Why a simple cracker holds the secret to your dream body

WE ALL know carbs can make us fat. What’s less clear is why your friend can eat pasta every day and never gain an ounce, while you only have to glance at a slice of toast to shoot up a dress size. Finally, science has caught up — it’s all in your genes. In a brilliant new book, geneticist DR SHARON MOALEM explains why we all process food differently — and reveals exactly how many carbs you should be eating...

MOST people who have lost weight by dieting struggle to keep the pounds off in the long term.

Until now, there has never been a bespoke diet created and tailored for only your unique genetic needs. But once you start eating for your genes, you’ll never want to go back to eating genetically blind again.

The most important genetic self-test is an incredibly powerful tool that will allow you to individualise your carbohydrate intake levels. The results will help you find out which one of three carbohydrate consumption categories you fall into: full, moderate or restricted.

Using this information, you can follow a diet that will help you to get to and stay at your ideal weight — painlessly.

Until recently, it was assumed that we inherited a copy of each gene, one from each parent. But it turns out some of us have a little more or less DNA than others. And the number of copies of genes you’ve inherited can have a tremendous impact on your life and health.

Many of the variations in the number of specific genes you’ve inherited were passed on as an advantage when eating certain things. That dietary advantage for the specific nutritional environment would then be passed on and maintained down a specific genetic ancestral line.

The number of certain genes you inherit plays a very important role in determining your optimal diet today. Most people have an enzyme within their saliva called amylase, which cuts big, bulky starch molecules into simple sugars, making starch molecules available for the body to use easily as energy.

Some of us have supercharged saliva that is packed full of amylase (up to 50 times more), while some people have none, making the task of breaking down carbohydrates metabolically daunting.

The more starch your ancestors ate in their daily diet over generations, the more copies of the AMY1 genes you will have inherited. It’s as simple as that.

If you come from ancestors who relied heavily on starches, such as farmers growing and consuming cereal grains, you are more likely to have been gifted with multiple copies of AMY1 which can make lots of amylase.

On the other hand, if your recent genetic ancestors were rather more into meat than potatoes, then you will have inherited fewer amylase genes.

That is why one of the biggest genetic differences between you and your best friend will likely be in the genes that are in some way involved in the foods you should or should not be eating.

Likewise, that’s why your level of amylase will not be the same as someone else’s with whom you may be sharing a meal.

eating out of sync with our genes is the reason why some people are more prone to developing obesity and diabetes than others — on a diet that is relatively high in starches and carbohydrates, people with the lowest numbers of the AMY1 gene are much more likely to be obese.

So knowing how much amylase is in your saliva can be incredibly powerful to get you eating just the right amount of carbs.

Irrespective of your carb consumption category, you should never consume more than 40 per cent of your daily energy intake from fats. In the case of ‘full’ carb consumption, your daily intake should never exceed 30 per cent.

In order to ‘restart’ your DNA, so it works for your type, try the following for a month. You may find stubborn pounds finally shift — and if you’re happy with your weight, you should experience an energy boost and improved health, too. ReMOve all soft drinks and vegetable or fruit juices from your diet.

NO SWeeTeNeRS except a maximum of two teaspoons of honey a day.

PURge all emulsifiers (found in processed foods and spreads) from your pantry and life.

eAT fermented dairy products such as yoghurt and kefir at least once a week. geT your iron levels checked if you’re post-menopausal.

LIMIT red meat to no more than two or three servings a week and ban processed meats. DRINk the juice of one lemon or two limes every day.

ADAPTED from The DNA Restart: Unlock Your Personal Genetic Code To Eat For Your Genes, Lose Weight And Reverse Aging by Dr Sharon Moalem (Rodate, £19.99).