Journal of Nutrition & Food Sciences
Open Access
ISSN: 2155-9600
ISSN: 2155-9600
Barbara Nogueira
RN Master in Science, Portugal
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Nutr Food Sci
Background: Lipedema is often a misunderstood disease and the diagnose can be missed, specially due to the lack of awareness surrounding this medical condition. As it concerns to lifestyle, the importance of nutrition and proper exercise is widely recognized. In this field low carb and keto diets are promising with studies suggesting that fat is highly sensitive to insulin and carbohydrates, once Lipedema is established. Though, it is relatively resistant to weight loss and calorie restriction. So, often patients struggle with weight loss which impairs the treatment success. As we know that up to 60% of individuals with Lipedema have a family member who also shows the signs, a clinical approach including genetic testing may enhance the outcomes. The purpose of the paper is to describe the approach and results obtained when a personalized approach based on genetic testing is applied. Methods: We followed diagnosed patients with DNA evaluations. Based on the test results, lifestyle recommendations were established. All patients were observed and evaluated over the course of a year to measure the progress Results: The predisposition for inflammation, food sensitivities and vitamin D deficiency were present in most patients. In regards to diet, it is not a one size fits all, as we found patients with hypersensitivity to carbohydrates, others responding to fasting and some showed that fat quality matters. Conclusion: After diagnosis, the priority should be to control the predisposition towards exacerbated inflammation processes with proper diet, nutrition and low intensity exercise. Moreover, vitamin D supplementation seems to be crucial. Even though following keto is the option for some, other interventions should be considered as in some patients body composition improved due to the protective effects of complex carbohydrates. Therefore, a multifunctional approach is recommended and should be addressed with a genetic testing in hands
Barbara Melo Nogueira has her expertise in nutrigenetics in clinical practice and is passionate to improve health and wellbeing. Therefore, has focused her approach towards personalized medicine and nutrition, where she sees the best outcomes in health, specially when genetic testing is part of it. She is now focused in two main areas: health optimization and lipedema. On the first one she fulfills her goal to contribute positively to the individual’s health journey with the most innovative tools to potentiate their health. On the other scenario, lipedema, her goal is to give back the health the patients deserve while allowing them to have quality of life. The approach is based on functional medicine foundations which represents an operational system that looks at the underlying causes of disease from a systems biology perspective, where a therapeutic partnership is established (Bland J. Functional Medicine: An Operating Systemfor Integrative Medicine. Integr Med (Encinitas). 2015 Oct;14(5):18- 20. PMID: 26770161; PMCID: PMC4712869).