Food as information for gene expression
Your food talks to your genes. Your food delivers information to your body. When you eat a beige processed food diet, you are giving scrambled information that your body doesn’t understand. That information is like shouting to, or bullying your genes. This misinformation can cause genes to be switched on that increase inflammation and the risk of disease.
When you eat a real food, minimally processed, healthy diet that is lower in refined carbohydrates, you are sending correct and useful information to your body and genes in a package that allows the body to do all the necessary functions in the way they are designed to be done. That information also keeps those illness and inflammation genes switched off.
A Norwegian study showed just that! Albeit small, the study showed how a diet with 65% carbohydrates – pretty typical for a modern Western diet – caused a number of genes to work overtime. These genes were those that cause inflammation in the body and are associated with development of cardiovascular disease, some cancers, dementia, and type 2 diabetes. We also know from extensive research that inflammation is at the root of many mental health issues, including anxiety and depression.
Treat and feed your gut bugs well
Your gut is not Las Vegas. What happens in the gut, does not stay in the gut.
~ Alessio Fasano
This is a famous quote by Alessio Fasano, medical doctor, pediatric gastroenterologist and gut researcher.
What does it mean?
It means that the gut constantly communicates with the rest of your body, including the brain, and anything can slip through the crucial barrier that is your intestinal lining if things are not right in the gut.
Your gut is your digestive tract and within it resides a complex ecosystem of trillions of microbes, both beneficial and harmful. When you eat, your digestive system breaks down the food so the nutrients can be absorbed and utilised by the body. Any foods that the human digestion can’t break down (fibres and plant chemicals, for instance) are digested by the gut microbes that, as a result, produce various amazing anti-inflammatory, communication or other beneficial molecules that support optimal health.
They also keep the intestinal lining, i.e. the barrier between the outside world and the inside of your body (bloodstream), intact so that harmful things are kept away from your blood circulation. When this barrier function is compromised, your gut may become “leaky”. A leaky gut has been linked to many systemic conditions including mental health issues, through neuro-inflammation and potentially also through a leaky brain. So, to support optimal mental health, we need to have optimal gut health.
Here’s a (non-exclusive) list of factors that influence your gut health:
- Diet
- Stress
- Sleep
- Alcohol
- Exercise
- Nature/Environment
- Mindset
- Medications (particularly antibiotics and acid-blocking drugs)
- Toxin exposure
- Mode of delivery (vaginal/cesarean) and breast-feeding
As you can see, there are many factors affecting your gut, which means you can feel reassured that there’s always something that you can do to make a difference, however small a change it is! You don’t have to change everything from the get-go. Just making small changes (or just one small change) in any of the areas above can make a big difference in your gut health, your mental health and your overall health.
So, just focus on one small change at a time to keep your gut, and the gut microbes living in it, happy and healthy so that you can also feel happy and healthy yourself!
How to eat for good mood and mental wellbeing – Part 2: Out Now!
References:
The Lancet – Global Health Metrics| Volume 392, Issue 10159, P1789-1858, November 10, 2018. Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 354 diseases and injuries for 195 countries and territories, 1990–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)32279-7/fulltext
GOV.UK – Office for Health Improvement & Disparities. Wellbeing and mental health: Applying All Our Health, Updated 28 February 2022 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wellbeing-in-mental-health-applying-all-our-health/wellbeing-in-mental-health-applying-all-our-health
Stepping Stones Recovery College Bracknell https://www.steppingstonesrecovery.co.uk/
Britain’s Healthiest Workplace Survey 2014-2019 https://www.vitality.co.uk/business/healthiest-workplace/findings/
Financial Times Special Report ‘Health at Work’ https://www.ft.com/reports/health-at-work
How Cooking Can Change Your Life – Michael Pollan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TX7kwfE3cJQ
Schulte EM, Avena NM, Gearhardt AN (2015) Which Foods May Be Addictive? The Roles of Processing, Fat Content, and Glycemic Load. PLOS ONE 10(2): e0117959. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0117959
Lenoir M, Serre F, Cantin L, Ahmed SH (2007) Intense Sweetness Surpasses Cocaine Reward. PLOS ONE 2(8): e698. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0000698
DiNicolantonio JJ, O’Keefe JH, Wilson WL. Sugar addiction: is it real? A narrative review. Br J Sports Med. 2018 Jul;52(14):910-913. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2017-097971. Epub 2017 Aug 23. PMID: 28835408. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28835408/
Mosconi L, et al. Lifestyle and vascular risk effects on MRI-based biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease: a cross-sectional study of middle-aged adults from the broader New York City area BMJ Open 2018;8:e019362 https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/8/3/e019362
Valentina Berti et al. Mediterranean diet and 3-year Alzheimer brain biomarker changes in middle-aged adults. Neurology May 2018, 90 (20) e1789-e1798 https://n.neurology.org/content/90/20/e1789
Hans-Richard Brattbakk et al. Balanced Caloric Macronutrient Composition Downregulates Immunological Gene Expression in Human Blood Cells—Adipose Tissue Diverges.OMICS: A Journal of Integrative Biology.Jan 2013.41-52. http://doi.org/10.1089/omi.2010.0124
Obrenovich, M.E.M, Leaky Gut, Leaky Brain? Microorganisms. 2018 Dec; 6(4): 107. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6313445/
Main photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash
