Nutrition system by genes. The influence of diet and lifestyle on our genes

Let's look at such an interesting question as genetics affects a person. And also learn how our lifestyle affects our genes. And we'll start with the basics.

What is genetics?

Heredity - the reproduction in offspring of the signs of ancestors - is one of the most amazing and essential properties of all living organisms - from viruses and bacteria to higher plants, animals and humans.

The science of heredity genetics (from the Greek genesis - birth, origin) has shown that heredity is due to the transfer of genetic (hereditary) information to descendants about all (species and individual) properties of a given organism.

One of the remarkable properties of heredity is its conservatism, i.e., the preservation of hereditary characteristics over many generations. Thus, the similarity of ancestors and their descendants can be preserved for millions of years.

Some hereditary traits of a person appear for a long time. So, for example, syndactyly - the fusion of two, and sometimes more fingers - was traced in England for more than 14 generations of the Earl of Shrewsbury (born at the end of the 14th century). The protruding, ugly Habsburg jaw was observed in a number of generations of the Austrian imperial house of Habsburg. The Duke of Nemours preserved a special shape of the nose of the Bourbons, despite the fact that only 1/128 of the “blood” of Henry IV (Bourbon) flows in his “veins”.

Another remarkable property of heredity is its variability. There are more than three million species of animals alone that inhabit the Earth. When one considers the many varieties, as well as the breeds of domestic animals, the varieties of cultivated plants, and the existing individual variability, the grandiose scope of this phenomenon becomes clear. Variability can affect different parts of the body, different organs and even cells. Variability can be seen in numerous examples.

So, within the same species of Homo Sapiens, each individual (not taking into account racial, national or social characteristics) is genetically individual and differs from other individuals morphologically and physiologically, for example, sensitivity to the influences of an environmental agent (immunological properties), greater or lesser susceptibility to communicable or non-communicable diseases. These differences extend to the psychology of the individual, to the presence of one degree or another of giftedness.

The subject of genetics - a relatively young biological discipline - is the study of heredity and its variability.

The most important concept of modern genetics is the gene, the basic unit of heredity. Genes, materially embodied in the substance of heredity - deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), determine all the hereditary features of the composition, structure and properties of a given individual, manifested in it in the process of individual development (ontogenesis).

Beyond DNA

For a long time, DNA was considered the only carrier of hereditary information. But today biologists are sure that there is another, more labile informational level associated with chromosomes. Epigenetics is replacing genetics.

The genome, the repository of genetic information, predetermines the growth and development of an organism and is not at all a dead text passed down from generation to generation. Rather, it resembles an incredibly complex biochemical mechanism operating in three-dimensional space and consisting of several interconnected parts. Protein-coding genes are just one of them, and often the smallest.

In humans, these genes account for less than 2% of the total DNA, but for 50 years they were considered carriers of all hereditary traits. This idea formed the basis of the central dogma of molecular biology. Hence the idea of ​​the genome as an unchanging blueprint by which an organism is built...

Proper nutrition: ask the DNA?

When, in July 2000, US President Bill Clinton announced the successful completion of the Human Genome Project and called its results "the most promising of all science has ever obtained," he did not even think about the consequences of these remarkable achievements, such as filling the market high-tech "remedies for all diseases."

Meanwhile, less than a decade later, websites promoting genetic testing and nutritional supplements were racing to praise the new "science" of food genetics, claiming that it could optimize anyone's diet based on their genetic data. However, the promises do not have a serious scientific basis. Science has not yet reached such a level of development to unequivocally answer the question of how certain genes affect human health or determine the development of a particular disease.

We are only at the beginning of the path to the creation of "personalized medicine", which is based on identifying the genetic characteristics of patients and prescribing an individual treatment or diet for them. We still know little about why people react differently to certain foods, medications, sunlight, exercise, allergens, and many other factors. Ideally, genetic testing should help in the selection of drugs and other drugs that are optimal for the patient, and work on the development of such tests is already underway.

An important event occurred in the summer of 2006, when the FDA approved a genetic test that can be used to select the optimal dose of the antihypertensive drug warfarin for each patient. Testing of newborns for the presence of phenylketonuria associated with a violation of the metabolism of certain nutrients has been carried out since 1963, and Hippocrates expressed thoughts about the healing and harmful properties of food. Genetic testing can help in choosing the optimal diet, but its practical routine application is still far away.

According to the latest research, our genes are not static. The human genome is an open system that is sensitive to the characteristics of the diet, lifestyle, as well as external factors, such as the state of the environment.

As you read this report, each of your 20,000 genes, packaged somewhere in one of the 46 chromosomes of any somatic cell in your body, is oscillating in completely different states, depending on how you read this report.

Whether drinking tea, coffee, or pomegranate juice while sitting at home or in the office, or rushing through a crowded subway car, struggling to keep your balance and read at the same time, tensing almost all of your 656 muscles. And certainly your genetic status is now completely different compared to what it was, say, last night when you were sleeping, yesterday - when you spent half a day driving a car, or three days ago, after a fun weekend, not to mention what happened a month, a year, five years ago. Perpetuum mobile - everything changes and is in perpetual motion!

As strange as it sounds, our genes are also constantly changing. No, not the information itself encoding proteins, written in the form of a DNA nucleotide sequence (however, this also happens during point mutations, chromosome aberrations, deletions and insertions, becoming the basis of gene evolution, as well as many gene diseases), but the state of the genes - they then activated, then inhibited, and until complete shutdown.

The expression of some of them in the cell can increase smoothly, abruptly, or according to some other complex pattern, while others can disappear at the same moment or stay at a certain basal level. And all this can happen within moments, or from several minutes to hours, sometimes days. Each of our genes has its own unique status quo, which depends on thousands of different factors, both internal and external. And it takes very little to change it, often so little that you are amazed at how sensitive our genes are to our actions, to what we ate or drank, what air we breathed, how we slept, rested, or how actively we spent the day, even what they thought and dreamed about, what they mentally worked on, or what they experienced emotionally.

