Sonia Azad and WFAA , WFAA 6:16 PM. EDT May 11, 2017

Most of us at some point in our lives have tried something to lose weight. So we can relate to Monica Fair.

Ive always had this 12 to 15 pounds that I couldn't get rid of," said Fair, 47, who has experimented with trendy exercise programs and fad diets to no avail.

I never could lose the weight, said Fair. As a matter of fact, I would gain muscle which would push the fat out and make me look bigger."

It turns out the answer may be on the inside.

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"We're looking at genes that are responsible for your body composition, said Kurt Johnsen, co-founder of a Dallas-based company called Simplified Genetics.

Hes a Kung Fu master, founder of American Power Yoga, and overall a pretty fit guy with a passion for helping others get healthy, too.

I'm not a doctor, I'm not a scientist, said Johnsen, who sat down with WFAA at Plum Yoga, along Dallas popular stretch of Lower Greenville.I want to make sure what we do makes a difference."

Since 2012, Johnsen says his company has tested the DNA of 11,000 people, analyzing genes to match you with the best type of workout, diet, and vitamins for your body.

This is the most revolutionary thing I have seen in over 35 years," said Leisa Hart, the blonde bombshell behindBuns of Steel. Now shes 49, a mom, and still a beautiful fitness trainer.

This is my job! I'm in good shape, said Hart, admitting that there is a side of her that the public didn't see.

Working out that often and that intensely -- my face would be red, my head pounding. I would have to take a nap many times throughout the week, she recalled. That was my body screaming at me saying -- please just slow down! You're not supposed to work out that hard that often."

Then Hart got genetic testing, which is really just a simple cheek swab. The swab is sent to a lab in Louisiana where your DNA is extracted and prepared for analysis. Results are put through algorithms that generate specific recommendations for you.

I found out that when I was working out intensely, I was working out at much too high of a heart rate and I was working out for too long of a duration, said Hart.

Based on her results, she actually needed to do less.

To the eye, 53-year-old Rosanne Lewis is similar to Hart. But her genetic makeup is completely different.

I stopped eating all this bread because I thought it wasn't very good for me. I started having nuts instead or I would eat cheese -- things I thought were healthier-- and I gained four pounds."

Lewis results showed she can get away with mostly low intensity exercise. But this type of DNA analysis goes deeper: identifying your idea diet. The bread-lover, Lewis, is more sensitive to fats than carbohydrates, meaning she can eat her bread and do yoga in peace.

I know now for the rest of my life what I'm supposed to do, said Lewis.

With people putting a lot of stock -- and money -- into these tests, we wanted to get a doctors take on them.

This is the start, at the very least, of something very interesting, said Dr. Leslie Cler, chief medical officer of Methodist Dallas Medical Center.

Dr. Cler told WFAA that this type of genetics testing has been on the market -- offered directly to consumers -- for a decade, but still is in its infancy.

Further, according to Cler, while different companies may get you the same results, their recommendations are open to interpretation.

I don't think these tests are recommending anything dangerous to the patients -- not at all, said Cler. But as a doctor, if you came to see me and you said, I heard about this test, if I get it do you think that I'd be likely to lose weight? The answer is -- I don't know."

Fair enough. But losing weight isn't always the goal. Remember Hart -- who scaled back on her workouts since getting her results?

I feel so much better, said Hart. I feel like I could actually do more but I don't have to.

Then theres Fair, who went from a size 10 to a size 6 after putting her results to use. She added fish to her vegetarian diet, and now incorporates a blend of low-and-high intensity workouts.

It was life-changing to be able to actually get to my goal," Fair said.

But what works for Fair wont work for everyone. Makes perfect sense if it boils down to DNA.

On Tuesday morning Sonia Azad, Ron Corning, and Alexa Conomos got their tests back -- see their results below!

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Medical Study 1 by wfaachannel8 on Scribd

Medical Study 2 by wfaachannel8 on Scribd

2017 WFAA-TV

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DNA Test Tells You Which Workout, Diet Is Perfect For You - WFMY News 2

People turn to plant-based diets for different reasons. Stephen Chernin / Getty Images

The exact percentage of children who are raised on a vegan diet is uncertain.

Some estimates claim as many as one in 40 adults are vegan. This means that they are very likely, but not absolutely certain, to use a vegan diet in their homes to feed all family members. The interest in going vegan has increased sharply over the past decade.

There are numerous reasons why more people are opting to follow a strict vegan diet: some are motivated only by health reasons,while others believe that the environmental impact of raising animals is unsustainable. The argument has been made that if the choice is between driving an electrically powered car and being vegan, then being vegan will have a greater impact.

