Are You Really What You Eat

Have you ever heard of “Epigenetics?”  I had not heard about it until 15 years ago. I was invited to a conference that showed how our food, emotions, stress, environmental toxins, and basically the “soup” that we live in can affect our gene expression.

Epigenetics refers to the way your behaviors and environment can cause changes that affect the way your genes work. Epigenetics turns genes “on” and “off.” Often you will hear people say “It’s in my genetics.”  How come some people can eat all they want and stay skinny?  How come some people can smoke for forty years and never get lung cancer? 

The Human Genome Project was completed in April 2003. The telomere-to-telomere consortium, which was later completed, announced that it filled the remaining gaps and produced the first truly complete human genome sequence in 2022.

Epigenetics as a field of study gained widespread acceptance in the early 2000s, driven by technologies that allowed scientists to analyze DNA at the molecular level. This was when I was is introduced to this field of epigenetics from research done by LifeGen Technologies.

LifeGen Technologies was a genomics company (since been bought out) that focused on gene expression profiling as it relates to the aging process.  LifeGen studied the genetic basis of the aging process with the goal of increasing the healthy life span of humans and animals. The research I saw was on Rhesus Monkey’s which are used a lot in research. Rhesus monkeys are valuable research models, and their longevity (38-40 yrs.) in captivity allows scientists to study aging and age-related diseases. 

What Does This Mean for You?

While at the Epigenetic conference, I talked to one of the research scientists, Joseph Chang, PhD,  who had been doing gene testing on humans.  They had been researching the effects of food on the DNA of the mitochondria. What he told me was; “we can take a group of people and feed them junk food, hot dogs, fries, coke, etc. for 24 hours and then take a DNA sample.  Just 24 hours after eating the junk food diet we would see the gene expression of the mitochondria change to a faster aging expression.  We would then take those same people the next day and give them freshly squeezed vegetable and fruit juices, big salads, and clean proteins and then take a DNA sample.  After just 24 hours of clean eating, we would see those SAME genes reverse and start expressing as a healthier longevity gene expression!”  This blew my mind!

What this says to me is it’s never too late to change your diet and impact your longevity!  Since that conference many years ago I’ve never underestimated the power of food as medicine. 

This is not “changing” a gene.  This is changing the “expression” of that gene.  We have all heard of the BRACA gene which gives a woman a higher risk of breast cancer.  We can’t “change” that gene, however, with epigenetics we now understand that we have the power to turn it “on” or “off” in it’s expression by the environment it’s surrounded by. 

I am a Certified Nutrigenomics practitioner and have done many genetic testing on folks over the past ten years.  What we look for are genes that impact mitochondrial function, detoxification, methylation (involved in 250 pathways), inflammation (external and internal), neurotransmitters, and a myriad of other genes.  I find it very interesting that I can see the same gene with the same “mutation” in two different people and one person is “expressing” that gene in a negative way and the other is not. Why?  Because of lifestyle.  This includes stress, exercise, food, medications, chemical exposure, past trauma, etc., etc.  It ALL impacts the expression of your genes!

Your Health is in Your Hands

Is it time to get serious about your health?  I think we all want to live a long life but we also want to live a healthy long life!  My Mom died of Alzheimer’s and my Dad died of Parkinson’s disease.  My first thought was “Oh no, I might be facing a neurological disease!”  But after testing my genetics I found I only had one of the Alzheimer’s genes and none of the Parkinson’s genes.  Good news, but I also found out I have poor methylation and high internal inflammation.  So, what did that tell me?  I can support methylation with B vitamins and I can lower inflammation with an anti-inflammatory diet.  I don’t have to succumb to my genetics!

Do we all need to get genetically tested? No.  It is interesting and can be an insight for those struggling with certain “genetic” tendencies, but I would encourage you to think of your lifestyle as preventative no matter what your genes.  Remember what Dr. Chang said; “in 24 hours we could see the same gene reverse direction and take a healthier longevity expression pathway!” 

At any time you can change direction! It’s not rocket science.  We have enough research on vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, clean protein sources, clean water, less stress, and movement that the science is clear. Clean eating and a healthy lifestyle slows down the aging process!  Ditch the junk food and spend your time in the fruit and vegetable aisle the next time you go grocery shopping! Get out and go for a walk every day and go for a walk.

In health,

Chris Mckee

Certified Nutritionist at Achieve Integrative Health