Protecting the human epigenome with nutritional epigenetics mediated programs

Dr. Renee J. Dufault, Executive Director at the Food and Health Ingredient Research Institute, explains the importance of nutritional epigenetics in understanding the impact of dietary nutrients and chemicals on gene expression patterns, as well as their role in the development of conditions such as autism. and ADHD

Rising rates of autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and type-2 diabetes are occurring worldwide and can be explained by changes in the human epigenome. Nutrients and dietary chemicals can change or modify the expression of genes and influence their behavior patterns over generations. ⁽¹⁾ Nutritional epigenetics is the field of research in which scientists study the effects of nutrients and dietary chemicals on gene expression. ^{(2), (3)} Heritable and reversible patterns of gene expression result from changes in the structure of DNA chromatin, commonly occurring through methylation mechanisms. ⁽²⁾ Genes can be methylated (silenced) or demethylated (turned on) at specific locations in the human genome, which contains all the genes. Inherited DNA methylation patterns are reversible depending on prenatal dietary exposure to nutrients and dietary chemicals. ^{(3), (4)}

Dietary chemical exposures

Dietary chemical exposures may vary depending on food manufacturing and agricultural practices. Dietary chemicals enter the food supply directly as food ingredients and permissible residues or indirectly as contaminants. Food quality depends on food ingredients and pesticide safety regulations, which vary by country and, in some cases, by geographic region. In the United States, for example, the Food and Drug Administration regulates petroleum-based food colors by certifying each batch to ensure that the heavy metal impurities do not exceed allowable levels. ^{(5), (6)} For example, each batch of yellow #5 (E-102) and yellow #6 (E-110) may contain up to 10ppm lead (Pb), 3ppm arsenic (As), and 1ppm mercury (Hg). ⁽⁶⁾ In the European Union and the United Kingdom, any product containing these two petroleum-based food coloring ingredients must be labeled with the warning ‘May adversely affect activity and attention in children.’ ⁽⁷⁾

Dietary chemical exposures from eating ultra-processed foods affect gene expression Yellow #5, Yellow #6, and high fructose corn syrup are examples of ingredients in ultra-processed food products that may contain specific metal residues and may cause losses lead to zinc damage. body. ^{(6), (8), (9), (10)} The consumption of any dietary chemical or ingredient known as zinc loss or deficiency can affect metallothionein (MT) gene transport and result in the bioaccumulation of heavy metals in the blood and other tissues. ^{(10), (11), (12)} The MT gene provides the instructions for building metallothionein proteins, which are composed, in part, of zinc and copper atoms attached to cysteine ​​molecules. ⁽¹³⁾ MTs act as metal transport proteins in the body and play a central role in detoxification and elimination of heavy metals. ⁽¹³⁾

Children with autism and ADHD are often deficient in zinc and therefore have difficulty eliminating heavy metals due to disruption of the MT gene. ^{(10), (12), (13)} As a result, they tend to bioaccumulate Cd, Pb, and/or Hg, and the severity of their symptoms is directly correlated with the levels of heavy metals found in their blood. ^{(14), (15), (16)}

Changes in the epigenome caused by co-exposure to dietary chemicals

Co-exposure to dietary and other chemicals from the consumption of ultra-processed foods may affect child development and gene methylation patterns across generations. In one recent study, researchers found that prenatal co-exposure to organophosphate (OP) pesticide and Pb residues, along with an unhealthy ultra-processed food diet, led to a significantly higher risk of ADHD in the human offspring. ⁽¹⁷⁾ In another recent study, researchers found that a family history of an unhealthy diet affects DNA methylation patterns in tissues, creating conditions for the development of insulin resistance in offspring and predisposing them to type 2 diabetes. ⁽¹⁸⁾ An unhealthy maternal diet high in ultra-processed foods leads to poor prenatal nutrition and changes the human epigenome. ^{(18), (19)} Therefore, the prevalence of autism and ADHD in children can be reduced if unhealthy diets are prevented before and after pregnancy. Nutritional epigenetic education intervention programs can now be used to protect the human epigenome from further damage and promote healing.

Nutritional epigenetics educational interventions

Dr Dufault and her colleagues at the non-profit Institute for Health and Food Ingredients Research were the first in the world to develop nutritional epigenetics models to explain autism and ADHD. ^{(1), (10), (16)} They created a curriculum for differentiated nutritional epigenetics instruction that was successfully used during a clinical trial to significantly reduce the parents’ ultra-processed food intake. ⁽²⁰⁾ Parents who participated in the clinical trial also increased their intake of whole, unprocessed foods. ⁽²⁰⁾ When parents understand behavioral patterns of gene expression from the perspective of nutritional epigenetics, they are better equipped to prevent developmental disorders in their children.

References

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