Nutrimiromics
An exploration of a pathway that facilitates the marriage of science based common sense and the wisdom of compassion based ethics and spirituality.
(the following is an excerpt from my upcoming book “Recipes For Reciprocity: The Regenerative Way From Seed To Table”)
What if there was a mechanism that allows for the experiences and environmental stimulus of one being (whether plant, animal, bacteria or fungi) to be interpreted and encoded into the genetic fabric of a completely separate organism which stimulates a shift in epigenetic expression (influencing what phenotype is expressed on the macro level) in real time?
What if there were molecules that in essence serve as the vehicles of a ‘karma-like’ poetic justice on a cellular level?
Welcome to the emerging science of intentional non-invasive epigenetic modulation via diet and lifestyle changes. These new studies into how our DNA can be modulated are compelling us to reassess the ancient wisdom of having reverence and compassion for our fellow beings (which we consume to survive, whether plant, animal, fungi or otherwise).
The new science in areas of study such as Nutrigenomics and Nutrimiromics offers us the empowering realization that our food is not just a source of fuel for our cells but also functions as a vessel for biological information which modulates our epigenetic expression in real time. This means that we are not ‘prisoners to our DNA’ as the old paradigm thought but rather our DNA seems to serve more like an ‘architectural design’ which can be expressed in many ways depending on the materials, education and experience of the builder. The food we eat provides the building materials, education and experience (in the form of genetic software updates which provide our cells with the experience and education of our elder species via microRNA/exosomes in the food we eat). This means that we can shift what phenotype (out of hundreds if not thousands of possible phenotypes) that our DNA is expressing via epigenetic modulation through providing our body with specific stimulus. There are a few things which have been studied for their ability to positively influence epigenetic expression in real time, some of these forms of stimulus include, time spent in mature ecosystems (receiving ‘uploads’ from our elder species via microRNA in the living air, water, soil and on the plants we touch, eat and appreciate.), living probiotic rich foods (also providing a ‘biological uplink’ for our cells to tap into the ancient resilience of our elder species in the bacteria and fungi kingdoms), perspective (our thoughts, emotions and attitudes profoundly impact our cells all the way down to the geometry and charge of molecules that make up our cells and affect how our DNA is expressed) and food.
What this means in practical terms is that we may not be ‘doomed’ to face the same health conditions our parents or grandparents faced because out of all the possible versions of you can your DNA can express (phenotypes) there is invariably one epigenetic potential where the gene that causes the particular condition you are worried about is not being expressed. There is a potential version of you that looks 5–10 years younger, has heightened cognitive function, fantastic cardiovascular and digestive health and will live to be 100 plus years of age locked up in your cells. The key to unlocking that best version of you is reconnecting with nature and shifting the diet to be not only providing great nutrients, but also top notch biological information to your cells, so they can receive ‘upgrades’ and express their highest potential, resulting in a macro scale manifestation of you that is radiant, resilient, anti-fragile, adaptable and not tied down by so called ‘genetic predispositions’.
It is possible to choose food which supports the creation and fortification of new innate cells critical to immune, circulatory and nervous system function. We can choose ingredients to include in our meals that are packed full of microRNA (epigenetic modulating information vessels) with data that can allow our cells to upgrade the range of their epigenic expression potentials so that we become the best version of ourselves.
Each time we eat something we are receiving a genetic update (via microRNA that are absorbed by our cells that silence messenger RNA resulting in a shift in the expression of the phenotype DNA). For instance, when we eat meat (that came from a factory farm, from an animal living in pain, misery and hopelessness or a stressed out plant grown in a monoculture hammered with all kinds of chemicals) the ‘experience’ (environmental pressures and other stimulus) of that animal/plant is transcribed on a molecular level into microRNA and our cells receive the message that they should initiate an inflammatory response, send stress hormones to our brain, begin to shut down and prepare for imminent death. That is because the way in which a plant, animal or fungi lives (and dies) is recorded on a molecular level and what ever consumes that organism receives an ‘upload’ which allows for adaptation in real time to possible environmental pressures. In nature this is a beautiful and eloquent evolutionary adaptation that facilitates symbiogenesis to take place on the scale of entire bioregions containing myriad species (all providing each other with real time updates on stimulus the other organisms are receiving in their environment via exosomic transfer of genetic information). In the context of modern human society (in which we have allowed the illogical, cruel and ecologically detrimental practice of factory farms to become widespread) this eloquent mechanism for interspecies genetic communication is carrying the pain, stress, suffering and toxicity of the animals raised and slaughtered in those environments into our bodies at a cellular level (effecting our mental health through modulation of stress hormones and serotonin levels via microRNA, creating inflammation in the brain and other key tissues leading to higher risk of degenerative diseases and crippling our DNA from being able to express it’s most resilient potential). There are now studies that show a direct correlation between the microRNA contained in factory farmed meat and an almost immediate stress/anxiety response in the brain chemistry of the human eating the meat.
