5 Health Myths I Discovered on My Precision Health Journey

Almost half of respondents to a large-scale Kiwi science survey believe toilet water spirals in different directions depending on the hemisphere of the country you are in. It turns out that this is a popular urban myth… the Coriolis effect, which is the rotation of Earth and its effects on weather and climate does not extend to water travelling down your drain.

I seem to have collected a few of those myths myself in relation to health and fitness, some like the above were urban legend and others where science had moved on.

As a middle aged business owner I was getting concerned about the impact of stress on my health, and equally that there was so much conflicting advice on what I should do – so I went looking for an evidence based approach that could help me get back I track. It seemed Precision Health provided just that. 

Precision Health is a model that proposes the customisation of healthcare, with medical decisions, diet, exercise and other heath choices being tailored to the individual. In a practical sense this is the use of personal data, particularly the use of your own genetic make-up (DNA), and how you can positively affect how your DNA expresses itself through the choices you make in terms of eating, exercise, sleep, and your environment (epigenetics).

Just over 3 months ago I started out on my Precision Health journey with Auckland-based Edison Health. After a thorough baseline medical including blood tests, DNA screening, ECG’s and most disconcertingly a full body scan (I’m sure I didn’t look like that in the mirror) I was back a few weeks later to catch up Dr Brent Gerrard for a debrief and to kick of my first 90 days. 

At the time of writing I am now 90 days in, and 10 kg’s lighter.  But what has surprised me the most on this journey so far was the number of myths I have had to unlearn as I set out for a healthier life. I have picked out my top 5

Myth 1 – the Food Pyramid and the need for carbohydrates

The food pyramid has had a bit of bad press lately, and been replaced by the food plate, the food apple and all sorts of other graphics, but the message is essentially the same – 30% or so of your food intake should be carbohydrates. I choose this as myth number 1 as it is a great example of Precision Health in action. It turns out that there are variations in the human salivary alpha-amylase gene (AMY1). Over time the AMY1 Gene has evolved in humans to have an increased number of copies. The average is 6, and the range is 1 up to 20. AMY as she is affectionally known in my house influences how you can break down and process starchy carb’s. 8+ you can hover down heaps of this stuff… but I am a 2.  Helpfully the advice I got from Dr Brent was ‘for you a high starch carbohydrate intake is associated with a greater risk of obesity, insulin resistance and diabetes’. So low carb intake and low carb beer for me! Interestingly this is also a great example where precision means personal – I have no idea what your AMY1 copy number is… so the food pyramid may be fine for you.

Myth 2 – Breakfast is the most important meal of the day

How many times have we heard this? And, as a father of two I have paid the price if my kids didn’t get some food into them early, and consistently when they were younger. But what about adults? The line “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day” was invented in the 19th century by Seventh Day Adventists James Caleb Jackson and John Harvey Kellogg - to sell their newly invented breakfast cereal! So one of the main mantra’s about healthy eating actually came from an industry wanting to sell us something! So what does the science say? Dr Satchin Panda is a leading researcher of Time-Restricted Feeding. He tells of a study his team undertook where three sets of mice were allowed to eat what they wanted, and as much as the wanted. The difference was that first group could eat at any time, second group could eat during a 12 hour period and the last could only eat in a 8 hour period. Interestingly our furry friends all ate pretty much the same types of foods and same amount, but the first group of mice became obese, and the last group of mice were slim and had more lean muscle mass. This has led to a large number of follow up studies, including on humans with similar results. Modern living has led to us eating more food, but as importantly eating longer into the night. So what matters is what you eat, how much you eat, and when you eat it! His recommendation is to have a time-restricted eating window, and don’t eat two hours before bed. In short – missing breakfast is fine and can be good for you. Just make sure your daily food intake is balanced and healthy.

Myth 3 – Energy in, energy out

We all know the metaphor, you put food into the refrigerator (eat) and take it out (exercise). This has led to the common thinking that to lose weight you put less food in, and exercise more. Essentially you are trying to burn more than you consume. And, to loss weight this often works. The problem is that to keep weight off it generally doesn’t, as after roughly 90 days your body’s metabolism resets to the low level of food you are on and weight starts to come back on… sound familiar? Disturbingly science has known this for decades, but I have missed it somehow. So the metaphor is better described as food in the fridge, food out, and any left over goes down to the freezer in the basement. And it is a lot harder to get the food out of the freezer!  It appears that the time-restricted eating approach above allows you to more easily access the freezer and burn off the food. This is great news for me as It turns out my genetics means I am highly effective at storing energy - I have what has been charmingly called the ‘obesity gene’!

Myth 4 – Exercise the fat off

For the last 10 years I have had an annual cycle of weight off over summer and on over winter. When its time to pull on the board shorts, I significantly increase exercise to drop the weight, especially cardiovascular exercise. This time, partly as an experiment, and partly because I had carelessly broken my wrist, we set out on the protocol using moderate exercise, predominantly daily walks, and my weight still fell off. It turns out to lose weight for me it was all about what I eat, how much I eat and when I eat it. Please note that I am not advocating lying on the couch – the science on the benefits of exercise are clear. In fact, we are upping the exercise over the next 90 days to get my lean muscle mass up, and frankly because I feel better mentally with a couple of hard swim sessions a week.

Myth 5 – 6 hours’ sleep a night is plenty

Sleep is for losers, 6 hours a night is heaps! As a business owner I have been hearing this for over 20 years, and frankly when the pressure is on, you might be in bed, but the sleep often doesn’t come, or you are wide awake at 2 am! As it turns out, the line ‘You can sleep when you are dead’ is eerily prophetic, because if you have 6 hours or less sleep a night vs 7.5 hours or more the chances of dying from heart attacks, cancer and other ailments increases by a factor of 2 to 8 times, and if you manage to survive the chances of heart disease, a stroke, diabetes, depression, dementia and Alzheimer's all sky rockets. And that doesn’t even come close to looking at the day to day impacts on mental performance, creativity and well-being. So while Myths 1 to 4 have had a great immediate impact on weight, body composition and how I feel, this one has probably been the biggest wake up call (excuse the pun!) – I strongly recommend you have look at the book ‘Why We Sleep’ by Matthew Walker.

I came across a great quote by Alvin Toffler the other day - the illiterate of the twenty-first century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. My Precision Health Journey with Edison Health is definitely a journey of unlearning and relearning! 

If you want to know more have a look at https://www.edisonclinic.com/ or touch base with Jay Harrison on [email protected] or mobile 021 898 036