DNA Genetics and Addiction: Why Your Mindset Matters More Than Your Genes

Introduction

A DNA health test tells you which of your genes are working well and which ones need support, so you can make food, exercise, vitamin, and medication decisions that fit your body instead of guessing. Blood work, scans, and stool tests show what is happening right now. Your DNA does not change, so you test it once and use the results for life.

In this episode, Uran Berisha sits down with Carmen Tocheniuk, an IFBB professional bodybuilder of 25 years and a founding partner of one of the first DNA sequencing companies in North America. She explains what a DNA panel actually reads, why she believes the best time to test is now, how she uses genetics in one-on-one addiction recovery, and how a highway accident at 13 built the discipline behind all of it.

What does a DNA health test actually tell you?

A DNA health test reads specific genes and reports whether each one is working well, partly, or poorly. From that, a trained practitioner can build a plan for the foods, nutrients, training style, skin care, and medication categories that may suit your body. It does not diagnose a disease. It shows where the yellow and red lights are so you can act early.

Carmen explains that a gene comes in two copies, one from each parent. If both copies are strong, the gene works well. If one copy carries a variation, the gene works partly. If both do, the gene is not doing its job and may need support through diet, supplements, or lifestyle.

Her company tests several panels:

Panel | What it looks at | What you can do with it

Health | Methylation, inflammation, immune response, detoxification, hormone regulation | Target the nutrients and habits that support weak pathways

Diet | Micronutrients, macronutrients, eating behaviour | Choose foods and vitamins that fit you instead of following trends

Fitness | Recovery, sprint and power, muscle building, heart and stroke risk, ligament and tendon strength | Build a training program that suits your body and may lower injury risk

Brain | Cognitive resilience, cortisol, mood and anxiety related genes, sleep, addictive behaviour patterns | Understand risk areas and plan support early

Skin | Skin related genes | Pick professional treatments and products that are likely to help

Pharmacogenetic | How your body may respond to different drugs | Bring the report to your doctor when medication decisions come up

Stool test (separate) | Gut bacteria and current gut health | Address what is happening in the gut right now

The stool test is the one exception to the "test once" rule. It shows the current state of your gut, so it can change. Everything else in the DNA panel is set for life.

How is a DNA test different from blood work or a scan?

Blood work, X-rays, MRIs, and stool tests measure what is happening in your body today. A DNA test measures what you were born with. Carmen's point is that current-state tests are useful, but by the time they show a problem, the problem exists. DNA lets you see which pathways are likely to struggle before they do.

As she puts it, a scan or blood test says "Houston, we have a problem." DNA testing is the chance to prevent that call. Her view is that both kinds of tests matter and that they are two different ball games.

Test | What it shows | How often | Best for

DNA test | The genes you were born with and how well each may function | Once in a lifetime | Prevention and a personalized long-term plan

Blood work | Current levels of nutrients, hormones, and markers | Repeated as needed | Tracking what is happening now

Scans and X-rays | Current structure of tissue, bone, and organs | When a problem is suspected | Finding damage that already exists

Stool test | Current gut bacteria and gut health | Can be repeated | Gut symptoms and digestion

CALLOUT (Key tip: You only do it once): Your DNA does not change. One cheek swab, mailed back, gives you results you can use for the rest of your life. Carmen says learning even one or two things about your body makes it worth it.

When should you do a DNA test?

Carmen's answer is simple: right now, at any age. She says one day old, a hundred days old, or a hundred years old, the sooner you learn your DNA the sooner you can act on it. For children, she believes it can help parents make better decisions about food and vitamins early, when growth and development are happening.

She adds that many people assume children do not need vitamins because they are young. In her view, a child with a gene that is not working well may need support for that gene so they have a better chance at learning, behaviour, and growth. That is a decision to make with a health professional, but the DNA report is what starts the conversation.

Here is what the process looks like when you test through KarmaLife:

1. Order the kit. It can be shipped through the mail anywhere in the world.
2. Swab your cheek. The sample is taken from the inside of the cheek. No blood draw, no clinic visit.
3. Mail it back. Results are generated in about two to four weeks.
4. Review the results with a practitioner. The report is not the point. The plan is. Carmen builds an actionable, affordable lifestyle plan around what the genes show.
5. Bring it to your doctor. The pharmacogenetic section is meant to start a conversation, not replace one. Uran's advice: do the test, then ask your doctor whether anything should change.

Can a DNA test show which medications suit you?

A pharmacogenetic panel looks at how your body may process and respond to different categories of drugs. Carmen uses it to show clients which medications are likely to fit them better, so they can have a more informed conversation with their prescriber. Neither Carmen nor Uran is against medication. Their point is that the right one for your body may not be the one you are on.

