Human cells have the ability to “remember” and replicate the effects of a poor diet on the body, providing a further clue as to why obesity and some diseases can run in families over generations.
Researchers at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute have shown that very specific molecular events occur after the consumption of food high in glucose, causing chemical changes to our genetic controls. These changes continue beyond the meal itself, and have the ability to alter natural metabolic responses to diet.
The research team led by Associate Professor Assam El-Osta has found that a chemical change in the body initiated by a high-glucose diet can continue for up to weeks after exposure to the food. El-Osta's epigenetics laboratory is interested in determining how a finite period of good or bad metabolic control (diet) can have such long lasting effects later in life. It is increasingly appreciated that early metabolic environment is remembered later in life.
“We now know that chocolate bar you had this morning can have very acute effects, and those effects continue for up to two weeks later, this is what we refer to as the burden of memory,” Associate Professor El-Osta said.
“The changes initiated by diet create a kind of “ghost” that lives within our genes, and that these epigenetic changes remember the effects of glucose and continue to respond to them for days or even weeks.”
The effect is a small chemical mark initiated by an enzyme. This enzyme “writes” a histone code that exists above our DNA and that code is driving what is now referred to as “metabolic memory”.
Associate Professor El-Osta and his team found that cells that showed profound changes in a high-glucose environment continued to exhibit those changes even when taken out of that environment. In fact, the cells demonstrated a “memory” of that high glucose event even when the same cells were returned to their previous state.
Studies were conducted in human aortic tissue and in mice, with the same results.
“Humans have only one genome and once the DNA sequence is written it doesn’t really change nor can we really control it, but, we actually have thousands of epigenomes which we can control, and, these epigenetics changes means what we eat and how we live can alter how our genes behave” Associate Professor El-Osta said.
“What we are specifically interested in is studying the epigenome – essentially sitting above the gene – and that does, and can, change from generation to generation depending on external influences. We are dispelling the notion of "good and bad genes", we now replacing this phenomenon with "good and bad epigenetics".
“As much as a poor diet can increase your chances of disease and the complication of diseases, we expect a continued good diet can help safeguard – “future proof”, if you like, future generations against the vagaries of environment.”
Associate Professor El-Osta said the research confirmed we all have a responsibility to our genes.
“Although the genome we inherit from our parents is fixed and does not change, the epigenome can be altered and this brings in hope that we can nurture our epigenomes for the future,” he said.
Steve - kudos to Professor El-Osta on his wonderful explanation of how integral Epigenetics are to not just ourselves, but future generations.
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Courtesy of Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
According to Dr. Joseph Maroon, resveratrol, a property found in red wine, is one of the keys to a longer and healthier life via the new science of epigenetics.
"Many people think your genes are your destiny," says Maroon, vice chairman of the department of neurological surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and neurosurgeon for the Pittsburgh Steelers. "But in actuality ... epigenetics refers to those environmental factors that impact genes, and through various transduction factors, more or less tell genes what to do."
Resveratrol works by activating animal-cell genetic pathways, producing benefits such as enhanced muscle strength, boosted energy, reduced fat cells and improved energy and endurance. Memory can be improved. And resveratrol might be a key element in fighting Alzheimer's disease.
But it is wrong to think of resveratrol as a miracle drug. Maroon considers it an untapped resource that has been available, but unused, for thousands of years.
"These are natural polyphenol compounds that have co-evolved for millennia that help activate our genes for us to live longer, just like the same compounds do in plants that are stressed but live longer," Maroon says.
It was at a neurosurgical conference in Boston in 2005 that Maroon became aware of new efforts in longevity research that highlighted ways to isolate resveratrol. A triathlete who says he admires the work ethic of Steelers, Maroon decided to immerse himself in the study of beneficial natural compounds that exist in foods such as red wine, green tea and blueberries.
With Jeffrey Bost, a physician assistant at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and Dr. James Smoliga, an assistant professor of exercise physiology at Marywood University in Scranton, Maroon conducted a study using 90 sedentary people between the ages of 25 and 60. After using a red wine extract over three months (some of the study subjects were given a placebo), they took an impact test given to NFL players, including the Steelers.
Those who took the red wine extract increased their reaction time and endurance despite their sedentary nature.
"This was one of the first studies done with humans using resveratrol," Maroon says.
Maroon is quick to note that resveratrol alone will not provide a healthier life. It is also important to avoid foods that have hydrogenated oils -- including hot dogs and doughnuts -- that contain cancer-causing agents, and to maintain a low-calorie diet.
Diet, however is only one of the three factors in determining better health.
"Everything in life requires balance and homeostasis," Maroon says. "It's the ABC's. It's not a secret. You need healthy food, you need exercise, and you need a balanced mental state, whether that comes from saying the rosary, Zen Buddhism, or meditation.
"You need something in the spiritual side of your existence to help you maintain a mental balance, as well as a physical balance."
Red wine is one of the best sources of resveratrol, according to Dr. Joseph Maroon, author of "The Longevity Factor: How Resveratrol and Red Wine Activate Genes for a Longer and Healthier Life." Abundant in red wine, resveratrol, a polyphenol, might increase longevity, endurance and energy, and could be a factor in fighting Alzheimer's disease.
Other foods containing resveratrol include:
• White wine
• Port and sherry
• Grapes
• Red grape juice
• White grape juice
• Raw cranberry juice
• Blueberries
• Lingonberries
• Peanuts (roasted, boiled)
• Peanut butter and 100 percent natural peanut butter
• Pistachios
• Hops
• Giant knotweed
• Dry rhubarb root
• Pomegranate juice
• Dark chocolate
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