DNA Research and the Effect on Our Genes (Part II)
Facilitated by Rev. Patrice Joy, MA
Holy Fire Reiki II Master Instructor
From How to Reprogram Your DNA for Optimum Health by Adelle LaBree
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A new field called “Nutrigenomics” is devoted to the study of the effects of foods on genetic behavior. By analyzing how different foods interact with specific genes, researchers have confirmed that the food you eat directly influences the metabolic programming of your cells. Epigenes are the cellular layer above your genes and can be repressed or activated by your dietary habits, as well as other stress factors in your lifestyle. The epigene affects the behavioral expression of DNA codes and can activate or repress genetic mutations which cause disease. This interacts with methylation (a process to break up methyl donors that block cells from getting protein on the end of the DNA strand). These functions determine if healthy genes will be activated or suppressed.
The key to activate healthy genetic behavior is to eat fresh, unrefined, unprocessed foods free of pesticides and growth hormones. Renown biologist Dr. Lipton, author of The Biology of Belief, relates nutritionally empty, overly processed foods cause your genes to misuse metabolic actions. It is becoming common for our biological systems to respond to processed foods as if they were indigestible foreign invaders rather than food. In order to ensure protection when we eat these dietary pollutants, the body initiates an inflammatory response to what it perceives as a threat. Lipton relates that if we continue to feed our bodies mainly processed foods, the inflammatory response goes into overdrive, becoming continuous and chronic. This in turn leads to a low-grade ongoing inflammation throughout the body. The stress of chronic inflammation is now recognized as a precursor for a variety of serious aliments including arthritis, bursitis, fibromyalgia and many other serious ailments.
Researchers report that 35% of the cause of cancer is directly related to diet. Nitrates in smoked ham, bacon and luncheon meat and pesticides are the main culprits in these statistics’. A recent study showed that eating too many sugary foods can alter your genes and nearly triple your chance of dying prematurely from heart problems. Wheat, soy and corn allergies have become more prevalent as genetically modified (GMO) foods are more widely grown. It may be beneficial to try gluten free products and avoid processed complex carbohydrates such as pasta and bread made from white flour. A diet loaded with carbohydrates and sugar turns on genes linked to inflammation, but those genes stay inactive when you eat a diet containing more healthy protein and healthy fats.
Avocados, olive oil, coconut oil are some healthy oils to include. (Cooking with olive oil changes it into a saturated fat so it is important to use olive oil only for salads and uncooked seasonings). Good protein sources include cage-free organic-fed chicken, wild raised salmon fish, legumes, nuts and seeds. This diet change can offer pain relief from arthritis, bursitis and inflamed joints. A diet change to organic vegetables and hormone free, grass fed meat with some fruit can also change the health of future generations. Researchers in “Nutrigenomics” recommend eating foods with all colors of the rainbow to receive a variety of nutrients.
Ideally we know to avoid exposure to toxins in our diet and in the environment, but encountering some of these is unavoidable. Consequently detoxing regularly reduces the amount of time the toxins have to negatively impact the way our genes express themselves. One of the most effective ways to detox is by drinking several glasses of purified water daily. Eat only pure foods one day a week as a detoxing cleanse. This includes eating organic fresh fruit for breakfast and a salad with slightly cooked organic chlorophyll greens like kale and spinach with healthy oils and nuts the other two meals. The goal is to eventually phase into more and more unprocessed organic food with only a few exceptions now and then. Eat smaller portions of food for better digestive tract and colon function. Take a probiotic to improve digestion.
It has long been accepted that what the mother eats in pregnancy can affect the embryo. Other environmental factors also influence a baby and developing young child. For many years studies have tested the effect of smoking on the fetus and nursing baby. Yet in 1996, Dr. Marcus Pembrey, a prominent Geneticist at the University of London, did research on the genetic code inherited from the father. A study was run on 14,024 fathers and found that 166 had started smoking before they were twelve years old. Dr. Pembrey followed the research to include their off springs. These findings revealed that their sons showed genetic indications that they had a higher risk of obesity and other serious health issues by time they were nine years old. This supports the concept that the ancestral environment of the male line also affects future generations.
Smoking can be a tension relief with a momentous downside creating stress on all the body systems. Smoking also causes changes in your genetic code which increase the likelihood of cancer. In a British study, 23,000 gene mutations bore unmistakable signs of harm due to chemicals in cigarette smoke which affected changes in the epigenes and genetic codes. Cancer-causing phenanthrene quickly forms a toxic substance in the blood known to wreak havoc on DNA and trigger mutations that can lead to cellular breakdown. Smokers develop maximum levels of this substance within just fifteen to thirty minutes after a cigarette. These genetic alterations are passed on to every subsequent generation which creates a permanent record of the damage done unless changes are made in the lifestyle.