Everything influences to one degree or another, sooner or later, directly or indirectly. The gene is no longer viewed as a closed "black box" - it is a fairly open system that is sensitive to ourselves and the environment. Of course, each cell, like a small factory, produces its own set of proteins and proteins inherent only to it; a neuron cannot be forced to suddenly express the digestive enzymes of the pancreas, although it has all these genes, only they are blocked, just as pancreatic cells cannot be forced to synthesize axonal myelin sheath proteins or specific synaptic macromolecules of neurons.

Everything is predetermined in the process of embryonic development. But the complex orchestra of several thousand synthesized proteins that each cell expresses every minute can be controlled by an invisible conductor - you and me, our lifestyle plus environmental factors.

Scientists have long noticed that identical twins born with exactly the same set of genes differ from each other in many ways, such as predisposition to diseases, especially such as schizophrenia, depression or bipolar affective disorder, often have different characters and habits, even anthropomorphic indicators bodies may be different. And the older the twins, the more the conditions and way of life diverge, the more pronounced this dissimilarity becomes.

It turns out that the environment, personal experience, behavior, habits, nutrition, etc. largely determines ourselves, our global molecular genetic picture of the body - which genes are expressed, where and how, and which genes "sleep". So, for example, if one of the twins gets cancer, then the chances of the other getting sick are only 20%, which shows how minimal the influence of genes per se, and high - the environment, individual experience.

Or another example: from epidemiological studies of the last 50 years, it is known that the incidence of malignant tumors of the lungs, rectum, prostate and breast is much higher in Western countries than in Eastern; conversely, cancers of the brain, neck, and uterus are common in India, and cancers of the stomach are common in Japan.

Moreover, the migration of people completely changes this picture: migrants begin to suffer from diseases of the country where they arrived. Again, there is a powerful environmental factor. Today, experts believe that the influence of the genes that we inherit on the development of chronic diseases is only 15%, the remaining 85% is the “merit” of our lifestyle.

In the English-language scientific literature, such a term as lifestyle diseases has recently even appeared - lifestyle diseases, which now include diabetes, obesity, many cardiovascular diseases, asthma, atherosclerosis, strokes, hypertension, disorders of the hormonal, digestive and immune systems, Alzheimer's disease. , depression and phobias, even cancer.

Today, scientists identify six main factors that directly affect the pattern of our gene expression: food, diet, physical activity, stress levels, bad habits, environment (ecology). All of these factors, in addition to genetics itself, are responsible for how healthy we are. As water wears away a stone, so these factors gradually, day after day, “polish”, transform our genetic status, which either benefits our body or harms it.

Proper food for the genes

Perhaps I will not be mistaken in calling food the shortest route to our genes. It really is. Our brain in the blink of an eye begins to produce many mediators, the hypothalamus - hormones, and the digestive system - a hundred or two peptidases, amylases, lipases, etc. not only during the actual meal, but long before it, when we anticipate its sight, smell and taste in our thoughts.

Today, in developed countries, especially in the US, a new area of ​​scientific knowledge has become widespread - nutrigenetics, or nutritional genetics, the science of how to eat right so that our genes feel good. Let's figure out which of the food products are now in the field of view of scientists? How do they affect the human genome? How are diseases affected?

Green tea. Perhaps everyone knows about the healing properties of a drink made from the Camellia sinensis plant. Tea, especially green tea, strengthens blood vessels and stops bleeding due to vitamin P, B vitamins improve overall well-being, caffeine helps us wake up in the morning, theophylline helps to warm up in the cold, and in the heat it improves tone, theobromine stimulates the kidneys. But only in recent years, experts have begun to get closer to unraveling other properties of tea that contribute to life extension, general health improvement and rejuvenation of the body.

In one full-scale study conducted in 1999 on more than 8,000 people by a team of scientists from the Saitama Prefectural Cancer Research Center, Japan, it was shown that daily consumption of green tea in the amount of 10 small Japanese cups (~50 ml) significantly reduced lifetime risk of cancer in healthy people, and consumption of more than five cups by breast cancer patients reduced the frequency of relapses of the disease and increased the time intervals between them.

In another similar study, published in 2007 in the journal Carcinogenesis, scientists at the Australian National University were able to show in more than a thousand breast cancer patients that if green tea was consumed at a frequency of approximately 600-700 cups per year (i.e. about two per day), the risk of developing the disease is reduced by 50%.

Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) - the main catechinin in green tea - makes up 50% to 80% of all tea polyphenols How does green tea affect cancer cells? The first scientific work showing that an extract from ordinary green tea induces the death of cancer cells and blocks their division was published in 1997 by a group of American researchers led by Hasan Mukhtar.

As it turned out, tea owes its anti-cancer effect to special polyphenols - catechinins, one of the most powerful natural antioxidants. Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) - the main catechinin in green tea - makes up 50% to 80% of all tea polyphenols; A cup of green tea holds approximately 200–300 mg of EGCG.

As many studies have shown, EGCG affects almost the entire spectrum of cancers: from lung and breast cancer to tumors of the rectum, liver, stomach, prostate and skin. So, in clinical experiments on patients with various types of cancer, it was shown that either capsules containing 200 mg of EGCG, or green tea itself contributed to the recession of the disease, reduced the occurrence of new cancerous foci and metastases.

Garlic. For at least 6 thousand years, garlic has been used as a remedy with thirteen “cons” in its instructions for use: anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, antiprotozoal, antihelminthic, antiviral, analgesic, etc. But the way garlic works on the molecular At the genetic level, how it influences our genes is slowly becoming clear only over the past few years of painstaking research.