Whether one looks at this as poetic justice or an unfortunate side effect, one thing is clear, if we wish to be our best selves, experience vitality, longevity and resilience we must account for the biological information we are providing our cells. If we are providing our cells with the biological information that is encoded into the tissues of animals on a factory farm, we are choosing to damage our own bodies on a cellular level, stunting our cognitive function, inhibiting optimal epigenetic expression of our DNA and creating an inflammation response that will lead to increased risk of chronic disease.
Inversely, when we eat plants or fungi that grew in the rich living soils of our garden or in the wilderness we are receiving a genetic update that provides our cells biochemical wisdom which allows us to adapt to localized pressures on our biology, optimize/modulate our immune response to pathogens, improve brain function through initiating of mitochondrial biogenesis, neurogenesis (the process in which neurons are generated from neural stem cells in the adult) and synaptogenesis as well as shift our phenotype into the most resilient genetic version of ourselves.
When we eat plant and fungal foods (containing powerful nutrigenomic and nutrimiromic messenger compounds like Curcumin, Quercetin, Catechins, Resveratrol, Anthocyanins as well as other polyphenols, vitamins and minerals) we are providing our cells with high quality ‘genetic updates’ (from our elder species) which provide our cells the biological information they need so we can epigenetically adapt to become the best version of our self.
What would health care look like if it accounted for the nutrigenomic impact of the ingredients contained in our food/medicine?
Would be continue to support industries and methods of ‘food’ production which are polluting and encoding our DNA to be crippled shortening our lifespan and vitality if this science was well understood and taught in schools?
Could we justify buying that cheese burger knowing that not only are we supporting industries that poison the Earth (hindering the potential of our descendants to experience abundance and health through soil degradation) but also in the knowing that we would be poisoning ourselves and limiting our potential for healing and achieving our true potential in real time?
Would we eat that factory farmed meat if we acknowledged that each bite is epigenetically modulating our DNA and influencing the ‘genetic architecture’ of our progeny in future generations?
The new science of Nutrigenomics is showing us that we are the masters of our genetic fate (both in what phenotype is expressed now in real time and in what ‘genetic architectural schematics’ will be passed onto our children.
Our choices now can either make us our best selves and give our children the highest potential to be resilient, thrive and live a joyous life or our choices can inhibit the optimal expression of our DNA and be a curse to our descendants. Our perspective, life style and diet area all providing stimulus to go to one side or the other of that equation, and it is 100% based in choice.
As mentioned above, we can provide high quality stimulus for modulating epigenetic expression via providing plants and fungi with specific microRNA (which are transported by exosomes; specialized membrane enclosed, nano sized vesicles secreted by all plant, animal, bacterial and fungal cells) that survive the digestive process, containing genetic information (which functions like a software update) favorably altering the ‘hardware’ of our gene-expression. In practical terms this means buying local, buying organic (or better yet buying regenerative) and ideally it means eating as much as possible that is grown with love and in rich living soil in our own backyard.
This emerging science offers us the chance to consciously tap into the ‘memory of Gaia’ (bio-molecular recordings of environmental stimulus from our elder species) so that we can provide our cells with the ‘epigenetic updates’ they need for achieving optimal function, detox and resilience. What that translate into on the level of our whole body/brain is longevity, improved cognition, honed/adaptable immune function and general resilience. We can reprogram our genes through our lifestyle choices and the food we eat, we are not prisoners to our hereditary DNA, it is only a template to build upon and we through our choices in diet, perspective and lifestyle are the builders. It all comes down to choice.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
For more information about microRNA, exosomes and their role in our diet and general health check out these links:
Here is a link to a podcast where two highly educated individuals have a conversation that dives into the nitty gritty of Exosomes, microRNA (mechanisms for lateral exchange of genetic information between people, plants and other organisms in real time) and it invites the listener to ponder what their choice will be as we face a fork in the road:
Restore Gut Health: The Science Behind a Healthy Gut Microbiome with Zach Bush, MD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzO7cPNzrMU&feature=emb_title&fbclid=IwAR1VBx68DwK5bqi-rE-JBSqIhEtWlDc_8pS5R3JDlcuPbIaLeP8nOnDTENg
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
To learn more about my upcoming book: https://recipesforreciprocity.com/
