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By David W. Feld, MD, Jupiter Obgyn
EPIGENETICS: Definition
Why do we age? Why do some of us age better than others? Why, when you least expect it, does an acquaintance, or a loved one, suddenly die from cancer, or heart disease, or a stroke? Why is breast cancer and other illnesses, on the rise?
It has been said that “genetics loads the gun” and “lifestyle pulls the trigger”. In this brief monograph, we will explore scientifically-proven means to fight back the aging process, and by that I mean, the development of diseases.
Epigenetics, a term coined in 1942, by C.H. Waddington, an English biologist and geneticist, is the combination of two words: epigenesis and genetics. It literally means, “above” or “outside” the gene. It is how a cell can change its “phenotype”, its “expression”, its “translation”, without changing its DNA. Most recently, Time magazine brought this term to the forefront, in exposing our abilities to improve future health with lifestyle changes. In explaining this to patients, I say if your family history is good, don’t rest on your laurels and expect longevity and wellness. On the contrary, if you have a poor family history of cancer and heart disease, do not wait for your fate to be sealed. The following literature should shed light on the ability to up-regulate our “good” genes, and down-regulate the “bad”. This is all about our DNA in our genes, and our innate ability to influence “gene expression” or “translation”. For example, say you have psoriasis, which means the gene for that skin condition has been turned on. However, the gene expression can be influenced by nutrition and supplements and lifestyle changes, with the result that the disease can be coaxed into remission. The inherent DNA is there for the disease, but the gene’s translation has been altered for a time.
FREE RADICAL BIOLOGY: The Problem
Dr. Denham Harman, MD, PhD, is widely known as the “father of the free- radical theory of aging”. His publications, starting in 1956, spanned nearly 30 years, were far ahead of his time, finding that, in part, the mitochondria, or “powerhouse” of the cells, determine health and longevity. This has been corroborated time and again, and stands strong as the leading hypothesis of aging. He argued that oxygen-free radicals produced during normal cellular respiration cause cumulative damage to healthy tissues, such as the membrane around the cell, which can lead to disease, by damaging the DNA in the cell’s interior.
Since his theories were first proposed, a huge body of literature has emerged, providing further evidence that free radicals and oxidative stress are responsible, to a significant degree, to age-related disease states.
ANTIOXIDANTS: The Missing Link in Nutrition
Another famous scientist, Dr. Lester Packer, is known as the “father of antioxidants”, and did over 60 years of research at UCLA, Berkeley. He has published over 700 scientific papers and 70 books on every aspect of antioxidants and health. Two publications, “Understanding the Process of Aging: The roles of Mitochondria, Free Radicals, and Antioxidants, and
“The Antioxidant Miracle”, are must-reads if you want to fight back the aging and disease process.
Over $30 billion each year is spent on ineffective vitamins in the USA alone. Doctors and other health-care professional continue to be confused by the inconsistent studies on vitamins and minerals and nutritionals. What they fail to understand, is that stand-alone vitamins are incomplete, poorly absorbed, and relatively ineffective for disease prevention. This was documented in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), in 2002, when they concluded that 99% of Americans do need a vitamin supplement, but it has to be effective!
What is needed is a complex, complete “network” of vitamins, minerals, fish oils, antioxidants, trace elements, anti-cancer products, and phytonutrients, in a special nano moiety that improves absorption. These products are available now for human consumption, are in the Physicians Desk Reference, have been used by the Olympics, and proven to be effective. Additionally, we can now measure their effectiveness, quickly, accurately and non-invasively with an instrument recently featured on the Dr. Oz show.
Simply stated, free radicals are the bad guys, and antioxidants are the good guys!
GENE EXPRESSION SCIENCE: The Future Frontier
The Human Genome Project (HGP), completed in 2003, after 13 years of international research, at a cost of over 4 billion dollars, had as it’s goal to determine the sequence of the chemical base pairs that make up our DNA. It led to the identification and mapping of over 20,050 genes of the human genome, from both a physical and functional standpoint. Only a few scientists took this information to another level. The Biotech company, Lifegen technologies, at the University of Wisconsin, headed by Dr. Tom Prolla and Dr. Richard Weintraub are the foremost authorities on the aging process, with over 30 years of double-blind studies, and have proven that Caloric Restriction or CR, as it is known in the nutrition world, can lead to a longer, disease-free life. Their research is well documented in a multitude of journals, but especially in SCIENCE. Briefly stated, these scientists were able to identify, with the help of the results of the HGP, certain genes in the mitochondria of the heart, muscle, and brain, that could be “re-set”, back to a more youthful state. This is the ability to influence gene expression, without splicing or genetically re-engineering the inherent DNA.
A simple analogy would be the aging of a piano that becomes out of tune. The tuner doesn’t restring or rebuild the piano, but merely resets the keys back to it’s original mellifluous tone. With Drs. Prolla and Weintraub’s incredible discoveries, I can offer my patients a safe, natural, effective, guaranteed, and PDR-approved nutrient that will provide increased energy, vitality, recovery, and increased mental clarity and libido. This is all the result of the ability to reset the gene’s “expression” at the mitochondrial (cell powerhouse) level.
THE FUTURE IS NOW: Do You Want To Fight Back?
The human genome, our genetic map, now clearly sequenced by the HGP, is the Book of Life, and we are finally starting to understand what is written. I refer you to a video on the Discovery Channel, by Dr. Joseph Chang, and Drs. Prolla and Weintraub. Here, you will better understand how nutritional intervention is being brought to the front line to aid in delaying age-related diseases to a later time in life. To use another musical metaphor, regard aging as a symphony. If the various instruments are not in tune, in sync with the others, what comes out is a cacophonous attempt at sound. If left alone and not treated well, the expression of our genes, our DNA, may not be maximized, and we age before our time.
With good nutritional habits and life style, comprehensive antioxidant supplementation, and now our most recent advances in gene-expression products that are presently available, we can keep our genes expressed in tune, and live longer with a better quality of life.
I ask my patients, do you want to fight back? If they do, we can do this together, so that we may pursue the goal of “dying young, as late in life as possible.”
Jupiter OBGYN
David W. Feld, MD
210 Jupiter Lakes Blvd, Suite 101
Jupiter, FL 33458
561-747-3777
