Informed by DNA Health, DNA Mind, DNA Sport, DNA Diet and Zinzino BalanceTests (2020, 2021)
Version 9 · 18 September 2026 · next review after a fresh BalanceTest and bloods
Prepared for Kevin by Matt O'Connor · strengthandwellness.ca
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Your two tests, both taken without any omega-3 supplement, are among the lowest readings this test produces: 1.1% and then 1.8%. EPA is the gap. These are five years old, so a fresh test is the first step.
Goal: 8%+ is the green. Fish three times a week and the oil every day. A fresh test now shows where you're starting from.
Your June 2021 result. EPA + DHA as a share of the fatty acids in whole blood, on Zinzino's scale. Zinzino's target is 8% or more. This isn't the same ruler as the red-cell Omega-3 Index quoted in heart studies, so compare it only with your own earlier tests.
Goal: under 9:1, heading for the green. This moves as EPA rises; nothing else needs to change.
Your June 2021 result; 22.9 : 1 the year before. AA feeds inflammatory signalling and EPA damps it. Your AA was normal to low, so the ratio is high only because EPA is so short. Zinzino's report calls this number your "Omega-6:3 Balance".
Both early tests were taken with no omega-3 supplement, around the time of your severe COVID. Both are Zinzino's, so they're on one ruler, and the next one will be too.
| Marker | May 2020 | Jun 2021 | Target | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composite | ||||
| EPA + DHA | 1.1% | 1.8% | ≥ 8% | Up a little between tests. Still in the lowest band. |
| AA : EPA | 22.9 : 1 | 12.8 : 1 | ≤ 9 working | High because EPA is tiny, not because AA is high. Zinzino's own 3:1 target comes from its product database, not outcome trials. |
| Membrane fluidity | 37.1 : 1 | 23.1 : 1 | < 4 (Zinzino) | Saturates ÷ EPA+DHA. Falls as omega-3 rises. |
| Omega-3 | ||||
| EPA (20:5n3) | 0.31% | 0.39% | 4.14% | −91%. The deficit. |
| DHA (22:6n3) | 0.83% | 1.37% | 4.76% | −71%. Moved more than EPA did. |
| DPA (22:5n3) | 0.66% | 0.92% | 2.11% | Follows EPA up. |
| ALA (18:3n3) | 0.24% | 0.22% | 0.53% | Plant omega-3. Low, but not what fixes this. |
| Omega-6 | ||||
| Linoleic (18:2n6) | 19.60% | 19.10% | 19.98% | On target. You weren't overeating omega-6. |
| Arachidonic (20:4n6) | 7.10% | 5.00% | 6.5–9.5% | In range, then below it. AA isn't the problem and doesn't need pushing down. |
| GLA / DGLA | 0.63 / 1.80% | 0.20 / 1.19% | 0.17 / 1.05% | Settled between tests. |
| Omega-9 and saturated | ||||
| Oleic (18:1n9) | 26.50% | 31.00% | 22.02% | High and rising. When omega-3 is scarce, oleic fills the space. Expect it to ease as EPA+DHA come up. |
| Palmitic (16:0) | 28.10% | 26.60% | 23.96% | Above target. Mostly made by the body from carbohydrate, so your low-density-carb eating works in the right direction here. |
| Stearic (18:0) | 14.20% | 14.00% | 13.10% | Fine. |
red = well below target · amber = off target · green = within about 10%. Per-fatty-acid targets are Zinzino's.
Nearly all the EPA and DHA in your body arrived as fish or fish oil. Plant omega-3 from flax, chia or walnuts converts poorly even in good converters like you (FADS1 GG), so results like yours almost always mean very little oily fish.
Cell membranes get built from whatever fats are around. When omega-3 is scarce, arachidonic acid and saturated fat fill the space. In your 2021 test it was oleic and palmitic acid that had filled the gap; arachidonic acid was actually on the low side.
Inflammatory tone. A stressed cell cuts fats out of its membrane and turns them into signals. Arachidonic acid gives prostaglandins and leukotrienes that turn inflammation up. EPA gives weaker versions plus resolvins, which switch it off. You carry the higher-output versions of IL-6, TNF-alpha and CRP, so the raw material matters more for you than for most.
More isn't automatically better. Omega-3s oxidise easily. The evidence supports getting to 8 to 11%. There's no case for pushing past that.
Lowers triglycerides, makes platelets slightly less sticky (the reason your dose is capped), and gets built into the vessel lining. A higher Omega-3 Index goes with fewer sudden cardiac deaths. Your CETP result leans towards lower HDL, so this is the organ system where the oil earns its place.
Trials showing less muscle soreness used 2 g a day and up, which is above your dose. Don't expect much here.