What are the components of garlic today in the focus of attention of scientists and pharmacological companies? Perhaps the most frequently reported in the articles are organic sulfides - diallyl sulfide (DAS), diallyl disulfide (DADS), diallyl trisulfide (DATS), which are now widely used in clinical and laboratory trials around the world.

Various aqueous, alcoholic or dry extracts of garlic are available in pharmacies in the form of capsules, tinctures and oils. How do all these DAS, DADS and DATS work? A year ago at the Medical University of South Carolina, USA, it was shown that in a petri dish with human cancer cells, garlic extract induces rapid apoptosis of metastatic cells by activating the expression of the so-called stress kinases p38 MAPK, JUNK1 and cysteine ​​proteases.

Another recently discovered garlic sulfide, thiacremonone, has also proven to be a reliable killer of cancer cells. It has been successfully tested on metastatic human rectal cells at Chungbuk National University, South Korea; its effect was that it blocked such hard-to-reach genes as Bcl-2, cIAP / 2, XIAP, iNOS, COX-2, aimed at the survival and growth of cancer cells, while simultaneously activating pro-apoptotic genes (Bax, caspse-3, PARP ), designed to destroy the tumor, eliminating cancer cells. In another study published in May this year in the journal Gerontology, scientists from Ankara Medical University,

Türkiye, wondered if garlic could prolong life? After all, it is known that peoples who eat a lot of garlic and other hot spices have a longer average life expectancy. Because One of the main scientific hypotheses of aging today is an increase in oxidative stress in cells with age, the by-product of which is free radicals that destroy DNA, proteins and lipids, the researchers decided to look at exactly those genes that control this process.

For this, blood was tested in 13 elderly (about 70 years old) people before and after one month of garlic consumption in the amount of 0.1 g per kg of body weight per day, which is approximately 2-3 cloves daily. As it turned out, the scientists were absolutely right - garlic very powerfully activated the genes encoding the enzymes of the human antioxidant system (GSH-Px and SOD), suppressing the genes of oxidative, free radical-producing and superperoxide enzymes, such as, for example, MDA.

Pomegranate and orange juice. The juice of the fruit of the pomegranate tree Punica granatum has very strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Recently, a group of scientists led by Hasan Mukhtar of the University of Wisconsin, USA, showed that pomegranate fruit extract also has amazing anti-cancer properties - the juice was tested on highly aggressive human prostate cancer cells, as well as on mice in vivo ( they added a 0.2% extract to water, which roughly corresponds to the concentration of pure pomegranate juice for humans).

Mice fed a pomegranate diet showed a significant decrease in prostate cancer: the expression of cyclins D1, D2, E, which regulate cell division, and cyclin-dependent kinases CDK-2, CDK-4, CDK-6 was inhibited, and the expression of "harmful" genes for cancer cells and inhibited the activation of "survival" genes. To what does pomegranate juice owe such an action? As it turned out, it contains a special tannin - ellagitanine, a very strong antioxidant that can kill cancer cells and stop their spread.

This antioxidant is found in pomegranate juice in a more active form than in green tea or red wine. In another study conducted at UCLA in 2006 on 80 men diagnosed with prostate cancer, it was shown that drinking just one glass of this juice daily slowed cancer metastasis by four times.

Orange juice, it turns out, also has gene-preserving properties. So, recently scientists from the University of Buffalo, USA, conducted an experiment on 32 healthy people aged 20-40 years with normal weight, giving them four different drinks to drink: water with 300 calories of glucose, fructose, orange juice and just water sweetened with saccharin - artificial sugar without calories.

Free radicals and cellular markers of inflammation, which can potentially damage both proteins, DNA and entire cells, were only increased in the group that drank the pure glucose drink, as blood samples were taken from all participants just two hours after drinking the drinks. despite the fact that orange juice also contains glucose.

Accordingly, the question arises: what ingredients of the juice suppressed the formation of free radicals and inflammatory processes? As it turned out, vitamin C, which is so abundant in orange juice and which is so famous for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, did not affect these processes, and two flavonoids, hesperetin and naringenin, became the main "actors": they blocked inflammation and peroxidation in cells blood, caused by the use of drinks with glucose, up to 70%.

If you look at the whole range of products that a person eats today, then we can say with full confidence that each of them has one or another gene-regulating activity. It’s just that in many cases such activity is very difficult to detect: it is either “masked” by other processes, or it requires too complex experimental schemes from scientists in order to somehow reveal it. At the moment, about a hundred food products that have the most pronounced "gene" properties are being intensively developed in university laboratories - scientists are trying to figure out which of the ingredients of the products can best "communicate" with our genes in order to create new drugs or food based on them. additives.

Here are just a few (active ingredients listed in brackets): grapes, red wine (resveratrol), coriander (linalol, monoterpenes), soy (genistein), basil (ursolic acid), prunes (oleanolic, ursolic acids, triterpenoids), oleander (oleandrin), red chili (capsaicin), citrus fruits (quercetin), ginger (gingerol), tomatoes (lycopene), carrots (beta-carotenes), aloe (emodin), cauliflower (sulforaphane), propolis (caffeic acid phenethyl ester) , FECC), artichoke (silymarin).

What do genes need?

It has been proven that regular physical activity, in particular, radically changes not only muscle mass, but also all other systems of the human body that are directly or indirectly associated with physical activity - bone, cardiovascular, even digestive - has been known for a long time.

But how this happens at the genome level, how it globally affects other body systems, including the brain, immune and reproductive systems, acute and chronic illness, stress, etc., gradually becomes clear only in recent years, after complete decoding of the human genome and the invention of new molecular genetic methods for screening the activity of a large number of genes and proteins simultaneously - DNA, RNA and protein chips.

So, according to epidemiological screening studies, physical inactivity, which every second office worker suffers today, increases many health-related risks: coronary artery disease by 45%, hypertension by 30%, colon cancer by 41%, breast cancer - by 31%, type II diabetes - by 50%, osteoporosis - by 59%, contributes to the accumulation of cholesterol, obesity, depression and increased mortality.

