The Blurb:
Pure Package have partnered with DNAFit Life Sciences, a leading expert in DNA analysis to offer food delivery programmes based on a client’s individual DNA.
The trend for DNA testing in the health arena is growing rapidly. Pure Package’s DNA programme identifies exactly which diet and exercise type is best for your body based on your DNA genotype. A simple cheek swab DNA sample is taken, and results come back in the form of a detailed 30 page document exploring your innate vitamin and mineral requirement, diet, detox ability and antioxidant needs amongst others. The Pure Package then create a 10 day food package based on your dietary needs.
The Pure Package DNA Diet identifies exactly what exercise delivers optimum results for your body type, which diet is best for you and then creates it, delivering it direct to your door. In short, it takes the guess-work out of dieting and optimum nutrition for your genetic body-type.
By helping you understand how your genetic profile affects you, the Pure Package DNA Programme provides unparalleled insight and knowledge to help you optimize your training and diet.
The Process:
I received a sterile swab in an ominous-looking silver envelope in the post. You rub this along the inside of your cheek to collect a DNA sample and send it back in the case and bag provided. The Pure Package then sent this sample to the lab where they piece together a picture of your genetic profile.
Results are in-depth and include info on everything from your ideal diet type, carbohydrate and saturated fat sensitivity, lactose and gluten intolerance risk, innate detoxification ability, anti-oxidant needs, your recommended vitamin & micronutrient intake, and probable salt, alcohol and caffeine sensitivity. Going on to your endurance versus power exercise profile, your innate aerobic potential, exercise nutrition needs, recovery nutrition, and probable exercise injury risk.
The Result:
Food arrives fresh on your doorstep daily and presented in sleek fabric cooler bags. The food was delicious and portions substantial. Pure Package food is extremely high quality, fresh and flavoursome. Miles ahead of most delivery diets.
Whilst all the food was undeniably healthy and delicious, probably for any body-type, some of the results in the report seemed inconsistent with reality. For example, DNAFit found me to be in the small subset of people with both genes that code for total lactose tolerance – yet I’ve been lactose intolerant from birth – which would suggest that this is a genetic issue, rather than the product of environment/ exposure. Similarly every biomarker test I’ve had independently has shown that I metabolise both saturated and unsaturated fats extremely fast, but the DNAFit test states that I’m ‘sensitive’ to saturated fats. Although the report is fairly unclear in what it means by ‘sensitive’. You do speak to an adviser when you receive your results, but the lovely lady I spoke to seemed as unclear as I on what these phrases translate to in real terms. It feels as though the report’s vagueness may in part be informed by a fear of litigation.
It might be more intuitive for clients if the report broke the results down in terms of meaning and impact. I’d like it to plot each client on a visual spectrum of the general populous for each genotype measured, and have it explain what their individual risk factor was for associated conditions in the context of the average person’s risk level. Without this context the results all seem a little meaningless.
The report is filled with information, yet a lot of this seems disjointed and interspersed with generic advice. There’s a lack of clarity about which advice is specific to your genotype, and what is general info.
Having said all this, the nutritionists creating the package have translated your exact genetic requirements into the diet they deliver, so for the duration of your programme at least, you know you’re eating very well for your genotype. If you were to imitate and incorporate the meals Pure Package deliver into your long-term diet, I’m sure you’d do very well.
And as ever, the proof is in the pudding. At the end of the 10 days I looked and felt healthier, my skin glowed and I was brimming with energy.
