Genetics: Know your Instruction Booklet
Genetics: Know your Instruction Booklet
Genetics is the scientific study of genes and how certain qualities are passed from parents to offspring. Specific genes have been studied for years for targeted diseases but only in the past 20 years has technology expanded the understanding of genetics and the relationship to disease and health. The Human Genome Project was an international research project supported by the NIH in 1988, to understand and map all the genes of the human being and was completed in 2003. The mapping of all the genes is known as the human genome. International research on the genome and how to promote health and prevent disease is published daily.
What is a genome?
The genome is what you inherit from your parents. It is like the instruction book for how all our cells function and communicate. Genetic science is the study of the transmission of inherited characteristics across many generations. The genome is all your DNA, genes, and chromosomes. The genome is your DNA (instructions on how the body communicates and works), chromosomes, and genes, and every person has a unique genome.
When you are born, you inherit a set of chromosomes from each parent. Within the chromosomes are DNA which encodes how genes are made in the body. We have 20,000 to 30,000 different genes that carry coded information that determine our characteristics.
Closer Look at the DNA
The DNA is made up of strands of proteins, called nucleotides. See the picture with the bases to the right of the picture. There are four type of nucleotides, and it is the number of nucleotides and the arrangement that differentiates your genetic information. It is common for a nucleotide to be out of place along the strand at times, and this is referred to as a variant. (More on this below) This is very different from a mutation which would be a major defect in the gene.
The DNA programs how your genes are encoded, and the genes are coded for specific functions in your body. Genes are packed into chromosomes and nearly every cell has 2 sets (one from each parent). Genotype is the set of genes you inherited from your parents and the phenotype is your set of characteristics, or how your genes interact with the environment.
George Bray, a researcher of obesity and endocrinology, stated, “Genetics loads the gun, and the environment pulls the trigger”. While he was speaking to obesity, this is true for many diseases and chronic conditions. Environmental and nutritional factors influence disease and chronic conditions about 85% of the time while DNA directly influences disease about 15% of the time. Your DNA is influenced by the food you consume, exposure to environmental pollutants and toxins, and a stressful lifestyle. Processed food and sugar can send the wrong signals to your DNA and places a burden on how the entire body functions.
Genetic Variations and Mutation
The nucleotides in genes need to be paired in a certain sequence for the genes to function as intended. Genetic variants occur when nucleotides are misplaced. When one of the single base nucleotides (see picture above) is out of place, this is called a single nucleotide polymorphism. These are often referred to as “SNPS” (pronounced “snips”). This variation contributes to individual differences in both disease susceptibility and therapeutic responses. Some genetic variations do not affect how the body functions, such as influencing hair color or eyes, but some variations can influence our health. Genes typically overlap in many processes of your body. An example is the vitamin D receptor (VDR) which is involved in activating vitamin D, the immune system, bone metabolism, and tumor suppression.
The Problem
Some Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPS) may never cause a problem. The problem occurs when some variants (vulnerable) are exposed to poor nutrition, stress, environment pollution, lifestyle, and toxins. An example is the NAT2 gene which is important as its primary role is in the deactivation of many chemicals in the environment. Depending on the SNPS, you could be considered a fast or slow metabolizer (break down) of toxins. If you had this genetic variation (slow breakdown of toxins), and were exposed to chemicals in your work, then it would be important to take antioxidants.
Example
The zinc transporter gene, SLC30A8, is responsible for transporting zinc into the cell and is found mostly in the pancreas. This genetic variation can affect how well the insulin functions in the pancreas. If someone has this genetic variation, and is obese and or at risk for diabetes, then the risk of diabetes would be decreased by supporting this gene and taking additional zinc. This gene is associated more in people with diabetes.
As mentioned above, genetic variations do not cause disease but influence the progression of a disease process. Most genes are important in several functions. Zinc is also a cofactor in recycling B12 and supports the immune system.
What is Methylation
Methylation one of the foundational processes in the body that supports every cell. Every cell needs methyl groups a million times a second and methylation is a process when methyl groups (CH3) are created and exchanged. Every single cell needs these methyl groups to function in an optimal manner. There are about nine genes involved in this process and SNPS can cause the methylation cycle to be dysfunctional. A simple example is if someone has a gene that helps make folate, they eat processed food (low folate), alcoholic (liver needs extra methyl groups); then this causes dysfunction in the body’s ability to keep up with the demand. A proper methylation system affects the following processes:
Skeletal muscle contraction
DNA and RNA replication
Hormone regulation and detoxification
Energy production
Cellular repair
Fat metabolism
Myelination around nerves
Immune function
Neurotransmitter production ad metabolism
Vascular endothelial function (inner lining of vessels)
Genetic variants can be influenced by lifestyle (stress, lack of sleep), environment (toxins, pollution), and poor nutrition. Epigenetics is the study of how external factors can affect how our genes function.We can minimize the risk for disease by knowing what genes need certain nutritional support and potentially reverse a disease process by understanding weakness, or vulnerabilities, in our genetics.Understanding our genes holds the key to how we should be eating in addition, to what supplements may be important to support our genes, based on clinical research.