What happens to the modern "Oblomovs in ties"? Due to the lack of activity, a person loses a lot of tissues, the normal functioning of cells is disrupted. During prolonged physical inactivity, a person undergoes a lot of adaptations: the stroke volume of the heart and oxygen consumption decrease by 25%, bones lose mass 10 times faster than usual, skeletal muscles become weaker, the concentration of mitochondria decreases, insulin sensitivity drops within three days seating on the sofa.

There was even a theory about the "Stone Age genes", which explains why our body begins to suffer from physical inactivity. Allegedly at the dawn of human evolution, in the Stone Age, our ancestors survived for two and a half million years due to constant physical activity, constant movement, search for new food, hunting, nomadism, etc.

During this time, due to selection, a huge cohort of genes has appeared in our body that are "used" to such a constant stimulus, and without it, they begin to lose activity, rhythm, and normal expression of not only muscle proteins themselves, but hundreds of other proteins involved in energy and metabolic balance. the whole organism.

Just today, according to scientists, this is happening to modern man - in our world of comfort and "sofa disease" the role of moderate but constant physical activity is reduced to a minimum, which immediately affects the imbalance of Stone Age genes, which leads the body to such metabolic problems like diabetes, overweight, heart and blood diseases, digestive disorders, even memory and emotions.

How many genes are activated in the human body under the influence of physical activity? The answer to this question was obtained in 2005 in a study by scientists from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, led by Carl Sundberg. As it turned out, in healthy men, regular exercise for six weeks on the most ordinary exercise bike activates such a number of different genes that nothing else activates - about 470.

Mainly muscle cell extracellular matrix genes and calcium-binding proteins were stimulated, but also important genes involved in the development of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and the better the result was achieved in training, the higher the gene expression was.

Today, more than 15 million Americans have type II diabetes; in Russia, this figure is slightly lower, about 5–7% of the total population, but the rate of the disease is constantly growing, the number of patients may increase by 2025 to 300 million worldwide. One of the main factors leading to the development of diabetes, scientists today call physical inactivity.

It has long been known that lifestyle changes have a health-improving effect on people who already have diabetes, but this is the first time that the same thing happens in healthy people. Thus, the ability of the body to use insulin as directed increased by 23% after four months of physical training (20 minutes of fitness five times a week) and a special diet. In other words, moderate exercise led to better sensitivity of body cells to insulin, apparently due to some kind of genomic modification of the expression of insulin receptor proteins.

Meditation and genes

Today, the practice of meditation is not the lot of lonely enlightened Buddhist monks, as it was only 50-70 years ago, but millions of ordinary people around the world. Meditating is not just about feeling better, being more energetic and balanced.

Meditation makes our brain work differently, the picture of brain waves changes, brain activity is synchronized, due to this, many physiological processes in the body are normalized - sleep, digestion, the functioning of the cardiovascular and nervous systems, even the composition of the blood changes. From a study undertaken in 2005

The American Heart Association, it became known that meditation prolongs life, reducing the risk of death from old age by 25%, from cardiovascular disease - up to 30% and up to 50% - from cancer. What does meditation do to the brain? In a 2005 study at the Massachusetts Hospital in Boston, USA, researchers tracked what was going on in the minds of meditators using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Experts selected 15 people practicing meditation with different experience (from a year to 30 years) and 15 test subjects who had never meditated. After analyzing a large amount of information about the activity and structure of the brain, it became clear that meditation increases the thickness of some parts of the cerebral cortex involved in the processes of attention, working memory and sensory information processing - the prefrontal cortex and the islet of Reil.

Sara Lasar, leader of this study, commented on the results of the experiment: “You train the brain during meditation, so it grows. After all, it is known that the corresponding areas of the brain are enlarged in musicians, linguists, and athletes. The growth of the cerebral cortex does not occur due to the growth of neurons, but due to the growth of blood vessels, glial cells, astrocytes - the entire system that feeds the brain.

How little it takes to turn on the mechanisms of self-regulation in the brain through genes! As shown by experiments using MRI conducted at Boston University, USA, in 2007, just one hour of yoga is enough - and the brain begins to produce 30% more of such an important inhibitory mediator as GABA. A decrease in GABA in the brain is observed in depression, chronic states of fear and anxiety, and epilepsy.

Thus, classes of the most ordinary yoga could replace drug therapy here. Meditation not only relieves stress, fatigue and anxiety, but also rejuvenates the brain. So in a study done last year at Emory University, USA, 13 people who practice Zen meditation, which is used by Buddhists in Japan, China, Korea and Vietnam, were studied. The work was the first to show that meditation can reverse the aging process.

It is known that with, the cerebral cortex decreases in thickness and volume, it seems to dry out, lose water, trophism worsens, attention and memory fade, speech slows down. So, meditation stops these processes - all those who practice Zen meditation in adulthood or old age did not have age-related changes in the cortex, and also showed normal performance in attention tests.

If meditation can have such a profound effect on brain morphology, then modifications to gene expression are indispensable. In a paper by researchers from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India, published in February this year, the results of blood tests of 42 people who practiced the breathing technique Sudarshan Kriya (Sudarshan Kriya), when a person breathes in different rhythms, were presented for at least a year. Gene screening results showed that those who practiced meditation had higher levels of expression of important genes such as genes regulating antioxidant stress, immune response, and genes regulating apoptosis and cell survival.

I will give one more example of the impact of non-traditional health practices on the regulation of the genome. In 2005, scientists from the University of Texas, led by Quan-Zhen Li, tested blood cells - neutrophils, using DNA chips, in six Asians who practiced at least a year for 1-2 hours a day a special meditation ancient Chinese qigong technique. The result was impressive - all of them had highly activated genes that strengthen the immune system, reduce cellular metabolism, and also accelerate the healing of any inflammatory processes, wounds. More than 12 thousand genes were scanned, of which 250 were changed, 132 were suppressed, 118 were activated.

