Getting To The Root Cause Using Nutrigenomics With Dr. Bryana Gregory

2nd Interview with Dr. Bryana Gregory. To hear the first interview please click https://bit.ly/drbryanagregoryepisode133

Dr. Bryana is a pharmacist, genomics consultant and national functional wellness educator. Bryana is certified in pharmacogenomics and trained in nutrigenomics testing and evaluation, to guide her patients toward personalized healing. She helps her patients understand their health based on their DNA. Bryana’s goal is to open up the conversation around genomics-guided wellness, simplify and personalize the wellness journey for her patients.

In this episode Bryana talks about…

• Re-explains what Nutrigenomics is and the process
• Talks about her new book  “HEALED FOR GOOD - Why your symptoms shouldn’t be tolerated: A Root Cause Approach to Healing Using Nutrigenomics.
• Who this book is for
• Talks about what she is working on

And so much more!

Dr. Bryana's inks and resources: 

• Website: https://www.bryanagregory.com/
• Socials: @dr_bryanagregory

Transcript

 Elizabeth: Welcome back, Doctor Brianna Gregory, to the root of our health. It is such a pleasure to have you back. I'm so happy that you're here today. 

Dr. Bryana: Thank you. Elizabeth, it's a pleasure to be back. I so much enjoyed our first conversation, so I look forward to our chat today. 

Elizabeth: So did I, so did I, you just brought a just a wealth of knowledge in nutrition, genomics and genomic testing in general, and I can't wait to kind of dive in a little bit more on that today. So for everybody listening, uh, I did speak with, uh, Brianna Gregory, um, way back, I think in October, uh, or September, something like that. It is episode 133. I will link that into the show notes. So if you want to listen to that prior to listening to this all the way through, you don't have to. But it was a great conversation. So I definitely recommend. But so you are here today, um, on this fabulous Saturday. And we are definitely going to be talking about your new book today, and it's going to be the main, um, topic. However, I just want to do a little bit of a recap. So if you can describe a little bit, uh, and you know quickly what is neutral neutral genomics. And if you can also expand on the process of it. 

Dr. Bryana: Of course. So neutron genomics is basically a form of DNA testing. So last time you and I spoke about kind of some of the differences there. But really when we think of DNA testing, a lot of times we think of ancestry testing. And that's not this type of testing that I provide. So neutral genomics testing is DNA testing that requires a cheek swab for that sample to be collected. Very simple. And then when we do a neutron genomics evaluation, what that means is we're looking at how your DNA impacts how you pull nutrients, either from foods or supplementation or anything of the like. That's providing some aspect of nutrition to the body. And so what we're really trying to figure out is where are some of those deficiencies occurring. So if someone shows up with anxiety or bloating or depression or indigestion, We want to know the why behind it, right? We want to know the real cause. And genetics are a huge a huge player in the root cause because they make us who we are. So it's a part of the puzzle that it's very integral because it's personalized. So essentially what we're trying to figure out are how our nutrient deficiencies just beyond nutrition itself, as far as food goes, really contributing to the overall wellness or lack of wellness in our human body. So gene neutral genomics testing gives us the insight to that, and then gives us the information about how to create a personalized plan so that each individual can really stay on track with what their body needs. Right. Not this cookie cutter approach for everybody else. So the process, again, requires a simple cheek swab. Well, what I do is I drop ship the kit to the patient's home because all my services are virtual. And so it keeps it very simple. The person can swab ship the kit back to the lab when I get the raw reports back from the laboratory, then I do my analysis. That's where my part comes in. And at the very beginning of working with a patient, I collect a very extensive medical history form because I want to understand who you are, you know, not just right now at a snapshot in time, but I want to understand what's happened. So I overlay that information from the intake form with the reports. And then that's how I create my personalized plan for you. So it's it's really a streamlined, pretty quick process. The whole thing takes about three weeks from getting the the kit shipped to swabbing to getting the results back and creating the plan. And then, you know, we meet and and review the whole plan together so that you can stick with it forever. Right? We don't want this whole yo yo effect. And, um, and that's one of the reasons I love neutral genomics testing is because it's so personalized. It gives that person ownership of that plan. Yeah. Yes. And I, I firmly believe it. You know obviously. Yes. Getting to the root cause in general. Right. Um, but. It's an understanding of what to focus on. So a lot of times we're out there thinking that we're doing a good thing or we're being healthy, and when we don't know what we are predisposed, even that healthy, you know, that healthy thing that we're trying to do or, you know, the goal that we're we're getting to and we're just like, keep, keep on it. Maybe that's being even more detrimental to our health because predisposition will tell us, our genes will tell us, you know, it's kind of activating what's going on in your, you know, from your family. Obviously that has a lot to do with it had genes. um, and then bring it into today. So if we focus in laser in on really what what can we, um, focus on, like what, you know, conditions or something that, that is more prevalent in each individual body versus like you said, okay, well, I'm going to do this X, Y and Z diet because it's healthy. And yet again, that can be more detrimental because there are either proteins in there that could, you know, affect your um, your, your, your, your biology, everything. So it's just. That understanding is key. And, um, you know, I firmly believe that. 

