Genotype-based Diet and Fitness Plans Enable 19YO boy Recovers from Ligament Injury; Trains for Professional Football in Europe

When 19-year-old Sumer Singh landed on his feet during a football match, little did he know that his injury can out his dream of becoming a footballer at stake? He suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, his performance began to decline and he also started to put on weight which caused recurrent injuries. However, once he took predictive genetic testing, the causes started to unravel.

Sumer Singh’s genetic report found him to be lactose-intolerant, his metabolism for certain vitamins (D, E, B6, B9, B12, C) and iron was poor, so was his response to saturated fats (cream, butter, whole milk products, etc.) and monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA)-rich food (nuts, olive oil, sunflower oil, etc.). Sumer’s lactate threshold (the maximal effort or intensity that an athlete can maintain for an extended period of time with little or no increase in lactate in the blood which indicates less amount of oxygen in blood) needed improvement through exercises but his muscle strength was poor – he had a high tendency to muscle and ligament injuries.

“We utilised concepts of nutrigenomics and fitness genomics to find out the problem areas and suggest probable remedies. Based on the report, he has suggested a diet and fitness plan to strike a balance between his intolerances and requirements. Since his metabolism for some vitamins and iron was poor, a correlation with the serum levels was done and he was advised to increase his iron intake by consuming more green leafy vegetables rich in iron. Similarly, instead of butter, ghee, vanaspati oil, and coconut oil, Sumer was suggested oils rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). The activities that he should undertake were also carefully designed to strengthen his muscles without injuring them – his coach planned special exercises to improve the strengthening of hamstrings and quadriceps. He followed a genotype-specific diet and fitness plan which yielded tremendous results – Sumer gained more muscle mass, felt more fit and energetic, and maintain the right weight in about 4 months. Today, he is training for professional football in Europe and we hope he will continue to grow as a professional,” says Pranav Anam, Founder, The Gene Box.

Typically, risk parameters defined in a genomics report are explained as well refers to strength areas, typically refers to the normal incidence in the population, and poor refers to the person’s areas of improvement with appropriate interventions. The time required for an individual’s response to the diet and fitness plans varies and depends on the individual’s genomics.

Explaining the niche concepts applied to examine Sumer Singh’s case, Mr Anam says, “Nutrigenomics is the science that studies the correlation between food and genetics and has paved the way for meaningful personalization for faster adoption of nutrition services. It explains why one type of diet may not yield similar, fruitful results for all. On the other hand, fitness genomics examines endurance and power capacity of your body, your response to exercises and diet, flexibility, muscle building and risk of injury – the main parameters – which decide your potential to be benefitted by a sport or a fitness activity. For example, someone who has a high risk for muscle injury may get a tennis elbow or similar repetitive strain injury (RSI) and should take adequate precautions, while someone with high injury risk for ACL should do proper stretching and wear protective gear. Sumer Singh was advised high-intensity interval training (HIIT), sprint training, and lactate stacker exercise to increase the intensity of effort without disrupting the supply of oxygen in his body.”