On the Good Food Institutes website (www.gfi.org) there are numerous resources about alternatives to meat-based nutrition. The founder of GFI, is the highly respected and influential Bruce Friedrich, a man who has devoted his life to reforming animal agriculture and innovating the future of food and food systems. (I had the opportunity to hear Friedrich being interviewed on a recent Rich Roll podcast and for those interested in the future innovation of remaking meat, this podcast is worth listening to)

Not all scientists are excited about the safety of vegan diets forchildren. In a Slate article written in 2016, Melinda Wenner Moyer questioned whether kids can actually get the nutrients they need on a vegan diet.

Moyer raised concerns about low Vitamin B12 levels, which if present before age six, can lead to cognitive problems during the teenage years. She questioned if children raised on a vegan diet will be shorter and pointed out that veganism leads to low iron which can cause long-term neurological handicaps. Moyer raised the issue of vegan kids getting too much fibre and not enough fat; explained that vegan-raised children are at risk for lower calcium levels due to plant-based foods being high in oxalates which inhibit calcium absorption and finally found it disturbing that plant-based foods, according to some critics, provide less essential amino acids than animal-based foods.

In a methodical rebuttal (www.theveganrd.com/2016/04/vegan-diets-are-safe-for-children.html) a dietitian experienced in help families raise children on a vegan diet was able to put all the concerns raised by Moyers to rest, by using more recent scientific studies.

The main theme throughout these debates is that much of the research questioning the safety of vegan diets in children date back to the mid- to late 1980s. The article suggesting that vegan kids were shorter actually referred to the toddler stage and conveniently forgot to add that by the high school years the differences were insignificant.

Dr. Reed Mangels, a registered dieticianwith a PhD, and one of the worlds top experts in raising children vegan, has written numerous books on the topic. Mangels blogs regularly on http://www.onegreenplanet.org  and serves as an adviser to the Vegetarian Resource Group (www.vrg.org) She has written extensively on how to feed vegan infants, toddlers, vegan children and vegan teens, and many vegan families consider her to be one of the best resources on this topic.

One of North Americas top advocates for plant-based nutrition is Dr. Neal Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (www.pcrm.org). This organization is well known for advocating for healthier school lunches and keeping government accountable at least in the United States. Barnard is also the author of numerous books on the vegan lifestyle and his latest book, The Cheese Trap, is touted as helpingreaders break their cheese addiction without giving up their favourite foods.

Over the past 30 years of caring for children and youth, I have noticed a definite trend in that a minority of families are doing their due diligence when it comes to their nutritional habits. These parents never complain that being vegan is too difficult or expensive.

Although their motive may be to do their part for reducing the carbon footprints caused by consuming animal products, the main motive remains a healthier lifestyle; a quest to reduce obesity, hypertension, diabetes and cancer and a desire to save the health-care system additional dollars. As a result, a vegan diet has become less of an elitist diet. It may however take many more decades before it becomes mainstream.

Unfortunately, many medical schools continue to graduate doctors who have had very little training in the benefits of plant-based nutrition. The good news however is that regardless of this fact, many families and registered dietitianshave competently taken things in their own hands by promoting and explaining the benefits of a vegan diet starting safely at a young age.

Dr. Peter Nieman is a community-based pediatrician. He is a bi-weekly contributor to CTV Morning Live and the author of Moving Forward, a book intended to help others make consistent choices. He blogs at http://www.drnieman.com.

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Dr. Peter Nieman: Number of families turning to vegan diets continues to grow - Calgary Herald

Charlotte Observer

How diet made Ardrey Kell High baseball player an even bigger hit with Knights Charlotte Observer Brantley is hitting .410 with two home runs, eight doubles, two triples and 20 RBIs. He's safely stolen 19 bases in 20 attempts, setting a school record. That's partly due to an increase in speed and agility that he attributes to drinking more water ...

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How diet made Ardrey Kell High baseball player an even bigger hit with Knights - Charlotte Observer

Safe swallowing depends on the coordination of many muscles in the face, mouth and throat.

The medical name for swallowing difficulty is dysphagia. Dysphagia can occur at any stage of life, from birth through old age. Swallowing may be impaired because of prematurity or developmental difficulty; stroke or neurological disease; respiratory illness like COPD or emphysema; cancer; head injury; surgery; injury to the face, mouth or neck; weakness or incoordination from other sources; and other reasons.

A person with dysphagia may have food and liquid enter the lungs instead of the stomach, which is called aspiration. A person may aspirate without being aware of any swallowing difficulty because of impaired sensation or thinking. If dysphagia is not treated effectively, a person may either develop aspiration pneumonia, which is a serious medical condition, or become choked on food lodged in the airway.

Possible signs of dysphagia include:

Coughing, choking or strangling while eating, drinking or taking medicine.

Wet voice quality or chest congestion after eating or drinking.

Pneumonia, breathing difficulty, chest pain or rattling in the lungs.

Spitting food out of the mouth or pushing the tongue out of the mouth.

