Health Tip of the Day - Sugar Causes Genetic Damage

Giving in to the urgings of the sweet tooth has farther reaching consequences than one might think. We know about the blood sugar roller coaster that results from that chocolate bar you crave. It turns out that the effects last for weeks, and may even effect future generations.

Australian scientists at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute study the impact of diet on human heart tissue and mice. The results of this study appear in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

The study showed that sugar consumption changes the way that the body responds to food. Sugar switches off genetic controls designed to protect the body against diabetes and heart disease. They found that cells show the effects of a one-time dose of sugar for fourteen days. If human genes remember a sugar hit for two weeks, imagine what happens when sugar consumption becomes a habit. Prolonged poor eating habits are capable of permanently altering DNA. This damaged DNA may be passed on to the next generation, putting into motion a downward spiral of poor health for posterity.

It would seem that the same may be true for other 'junk food' items. Put some serious thought into what you eat, and what you feed your family. We may regret our dependence on mass produced Franken Food for generations. Perhaps it is time we take back control of our families' health.

Diet, Lifestyle Change Effect at Genetic Level

Dr. Dean Ornish, head of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, is a well-known author advocating lifestyle changes to improve health. Dr. Ornish is also affiliated with the University of California at San Francisco. He recently reported on the Gene Expression Modulation by Intervention with Nutrition and Lifestyle (GEMINAL) study. This study indicated that making positive changes in one's diet, exercise, and stress management can affect more than a person's weight. Dr. Ornish's study was published in the June 16, 2008 edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The study followed 30 men who had opted out of conventional treatment for low-risk prostate cancer. The men decided, before they were recruited to take part in the study, not to undergo treatments such as surgery, radiation, or hormone therapy normally advocated for the disease. The men were closely monitored for tumor progression through the duration of the study.

Instead, for three months, they made changes in their lifestyle: They ate a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and soy products. They exercised moderately, walking for half an hour a day. Each day they spent an hour practicing stress management methods such as meditation. Additionally, the men participated in support group sessions.

As the study progressed, the men lost weight, lowered their blood pressure and cholesterol, and generally saw improvements in their health. Previous studies gave evidence of lowered prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels with dietary changes.

Biopsies taken at the beginning and end of the study demonstrated some more significant changes. About 500 genes evidenced changes in activity at the end of the study. 48 disease preventing genes were turned on. 453 genes which promote disease, like breast and prostate cancers, were turned off.

Dr. Ornish expressed excitement over the results in a Reuters interview. The implications of this study go beyond men and prostate cancer. People are not doomed by their genetics. They can make positive changes fairly quickly. In three months, genetic changes can be made through the choices we make in food, exercise, and the way we handle stress.

This is an area of study that merits further investigation, the researchers concluded.

Resources:

((http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080617/hl_...)

((http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/10...)

((http://ict.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abst...)

((http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1609...)