning COMT enzymes
• Slow COMT(doesn't work as well)-AKA "worrier"- have a hard time degrading catecholamines so they stay in circulation for longer

So I'm sure you're wondering, how is this relevant to me?

Well, for starters, even if you have a fast COMT, while it can be helpful in many ways(i.e. increased stress resilience, higher pain threshold), is also associated with:

• Lower dopamine levels
• Less efficient cognitive processing
• Alcohol use disorder
• Deficits in planning, working memory, attention control
• ...among others

Having a slow COMT is associated with increased risk of:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Breast cancer
• Ovarian cancer
• Heart attack with excess caffeine
• ...among others

This is one of the first SNPs I look for if I have a client's genomics as it can help inform us what nutrients they made need more of, or need to avoid in some cases(ex: supplemental quercetin may not be appropriate for those with slow COMT enzymes).

However, I should note that we cannot look at these single enzymes like they're in a vacuum....because they aren't. They are constantly shifting within our bodies at all times.

So, while it can be tempting to focus on one gene as the cause for health issues(very common with genes like MTHFR-more on that in another email!), we need to take your *whole* genome into account to acknowledge the interplay of your genes and whether or not they are turned on or not.

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Hope this was interesting & that you have a great weekend!