Carmen shares a personal example. Her mother was born with rheumatoid arthritis and was placed on a medication for it decades ago, which Carmen believes caused her mother to lose her eyesight. Her view is that if the family had known her mother's genetics at the time, a different choice might have been made.

She also says that most people who come to her for addiction support arrive on five to ten different medications, and she believes being on a medication that does not fit their genetics makes it harder for them to deal with trauma and stress.

Uran's caution for listeners is clear. Every medication has pros and cons. A client who is worried about long-term side effects can do the research, do the test, and then take the results to their doctor. Nobody should stop or change a prescription on their own.

CALLOUT (Key tip: Never change a medication on your own): A DNA report is information for your doctor, not a replacement for one. Uran's phrase is that you are the CEO of your own health. A CEO gathers the data and then works with the professionals.

Why does Carmen use DNA testing in addiction recovery?

Carmen did not set out to work in addiction. Over the years she noticed that clients who came to her retreat for health and fitness were getting healthier and losing touch with their addictive behaviour. She started collecting data on which genes showed up in those clients, and then focused on the harder question: what to do about it.

Her program is one person at a time. Clients stay at her property outside Edmonton for anywhere from one to six months. She does not run the detox phase, which she says can be dangerous, so most people arrive after detox. From there she builds a lifestyle program around their DNA results: structured meals, supplements, training, chores, and mental toughness. Psychotherapists or psychologists come to the house for the psychological side. After a client leaves, she coaches them daily for the next year.

She calls this the bodybuilding lifestyle without the stage: commitment, consistency, discipline, and a goal you cannot cheat on. In her words, bodybuilding is the one sport where you cannot blame the wind, the goalie, or the coach.

Her sister's story, which Carmen shares publicly, is her clearest example. Her sister became dependent on pain medication at 11, after being born with rheumatoid arthritis, and went through many rehab programs over the years. On Carmen's program she relapsed three times, each time after dropping the food, supplements, and training. Each time she went back on the program she stabilized. She has now been sober for years.

Carmen's read on why: addiction is not only a mental battle. When a person's body has genes that are not working well, the food, vitamins, and training may be what supports those weak points. When they stop, the body slides back.

PULL QUOTE: "There's no addict that I know that says I like being an addict. They're all saying, why am I so screwed up? Why can't I get this straight?" (Carmen Tocheniuk)

Should you get a DNA test before having kids?

Carmen believes it is critical. Both parents pass one copy of each gene to their child. If both parents carry a strong copy, the child receives a strong one. If both carry a weak copy, the child receives a weak one. A parent with one of each can pass either. Her view is that knowing this before pregnancy lets both parents support their own genes first and make more informed choices.

She also describes what she is seeing in her own practice: more children's DNA reports showing more weak variations than she saw in earlier generations. She attributes this to food, water, air, stress, and lifestyle, and says she finds it upsetting to read. This is her observation from her client base, not a published study, and it is worth keeping that in mind.

Her recommendation for anyone planning a family is to be "genetically turned on" first: healthy, active, and supporting the genes that need support, so the odds of passing a strong copy are as good as they can be.

What hurts your DNA the most?

Uran asked Carmen what does the most damage: chemicals in food, food quality, stress, or addiction. Her answer was none of the above. The biggest problem she sees is people not doing anything for their DNA at all. Not exercising, not drinking enough water, not sleeping, not eating real food.

She says many people are looking for the magic pill while skipping the basics that switch genes on. Her order of priority: sleep, proper food, proper water, and exercise. Everything else comes after.

She also warns against judging health by how you look. A person can look lean and fit while their genes are not functioning well. Even a DEXA scan, which measures body composition, does not tell you how your muscle metabolism is actually working.

CALLOUT (Key tip: Sleep, food, water, and exercise come first): Carmen's view is that simply exercising and drinking enough water can support gene function in many ways. Do the simple things before you buy anything.

Can your DNA tell you how you should train?

Yes, within limits. The fitness panel looks at recovery genes, sprint and power genes, muscle building, cardiovascular health, and ligament and tendon strength. The idea is to match your training to what your body is built for, so effort goes where it may pay off and injury risk may drop.

Uran shares his own experience. He did a DNA test around 2019. At the time he was doing long-distance cycling, 100 to 120 kilometres on weekends. He could do the distance, but for two or three days afterward he felt off. His results suggested his body was built more for strength work than for high volumes of cardio, and pointed to a gene related to clearing cardiovascular inflammation. He shifted his training toward strength. Tracking his heart data since then, he says his heart health readings now sit several years below his actual age. Results like this vary between people, but it is a good example of how one piece of information can change a whole routine.

Carmen adds a mental benefit. When a client knows their program was built for their genes, they stop second-guessing it. They buy in, because the plan is theirs and not a copy of what worked for someone else.

