What you can learn: In life, gender, place of birth or your age often do not decide. Sometimes it is your genetic potential that you inherit and also the taste with which you want to develop it that decides. We may not meet genetically GENIUS people every day, but when we do, they always leave some mark on the world. They are people who inspire others with their passion and what they believe in and what they do. We bring you an interview with one of them.

Lenka Cermanová is a chemist with a passion for nutrigenomics and the gut microbiome. She is a successful businesswoman who is determined to change the world. Today. Because as she likes to say: "She doesn't have time to waste time". In her thirties, she is a co-owner of the company Symptomedica, which operates a clinic focusing on the diagnosis of the intestinal microbiome, which plays an important role in the prevention of civilization diseases. Together with his team, he helps people discover the causes of their difficulties and thus change their lives for the better.

I believe that everyone who looks at your photo in this interview will wonder why? Why didn't you go, for example, to Milan or Paris after high school and become a model, but you are here helping people to change their destiny and the most important thing we have - health?

Thank you for the nice compliment. However, I never thought about this. Rather, I ask myself why I didn't go to medicine, but ended up at the faculty of chemistry and food.

So when and how did the idea of changing the world arise in the head of a young and ambitious girl?

It started during college, when I came across WHO data on the number of people suffering from civilization diseases. It was somewhere between 30-40% of the world population and it was taking on epidemiological proportions. At the same time, many diseases of civilization can be successfully prevented and the risk of their occurrence can be reduced by conscious action. I also became interested in the data of the Slovak Statistical Office. They were similarly menacing. Today we have an epidemic of civilizational diseases.

And this was the stimulus that made you choose your professional path?

Actually yes, my path led through dietetics and nutrition to the gut microbiome and from the microbiome to nutrigenomics.

It started with an effort to improve my health. In my case, it was dermatitis and digestive problems caused by hypersensitivity to certain foods, which were not resolved despite long-term care and regular visits to a gastroenterologist and dermatologist. Likewise, their essence was not revealed. At the same time, I noticed that my problem is not unique at all. On the contrary, I found out that a huge group of people are facing similar problems. However, they did not have enough information, knowledge, experience and even the possibilities to help themselves. That's why I constantly self-educated. I graduated certified

course in dietetics, for 1.5 years. I studied chemistry and food technology in the Czech Republic, worked in an outpatient clinic for metabolic and metabolic disorders to gain the necessary experience and finally opened my own medical facility - an outpatient clinic for the support and treatment of civilization diseases.

I believe that everyone who has the opportunity to contribute their little bit to changing the world should definitely do so. For ourselves, for those we care about, but also for the rest. After all, we are part of one whole.

In the beginning, I mentioned that your goal is to change the world. Tell us, do you think it's difficult at this time?

Yes it is. It's slow, gradual, and it's largely about the mindset of people.

I would very much like to, for example, change or positively influence the thinking of doctors. It would help to improve the quality of services and open up new possibilities for treatment and diagnostic methods. At the same time, it would be great if the clients themselves would perceive the benefits of preventive action as opposed to the treatment of a disease that lowers the quality and unpleasantness of their everyday life.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

I am happy to know that through new procedures and new findings, it is possible to lend a helping hand to patients who could not or did not know how to help some time ago. For example, if they suffer from long-term non-specific indigestion.

I enjoy making connections and discovering connections. Consult with various experts, consult scientific articles and use modern diagnostics, which results in personalized, targeted and, it turns out, very effective treatment. There is probably no greater motivation than seeing the results of your efforts behind you.

And I am also very pleased that more and more emphasis is placed on the prevention and prevention of disease as such, as it is important for long-term sustainable health, but also from the point of view of the economic burden on society.

What about your specialty? Intestinal microbiome and its relationship with various civilizational diseases. What do we already know about it at the moment and what are the prerequisites for clinical monitoring in the future?

Microbes living in our intestines play a very important role in maintaining the overall health of a person. They affect our mental health, digestion and immunity. This is proven by several scientific studies, in which a direct connection between the microbiome and obesity, diabetes, depression, fatigue, allergies, digestive problems and autism has been demonstrated.