Elizabeth: So in this test that you only take once. 

Dr. Bryana: Yes. Yeah. It's just a one time test, uh, with the exception of just one of them, which is called a it's basically a, an assessment of aging. So it's looking at the length of your telomeres. Right. So if we really want to see the rate of aging, um, we have the ability to change that and to really optimize how quickly we age. So that is the test that can be repeated because we want to see how certain. Quote unquote anti-aging interventions, if you will, are working. But other than that, um, this test is just done once. And that's part of the beauty of it is it's important to invest in our health and take ownership of that. And also it's a lot easier to commit to something when you recognize this is a one time investment with personalized information. For me, and this is my baseline. So what I like to delineate is that a lot of everyone's familiar with what a blood test is, a lab test. So you go into the doc, they draw the labs, you get your results back. It's telling you about current levels. And that's not how the genomics tests work. So what we're looking at is your forever baseline because you're born with and you die with your same DNA. Now what happens in between there is the result of these changes that we implement that allows us to really upregulate the genes that we want to and down regulate the genes that we want to, so that we get a more favorable outcome that supports wellness rather than rapid aging. Yeah. So we just collect the cheek swab once, and then if we want to continue to look at different parameters, the beauty of that is we can actually work off of that initial cheek swab to look at additional information. 

Elizabeth: Nice. Very nice. And yes, you know, the the telomere and the, the anti-aging that is. Super, super important as well. Um, I, you know, definitely for not only me, but my audience and everybody. Um, it is a huge thing now that's going on now is, is how to age. And I like to say powerfully, right, how are we going to age powerfully in whatever we can do with these tests and, um, an understanding and, uh, yeah, we can definitely work on that as well. So beautiful. Beautiful. Um, so you just released a book, right? So it is, um, the called healed for good while While your symptoms shouldn't be tolerated, which is a root cause approach to health or, excuse me, healing using neutral genomics. So first off, why did you write this book? 

Dr. Bryana: I have so many patients and even people I come in contact with that are not my patients that I feel at an underlying level, do not believe that they will ever get well. And that really irks me. And it's not their fault, but it irks me. It sits with me, and I and I wrote this book because I believe that we should be empowered to understand differently than that. I think that we I know that we live in a world of a pill for every ill. You know, I'm a pharmacist, and so I certainly believe in the power of medications, but they should only be used when absolutely necessary, and they should be removed from the regiment when they're no longer necessary. There's a lot of nasty side effects that come with pharmaceutical medications, and we don't want to go there if we don't have to. However, so many people have become reliant on these medications with the idea that, well, this is just, you know, that's just the deck I was dealt and I have X, y, Z in my family, or I had this accident and I have inflammation and I'm, you know, dependent on this medication. No, we are better than that. Our bodies are fully equipped with everything that we need to heal. Sometimes the body just kind of forgets how to communicate with the other parts of the body. To have lasting healing. So the, you know, coupled with the fact that I get a lot of questions about what and the heck is new to genomics, that's a big word. Please break it down. I definitely cover that in the book. But but most importantly, my overarching mission here is to encourage people that healing is possible and that we don't have to get fancy with the healing process. We don't have to go searching for all of these different services that specialists provide. We don't have to get lost in the medical system. My goal is to create a, you know, a personalized approach and an empowering manual here for understanding why things break down in the body, how we can go about healing them, how we can feel empowered about healing and stay consistent on our healing path. But I also go into in the beginning of this book why we have this problem to begin with. You know, we talk. I think you and I may have talked about this the The first go around is how lab results or, excuse me, lab values or lab ranges or set. Right. Yeah. So when we have this I was thinking about this when, when we just started this episode today is we think we're doing the right thing a lot of times. But that begs the question, what does healthy even mean, right? It's it's it's it's subjective. It's variable. And so when we look at how, you know, we go into a doctor's office and they say, well, your labs are normal, but you walk in there, you basically just feel like crud. That's not normal. So I debunk that in the beginning of this book. And I think that that sets the stage for, okay, where do we go from here? And then I wrap up the book with a set of resources that I think is incredibly important because. As a pharmacist, I have a lot of patients that come to me and they want to be healed, but they don't know where to find that information, and they spend a lot of money bouncing from doc to doc, spending a lot of money, a lot of time. And a lot of times it ends in frustration because they can't find someone who is aligned with them. Right? It's like if you've ever played sports, you know that the type of coach you have is really important. Yeah, just because they have the credentials as a coach doesn't mean that they're going to fit with you. It doesn't mean they're good or bad. But if you don't have someone that is on the same on the same page as you and you know, listening to you for your healing journey, then you're not going to get anywhere. So I made sure to provide those resources at the end of the book because again, I want everyone to be able to have access to that so that there are not barriers to healing anymore.