Reduces stiffness in inflammatory arthritis. There's no good evidence that it prevents tendon injury; loading sensibly does that.
DHA is the fat the brain is built from. EPA-heavy supplements at 1 to 2 g a day show a modest benefit in depression. Evidence for sharper thinking in healthy adults is thin.
Liquid fish oil (anchovy, sardine, mackerel) with early-harvest extra virgin olive oil and vitamin D3. Order here.
By body weight alone you'd be on 11 to 12.5 mL. You aren't, for two reasons. In the large fish oil trials, supplement doses above 1 g a day raised the rate of atrial fibrillation, and the effect grew with dose (strong evidence, though those trials were about new AF, not people who already have it). You're also on apixaban, and fish oil has a mild anti-platelet effect of its own.
So the oil is held at 1 g and oily fish does the rest. An omega-3 level this low is a cardiovascular risk in itself, which is why the answer isn't zero. Whether to go higher is a decision for your cardiologist, and the question is written out in Clinic.
Measure with the dosing cup, not by eye. Once a day with a meal that has some fat in it. Straight off the spoon, or stirred into yogurt or a smoothie.
Keep the open bottle in the fridge and use it within 45 days. At 6 mL a bottle runs to about 50 days, so the last few doses get discarded. It goes cloudy when cold. That's the olive oil.
About 400 IU of vitamin D3 and 2 g of olive oil. The D3 is counted in the vitamin D line above.
Same fish oil, same dose. The olive oil is Zinzino's R.E.V.O.O., a Koroneiki extra virgin with roughly 2,650 mg/kg of polyphenols against about 750 in the standard bottle. At 6 mL that's around 5.4 mg of olive polyphenols a day instead of 1.5.
Five milligrams a day is the level at which olive polyphenols are recognised to protect blood lipids from oxidation. At your dose only the Premium reaches it. About $94 a bottle against $67. BalanceOil+ Premium.
A Zinzino BalanceTest now gives a current baseline, since your last one is from 2021. Then again about four months after that. At 1 g a day plus fish, expect steady movement, not 8% by the first retest. People respond to the same dose differently, sometimes by a factor of two, so the retest is what guides the dose conversation with your cardiologist.
The highest-risk celiac pairing, and it matches your diagnosis. Nothing new to do: strict gluten-free for life. First-degree relatives are worth screening.
Folate-rich food and riboflavin foods every day. The enzyme runs at about 30% of normal speed, and gluten-free eating skips fortified flour. After a TIA, homocysteine is a number worth having. It decides whether B vitamins join the list.
Keep saturated fat under 22 g a day. Above that, CC carriers gain weight more easily. Below it, no difference. One of the better-replicated diet–gene findings.
You convert fats efficiently, and your bloods still showed EPA at a tenth of target with arachidonic acid normal to low. Conversion isn't the bottleneck; intake is. Preformed EPA and DHA from fish and the oil.
One copy of the appetite variant. Higher protein and regular activity cancel most of its effect.
Higher soft-tissue injury risk. Progress load slowly, warm up, train tendons with slow eccentrics, and don't spike weekly volume.
No alpha-actinin-3 in your fast fibres, which fits the marathon times. Heavy eccentric work makes you sorer than average and power is slow to build. Keep the strength work anyway, at moderate loads; it's what protects muscle and bone from here.
Bsm1 and Taq1 travel together, so that's one finding, not two. With celiac disease on top, bone is a real watch-point: vitamin D daily, calcium from food (dairy works for you), resistance training, and a bone density scan if you haven't had one.
Poor conversion of beta-carotene to vitamin A. Get it preformed from eggs, dairy and oily fish. Carrots are still good for you; they just aren't your vitamin A.
A less active selenium-dependent antioxidant enzyme. Fish and eggs, plus the 66 mcg in your two multi tablets, cover it. No separate selenium capsules.
One signal reported on two rows. Stronger nicotine dependence if ever started.
