Are Your Food Choices Causing Premature Aging?

Your colleague follows a Paleo Diet. Your boss is gluten-free. Your sister swears she turned lactose intolerant last week and your roommate is an acolyte of Michael Pollan. So who’s right? Maybe they all are.

In research published January of 2014 in Cell Metabolism, USC scientists Sean Curran and Shanshan Pang identified a collection of genes that allow an organism to adapt to different diets and showed that without the genes, even minor tweaks to diets can cause premature aging or death.

A genetic explanation for an organism’s dietary needs suggests that different individuals may be genetically predisposed to thrive on different diets and that now, in the age of gene sequencing, people might be able to identify which diet is best suited for them through a simple blood test.

“These studies have revealed that single gene mutations can alter the ability of an organism to utilize a specific diet. In humans, small differences in a person’s genetic makeup that change how well these genes function could explain why certain diets work for some but not others,” said Curran, corresponding author of the study and assistant professor with joint appointments in the USC Davis School of Gerontology, the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

In their study, Curran and Pang identified a gene called “alh-6”, which delayed the effects of aging depending on what type of diet a worm was fed by protecting it against diet-induced mitochondrial defects.

“This gene is remarkably well-conserved from single-celled yeast all the way up to mammals, which suggests that what we have learned in the worm could translate to a better understanding of the factors that alter diet success in humans,” Curran said.

Future research will focus on identifying what contributes to the success or failure of various diets and whether these factors explain why specific diets don’t work for everyone. This could very well be the start of personalized dieting based on an individual’s genetic makeup, according to Curran. As he puts it; “We hope to uncover ways to enhance the use of any dietary program and perhaps even figure out ways of overriding the system(s) that prevent the use of one diet in certain individuals.”

Resource

Curran, S., Shanshan, P. (2014). Adaptive capacity to bacteria diet modulates aging in c. elegans. Cell Metabolism. 19(2), 221-231. 

Cutting Through the Nutritional Jungle

Most people I speak to find themselves identifying with one of the following two categories when it comes to food and nutrition:

 

I am a little mouse in the nutrition maze and it is Mad Science out there. 

I have no idea what to eat because of too many conflicting studies and too many fad diets.  Good carbs, bad carbs.  Eat low-fat to protect my heart but don’t eat low-fat if I want a healthy reproductive system. I am on a great diet for a week and then having a date with some Peanut M&M’s for about another week.  I am overwhelmed and at a loss for how to TRULY lose weight without being deprived.  Ah, how bad is a Cliff Bar anyway?

 

I am a nutrition expert. 

I know it all, have read every diet and nutrition book and can easily put myself on the best diet for everything from weight loss to clearing out my sinuses.  The problem is that it isn’t really working because I am either a slave to food (thereby reducing my quality of life), I am not losing weight permanently, or I am concerned I may actually be harming myself unknowingly.

 

Both scenarios, unfortunately, are causing a lot of people unnecessary stress and potential health problems down the road! 

 

I feel for you.  Check out some of the latest headlines and their implications:

 

Big Study Finds No Clear Benefit of Calcium Pills

Doctors re-evaluating calcium recommendations for most women. Calcium industry refuses to believe scientific results. Health activists say study was flawed.

Thinning the Milk Does Not Mean Thinning the Child

Study found low-fat choices offered in school lunches made little difference in childhood obesity, even when provided with in-school nutrition education. Results: Kids left with the uncanny ability to rattle off health facts but are still as fat as ever. 
 

Women's Health Studies Leave Questions in Place of Certainty

Low-fat diets not proven to prevent heart disease and some cancers. Health activists in uproar. Scientists baffled. Doctors at a loss. Women still overweight. Health professionals say study seriously flawed. Scientists say the proof is in the pudding, we've spent all this money, now lets move on to another issue to study you diet die-hards.

 

 

So How Are we Supposed to Eat?

 

Dieting is not the problem, it is just the symptom. Diet mentality is really just a sign that you do have a high level of self-care, but may not be ready to do what it takes to create long-term changes.  The likely underlying problem is that you don’t have information best applicable for YOU (remember you are an individual with unique medical history, body type, ancestry and eating habits) or the tools to support you for healthy, whole-foods eating as a true lifestyle change.  Or maybe the problem is deep down there is something a little scary in thinking how achieving your weight or health goals would require you to change something about your life and your relationships. 

 

There are lots of factors to consider, but the common issue I see in just about everyone is blatently ignoring your intuition system.  You KNOW when a food makes you feel bad, yet the latest study may have suggested it should be good for you.  You KNOW when you need more food to be satisfied, yet the little label on the box told you that ½ cup is the proper serving size.  Your wisdom is far superior then lab results. It is called intelligence and self-trust.

 

Be Your Own Researcher

 

I encourage my clients to use their intelligence and to run their own scientific experiments. As chief scientist of Me, Inc., your job is to discover what works for you and what doesn't. No one knows your body better than you.  Yet, we have all been trained to put all our trust into whatever the doctor says, what the newspapers say, whatever the latest Paleo expert says. By experimenting with commonsense nutrition practices, things like eating real food vs. chemicalized, artificially flavored and processed food products, you'll find the results you've been looking for. You take control by becoming your own health researcher.

 

Be Willing to Experiment

 

I suggest starting with simple experiments explored over a two-week time period:

 

1.   Eat one green vegetable per day and see what happens. Do you feel different? More energized? Feel lighter?

 

2.     Another suggestion I often share is to eat a little protein at every meal to reduce sugar cravings, and/or take an algae supplement, such as chorella, in between meals. It does wonders for keeping your blood sugar levels steady, thereby reducing cravings. 

 

3.     Or the simplest (and cheapest) experiment is to incrementally increase your water intake until you notice a reduction in hunger levels, skin quality and better digestion.

 

 

Thanks for reading and choose to eat deliciously today!

 

By: Cynthia Stadd, EPC. A pioneering relationship with food expert, national speaker and practitioner. She offers a ground-breaking model for showing people how to profoundly transform their relationship with food – with flair – to finally reach their health and weight management goals.  

Check out this FREE resource to start your new nutritional journey with the E-book and Audio, "Master Your Relationship With Food With the 55/45 Principle"

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