Elizabeth: Beautiful. Yes. And it is. You are 100% correct. Meaning, you know, a few of my clients are so frustrated because of this, that same thing, you know, they go to a doctor, they are told that they're fine, nothing's wrong and yet they're doing. They're doing the dew right there. They're trying to exercise more. They're trying to eat better. They're trying to manage their stress. They're trying to sleep well. They're doing everything else, and it's still not working. So I mean, we definitely need to look under the hood, so to speak. And a lot of these tests, as you said, will come back because it's surface level. A lot of them are surface level. And even, um, as you I, we did talk about it in the first episode, is that even when the range is, you know, it'll be either high like to the high level or to the low level. Right. So even though they're in within that range, they can, you know, the next day and the next two days or few days get beyond that range or get below that range. Right. So it's not a matter of are you in the middle? Are you in the clear, so-to-speak? It's okay. Well, you're still in this. So, you know, let's talk about that. But that's not the way it is. It's usually like, oh you're fine. Everything's, you know, within the range. Um, so having resources like this, having a book like this that just. It helps people realize it. It's possible. Right? There's a possibility to getting to healing, to getting better and to meet people like that. 

Dr. Bryana: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you know, I'm I my approach as, as a pharmacist is really to always pull people a level above when it comes to them having understanding of, of wellness. Like not every single person is a health care professional. And I recognize that. However, I feel like it's really important for people to take ownership. I do, because honestly, if someone comes to me as a patient, it's going to be a waste of both of our times if they're not on board, right? That's why I have to have a good understanding of what it is that they really want to accomplish. So this book is written at a level that is understandable for someone who's not a health care professional. And at the same time, I also want healthcare professionals to be able to pick it up and understand it and be be able to also be challenged by the read. We should always be challenged by what we're reading, so we have further understanding of the incredible capacity that our body has. So you know, this this is intended to be a read for everybody to really get a good understanding of what all our genes are capable of, because it's really quite incredible. Honestly. They have a self-healing capacity. Yes, yes we do. Our bodies are made to, you know, do miracle work, so to speak. You know, I, you know, when we when before we record, you mentioned a few things that's going on in your work, your career or things like that. Would you like to share any new things that are coming up for you right now? Yes. So, you know, since we spoke last time, it's really been about six months. And, um, it's almost impossible to have a conversation now without talking about Covid. I mean, let's be real, right? We don't have to dwell about it anymore. But it's changed everything. And in the past six months, even since we last spoke, we are starting to see a tremendous uptick in cancer cases. And I'm sure you've seen it too. Yeah. Uh, we've all been indirectly or directly impacted by cancer in some way. You know, part of the reason why I became a pharmacist is because I, I experienced, you know, some of my dad's journey with him when he went through cancer treatment. And that opened up my eyes a lot to the medical system. And that's a whole separate conversation. However, that's how I was impacted. But I'm seeing a lot of my patients be diagnosed with cancer now, So I've taken a deep dive into this over the past, um, probably 8 to 10 months to really understand what we can do to prevent, so to speak, about developing tumor growths, because like we just said, the body has an incredible ability to heal. And I think sometimes we forget that 100% of the day we are fighting off infection. So, you know, we're not just fighting off infection when we're getting over a recent infection or when it's cold outside or it's flu season, we're always doing that. So we're always in a cycle of our cells are always in a cycle of kind of life and death or making the decision, are these cells going to live or are they going to die? And when these abnormal tumor cells start to grow, that's when cancer develops. And so it's very near and dear to my heart that people have a fantastic understanding of what they can do to give their body the baseline for cancer prevention. You know, and I'm not claiming to prevent cancer or treat cancer any of those things. What I want you to know is the things that you can do it supplement wise, lifestyle wise, even using repurposed medications, which is an exceptionally interesting space that does not break the bank to help protect your body against tumor growth. So, you know, I mentioned Covid, the Covid infection is an iconic virus and many viruses are oncogenic, meaning that being infected by the virus itself leads to cancer development. So that's that's actually part of the