The most powerful changes have occurred in the genes of the ubiquitin-dependent protein elimination system, which is involved in the etiology of many diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, sepsis, autoimmune diseases, inflammation, and diseases associated with. Many of the enzymes in this system, including ubiquitin itself, were suppressed in practitioners of this technique.

The expression of 10 genes out of 11 so-called ribosomal proteins involved in protein synthesis was also reduced. The immune response genes, interferon, as well as genes encoding antibacterial and antiviral peptides, Defensin-3 and cytokines, were, on the contrary, increased. Interestingly, reducing calorie intake - the only method to date that prolongs the life of rats, mice and primates - also reduces metabolism and inhibits the ubiquitin protein elimination system in all cells.

Fasting changes everything. There are many different modern methods of fasting - according to Bragg, Shelton, Malakhov, Voitovich, dry, full, on juices, vegetables, etc. - although the very phenomenon of fasting originated at the dawn of mankind.

Our ancestors understood its importance for the bodily and spiritual health of a person so much that fasting has long been used not only in non-traditional medicines of all peoples, but also in the usual way of life of entire countries, and so that the healing effect for the body and soul is even greater and has a “national » scale, various fasting practices have been integrated into religions, traditions, culture and art - Lent for Christians, Yom Kippur for Jews, Ramadan for Muslims, yoga for Hindus, eight precepts.

Today, there is only one scientifically proven method of extending the lifespan of both animals and humans - reducing calorie intake, when the diet provides all the necessary nutrients, vitamins and minerals for a healthy and fulfilling life, but has a reduced amount of energy (calories) contained in foods. .

Such gentle fasting has been shown to delay or completely block various pathological changes associated with aging and increase lifespan by 30% to 50% in many animals, from fish and spiders to rodents. Back in 1934, Cornell University scientists Clive McCay and Mary Crowell, using laboratory rats, and Roy Walford of the University of California, a participant in the Spheres-2 project and a pioneer of the whole scientific directions to gerontology, in the 1980s, conducting experiments on mice, showed that sparing fasting (cutting calories per day by 25–50%) not only doubles the life of rodents, but also makes them physically and socially more active .

Another researcher, Morris Ross, conducted an experiment on rats, dividing them into three groups in which animals consumed different amounts (10, 25, 40%) of protein per day, and a group that ate without restriction.

This study showed that rats that did not deny themselves anything matured faster, reached puberty at an earlier age and had more offspring, but died earlier and had cancer and other diseases more often than rats "on a diet." What genes are changed by sparing fasting or cutting calories?

Scientists from the University of Wisconsin, USA, using DNA microarrays and scanning 6347 genes in the cerebral cortex and cerebellum of laboratory mice, found that old mice had over-expression of more than 120 inflammatory response and oxidative stress genes, which suggests that in " The old brain is constantly undergoing micro-inflammatory processes, presumably due to damage caused by free radicals generated by oxidative stress.

Now, in mice whose daily caloric intake was reduced by 25%, all of these genes were normalized. In another experiment, conducted in 2007 by scientists from the Pennington Center for Biomedical Research, USA, they no longer tested mice, but 36 healthy, but overweight young people, dividing them into three groups: the control group received 100% of the required amount of energy in food , the other two were calorie restricted for six months - one received 25% less than the "norm", the other - 12.5%, but combined diet with exercise.

As shown by genetic analysis of muscle tissue taken from all participants after the experiment in the form of small biopsies, both groups "on a diet" increased the number of mitochondria and reduced the amount of DNA damaged by free radicals in the cells. Scientists also found that "diet" served as a powerful stimulus for the activation of the expression of many genes (PPARGC1A, TFAM, eNOS, PARL) encoding important functional proteins of our cellular energy stations - mitochondria. Interestingly, this diet also resulted in the activity of a special gene - SIRT1, the human analogue of the Sir2 gene found in yeast, nematodes and fruit flies, the activation of which leads to a lengthening of life by improving cell metabolism.

A similar study was conducted by a group of scientists from Harvard Medical School and the National Institutes of Health, USA, and published in the journal Cell in 2007. The researchers found two more genes from the same family of mitochondrial sirtuin genes (sirtuin) - SIRT3 and SIRT4, which responded to calorie reduction by activation through a chain of reactions of other important NAMPT and NAD genes. All this led to mitochondria became stronger and healthier, produced more energy, due to this, cell aging processes were greatly slowed down, a special “suicidal” program of cell self-destruction was also inhibited. Interestingly, about the same thing - the activation and optimization of mitochondria - occurs at the molecular level after exercise.

Simple Rules

According to the latest data obtained in a number of studies, it is enough to comply with the following requirements - and you can reduce by 70-90% the risk of developing diseases such as colon and lung cancer, myocardial infarction, stroke, type II diabetes, obesity and many others:

• physical activity equivalent to 30 minutes. and more brisk walking;
• at least 100 micrograms of folic acid per day;
• less than three glasses of weak wine a day;
• no tobacco for life;
• less than three meals a week that include red meat; reduced intake of saturated, trans fats and; adequate intake of polyunsaturated fats, omega-3 fats and dietary fiber from cereals, more greens, vegetables and fruits.

You just need to fulfill this set of very simple requirements and your genes will be happy!

One universal diet that will help everyone is a utopia. Of course, the same diet is not suitable for all people. Indeed, the global problem with all currently existing diets is that they work only for some people, but not for others, and it is far from always clear why this happens. Part of this variation can be explained by the fact that our bodies metabolize fats and carbohydrates differently, which is why some of us lose more pounds than others after a diet - even if the diet, calories consumed, age, etc. are similar. This is why some people may squash on cakes, bacon, and pasta without putting on a pound at the waist, while others get fat at the mere sight of a sandwich. For these people, dieting is an endless cycle of weight loss and weight gain.