| Gene | Pathway | Nutrient | Best foods | Preparation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MTHFR 677 TT, MTR AG | Folate cycle, homocysteine | Folate, riboflavin, B12 | Leafy greens, asparagus, lentils; dairy, eggs, almonds; fish | Steam or sauté greens, don't boil. Dairy daily. B12 from fish, eggs and meat. |
| APOA2 CC, PPARG CG | Fat storage response to saturated fat | Monounsaturated and omega-3 fats in place of saturated | Olive oil, avocado, nuts, oily fish | Saturated fat under 22 g a day. Olive oil as the default fat. |
| FADS1 GG | Efficient converter; measured EPA still ~90% under target | Preformed EPA + DHA | Sardines, mackerel, salmon, herring; BalanceOil+ | Fish 3× a week; oil held at 6 mL (1 g) because of AF and apixaban. Industrial oils out. |
| eNOS GT | Nitric oxide, vessel tone | Dietary nitrate | Beetroot, rocket, spinach, chard | Daily serve. No interaction with apixaban. Antibacterial mouthwash blocks the conversion, so skip it around these meals. |
| IL-6 CG, TNFA AG, CRP GG | Higher inflammatory output | Omega-3, polyphenols | Oily fish, olive oil, berries, herbs, spices | Mediterranean pattern. Body fat around the middle is the biggest driver of these markers. |
| VDR, GC | Vitamin D transport and receptor | Vitamin D3, calcium | Oily fish, eggs, dairy; D3 drops | D3 with a fatty meal. Calcium from food, 2–3 dairy serves. |
| BCO1 GT/TT | Poor β-carotene → vitamin A conversion | Preformed vitamin A | Eggs, dairy, oily fish | Ordinary food amounts. A small serve of liver once a fortnight is fine but not needed. No retinol supplements. |
| GPX1 TT, CAT CT | Antioxidant enzymes | Selenium from food | Fish, eggs | Food plus the 66 mcg in two multi tablets. No separate selenium; at 200 mcg a day trials found harm, not benefit. |
| FUT2 GA | B12 absorption | B12 | Fish, eggs, meat, dairy | Food first. A B12 level at next bloods decides anything more. |
| FTO AT | Appetite, satiety | Protein | Fish, eggs, poultry, dairy, legumes | 90–120 g a day, 30 g or more per meal. |
| TAS2R38 medium taster | Bitter perception | (adherence, not a nutrient) | Dark greens, crucifers | Roast hot with olive oil and salt, finish with lemon; or blend into soups. |
| HLA-DQ2.5/DQ2.2 | Celiac-associated genotype | (strict gluten-free) | Naturally gluten-free whole foods | Certified GF oats only. Watch sauces, stock, shared fryers and toasters. Annual tTG-IgA shows whether hidden gluten is getting in. |
| HFE clear, MCM6 TT, ALDH2 GG, CYP1A2 AA | Iron, lactose, alcohol and caffeine handling all normal | — | Red meat, dairy, coffee all fine | Nothing to restrict on these grounds. |
Sources: APOA2 and saturated fat (Corella et al., Arch Intern Med 2009); riboflavin in MTHFR 677TT (Wilson et al., Am J Clin Nutr 2012; McNulty et al., Circulation 2006); Omega-3 Index (Harris & von Schacky, Prev Med 2004); FTO and dietary protein (Zhang et al., Diabetes 2012); dietary nitrate (Kapil et al., Hypertension 2015); HLA-DQ genotype and celiac risk (Liu et al., NEJM 2014); selenium and SELECT (Lippman et al., JAMA 2009). Alcohol abstinence in AF (Voskoboinik et al., NEJM 2020); omega-3 supplements and AF (Gencer et al., Circulation 2021); fruit and vegetables in asthma (Wood et al., Am J Clin Nutr 2012).
The neutral pair. No E4.
No iron overload risk.
Detox enzymes intact. No need for NAC, glutathione or sulforaphane capsules.
No particular carbohydrate sensitivity in the genes. Your own experience with low-density carbs is better evidence than this, so keep doing what works.
Coffee clears quickly. Morning only, for sleep.
Lactose is digested normally, so dairy can carry your calcium and riboflavin.
The favourable versions for brain plasticity and stress recovery. Exercise pays you back well here.
Mitochondrial antioxidant enzyme and type I collagen both scored clear.
The middle setting for dopamine clearance. The two reports score it in opposite directions; in practice it's a balanced result.
You get more out of close relationships than most. Go to your people first when things get hard.
Alcohol and other rewards hit a bit harder. One more reason zero is easier than moderation.
Altered cannabinoid signalling. Cannabis is more likely to be habit-forming for you than for most.
Small-effect mood variants. Regular sleep and wake times are the practical answer.
The omega-3 dose question, to your cardiologist. "My last omega-3 blood test (2021) showed EPA+DHA at 1.8% against a target of 8%. I'm taking 1 g of EPA+DHA a day and eating oily fish three times a week. Given my AF and apixaban, are you comfortable with that, and would you go higher or lower?"
Homocysteine, B12 and folate. Best drawn before the multi has been going for long, so the baseline is a true one. You're MTHFR 677 TT, gluten-free for 35 years, and you've had a TIA. If homocysteine is raised, B vitamins bring it down reliably; whether that prevents a second stroke is less certain (moderate evidence, strongest in people with low folate).
CPAP data review. Ask the sleep clinic to download the machine: leftover events per hour (AHI), mask leak, hours used. Oura scores of 50–60 on treatment deserve an explanation.