biological component. And what's a bit interesting about viruses and cancer is they have some things in common. They both replicate. We know that they both require a host. We know that. And so when we use some of these repurposed medications that are already antiviral or even antiparasitic to address tumor growth, they turn out being very effective for the patient. They're tumor markers go down, they feel better, they get in remission, which I think is extremely empowering. And we want to take that C word cancer. And we want to knock it down. We don't want it to be feeling like it's a death sentence or a death diagnosis. Right. So taking a deep dive into the long Covid space, into the cancer space to do everything we can to prevent our bodies from developing that. And then if we're already there, what do we do to give the body back the nutrients that it needs to suppress tumor growth to get our energy back, to get our vitality back so that we're thriving instead of just surviving? 

Elizabeth: Yeah. No, 100%. I, I've not only noticed an uptick, but it's affecting in general my life, uh, in my family. I have a lot of cancer in my family. Both my while my mom had breast cancer. My dad just, you know, passed away with melanoma, cancer, cancer. You know, cousins, aunts, uncles, everything. So hence why I'm doing what I do in terms of prevention and understanding. But, you know, you mentioned and I was not I don't have a good understanding of. You said repurposing medication, right? So what does that mean? What is that? So what? 

Dr. Bryana: Yeah, that's a really good question. And this is kind of a newer but a hot growing space is we all know what the definition of repurposed is. But what does it mean in this context. Means something was created for something and we're using it for something else now. Repurposed drugs. What that means in this context is that, let's say vitamin D, for example, or, you know, something like melatonin. And it's it's not just products that are also over, you know, available over the counter, but some prescription, even antibiotics are part of that treatment or ivermectin, things like this that like let's take ivermectin for example, is an anti-parasitic drug. We know that that's what it's used for. However, when cancer patients use it in addition to either traditional type of approaches like chemotherapy or radiation or surgery, that those two work synergistically or they work better together than separately. So it makes the patient more sensitive to the treatment that they're receiving, increasing their chances of success on that treatment protocol, whatever that treatment protocol might be. The reason why, again, is that parasites, viruses, cancer, they share a lot of common mechanisms. So I talk about this in my book two. Why reinvent the wheel? You don't have to get fancy with treatments. Not to mention that if you know anyone has directly been through cancer treatment or had a close family member that has, they know that it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to receive many different types of very expensive treatments for cancer. And this doesn't this can cost. This can cost repurpose medications can cost sense cents on the dollar. You know that they're very inexpensive. However, the powers that be are catching on that these things work. And so the prices are starting to skyrocket for them. And I really hope that that's not where we end up with this. But, you know, point being is we have fantastic tools right at our fingertips that have been around forever that are proven to work. Um, what's interesting about a lot of these medications that are repurposed is that they're actually initially derived from earthly sources. A lot of them come originally from soil sources, because the the microbes in the soil, the animals that, you know, create their ecosystem. They have to have a way to keep themselves safe as well. And so the bacteria that lives in a lot of different, you know, soils around the world has these, these antimicrobial type effects to keep that ecosystem healthy. And so researchers get very smart. They know where to go, I don't know in the world and collect soil samples and do these kinds of, you know, tests on them to see what capacity they have later that gets developed into a drug. So one of my favorites actually is rapamycin, which a lot of people are hearing about. Also known as sirolimus. And that has an incredible capacity for anti-aging and really helping to actually shift the body's metabolism to a more favorable metabolism. And I don't mean metabolism of food. I'm talking about at a cellular level, cellular metabolism. Because, again, every second of every day our cells are making a choice. Do I want to live or do I want to die? Do I want to be in, you know, the growth state, or do I want to be in the rest state? And then overall, what that looks like is how much energy do we have? Do we develop cancer or not? Right. But when we look at a cellular level, that's what we're talking about. How these repurposed drugs are working to allow the body to behave in a more favorable state, rather than unfavorable. I just think that the idea of repurposed drugs is exceptionally fascinating. And again, it doesn't break the bank because great treatment doesn't have to break the bank. 

