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  • DNAFit

    Genes, germs and bacon: A look inside my own DNA

    by 
    Daniel Cooper
    Daniel Cooper
    06.24.2016

    There are times in your life when bad news smashes into your gut like a sledgehammer into the solar plexus. "You've got those double dots next to your CYP1A2*F, which means that we class you as a fast metabolizer." But the man on the other end of the phone was not complimenting me. Rather, he was explaining that my body can't cope with the chemicals produced by smoked or chargrilled meat. It meant that, despite my love of meat, I would have to limit myself to "just one or two servings of grilled or smoked meat per week," and even that was excessive. The news got worse when I was told that, for a similar reason, I should also avoid fried bacon -- which I eat every morning to pep up my protein-and-fat rich breakfast of eggs. My genetic makeup, the bastard, has rendered me incapable of enjoying bacon, which is a hard way to be introduced into the world of DNA fitness testing.