More trouble chewing or swallowing than usual.

Food sticking in the mouth or throat after meals.

Food coming back through the nose or mouth.

Not being able to swallow saliva or drooling.

Decreased intake of food or liquid; unexplained weight loss, malnutrition or dehydration.

Becoming more tired or short of breath while eating.

Taking a long time to finish a meal or giving up part way through.

When a person has signs of dysphagia, a physician may order an evaluation of swallowing ability. The medical professional who evaluates and treats dysphagia is a speech-language pathologist. A swallow evaluation may take place in an office or an X-ray department.

After being evaluated, dysphagia may be treated by strengthening muscles, compensating for weakness or changing the diet. Also, these simple guidelines may help make eating and drinking more safe:

Be fully awake and alert before eating or drinking.

Eat in a quiet, non-stressful environment with no distractions; turn off the television; do not hold a conversation while eating.

Take your time; do not rush; chew thoroughly.

Take small bites and sips.

Sit straight up any time you eat or drink; never eat while lying down.

Sit up for 20-30 minutes after eating.

If you begin to cough or strangle, stop eating or drinking until the sensation has passed; do not take a sip of liquid.

Brush your teeth and gums regularly.

There are times when a person cannot swallow any item safely or take in enough food or liquid to meet the bodys needs. If this happens, a physician may recommend an alternative feeding method, like a nasogastric or gastrostomy tube. These tubes bypass the normal swallow structures to provide food and liquid directly into the stomach. Even if one of these methods is used, a person may continue to work with the speech-language pathologist to improve swallowing abilities.

If you have signs of dysphagia, the first step to eating and drinking safely is to contact your physician and discuss your concerns.

Lisa Renfroe is a speech-language pathologist with Acute Rehabilitation at North Mississippi Medical Center.

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Swallowing difficulty is serious but treatable - Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

Professional athletes dont get to the top by accident. It takes superhuman levels of time, dedication, and focusand that includes paying attention to what they put in their bellies. In this series, GQ takes a look at what pro athletes in different sports eat on a daily basis to perform at their best. Heres a look at the daily diet of pasta-loving Olympic track star Christian Taylor.

Christian Taylor was on top of the world after winning his first gold medal in triple jump at the 2012 London Olympics. Then, knee issues put into question whether the USA Track and Field star would ever be able to jump at a competitive level again. But instead of just hanging up his spikes, Taylor and his coach devised a plan: No more pasta. No more pizza. No more carbs, which were causing inflammation in his joints. That change, combined with a new jumping pattern, allowed Taylor to go on and win a second gold medal in Rio. We caught up with the gravity-defying champ while training in the Netherlands to discuss how his new diet reinvigorated his career and why so many Olympians love McDonalds.

GQ: Youve now won back-to-back gold medals at the Olympics. Is there a celebratory meal that has become a ritual for you?

Christian Taylor: Its pretty cool to be able to have that conversation. [Laughs] In 2012 I went to a burger place with my parents and I just had a regular cheeseburger with avocados, bacon, literally the works. In Brazil, I just had a rack of ribs and some fries. Nothing in particular, but its that point where youre no longer eating to eat. You can finally enjoy food and not feel guilty about things. I actually was eating McFlurries before the London Olympics, though.

McFlurries from McDonalds? Seriously?

It was my first Olympics. I was so nervous that I actually was having a lot of McFlurries while I was in the Olympic Village. Going into the London games I was so strict on my diet and watching all of my calories and everything that I just had to find something that would help ground me a little bit. So I figured maybe a little ice cream here and there would calm my nerves down and make me feel regular again, because I was so strict going in.

Ive actually heard before that there is always a McDonalds in the Olympic Village, but I just assumed no Olympic athlete would be touching that stuff after working so hard to get to this point. Are you guys really chowing down on McDonalds?

Oh, yeah! McDonalds is probably the most popular food source at the Village. Especially in Brazil. The food was a little different and so I think people wanted to play it safe. Also in Beijing, I was hearing so much about McDonalds. McDonalds is probably the hardest line to get into because everyone is eating there.

Thats insane. In your experience between London and Rio, how was the food aside from the McDonalds at the Olympic Village? Did you typically get all your food from right there, or were you able to explore off-site and experience some of the local establishments? Or maybe you just bring a ton of your own food in?

Both London and Rio had the cafeteria setup where you can go and get almost everything. Theres pizza stations and carb loads, meat loads, things like that. Ive grown fond ofin London and in Brazil it was almost like an outdoor grill setting where you could get grilled chicken, grilled fish, even shrimp. But in London especially I was exploring a lot. The Tube is super easy to get the hang of and everyone speaks English. I would just go around and say, Hey, what would you recommend around here? Everyone would have the best spot. So in London I was exploring a lot. Brazil, with the safety issues I was a little I just wanted to play it safe and didnt explore so much. And when I did, I was going to the Nike hospitality or the USA house, places like that.