The genetic diet is the way out for most

Nevertheless, breaking this vicious circle with the help of diet correction is quite realistic. There are thousands of diets that work, but how do you know which one is best for you? The answer may lie in your DNA! The idea of ​​a genetic diet arose after experts finally became convinced that a variety of regimens and dietary restrictions simply do not work for many people. According to research, 95% of people gain back the weight they lost within a few years, and 41% end up gaining back more pounds after the diet than they lost (the “yo-yo” effect).

The genetic diet offers an individual approach to weight loss and additionally provides the prevention of diseases to which we are "inherited" predisposed. So if you're tired of the debilitating and fruitless cutting of fats or carbohydrates, the constant consumption of green detox smoothies instead of hamburgers, the genetic "diet" may be just what you need.

The Genetic Diet: An Elementary Approach

The genetic diet ideally requires specific tests, but experts have developed a simpler approach that allows you to avoid expensive diagnostics and still reap the benefits of a new concept of nutrition.

Today it is not necessary to do a DNA test to determine the best diet. Nutritionists, comparing a number of signs, have compiled three diets that will help keep most men and women in shape, taking into account their metabolic characteristics (and they are also encoded in the genes). Experts presented three diets based on the concept of genetic diet. Find out what suits your genes and body shape best: a low-fat, low-carb diet, or a balanced meal plan.

Genetic diet for weight loss: reduce carbohydrates

Low-Carb Diet Basics: Consume 20-60 grams of carbs per day. A serving should be distributed as follows: 30% carbohydrates; 40% fat; 30% proteins. A low-carb diet may be optimal for your DNA if you have these signs:

• Fat accumulates mainly at the waist (apple-shaped figure).
• High blood pressure.
• High levels of triglycerides in the blood.

If the waist circumference exceeds 80 cm, the risk of developing heart disease, gallbladder and diabetes increases - insulin resistance may occur, which means that you can correct your metabolism by reducing your sugar intake. By losing 10% of the total body weight, you can also normalize blood pressure. So choose lean proteins for breakfast and lunch, while limiting the amount of carbohydrates, especially from refined foods.

Genetic diet for disease prevention: cutting out fat

Low Fat Diet Basics: Consume no more than 77 grams of fat per day. A serving should be distributed as follows: 70% carbohydrates; 15% proteins; 15% fat. A low-fat diet may be optimal for your DNA if you have:

• Family history of cardiovascular disease;
• There is a low level of energy
• High levels of "bad" cholesterol in the blood.

When combined, a low-fat diet can help you lose weight and protect you from diseases you're predisposed to. Avoid fatty foods, sugar and refined carbohydrates - they make you feel sluggish. To increase energy levels, add carbohydrates to your diet, including whole grains, vegetables, and fruits. As for fats, choose monounsaturated ones - olive oil and avocados: they normalize cholesterol levels.

Balanced genetic diet to optimize metabolism

Basics of a balanced genetic diet: each serving should be distributed as follows: 50% carbohydrates; 30% fat; 20% proteins. A balanced diet may be optimal for your DNA if you have a combination of these factors:

• Family history of diabetes or cardiovascular disease.
• Mediterranean ethnic origin (phototype 3).
• Frequent indigestion or constipation.

The genetic diet takes into account race - after all, our genetic code and body characteristics correlate with nationality. For example, Scandinavians are very tolerant of dairy products because their enzyme systems are excellent at breaking down lactose, while many Native Americans and Chinese suffer from lactose intolerance.

Genetic diet: if testing is needed

If you think you're a victim of the "hunger gene" that's been blamed for millions of failed diets and you never feel completely full, maybe...you are. Variants in the FTO gene increase the feeling of intense hunger, the desire to consume high-calorie foods, and therefore it is especially difficult for such people to lose weight. Recent studies have shown that when the GV3 variant is present in the FTO gene, the levels of the "hunger hormone" ghrelin do not decrease during meals, as it should normally. Not only that, GV3 makes you feel hungry even after eating. Brain scans of people with this variation have shown that they are more attracted to high-fat foods, as well as sweets, which they can eat with appetite even after satiety. 16% of all men and women have a variant of this gene that increases the risk of becoming overweight by 70%.

However, FTO is not the only gene that influences our weight and eating behavior. To date, researchers have identified 8 variations in five genes, including FTO, that affect our figure - they can be determined using tests.

• The ADRB2 gene encodes a protein that is involved in the mobilization of fat in adipocytes (fat cells) - it is necessary for energy production.
• The APOA2 gene encodes the apolipoprotein A-11 protein. Certain variations in this gene cause a person to consume too much saturated fat, which leads to weight gain.
• The NMB gene encodes the neuromedin B protein, which is involved in the control of food intake. The change in this gene is associated with improper eating behavior and overweight.
• The ACTN3 gene encodes a protein that is active in skeletal muscle. Variations in this gene predetermine many metabolic processes, including the features of building muscle or fat mass.

Genetic analyzes of all these available variants in the listed genes help explain why it is so difficult to lose weight. Based on the test results, experts create the optimal diet and exercise regimen for effective weight management.

Brief sample of a genetic diet developed from DNA analysis

1. To optimally support your metabolism, you need carbohydrates. According to the test, your body metabolizes carbohydrates very quickly, so you often lack energy.
2. Your body also needs fats, as it metabolizes them fairly quickly.
3. You need selenium in high doses: you are deficient in this trace element.
4. You are more susceptible to celiac disease than the average person, so gluten-containing foods should be eliminated from your diet.
5. You should consume more cruciferous vegetables because your body is deficient in GSTM1, so you need to get it from food - collard greens, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and broccoli.

