Encoded to Thrive: Why Your Genes May Be Crying Out for an Animal-Based Diet

Maybe you’ve been told your genes are working against you.

You have the MTHFR mutation. Your detox pathways are impaired. You’re sensitive to saturated fat. You need to eat more fiber, more plants, more “diversity” to make up for your so-called genetic shortcomings.

But what if that’s not the full story?

What if the very foods you’ve been avoiding—the ones deemed too rich, too ancestral, too “old-fashioned”—are the key to healing the code that makes you who you are?

Welcome to a new lens on nutrition. One where your genes aren’t your destiny… but a whisper from your past, asking you to remember what you were built for.

Genes and Diet: The New Science of Epigenetics—and Why Food is the Message

Your genes are not set in stone. They’re more like dimmer switches than light switches—constantly influenced by your environment, emotions, toxins… and most powerfully, your nutrition.

This is the science of epigenetics: how your choices turn genes “on” or “off,” express or suppress their function, and shape the way your body repairs, detoxifies, heals, and regenerates.

And this is where food becomes more than fuel. It becomes a signal—a molecular conversation with your DNA.

Certain foods are especially rich in these epigenetic signals. And guess what? Many of them come from animals.

Animal Foods and the Methylation Machinery

Let’s start with methylation—the biochemical “light switch” behind gene regulation, detoxification, and neurotransmitter balance.

To methylate properly, your body needs:

• Folate (in the active form: methylfolate)
• Vitamin B12 (methylcobalamin)
• Choline, betaine, zinc, glycine, and magnesium

Where do these nutrients come from? Not kale. Not quinoa. But foods like liver, egg yolks,grass-fed beef, and bone broth.

And here’s where genetics come into play:

If you have a mutation in your MTHFR gene, your body struggles to convert folic acid (from supplements or fortified foods) into methylfolate. But liver? It’s rich in preformed methylfolate, bypassing that broken step.

If you have PEMT or BHMT polymorphisms, your choline production suffers. But eggs, liver, and beef? They flood your system with the raw materials you need to rebuild.

Your genes might be vulnerable—but nature gave you the foods to nourish those weaknesses.

Fat, APOE4, and the Truth About Saturated Fat

If you’ve been told to avoid red meat or saturated fat because of your APOE4 gene, you’re not alone. But the truth is more nuanced.

People with APOE4 variants may respond poorly to refined carbs and industrial seed oils—not grass-fed tallow or ribeye. In fact, APOE4 carriers often need more omega-3s (like DHA from fish or grass-fed dairy) to support brain health and reduce inflammation.

And while saturated fat has been unfairly blamed for everything from heart disease to insulin resistance, newer research shows that when consumed in the context of a low-toxin, nutrient-dense, ancestral diet, saturated fat is not only safe—it’s hormone-supportive and metabolically stabilizing.

Especially for women.

SNPs that Starve on Plants: When Animal Foods are Your Missing Link

Certain genetic variants make it harder to break down plant toxins—or harder to access critical nutrients from plants alone. For example:

• FUT2 mutations affect your ability to nourish beneficial gut flora (which help digest fiber and synthesize B vitamins).
• DAO mutations impair your breakdown of histamine (common in aged cheeses, but also worsened by oxalates and lectins).
• GSTT1 and NAT2 variants reduce your ability to detox plant-based antinutrients and environmental toxins.

And what about nutrients like vitamin A?

The plant form (beta-carotene) must be converted to retinol—a process impaired in up to 45% of the population. Liver and egg yolks? They provide preformed vitamin A, ready to use.

In other words, your genes may not be broken. They may simply be asking for better starting materials.

Collagen, Glycine, and the “Yin” of Your Protein Intake

If you eat muscle meat but skip the skin, bones, or connective tissue, you may be disrupting your body’s delicate amino acid balance.

Collagen-rich cuts (like oxtail, skin-on chicken, or bone broth) provide glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline—amino acids that support:

• DNA repair
• Glutathione production (your master antioxidant)
• Detoxification
• Sleep and calm (via glycine’s effect on the nervous system)

If you have SOD2, COMT, or CBS mutations, your oxidative stress levels may be higher. Collagen helps buffer that stress—nutritionally.

And again, the body speaks: nose-to-tail nutrition mirrors our biology. We need more than steak.

Ancestral Wisdom, Genomic Precision

Your DNA is old. Very old. And it expects inputs that resemble the world it evolved in.

That means:

• Real animal fat, not canola oil
• Collagen and marrow, not protein bars
• Minerals and fat-soluble vitamins from organ meats and yolks, not fortified cereals
• Healing signals, not constant inflammation from hard-to-digest modern “health foods”

For many, going plant-heavy and fat-light may be masking symptoms instead of addressing root causes.

And for those with autoimmunity, anxiety, infertility, histamine issues, or chronic gut problems, going animal-based—even temporarily—can reveal which genes need support, and which foods provide it best.

Nourish the Code: A Gentle Invitation

You don’t need to be a carnivore to benefit from animal foods.

You just need to listen. To the fatigue that follows a “light” vegan meal. To the brain fog that creeps in with high-oxalate greens. To the way your skin glows after a week of eating liver, broth, and butter.

This isn’t about dogma. It’s about decoding your needs.

So if you’ve ever wondered why “healthy” isn’t working for you… if you’ve felt frustrated by diagnoses, labels, or genetic tests… maybe it’s time to try something older.

Something simpler.

Something encoded in you all along.

References

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2. Canfora, E. E., Jocken, J. W. E., & Blaak, E. E. (2015). Short-chain fatty acids in control of body weight and insulin sensitivity. Nature Reviews Endocrinology, 11(10), 577–591.
3. Whigham, L. D., Watras, A. C., & Schoeller, D. A. (2007). Efficacy of conjugated linoleic acid for reducing fat mass: a meta-analysis in humans. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 85(5), 1203–1211.
4. Tanaka, T., et al. (2009). Genome-wide association study of vitamin B6, vitamin B12, folate, and homocysteine blood concentrations. American Journal of Human Genetics, 84(4), 477–482.
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