Can food change your genes?

"Absolutely," according to physician Mark Hyman, who's comments appeared in the March 19th issue of Parade Magazine. In the future, a drop of your blood placed on a special DNA chip will predict the diseases to which you are genetically predisposed. This field is called nutrigenomics. Once your disease genes are known, if you follow a preventive diet and lifestyle, you will be able to "switch off" your disease-producing genes so that the disease may not present itself.

Examples:

• Insulin Resistance (the obesity disease) - to prevent: eating mostly unprocessed foods like lean protein such as poultry, wild-caught fish such as salmon and sardines, wholeraw/cooked fruits and vegetables, and healthy fats such as avocado, olive oil, and nuts/seeds.

• Folic Acid deficiency - affects up to half of all Americans; problem for dementia, many cancers, heart disease, osteoporosis, birth defects, autism, and depression. You may have folate deficiency if you have a family history of heart attack (even with normal lipids), dementia, breast/colon/cervical cancer, spina bifida, down syndrome, and depression. Getting your homocysteine level checked is helpful, and testing for the folate gene is becoming more commonplace. Continuously taking 800 mcg of folic acid with 25 mcg vitamin B-6 and 50-100 mcg of vitamin B-12, while limiting coffee/alcohol and no smoking will help. Also, supplementing with the two other folate co-enzymes (5-formyl methyltetrahydrofolate and L-5-methyltetrahydrofolate) will be added insurance that you are absorbing your folate.

• Low vitamin D - affects up to 40% of all Americans as a result of spending our lives indoors and using sunscreen. Many physicians now routinely test for vitamin D levels.

• Gluten sensitivity: the great masquerader - 30% of Americans may develop some form of sensitivity to gluten. It often goes undiagnosed as another inflammatory disease. Testing for celiac disease and gluten intolerance is becoming much more commonplace as a disease to rule out.
  

Bonnie - I can attest to this. Both of my parents were diabetic by age 48 with every family member on my father's side having the disease. I was heading in that direction by age 18, but fortunately, it has not been expressed by age 59 due to the dietary and nutritional supplement protocol including magnesium and chromium.

Steve - we do have the possibility to test for certain genes that can been aided by dietary and lifestyle change. Contact us at 847-509-1336 for more information.