Epigenetics Essay
Epigenetic. Relationship between genes, lifestyle and health.
Brayan Alfonso Barroso
Miami Dade College
Proffesor: Dr. Evelyn Diaz
PSY2012
Have you ever wonder why our body changes and expresses in different ways through the years? We have a genetic code called DNA, containing the information about our body structure. Coupled with our DNA, there are also another structure called the epigenome, which expresses in one way or another according to external factors as the result of our activities in the outside world. The study of this phenomenon is called Epigenetics.
The body responses to the environment changes might vary among people. According to our genes, our lifestyle can change the way we look or even our health conditions. One of the more studied and influential factor in epigenetic transformations is the food we consume. Its nutrients are absorbed by our body, and a bad consumption of them might modify gene expression, specifically in the first periods of life. For this reason, moms’ diet while in pregnancy stage as well as the child feeding is important for their future life.
According to the National Human Genome Research Institute, much of the …show more content…
epigenome is reset as the genome is passed from one generation to another. However, some information might be transmitted from parents to their baby.
As a prove of all the above information, some experiments were made with mice. Mammals possess a gene called agouti. In the case of mice, when this gene is fully unmethylated the mouse’s coat turns yellow and it tends to be obese, with high possibilities of suffering from cancer or diabetes. On the other hand, a methylated agouti gene is found on the normal mice, so that their coat color is brown and they have less chances to develop a health disorder. In both cases we have the same genetic information, but the yellow mice experimented an epigenetic mutation.
In addition, researches used a methyl rich diet on pregnant yellow mice. As a result, the baby mice were born with brow coat and and had a healthy life. This study proved that our health is determined not only by our genes, but also by what we and our parents ate.
Watching some videos about the topic helped me to understand the relationship between our genes and our lifestyle. Our DNA contains a large number of genes, some of them are inactive while others remain active and are expresses by our cells, which are always being renewed and have memory. The component that form our DNA ca be altered by the environment we are exposed to during our life. The components in our body get the signals of a changing environment and that information is passed to the cell nucleus and modifies it. Therefore, diet and lifestyle can have a great influence on us. For example, they can control our predisposition to some medical condition such as cancer and other diseases.
In addition, as well as our brain receives information fro the outside world, it allows us to create memories and learn from our experiences. Many of their functions go along with changes in gene expression. These changes might cause brain diseases, for example, mental illness and addiction
As a matter of fact, the old saying “We are what we eat” is related to epigenetics.
We are switching our genes on and off with our diets. Because of that, we have the power of controlling our appearance and health, often for our hole life, and even for the future generations. For this reason, I will consider to eat a balanced diet, rich in vegetables and nutrients that can help my body to function in a proper way. For example, I will include in my diet avocados, broccoli and pomegranates, which have been demonstrated are very important for the functionality of our bodies. I will also avoid stress and practice some exercise, but more that that, I think that it would be a good idea to share my knowledge about epigenetics with more people so they can understand the importance of our
lifestyle.
References
Epigenomics, National Human Genome Research Institue. https://www.genome.gov/27532724/.
Nutrition & the Epigenome, Learn.Genetics Genetic Science Learning Center, http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/epigenetics/nutrition/#foodtable.
Epigenetics: The Hidden Life of Our Genes, Films on Demand, http://fod.infobase.com.db16.linccweb.org/p_Search.aspx?rd=a&q=Epigenetics%3A%20The%20Hidden%20Life%20of%20Our%20Genes.
Epigenetics: How food upsets our genes, Films on Demand, http://fod.infobase.com.db16.linccweb.org/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=40603&tScript=0.
Brayan Alfonso Barroso
Miami Dade College
Proffesor: Dr. Evelyn Diaz
PSY2012
Have you ever wonder why our body changes and expresses in different ways through the years? We have a genetic code called DNA, containing the information about our body structure. Coupled with our DNA, there are also another structure called the epigenome, which expresses in one way or another according to external factors as the result of our activities in the outside world. The study of this phenomenon is called Epigenetics.
The body responses to the environment changes might vary among people. According to our genes, our lifestyle can change the way we look or even our health conditions. One of the more studied and influential factor in epigenetic transformations is the food we consume. Its nutrients are absorbed by our body, and a bad consumption of them might modify gene expression, specifically in the first periods of life. For this reason, moms’ diet while in pregnancy stage as well as the child feeding is important for their future life.
According to the National Human Genome Research Institute, much of the …show more content…
epigenome is reset as the genome is passed from one generation to another. However, some information might be transmitted from parents to their baby.
As a prove of all the above information, some experiments were made with mice. Mammals possess a gene called agouti. In the case of mice, when this gene is fully unmethylated the mouse’s coat turns yellow and it tends to be obese, with high possibilities of suffering from cancer or diabetes. On the other hand, a methylated agouti gene is found on the normal mice, so that their coat color is brown and they have less chances to develop a health disorder. In both cases we have the same genetic information, but the yellow mice experimented an epigenetic mutation.
In addition, researches used a methyl rich diet on pregnant yellow mice. As a result, the baby mice were born with brow coat and and had a healthy life. This study proved that our health is determined not only by our genes, but also by what we and our parents ate.
Watching some videos about the topic helped me to understand the relationship between our genes and our lifestyle. Our DNA contains a large number of genes, some of them are inactive while others remain active and are expresses by our cells, which are always being renewed and have memory. The component that form our DNA ca be altered by the environment we are exposed to during our life. The components in our body get the signals of a changing environment and that information is passed to the cell nucleus and modifies it. Therefore, diet and lifestyle can have a great influence on us. For example, they can control our predisposition to some medical condition such as cancer and other diseases.
In addition, as well as our brain receives information fro the outside world, it allows us to create memories and learn from our experiences. Many of their functions go along with changes in gene expression. These changes might cause brain diseases, for example, mental illness and addiction
As a matter of fact, the old saying “We are what we eat” is related to epigenetics.
We are switching our genes on and off with our diets. Because of that, we have the power of controlling our appearance and health, often for our hole life, and even for the future generations. For this reason, I will consider to eat a balanced diet, rich in vegetables and nutrients that can help my body to function in a proper way. For example, I will include in my diet avocados, broccoli and pomegranates, which have been demonstrated are very important for the functionality of our bodies. I will also avoid stress and practice some exercise, but more that that, I think that it would be a good idea to share my knowledge about epigenetics with more people so they can understand the importance of our
lifestyle.
References
Epigenomics, National Human Genome Research Institue. https://www.genome.gov/27532724/.
Nutrition & the Epigenome, Learn.Genetics Genetic Science Learning Center, http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/epigenetics/nutrition/#foodtable.
Epigenetics: The Hidden Life of Our Genes, Films on Demand, http://fod.infobase.com.db16.linccweb.org/p_Search.aspx?rd=a&q=Epigenetics%3A%20The%20Hidden%20Life%20of%20Our%20Genes.
Epigenetics: How food upsets our genes, Films on Demand, http://fod.infobase.com.db16.linccweb.org/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=40603&tScript=0.