We are born with our own set of DNA, it’s what tells our skin cells to be a skin cell, and our muscle to become a muscle. We often accept the fact that our DNA is our destiny, but recent data is suggesting that actually, our genes seem to load the gun, but the environment pulls the trigger.
Whilst this topic is huge, we are particularly interested in how the food we eat can influence how our genes work and affect our health. This field is known as nutrigenomics, and we’re going to take a look at how we can use some of the concepts to optimise our health, especially as we age.
Gene Expression
We can think of our DNA as being typists in a word document. If we want the document to make sense, the working conditions for the typists need to be good. They may want access to a kitchen, natural sunlight, comfy chairs and so on. In these conditions, the agenda we want typed, will look presentable. If however, working conditions for the typists are poor, the agenda may be missing key information, or the formatting may be way off!
Our genes are similar.
If they have supportive working conditions, they do what they are supposed to, they send the correct information out; cells know what they are supposed to do, and they even know when they’re not supposed to be doing anything. If we have cut ourself, our genes tell our skin cells to multiply to create a new covering over the wound.
Supportive Conditions for Our Genes Include:
- Sufficient sleep,
- Hydration,
- Appropriate nutrition,
- Managed stress,
- Appropriate exercise,
- Limited exposure to harmful substances,
If they have poor working conditions, they send out half finished messages (or coding), which may contain typos. What happens is that cells don’t really know what they are supposed to be doing and start to go a little rogue. DNA damage is what contributes to ageing – so if this is expedited through poor working conditions for our DNA, we may find we “age before our time.” We may also find we start to suffer a range of health issues.
Poor Working Conditions For Our Genes Include:
- Poor sleep,
- Poor nutrition,
- Diets rich in ultra-processed foods,
- High, unmanaged stress,
- High exposure to toxins,
- Over-training,
These poor working conditions can often lead to SNPs or single nucleotide polymorphisms. We can call them glitches and they are like the inbuilt typos on your word document.
We can of course be born with these glitches that send unclear messages to our cells, but our environment does play a significant role.
Can The Food We Eat Influence Our DNA?
There are certain food compounds that can influence how our genes function, and ultimately whether glitches become problematic.
Polyphenols
Catechins have been seen to influence how our genes function and these are polyphenolic compounds found in plants.
Sources include apples, blackberries, pears and green tea. They also contain antioxidants which help to prevent cell damage.
Resveratrol is a natural polyphenolic compound and is often found in blueberries and red wine. Resveratrol functions as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and has anticancer properties. It has been seen to regulate gene function in cases of diabetes, pancreatic cancer, osteoarthritis, and inflammatory disease.
Interestingly many studies have found different genetic profiles between those who eat high quantities of fruits and vegetables and those who do not. Increased intake was associated with reduced risk of many chronic diseases.
Vitamins
Vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid) is more commonly known for its role in supporting immune function but recent investigations have revealed functions of vitamin C in gene behaviour.
Great sources include oranges, peppers, strawberries, blackcurrants, and broccoli.
Vitamin D is also seen to behave in the same way
Sources include mushrooms, oily fish, red meat, liver, eggs.
Folate is a water-soluble B-complex vitamin and usually exists in green vegetables and animal liver. Low folate is often associated with instability in DNA, and unstable DNA is the key hallmark in cancer.
Sources include broccoli, leafy greens, liver.
Herbs
Withania somnifera or more commonly known as ashwagandha and has been attracting increasing interest because of its multifunctional properties including anti-inflammatory and antitumor activity. This is largely achieved through its effect on DNA function.
Whilst DNA doesn’t change, we can influence its expression, for better or worse. Genes are like a typist in a word document – given supportive working conditions, the document will be formatted correctly and get the information out that it should. Given poor working conditions, you’ll likely get some typos and the wrong message getting out!
The concept of nutrigenomics suggests that we can use nutritional choices to alter gene expression and we can. We may be born with variants which can run amok, but as we mentioned earlier, where genes load the gun, the environment, which includes lifestyle and nutrition, pull the trigger – for better or worse.
Top Tips:
- Move more – there’s a fine balance between appropriate exercise and over-training. Get in touch if you’d like to get on track with your physical health.
- Eat a wholefood diet and limit ultra-processed foods,
- Prioritise fruits and vegetables,
- Hydrate – with filtered water,
- Prioritise sleep,
- Manage stress,
- Reduce exposure to toxins,
