Nutritional Epigenetics: What Is It and How Does It Impact Your Health?

Have you ever heard the old saying “You are what you eat”? 

Your genes – the makeup of the internal structure of your being – are affected by external factors such as the foods you consume on a daily basis.

Nutritional epigenetics is the study of how nutrition affects gene expression in the body. 

While the genes you are born with determine a large part of your health, there’s good news. You can change how those genes are expressed through environmental changes such as balancing your diet and managing stress.

 

What Is Nutritional Epigenetics?

The purpose of nutritional epigenetics is to prevent and treat diseases.

Genes are affected by environmental factors (such as nutrition), and these factors can regulate or destabilize gene expression. Many chronic conditions and diseases are not caused by monogenic mutations or single genetic effects connected to a certain diet. Rather, there are complex interactions between gene variants and nutrition.

By harnessing the power of nutrition, we are able to treat many bodily illnesses that people frequently suffer from. Understanding nutritional epigenetics helps us know how foods affect our genes and how individual genetic differences can affect the way we respond to nutrients in the foods we consume.

The field of nutritional epigenetics is dedicated to understanding the complexities of gene-diet interactions so that our nutritionists at Vital Health Solutions can recommend the optimum dietary factors to be included in your daily food intake. It can help to prevent chronic disease and ensure that you are living at the optimum level for your genetic variation.

 

The Origin of Nutritional Epigenetics

Without the launch of the Human Genome Project in the 1990s as well as the mapping of the human DNA sequence, we would not have the field of research we now call nutritional epigenetics. This field has developed from those projects, using the concept of genetic testing to understand how nutrition, food, and genes are all related to each other when it comes to regulating the human body.

Human health, body weight, insulin resistance, and many other things all fall under the category of genetic variants, and nutrition experts are dedicated to learning how genes and nutrition correlate. We already know that gene-environment interactions exist, so it is critical to find out how we can use those interactions to further studies, such as cardiovascular disease research.

So what are some of the benefits of nutritional epigenetics for the body?

 

The Benefits of Nutritional Epigenetics for the Body

The study of nutritional epigenetics is what allows for personalized medicine and health based upon an understanding of our nutritional needs, nutritional and health status, and genotype.

Genomic testing will help you not only learn your susceptibility factors but also show you how you can reduce your chance of developing chronic diseases such as diabetes as well as autoimmunity and cardiovascular disease. 

It will also help us create a plan for you that will allow you to finally lose the weight you have tried for so long to lose – and it will be effortless.

 

How Does Nutritional Epigenetics Work?

Specific nutrients such as folate, choline, Vitamin C, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, and Vitamin A have a direct environmental influence on the genes. Specifically, Vitamin A regulates gene expression. 

Dietary patterns containing these nutrients can influence genes to express their predisposed nature toward conditions such as insulin resistance and Type II diabetes. By regulating your diet, you can change how your genes express their nature.

 

Vital Health Solutions Can Help You

Our team at Vital Health Solutions wants to help you take control of your diet and start regulating your health.

We know that there are so many possibilities when it comes to how nutritional epigenetics plays a role in improving your health. Let us help you find the most appropriate genomic testing for your health needs. 

With nutrition counseling from Dr. Cheryl Winter in Boerne, Texas, you can rest assured that your personalized nutrition therapy will be based on a number of factors, including genetic makeup.

When you come to Dr. Cheryl for expert nutritional advice, she will take into account your typical diet, body mass index, and physical activity level to determine the right dietary intervention that suits your needs and helps you to meet your health goals.

In addition to nutritional epigenetics, our team offers a variety of other functional medicine services to help you live your best life. These include diabetes reversal, weight loss, digestive health, and nutrition and diet counseling. She also provides medical assistance with hormone and sexual health as well as therapeutics such as infrared sauna, yoga, and pilates.

 

Start Taking Control of Your Health Today

Are you tired of losing the battle with your health?

With our functional medicine approach, Dr. Cheryl can help you create a balanced diet that helps you redefine your body’s gene expression so you’re not as prone to genetic diseases.

“Even if you think you are eating right, there are so many factors that effect your body’s ability to utilize the fuel available,” Dr. Cheryl says. “It’s not just about eating what has been portrayed to us as a balanced diet. . . . REAL healthcare requires the ‘balance’ of all your systems, and you need a functional medicine strategist, like myself, to navigate this terrain with you.”

Click here to learn about all of the options available to you and register for a free fifteen-minute discovery call with Dr. Cheryl to determine which of our services best suits your personal needs.

We at Vital Health Solutions can’t wait to help you find the best way to live the life you want – so you can truly thrive once again.