I think most people often forget that track and field athletes are competing in different championship events all year long, and its not just the Olympics every four years. But does your diet change at all once you have the Olympics approaching?

For me, its all about consistency. Im very mindful of the things that I am putting into my body. My coach is really big on lowering the carb intake because I have bad knees and bad joints. The carbs really sit and cause a lot of inflammation in my joints. So focusing my diet on getting meats, vegetables, and fruits is really important. Dont get me wrong, I do have my cheat days. After a hard Saturday workout, say it was a really solid week, Im going to have a slice of cake. Im going to have something to reward myself. But I cant say that my diet would change in an Olympic year as opposed to the year after or the year before. The only real difference would be the week or two weeks before where Im going crazy mentally with stress or anticipation and I say, Let me have an ice cream to bring me back down.

Between the London and Rio games, you started dealing with some knee issues and ultimately ended up completely reversing your jumping pattern. Were there any dietary changes that coincided with the leg switch?

Actually, that was the point when I found out that the carbs were interfering with my total recovery. When I say I love carbs, I love pizza. I love pasta. I love sandwiches. They fill me up and I prefer that over eating chicken and fish and things like that. But when I was eating so much of that, I couldnt recover as well. Thats when we found out that my joints were becoming so inflamed that if I jumped on a Monday, I couldnt jump again until Friday because my knee would swell up or my ankle would swell up. Thats when my coach said, Let's try to alter your diet a little bit and see what response we get. He saw me eating at lunch a big plate of pasta. At dinner I would have a ton of fries and maybe a steak or something like that. He said instead of having the pasta, maybe we could do a salad. Instead of having the fries, maybe we could do asparagus or a zucchini mix or something like that. And that ended up being way better for me. When I was jumping on a Monday, by Wednesday I was ready to go again. I was definitely missing the pasta and stuff, but I told myself that if Im going to compete at a high leveland now with changing legs I was given this second chancehow am I going to make the best out of this? If thats the biggest sacrifice I have to make, Im willing to do it.

"I find the prettier the dinner can be, the more colors that are involved, the better it can be."

Take me through your day-to-day diet. Are you a lunch/breakfast/dinner kind of guy, or do you prescribe to another method?

On a typical training day, for breakfast I would have two eggs with spinach. It doesnt matter how I do it. Some days scrambled, some days over easy, others an omelet. I love avocado so I try to incorporate avocado in three to four meals out of the day. Some fruits. Bananas, pears, apples. Something thats not too heavy but can also fill me up for the two hours of training I have. Then between my running and jumping session I have an hour to and hour-and-a-half before my weight session. Thats when I would have a protein shake and lunch. Lunch would consist usually of a salad with some kind of meat or eggs. If I know I have a bigger lifting session afterwards I would usually have chicken, beef, or lamb. I always try to get a little protein in there but the salad keeps it light. Again, Ill have fruit in my salad. Some strawberries, peaches, mangoes, pineapples. Some sunflower seeds. I love feta cheese, so I throw some feta cheese in there. After weights I usually have a protein bar and banana. Just something to get me over the hump between lunch and dinner. Plus Ill try to load up on water, trying to replace all the water that Ive lost throughout the day.

With dinner, its very important to keep in mind whatever the session I have the next day. If I were having a lot of running the next day then I would usually have fish or chicken. Something that could break down a little quicker, versus if I know that I have a slower tempo day or something thats not so intense. Then I would have some kind of steak or lamb again, because I dont need to feel super light the next day. Then just a ton of vegetables, tomatoes, cucumbers. I try to get some color. I find the prettier the dinner can be, the more colors that are involved, the better it can be.

Youve already mentioned your love for ice cream. Are you ever indulging in some dessert?

My dessert would be some fruit. Pineapple is usually very sweet. Coconut, things like that are usually my dessert.

Youre currently training in the Netherlands. You lived in London. Youve lived in the States. Youve travelled all over the world competing. You seem like a good person to askwhere is the best place in the world to get food?

I would have to say Barcelona, hands down. I mean, they love seafood. It just seems so fresh. And the spices! No matter what kind of mood Im in, Ive had really good experiences there. Whether its the lobster, whether its the prawns. I was there two weeks ago and I was just in heaven. Barcelona, Spain would be my number one choice. Second would be Tokyo.

When you have an event in those cities does it make it that much harder to stick to your diet?

Absolutely. When you know its right outside the hotel or right outside the Village, you can always find an excuse to go and enjoy yourself. The good thing is when Im wearing the USA gear it does remind me what Im there for. This is not a holiday. This is work.

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The Real-Life Diet of Christian Taylor, Who Ditched Carbs and Feels Fantastic - GQ Magazine