485 Inherited Stress [20 Aug 2018]

There’s an old joke that insanity is hereditary – you get it from your children. What parent hasn’t at some point exclaimed “You kids are driving me crazy!” Less funny perhaps, but more fascinating is what scientists have learned recently about heredity and health. Dr. Emeran Mayer, devotes Chapter 5 of his 2016 book “The Mind-Gut Connection” to the effects of early life experiences on gut-brain communication.

Stressful family events during childhood, in the womb, or even prior to conception, can affect our health in surprising ways: lowering our tolerance to stress; increasing our risk for anxiety, depression, digestive disorders like IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), diarrhea or constipation; and causing unhealthy changes to our gut microbiome. Babies born to highly stressed mothers have lower birth weights and are more prone to infections. Brain scans of adults with significant adverse childhood experiences (death of a parent, divorce, abuse, etc.) show abnormalities in brain structure and function.

In animal studies baby rats who were neglected or whose mothers were stressed, developed health problems similar to anxiety, depression, and addiction, while the nurtured pups developed into relaxed normal adult rats. The nurtured pups grew up to be nurturing mothers while the neglected pups became neglecting mothers. This wasn’t just learned behavior – it was hard wired into their hormonal and neurological systems during infancy.

These changes can be passed on to the second and third generation by a process called epigenetics [see #269 May 2014]. Epigenetics is the study of markers that turn genes on or off while leaving them intact. If this happens to reproductive cells, these markers can be passed on to your children.

How can we apply this information to improve our children’s health? First, minimize maternal stress during pregnancy and early childhood (easier said than done – refer back to the first line!). This is where Dad’s support is critical. Secondly, provide a loving secure home for the kids from birth through their teens. Thirdly, ensure the children’s microbiomes are as healthy as possible (more on that in a future article). Finally, don’t blame yourself for your kids’ health problems – blame your parents! [smile!]

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

478 Autism [2 July 2018]

William J. Walsh devotes Chapter 7 of his book Nutrient Power – Heal Your Biochemistry and Heal Your Brain to autism.

Two factors point to an epigenetic cause of autism. There is a definite genetic factor since the probability of a second twin having autism if the first one does is 60-90% for identical twins but less than 10% for fraternal twins. It’s not purely genetic, however, or the risk would be 100% for identical twins.

Secondly the increase in rates – from 3 per 10,000 in the 1940’s and 50’s, to more than 1 per 100 now – is too rapid to have a purely genetic cause. Improved diagnosis cannot explain all of the increase since it has continued to increase after 1990 when autism became well recognized. Furthermore, until 1960 nearly all cases exhibited symptoms from birth, but now about 80% are regressive where the child develops normally to age 1.5 or 2 with a sudden decline in functioning.

There must be some environmental change involved. Autism can best be explained by an epigenetic error during gestation which predisposes the child to autism, plus some environmental insult (the technical term) by age 3 which triggers the regression. As Walsh puts it: In essence, autism appears to be a gene programming disorder that develops in undermethylated persons who experience environmental insults that produce overwhelming oxidative stress.

Like schizophrenia and depression, autism has distinct chemical abnormalities. These include: deficiencies of zinc, magnesium, selenium, vitamins A and B6; elevated copper, mercury, lead and other toxic metals; elevated urinary pyrroles; undermethylation; and low glutathione levels. Gastro-intestinal disorders are very common, usually with dysbiosis (unhealthy gut bacteria).

Walsh rejects the belief that autism is incurable. In his experience, aggressive bionutrient therapy by age 4 provides the most complete recovery, but progress can be made at any age (he reported a 17 year old girl who started speaking after two months of treatment). Without treatment the conditions often remain permanent and very disabling. The objective of bionutrient therapy is to restore the biochemical imbalances, reduce oxidative stress, and heal the digestive tract. Again this therapy is best done under the supervision of experienced professionals.

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.

269 The Implications of Epigenetics [26 May 2014]

The modern science of Epigenetics began with a few litters of skinny brown mice at Dukes University in 2003. What made these baby mice surprising was their lineage – their parents, grandparents and generations before them, were bred to have a gene that made them fat and yellow. The only difference was these mothers had been given what was essentially a prenatal vitamin, which left the gene intact while somehow turning it off. By the way the brown mice were not only slimmer but had lower rates of diabetes and cancer than their yellow ancestors. Similarly pregnant mice supplemented with choline had babies that developed super memories and as adults broke all the maze records.

External triggers suppress a gene by a process called methylation. A methyl marker on a gene turns it off, partially or completely. An environmental trigger either adds or removes a methyl marker, thus affecting the expression of that gene. Epigenetic triggers could be a vitamin, a toxin, a nutrient deficiency or even an emotional experience. They can come from your mother, grandmother or father, and can occur before conception, in utero, shortly after birth or throughout adulthood. And methyl markers may be passed down to future generations.

Babies born in Holland after the “Hunger Winter” famine of 1944-45 had low birth weights and, as adults, were at higher risk of obesity, coronary disease and certain cancers. A generation later their babies also had low birth weights. A British study found that men who started smoking before puberty had sons (but not daughters) with a higher risk of obesity. Grooming by mother rats affects their babies’ brain development, causing them to grow up calmer and more confident than babies ignored by their mothers. Identical twins experience different triggers throughout their life that alter their risk for diseases such as cancer, allowing one to develop cancer while the other does not.

What are the implications of epigenetics? The importance of prenatal nutrition and maternal nurturing are obvious. More important is the epiphany that we need not be slaves to our genes. Just because our parents and grandparents suffered from obesity, diabetes or cancer doesn’t mean we have to. We can – and I would argue should – do something about it. Improving our nutrition, reducing stress, getting sufficient exercise and rest could free us from much of our genetic destiny.

Source: Survival of the Sickest – the surprising connections between disease and longevity by Dr Sharon Moalem, 2007

For more information on this or other natural health topics, stop in and talk to Stan; for medical advice consult your licensed health practitioner.