Elizabeth: Yeah. No, that's perfect 100%. You know, I, I heard about rapamycin. Um, I haven't done a deep dive into it, but ivermectin I have taken while, uh, I've, I had Covid, so, um, it definitely works. So doing these things, having this, uh, I'll say an alternative. Right. It's something that we, uh, we need to look at in terms of another option that we could use. You know, another tool, I should say. So, yeah. I mean, that's, you know, perfect. And I'm glad that again, you you talk a little bit more in depth in your book about this and in general. So, um, yeah. Thank you. So is there anything else that I didn't ask that you wanted to touch on? 

Dr. Bryana: Well, I think, again, you know, helping people really understand how easy it is to access Neutrogena mix testing is something I want to drive home, is one of my really overarching goals, is to just help people understand that this is accessible, you know, don't put it off, don't don't guess about your health test. Get the information, get intentional. If you're ready to get intentional about healing and about thriving instead of just surviving, then I strongly encourage you to consider neutron genomics testing and understand it just requires a cheek swab for a simple evaluation. Yet you walk away with a plan that is forever applicable to you. So please stay encouraged and empowered about healing. It is. It is very much attainable. And again, Elizabeth, I just appreciate you having me on again. I love the way that you ask questions and provide clarity around this topic. So thank you again. 

Elizabeth: Well thank you it is. It was definitely a pleasure having you on again. Um, and yes, it is so, so, so important to to do this task. So just to understand, you know, what we're made of and how we can, you know, it's not and I and I've said this before, you've heard it, I ad nauseum, it is never too late. We always think that, oh my gosh, well, I'm getting older or I have this, I have that and like you said, this is the hand that dealt me right. And it's not it's not. We have choices. It is just a matter of listening to this podcast, listening to you, reading your book, finding out, um, these resources and everything else. And that's what we're here for. We're providing an alternative so people can get better and can get healthier, no matter how old or or, you know, what stage in their life is especially, you know, also with cancer because. Right. That is that is a hot topic. So. Right. Thank you. Thank you so much. Um, so where can people pick up this book or find you and reach out to you where all of that funds? 

Dr. Bryana: You just hop on over to my website. It's Brianna gregory.com and you go under the book tab. You can see right there, you can just purchase it very easily from the website and you'll receive a copy of it. And also I'm, I'm active on Instagram so you can catch me there at Doctor Underscore. Brianna Gregory I like to put a lot of content on there that helps people understand what new genomics is, the different types of symptoms that we're addressing with it, and also the outcomes that we see, the wonderful outcomes that we see that are truly life changing and transforming for people. So my website and Instagram are the best places to get Ahold of me. But please do not hesitate to pick up a copy of the book if you feel like you've hit a wall in your health. Because I truly feel like this book was written for you. If that's how you're feeling, because I know so many people are. 

Elizabeth: Yeah, well, I'm definitely going to pick it up and I'll link everything that you just mentioned in the show notes. One click right there. Easy peasy. So thank you again for being on here. And hopefully, you know things change for the better and in the near future. I'm very hopeful. I have this optimistic view. So that's that's what I hope for. That's why we're here, right? We're at paradigm shift so that we can shift our wellness together. But thank you again, Elizabeth, and I really appreciate you and, um, look forward to seeing what you're doing to thank you and to my audience. You are worth it. Have a good on