The bacteria in our gut communicate with us. We react to stress by twisting or spilling the bowels, to heavy or contaminated food by persistent diarrhea and to a lack of fiber in the diet by constipation. They remember very well and write down all our excesses, such as consumption of addictive substances, use of antibiotics, unbalanced diet. Well, based on these changes, we can predict the disease or reveal the essence of persistent difficulties. These changes are revealed by the aforementioned gut microbiome analysis.

There is still much that we do not know about the amount, function and mutual relationships of the bacteria hidden in our intestines, but the study of the microbiome is currently the most interesting area of science

and it is being given enormous attention by top experts in various countries, in the short future I foresee further, very central and authoritative revelations.

Can you detach yourself and not experience with clients their problems?

No, almost not at all. I have a high emotional quotient, which means I am strongly empathetic.

On the positive side, I have a great understanding of human nature, which allows me to respond early to other people's problems and concerns and help them. But the negative side is that I am often very sad because of other people. I am troubled by people suffering from severe and incurable diseases. So-called "I take them home with me". Which is not right or good. That is also why I founded Symptomedica. Firstly, so that they have someone to turn to, because many have their health in their own hands, and secondly, so that I am not in direct contact with the cases, but indirectly, through our experts. They are top doctors who have already encountered all sorts of things during their practice and know how to help empathically, but despite this, they do not take home a "bag of problems" from the clinic.

When I was younger, I considered high EQ to be a complete curse. But today I know that it has its advantages. It allows me to build relationships more easily, communicate honestly and gain the trust of other people, for example, people in the team, more quickly.

Research even shows that there is a strong link between emotional quotient and life or career success, so I hope I'm on the right track.

What advice would you give to those who hesitate to look inside themselves, learn about their genetic predispositions or reveal the causes of their problems?

Let them not hesitate.

First, ignorance does not protect us from what is already happening in the body, or can happen. It is better to know, to have it in your hands and to reduce the risk of developing a disease, or to effectively prevent it.

Second, that they really have nothing to fear. Genes predispose us, but they are not something like "irreversible fate". Vice versa. The goal of nutrigenomics, or nutritional genetic analyses, is to find out what is written in our genes, i.e. what we inherited from our parents, so that we can play the best game with these so-called "dealt cards", and optimally come out as a winner. Gene expression is highly dependent on bioactive substances in food. This means that the composition of our diet is to a large extent responsible for whether individual inherited genetic predispositions manifest themselves. Genetics really isn't the final verdict. Even a client who has a genetic risk of being overweight, poor lactose metabolism, a tendency to develop inflammation, or is an endurance type, but he wants to do strength sports, does not have to fall into sadness. He still has the opportunity to influence it, but he will have to make a greater effort to do so, for example compared to his brother, colleague or anyone else. But the amazing thing is that he has this knowledge and can work with it.

Genetic analyzes as routine tests? Is it the music of the future or is it possible now?

Exactly 20 years ago, in 2000, scientists managed to map and identify the entire human genome for the first time. It was a huge advance in the field of genetics, but I dare say that even

the beginning of a new era for medicine. This success is extremely important for the process of developing new medicines, for the personalization of medicine, but also for other aspects of health care.

Medicine can use the knowledge of genetics not only to predict the onset and development of the disease, but also for subsequent highly individualized therapy, which increases the probability of successful management of the disease and the elimination of possible adverse effects of therapy.

I therefore think that in the future such genetic examinations will be a routine practice. Each child receives its own (instructions for life) at birth and by the age of 2-3. year of life, when the formation of intestinal microbiota, important for our immunity, will stabilize, as well as genetic analysis of the intestinal microbiome.

What you learned: You really don't have to be afraid to reveal your genetic predispositions, just like knowing your current condition. It is the first prerequisite for successfully directing your life towards long-term sustainable health. Lenka Cermanová, together with the entire Symptomedica team, believes in the power of prevention, has no time to waste, and thus constantly educates herself in new diagnostic methods and approaches in order to provide clients together as a team with a perfect, personalized approach to solving their problems. The analysis is an addition to the puzzle of preventive tests that can help people understand their bodies in more detail and direct their lives towards health. Because personalized medicine is not the music of the future. It's here, you just have to use it to the fullest.

We thank Lenka for the interview and keep our fingers crossed for her dreams and plans.