So far, such tests cost about US$150 or GBP100. In order to collect biomaterial, it is not at all necessary to be present in the laboratory - it is enough to collect a sample of the epithelium from the inside of the cheek with a cotton swab and send it in a package by mail to experts. The results come with personalized dietary recommendations as well as a host of interesting facts about your body.

On the Web, you can find a huge number of diets and diet plans for proper nutrition. More fiber, five servings of vegetables and fruits a day, kefir for dinner, forget about butter. Familiar but not very effective? The thing is that we are completely different, and therefore what suits one person may be unacceptable for another.

Genes know everything about you

Genes determine 70% of who a person is. At the same time, 99.9% of our DNA is the same, and only 0.1% is responsible for all the differences that make each of us unique: hair color, eyes, predisposition to diseases, physical potential, appearance. Knowing this information, you can adjust your lifestyle so that you are in harmony with your own body.

Genes never change, so genetic analysis is a guide to action every day.

Historical reference

In 2003, Nobel laureate James Watson completed a complete breakdown of the structure of human DNA. Thanks to his research, about 20 thousand genes were identified that are responsible for the predisposition to diseases, especially nutritional, mental and physical behavior, that is, they determine individual characteristics.

Out of 20 thousand, together with the laboratory of the Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and our colleagues from companies MyGenetics And Grindin chosen for analysis and decided to focus your attention on those genes that carry the most important information about the characteristics of our body.

Genetic predisposition is not a diagnosis. What does a DNA report contain?

DNA testing does not determine your current state of health, it tells you about genetic predispositions to certain physiological conditions, helps to calculate risks, and also indicates a number of nutritional and exercise-related traits that are characteristic of you.

According to research by the World Health Organization (WHO), it has been established that genes determine human health by 40%, 50% depend on a person’s lifestyle (bad habits, nutrition, sports), depend on the environment, and only 10% on health.

How it works? Order a DNA test kit. Collect the saliva following the instructions and send the sealed envelope by courier. Your DNA is examined in the laboratory of the Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. This will take 3-4 weeks. You can find a detailed DNA report in your personal account or receive it by mail. It includes the interpretation of the results and professional advice.

But let's see what new things you can learn thanks to the DNA report and what the deviation of genes from the norm will tell you about.

FABP2 gene - digestibility of fats

This gene encodes a protein that binds fatty acids in the intestine and promotes their active transport and absorption. It has a high adaptability to saturated fats and provides capture and transport into the lymphatic system.

What is the danger of a mutation: a mutation in the gene leads to increased absorption of saturated fatty acids in the intestine and weight gain.

ADRB2 and TCF7L2 gene - breakdown of sugars

• ADRB2 encodes a protein that interacts with adrenaline and regulates the rate of sugar breakdown in muscles and liver. Why the mutation is dangerous: mutations in this gene lead to a decrease in the rate of consumption of carbohydrate reserves in liver cells and their conversion into fats.
• The TCF7L2 gene encodes a protein that is involved in the regulation of insulin secretion in the pancreas. Why the mutation is dangerous: A mutation in this gene contributes to the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

The results obtained on the basis of DNA testing make it possible to determine the possibility of overweight, lactose intolerance, alcohol dependence, intestinal dysfunction, salt-sensitive hypertension, and violations of the water-salt exchange between the external and internal environments of the body.

GLUT2 gene - sweet sensitivity

This gene encodes a protein that transports glucose across the cell membrane. Why the mutation is dangerous: in this gene, a mutation leads to a decrease in sensitivity to sugar and an increase in its consumption in food.

LCT gene - lactose perception

The LCT gene encodes the protein lactase, which is produced in the small intestine and is involved in the breakdown of milk sugar. The original form of this gene is associated with a decrease in the activity of lactase synthesis with age. A common variant of the norm is associated with lactose intolerance. The presence of one polymorphism in the gene is favorable and leads to the acquisition of the ability to digest milk in adulthood.

CD36 gene - fat recognition

Encodes a protein that is involved in the recognition of fats in food and their absorption in the intestines. Mutations in this gene lead to a disturbance in the perception of fatty acids and an increase in the amount of their consumption.

CYP1A2 gene - caffeine metabolism

The CYP1A2 gene encodes a protein that plays an important role in the detoxification of numerous compounds, including caffeine metabolism, and the more caffeine circulates in the blood, the higher the risk of hypertension and myocardial damage. A mutation in this gene leads to a decrease in the rate of metabolism of caffeine and an increase in the duration of circulation in the blood.

HLA-DQ2 gene - gluten intolerance

Encodes a protein involved in the recognition of own and foreign cells by the body and foreign compounds. It is located on the cells of the immune system. One of the variants of this protein binds strongly to gluten proteins, which leads to immunological reactions to gluten and the development of celiac disease.

ADD1 gene - salt intake

The ADD1 gene encodes a structural cell protein that is involved in the transport of sodium ions through the kidneys. Mutations in this gene lead to impaired sodium transport and the development of salt-sensitive hypertension.

APOA5 gene - triglycerides

The APOA5 gene encodes a protein that plays a role in changes in the concentration of triglycerides in the blood. Mutations in this gene lead to an increased risk of triglyceridemia and the development of obesity.

MC4R gene - satiety time

The MC4R gene encodes a protein that is involved in the regulation of metabolism, eating behavior, and sexual desire. Through this receptor, a signal is triggered to suppress hunger and reduce food intake. Mutations in this gene lead to excess food intake.

The need for vitamins

In some cases, the standard vitamin and mineral complex does not cover individual needs*. There are genetic markers that may indicate greater health benefits of certain micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals, so you may need to control the amount of these substances in your diet. A balanced diet that provides optimal amounts of vitamins and nutrients is an important part of good health.
Based on DNA analysis, it is possible to judge the genetically determined features of the organism. At the same time, the influence of external factors, such as the environment, allergies, acquired chronic diseases, cannot be taken into account in this report. However, they should be taken into account when implementing the recommendations. It is important that you understand this, whether you consider yourself perfectly healthy or know about any of your chronic diseases.

special diet

Based on all the recommendations, you can easily create your own balanced diet, following which you can lose weight, gain weight or maintain your weight. In addition to this menu, rich in missing (at the genetic level) trace elements, nutrients, vitamins, will help you achieve not only external, but also internal changes in your body.

