Yes, our genes determine a lot for our lives. But they are not our fate. Because we can influence them through our diet. Call itself Epi-Food and it’s quite a trend right now.
Think of your body as a giant calculator. He is constantly rebuilding himself, dating himself, at any time of the day or night. Repairs cells, removes metabolic products, incorporates proteins. It does it all by itself, automatically. How smoothly it works is up to us – more precisely, how our computer is equipped and how we use it.
Genes are like an operating system
Our genes are something like the operating system of this bio-computer. The data set of every single cell is encrypted and stored there, like a kind of hardware in our body. For a long time it was thought that genes were immutable. But since the human genome has been deciphered, we have known that genes have fewer Importance to our health than expected. Because only a small part of them is read at all. Many are even switched off permanently. For example, a woman may have a breast cancer gene but it won’t activate.
Like a computer, ours has the body’s own operating system also via software. There are so-called on-off switches on the genes, which ensure that gene programs unfold and can be read over long periods of time, or else they fold and are thus switched off. This opening and closing is called epigenetics. And at this point it gets really exciting: Because we can influence this software ourselves with our lifestyle!
It is mainly organic substances from food, but also those The way we live – Sport, stress, environmental toxins – that activate these on-off switches. So it is not the genes that control us, but rather we control our genes to a certain extent – and thus our health.
Good genes can be turned on again
So it’s no wonder that epigenetic nutrition is trendy right now. Scientists are researching which nutrients our genes can actually reprogram: Anti-aging experts use the new knowledge to slow down the aging process in the skin. And bloggers try to develop suitable recipes for it. “Nutrition can protect and heal the genes. And if the genes are healthy, we are healthy,” writes Alexandra Riederle, who has published a cookbook on Epi-Food. Sounds easy. But it is also a bit exhausting: Because you have to change your habits if you want to eat healthily, exercise a lot and at the same time incorporate enough breaks in your everyday life.
But the effort is worth it: “Dozens of studies have now shown that diet can influence epigenetics and thus the reading of genes,” confirms neuroscientist Isabelle Mansuy from ETH Zurich. Important metabolic processes, repair programs and even anti-cancer genes are activated in this way or shut down if the diet is poor. More and more biological substances are being discovered that can increase or decrease the activity of the genes.
the good news is: Even switches that have already been turned to “off” can be reactivated by our lifestyle and thus opened for reading again. Nobel laureate Elisabeth Blackburn has impressively shown how quickly this can be done in a study in which patients took part in a lifestyle program in which they ate healthier (vegetarian, lots of omega 3 and vitamin B12), had less stress and more moved. Result: A total of 48 genes were upregulated and 453 downregulated in the participants in just three months, including some genes that control cancer growth.
A study from the University of California also showed that healthier eating and more exercise also have a positive influence on genesthat control the development of cardiovascular diseases, inflammation, vascular function, blood lipid and blood sugar regulation. In a comparison group who only took medication, on the other hand, not a single gene changed its activity.
Particularly effective: dark vegetables, good oil
What does that mean in practical terms for our food? When it comes to Epi-Food, research has found that plant substances in particular are particularly good at turning the switches on and off. Dark colored, deep red and dark green – the more colorful the vegetables, the more important plant substances included. Or more practical: prefer rocket lettuce instead of iceberg lettuce (contains five times as many antioxidants), berries instead of bananas, red instead of light grapes – and the antioxidants for cell protection are doubled.
“The effects of certain nutrients on the epigenome can be seen directly in the blood just a few hours after eating certain foods,” says Isabelle Mansuy. “For example with broccoli, which contains sulforaphane. The substances contained in broccoli, Brussels sprouts or cress, for example, can affect genes that play a role in breast and colon cancer.”
Also good: a Oil change, because fats have a very significant effect on the on-off switch of the genes. Omega-3 fats and monounsaturated fats unfold favorable gene segments, while saturated fats often activate unfavorable gene segments, as studies show. Or differently: more fish, nuts, olive oil and less meat, sausage, cheese on the plate. The optimal diet for the genes would be to combine the Mediterranean (fruits and vegetables, legumes, nuts, low saturated fat, omega-3 fatty acids from fish) with the epi-foods from Asia (green tea, curcumin, cabbage varieties and tofu) . Because: The oldest people in the world live precisely in these two regions. They have had the most important Epi-Foods on their plates for a long time and thus influence the opening and closing of genes on a daily basis. This means that the genetic material ages more slowly.
Aging of the gene ends
This is measurable in terms of the Gene ends, the telomeres. The shorter these become, the more unstable the genes become and the faster the entire body ages. With shorter telomeres, the incidence of cancer and cardiovascular diseases increases and the body’s ability to repair decreases. In studies, the consumption of coffee, green tea, nuts and the Mediterranean diet was linked to a four to five year slower aging of the telomeres.
By the way: the older we get, the more off switches are installed on the genetic material about an unfavorable lifestyle and poor diet. Like viruses that make a computer’s operating system run slower and slower until one day it crashes completely. In fact, the biological age of a person can be read off precisely: from the number of off switches that have accumulated.
The consequences of our way of life are also passed on
With the suitable food for the genes by the way, we can’t start early enough. Epigenetic programming can also be passed on to the next generation and the one after that. For example, if parents are very overweight, their children will notice some of this programming – an estimated 15 percent. So it is not only the genes that are passed on, but also some of the programmed on-off switches that determine the way of life and have accumulated over time.
When it comes to weight, the Zurich expert Isabelle Mansuy recommends that both parents lose weight before they become pregnant, because: “Epigenetic Properties are passed on to the next generation from both sides. “
Therapy from the kitchen
These are the seven top epigenetic foods
tofu – The isoflavones contained influence the on-off switch in breast cancer genes and in the hormonal balance.
Green tea – Studies found that women who drank a lot of green tea had beneficial changes in 28 different on-off switches, including different cancer genes.
turmeric – The yellow plant substance influences various gene segments that have an anti-inflammatory effect. Turmeric is now available fresh almost everywhere in the supermarket, it can be used like ginger.
Cabbage – Sulforaphane, a secondary plant substance in broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, red cabbage, savoy cabbage, cress and broccoli sprouts can positively change the on-off programming of genes.
Tip: Cooking greatly reduces this potent organic substance. If, however, types of cabbage are cut about 40 minutes before cooking, a heat-resistant plant substance is created through a biochemical reaction. So the sulforaphane is preserved.
Broccoli sprouts – Contain ten times as much sulforaphane as all other types of cabbage. This superfood is also packed with vitamins and enzymes. At home, broccoli sprouts are easy to germinate in a jar. Sprinkled over salads, as a topping on bread or in a smoothie, the sprouts give a nutty aroma.
Dark berries – Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and currants contain potent biological substances that act on the epigenome. They’re also full of antioxidants that can scavenge free radicals. For example, 100 grams of blackberries contain three times as many antioxidants as 100 grams of apple and ten times more than a banana.
Dark green leafy vegetables – It has the highest folic acid content and is rich in magnesium. If these micronutrients are deficient, the entire biochemical machinery of epigenetics can be thwarted. 90 percent of all women do not even reach the minimum intake for folic acid. Vitamins B6, B12 and trace elements such as zinc are also essential for proper epigenetics.
Brigitte Leben folder