Scientific research is now determining that not only the foods you eat, the chemicals and viruses you contact and your physical activity affect the regulatory molecules of the behavior of DNA genetic code behavior. In addition to this, herbs are important influences in epigene behavior. Chinese Medicine and Indian’s Ayurveda Medicine are exploring the link between herbs which have been a key to their healing practices for thousands of years and epigenetics and methylation. Homeopathy and Herbology are two fields in western medicine that are also impacted by the DNA’s ability to create electromagnetic imprints with natural plant derivatives.
Several plants are instrumental in affecting epigene function. The woodland mushroom is another plant that is being used successfully. It helps regulate blood pressure and cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. It could be concluded that the nutrients in mushroom have multifunctional values including high levels of protein and B Vitamins. These contribute to the mushroom’s anticancer, anti-tumor, anti-viral, anti-bacterial and immune modulating properties.
Ginseng is an herb that changes your gene activity by strengthening your immune system, calming your nerves, stabilizing the central nervous system and protecting cognitive function. It reaches all the way to the chromatin of the cell nuclei and regulates the H3 Histone, a key epigenetic factor. Ginseng has been used as a complementary treatment for schizophrenic patients with persistent negative symptoms of neuropsychiatric and neurological issues. A scientific team at Lawson Health Research Institute at the University of Western in Ontario, Canada found that ginseng works as an epigenetic transcription modulator and targets the nuclear peroxisome proliferating receptor complex (PPAR). It contributes to cross-talk with histone and micro-RNA. This technical discovery may be of benefit to address one of the most devastating neuropsychiatric disorders (schizophrenia).
It is important to have the proper daily amount of plant derived supplements for DNA and epigenetic function. A fundamental epigenetic process involves methylation to promote positive epigenetic changes by clearing blockages to protein connections at the end of the DNA strand. According to Duke University Oncologist Dr. Randy Kirtle there are specific supplements that provide the building blocks for appropriate methylation when they are in proper balance. Author, Jon Barron, who serves on the Medical Advisory Board of the prestigious Health Sciences Institute lists specific nutrient’s known to support methylation. These are Choline, Methionine, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B6, Trimethylglycine (TMG) and
Analysis of gene expression at the study’s conclusion revealed alterations for 1040 genes related to inflammation. Studies show if your don’t have sufficient SAMe nutrients, you can begin to suffer from chronic inflammation and heart disease. Supplementing with omega3 also decreases the toxic expression of epigenes which are known to promote the formation of fatty plaque and hardening of the arteries.
Ancient techniques of healing around the world in many cultures is being researched to alter genetic behavior. One of these fields of study is the vibration of various sounds. Everything in the Universe has various levels of vibration and movement. Quantum physics has proved nothing is static. The level of energy in everything is relevant to its life force. Toning and chanting have been used by monks to align their energy and improve their health for centuries with vowels and various vibrational sounds. Energy systems have been utilizing vibrational medicine in Japan, China and India for hundreds of years with Reiki. Qigong, Acupuncture, Acupressure, TaiChi and Yoga. All these offer profound results in lowering stress and facilitating remissions of disease and chronic pain.
Tuning forks are another tool to create healing energy in a vibrational field that provides the decimals of missing sounds and increases the body’s production of nitric oxide. These vibrations directly affect genetic behavior in beneficial ways. Greek philosopher, Pythagoras believed in the “music of the sphere”. He taught that when musical instruments are tuned to Pythagorean intervals of the lyre instrument, they could be used to bring balance to all the human systems and allow a person to hear the singing rhythms of the universe. Tuning forks are the modern day lyre using the Pythagorean intervals to achieve these same effects. They have the ability to create individual sonic spaces and precise overtones. When a listener goes into this sonic space created between two intervals by sounding them together in both ears of the listener simultaneously, the resulting pulse entrains the whole body and attunes the nervous system and all the regulatory systems of the body including the endocrine system.
When two tuning forks are sounded together, they create a gateway of sound. These two sounds merge into a spiraling third sound which pulsate and aligns the listener to the elements (earth, air, fire, water). These sound vibrations can lift depression, and balance the heart and glandular system. This vibrational field can also settle emotions, stimulate ganglions, promote sympathetic/parasympathic nervous system balance, stimulate the lymphatic system, improve joint mobility, balance liver and upper GI tract and stimulate digestion. All of these organs and systems have a vibratory rate that is aided by the higher vibrations of the tuning forks.
The energy that we live with internally and externally affects our overall health and wellbeing. According to Dr. David Rakel, Director of Integrative Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, “ Your lifestyle choices can override your genetic code and effectively reduce or even eliminate your choice of repeating patterns of poor health. You have a choice to bathe your genes with joy, happiness, nutritious foods and exercise or you can bathe them with anger, lack of hope, junk food, and a sedentary lifestyle. In either case, the choices you make show up at a cellular level. The question is not who are you now, but who do you want to become?