This is interesting: you can also take the help of a specialist and book a consultation a dietitian who will make recommendations as soon as you receive your DNA test results. The test results will allow you to determine the most effective nutrition and training system for weight loss, taking into account your individual characteristics.

How to follow a diet?

• The safety of following the recommendations in this report depends on your initial health condition.
• Before switching to the optimal DNA diet, it is necessary to consult a personal doctor and, if necessary, an endocrinologist to rule out contraindications to the recommended diet.
• Your individual menu can be modified or supplemented by a qualified endocrinologist or nutritionist, taking into account the optimal DNA diet we have proposed.
• If your health condition does not allow you to start eating on a genetically determined diet, begin a gradual transition to a DNA diet under the supervision of a qualified nutritionist or endocrinologist and your personal doctor.
• If you feel any deterioration in well-being while following the diet, you must inform your doctor in a timely manner.

New personal diet by genes

It's no secret that our health depends on nutrition. And we eat every day, at least 3 times. Therefore, it is important to understand how we can make our diet correct and healthy. How can you create an individual diet today?

If we understand what genes are and how their activity can be regulated by nutrition, then we have the opportunity to solve or prevent many health problems. Such services are popular abroad and now they have become available in Odessa, in the German "Diagnostic Center of St. Paul" in Odessa.

What genes will help us create your individual diet?

Gene FTO- gene "gluttony"!

A person often feels hungry before eating, and that's good! Thanks to this, our body reminds us of the time of eating, and this is good for us, we replenish our energy reserves in this way. But for some people, the feeling of hunger occurs too often and, as a result, people with such feelings are overweight. And being overweight is a problem. Recent advances in human genetics have identified the FTO gene - the "gluttony" gene. With the help of this study, you can identify what type of eating behavior you belong to, as well as determine whether your appetite is normal.

Gene PPARG- fat gene

Of course, it matters how much fat we consume, but it is even more important to know how these fats will be absorbed in the body. It also matters where and in what quantity they will be deposited. Clinical studies have shown that the gene PPARG plays a key role in fat metabolism. Clinical studies show that people with changes in this gene have a predisposition to obesity, and with the help of the study of this gene, you can choose the most beneficial diet for you. So do not use the selection of diets at random, but seek help from the latest achievements of science!

Gene LEP- gene "satiation" food

While eating, we at some point experience a feeling of fullness and stop eating. But, like everything in the body, the feeling of saturation depends on complex biochemical processes. After all, a person is a very complex chemical laboratory. Leptin is responsible for the feeling of satiety. This substance is produced by fat cells and reduces our need for food, accelerates the feeling of satiety. Low leptin levels signal hunger. The level of leptin depends on the state of the gene.

LPL gene - "high cholesterol" gene

Every day with food we get various fats. But for us it does not matter what kind of fat we ate, but for our body it is extremely important. Indeed, in complex chemical reactions of metabolism, all fats are different, have all kinds of characteristics, such as density, etc. Depending on what fats we eat and how exactly they are digested in the body, such a condition as high cholesterol depends. Today, we have all heard about the dangers of cholesterol, but the harm from high cholesterol has already been proven in practice. How can you protect yourself from this? Even today it is possible thanks to the achievements of science. Scientists have identified a gene that is associated with the metabolism of fats in the body and determined that an individual tendency to high cholesterol depends precisely on the state of this gene. It is useful that with additional knowledge about this gene, you can choose individual recommendations and a special diet. And remember, the disease is easier to prevent than to cure.

Gene MTHFR- individual vitamin gene

We all know that vitamins are useful. Of course, it is better that we get vitamins from food in a natural way. But it happens that you need to drink vitamins in tablets. In this case, the question arises, who needs to drink vitamins? The latest achievements of science come to the rescue in such matters. First of all, this applies to such a vitamin as folic acid. Of course, it is important how much folic acid we get from food. But no less important is how much it is absorbed in our body and will benefit. And the benefits of folic acid are enormous. First of all, a sufficient intake of folic acid saves us from such conditions as thrombosis and mental manifestations (nervousness, depression of attention, etc.) That's just the gene responsible for the absorption of folic acid MTHFR. Depending on the state of this gene, individual dietary recommendations can be given. By the way, folic acid is found in large quantities in plant and animal products.

Plant foods containing folic acid: green leafy vegetables, carrots, legumes, bran, cereals, nuts, yeast, oranges, bananas, root vegetables, pumpkin, etc.

Animal products containing folic acid: pork meat and liver, lamb meat and liver, beef meat and liver, egg yolk, salmon, milk and dairy products.

Gene VDR- gene for individual vitamins

It is no secret that the basis of our body is the skeleton. A skeleton is made up of bones. In order for our bones to be strong, they need vitamins. We get vitamins from food or from special medicines. But, you should definitely read when the lack of vitamins occurs and how it can manifest itself. The process of bone formation is quite complex. Vitamin D plays an important role in the formation of bone tissue. It regulates the process of calcium absorption and its distribution. But the efficiency of vitamin D absorption in the body depends on the state of its receptors. And the state of the receptors, in turn, depends on the gene VDR . Receptors are a special transport through which vitamin D enters the cells of our body. Therefore, if the receptors do not work well for some reason, then we observe a lack of vitamin D in the body and, as a result, problems with the bones. The analysis of the VDR gene will prevent the development of bone problems, thanks to individual recommendations and a special diet.

Price:

The cost of the study is 1400 UAH. For analysis, saliva is needed from the inside of the cheek. The analysis period is 5-10 days.

Be healthy!