PULL QUOTE: "Some people are searching for answers everywhere, but the answer is actually within you. It's in your DNA already. You just have to get it read for you." (Carmen Tocheniuk)

How do you stay disciplined when motivation runs out?

Uran admitted he had been off his own exercise routine for three weeks. Carmen's answer was direct: the only thing that can change your outcome right now is your daily habits. Change one. One small change turns into two bigger things, then three. If that means a workout partner or a trainer for accountability at the start, do that.

Her personal method is to treat each day as if it might be her last, and to ask how she wants to live it. She says that works for the gym, for washing the dishes, and for building the next business. It is all a hundred percent effort, because she knows how quickly life can be gone.

She also does not wait to feel like it. Her line is that she does not wait for moods, because the work needs to get done. She believes society has become too comfortable with another day off, and that every kind of success, physical, financial, or emotional, takes work.

For people who hate the gym, she suggests finding a form of activity you enjoy, because she believes the body responds better when the mind is on board. If you dread every workout, you will stop.

CALLOUT (Key tip: Change one daily habit): Not the whole routine. One habit. Carmen says one small change is what starts the chain back to the gym.

PULL QUOTE: "I don't wait for moods to do anything. I don't care what kind of mood you're in. I just know work needs to get done." (Carmen Tocheniuk)

How did a car accident at 13 shape all of this?

When Carmen was 13, her mother was driving her from Whitecourt to Edmonton for a figure skating competition. They were in a high-speed accident on the highway. Carmen's back was broken in three places, with a compression fracture, crushed ribs, and a punctured lung. Her mother's injuries were severe enough that paramedics had Carmen say goodbye to her before she was flown out.

Lying in the ditch, about 30 minutes from the nearest ambulance, Carmen could feel one lung collapsing. Her father had trained her from a young age to control her body with her mind, using breathing exercises and visualization for figure skating and for her claustrophobia. She used that training to slow her breathing and stay calm until the ambulance arrived. She says the lung collapsed the moment help got there.

She spent a long time in a body cast, then a clamshell brace. She never saw the accident as a setback. At 13 she walked into her local gym, still in the cast. She was too young for a membership, but the owner made an exception. That community taught her everything about training and running a gym, and years later that gym became the first business she bought. Her first DNA business partner came from that same gym.

That is why her company is called KarmaLife. It has nothing to do with her name. It is about the idea that the energy you give comes back to you. She made a commitment in that ditch that if she got another chance, she would spend her life giving back.

How does DNA testing fit with treatment at Unpain Clinic?

Everything Unpain Clinic does is designed to stimulate the body to repair itself. No treatment makes an artificial change. That is why Uran sees DNA insight and regenerative treatment as partners: the DNA plan supports the foundation, and the treatment stimulates the repair. If the foundation is weak, the body has less to rebuild with.

A few examples from the conversation:

• Shockwave therapy sends acoustic energy into tissue to stimulate the body's own repair process. Uran uses it both after an injury and to optimize tissue before one, for example by addressing scar tissue and adhesions. For concussion risk, the focus is often the suboccipital region at the base of the skull, to support blood flow and fluid movement to the brain and to keep the neck muscles strong.
• NESA neuromodulation sends gentle electrical signals through the nervous system, including the vagus nerve, which may help calm a system stuck in overdrive. Carmen asked whether someone with a high genetic risk for a neurological condition could start this kind of support early. Uran's answer was yes, that is where prevention lives.
• EMTT uses magnetic pulses that may make cell membranes more permeable, so cells can exchange what they need more easily.

Uran's rule for the clinic is that he would rather see clients when they feel good than when they are in pain. Prevention is easier for the clinic, better for the client, and everyone leaves happier.

One more shared observation: both Carmen and Uran are seeing more people in their twenties with low energy, poor sleep, and sexual health concerns. Uran sees clients as young as their late twenties for erectile dysfunction, and he says that in a man it is often one of the first signs that the cardiovascular and nervous systems need attention. Carmen's response: you can feel good at any age, you just need a plan to feel good.

CALLOUT (Key tip: Fix the foundation, then stimulate the repair): Uran's words: if the DNA is off, it does not matter what we do in the body, there is not much the body is going to rebuild. Support the genes first, then let treatment do its work.

Conclusion

Carmen's whole message fits in one line she said near the end: you can feel good at any age, you just need a plan to feel good. Her plan starts with the map you were born with, adds the basics that switch genes on, and then holds you accountable to it one day at a time. Uran's part of the picture is the repair: once the foundation is supported, treatments that stimulate the body to heal itself have something to work with.

Listen to the full episode with Carmen Tocheniuk on the Unpain Clinic podcast page, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.