Fourteen years have passed since the idea from singer Rachel Alejandro to make nutritious food as accessible as fast-food meals materialized into The Sexy Chef, now one of the metro’s top diet and healthy food-delivery service.
In all those years dealing with clients wishing for a smaller waistline or a healthier life in general, Alejandro, the company’s coowner and vice president for marketing, said the single most popular question to their nutritionists has always been this: “What diet is right for me?”
“People will read on the Internet about what food is good or for them, but not everyone reacts to a certain diet the exact same way,” said the 44-year-old performer, who graced the cover of a men’s magazine last month.
Alejandro recalled when a singer-friend of hers around 50 years old asked if she could recommend to him a ketogenic diet, the low-carb, high-fat consumption craze that the performer-turned-entrepreneur admits to being currently the most popular diet plan of her company’s. Even though Alejandro wanted to tell him of its wonders, that many of her clients have lost weight thanks to it, she didn’t out of “good conscience,” because she knew of his sensitivity to high-fat food.
“There’s no such thing as a one-diet-fits-all,” Alejandro said—a fact that’s backed up by the concept of nutrigenomics, or the integration of genomic science with nutrition, which basically posits that, much like the fit of a custom suit, the way the body responds to food is individual.
“Some of us are lucky enough to be intuitive with how our body reacts to food, but most of us are not,” she said. “After eating a big meal, we sometimes get a headache, or get bloated and not feel good. A lot of us don’t even know that those things relate to diet.”
That information gap is the reason Alejandro finds nutrigenomics helpful in taking the guesswork out of healthy eating, not just necessarily for weight loss, she said, but for feeling good overall.
The founder and CEO of a leading genetic-testing digital health company supported Alejandro’s take, adding that finding a person’s optimal diet plan is actually just among the many questions that decoding one’s DNA can provide a concrete answer to.
Danny Yeung of Prenetics Ltd. said analysis of DNA—or deoxyribonucleic acid, the long molecule that contains our genetic code—is also a great way of helping people understand their genetic risk and predispositions to certain types of diseases, allowing them to take proactive measures to delay or even avoid these illnesses.
Given the huge benefit, the number of people who have had their DNA analyzed with at-home consumer kits exceeded more than 12 million last year, according to global industry estimates from a report, titled “2017 was the Year Consumer DNA Testing Blew Up,” published by a Massachusetts Institute of Technology-founded technology web site.
This trend makes commercial DNA analysis poised to become the next big thing in personal assessment, as Yeung said that the price of DNA tests has dropped significantly over the past few years, considering that its hefty price tag has always been the reason that kept the majority from getting a DNA test. He cited that, 15 years ago, the 13-year-long Human Genome Project that aimed to complete one person’s genome amounted to $3 billion.
“Ten years ago, that cost has dropped to a hundred million dollars. Today, that cost has dropped to under $1,000. That means, with technology, we’re now able to offer significant value to individuals to help them in the protection, postponement and prevention of diseases.”
Prenetics carries that mission out with myDNA Pro, a program that provides tailored diet and fitness recommendations to reduce health risks based on an individual’s DNA. It is developed to generate a comprehensive DNA report that, among other things, helps identify and lower the “three highs” of health risks: high-blood sugar, high-blood pressure and high cholesterol. The Department of Health has named these three as among the leading causes of mortality in the Philippines.
The myDNA Pro program starts with DNA analysis that begins with a simple saliva swab. The sample is sent to Prenetics, where a team of scientists and registered dieticians decode the person’s genetic makeup. The person will then be given a detailed and personalized health risk and nutrigenomics reports, to go with an exclusive 12-month access to the myDNA Pro mobile app. This allows users to set health goals, find recommendations based on his DNA, record food and calorie intake through a photo-food diary, chat on-demand with a health coach and follow a 16-week lifestyle-intervention program.
“Genetics makes up approximately 30 percent of an individual’s health. The other 70 percent can be modified with the proper diet, exercise and lifestyle,” Yeung said. “In the program, individuals are given a health score from 0-100. The higher the score, the lower the chance of getting a chronic disease. And that’s where the health coaches, the exclusive app help people make the changes in diet and lifestyle necessary to increase their health score.”
Recently, British life insurer Pru Life UK introduced the comprehensive program to the Philippines as myDNA Pro Bundle (www.prulifeuk.com.ph/mydnapro). It’s a first-of-its-kind offering in the local life-insurance industry that combines Pru Life UK’s investment-linked life-insurance solutions, or insuravest, with the myDNA Pro program.
According to Antonio de Rosas, CEO of Pru Life UK, their latest product is another company breakthrough following the 2002 launch of investment link products to the Philippine market, which he says now comprises 80 percent of what’s being sold in the life insurance industry.
“Again, with this launch, we are the first to introduce a concept such as myDNA Pro here in the Philippine market, where we are tying up technology, lifestyle and insurance product in a bundle,” he said.
The Philippines is the fifth country in the region where the myDNA Pro program has been launched, following the agreement between Pru Life UK’s regional corporate headquarters Prudential Corporation Asia and Prenetics.
Yeung, the Prenetics CEO and founder, said that 70 percent of users who have received myDNA Pro results have made positive changes in their diet and lifestyle. “Most individuals expect their insurance provider to help them manage risks and because it’s not just about protection anymore. So this is a really great way of helping people understand their genetic risk, predisposition to disease, as well as understanding what’s the most optimal diet-nutrition-exercise profile to get them healthy.”
Allan Tumbaga, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Pru Life UK, explained that individuals can choose among the three of Pru Life UK’s most popular insuravest products to avail themselves of the myDNA Pro Bundle. The options include the PRUlink assurance account plus myDNA Pro Bundle for a comprehensive insurance plan; the PRUlink exact protector myDNA Pro Bundle for the budget-conscious; and the PRUlink elite protector myDNA Pro Bundle for a higher insurance coverage with an elevated commitment of investment amount for better returns.
“The myDNA Pro program is a perfect fit to the value proposition of our existing insurance offerings,” Tumbaga said. “With the myDNA Pro bundle, it’s not just life insurance anymore; we’re now introducing health and wellness benefits to our customers. It’s a complete package.”