The study shows: a vegan diet and lifestyle change stimulated the change of more than 500 genes in 3 months

By Carly Fraser April 17, 2018

 

Original:  https://livelovefruit.com/vegan-diet-changes-500-genes-three-months/

This story was updated on February 25, 2020, so that in addition to a plant-based diet, it also includes other factors of a healthy lifestyle, which together trigger positive gene changes, referring to studies by Dr. Dean Ornish. Additional clinical studies are needed to confirm the results of the pilot study conducted by Ornish and colleagues.

Incredible progress has been made in the knowledge of human genes. Although we don't have that many genes (about 25,000 in each cell, compared to tiny water fleas that have over 30,000!), scientists have recently discovered ways to control the very small amount we do have. Scientists call this epigenetics – how changes in gene activity can occur without changing our actual DNA. One way we can influence our genes without changing their basic structure is through the food we eat.

Nobel Prize winner Elizabeth Blackburn and co-author Dr. Ornish found that a plant-based diet, along with certain lifestyle changes—such as reduced stress and moderate exercise—caused change of more than 500 genes in just three months. Diet and lifestyle changes have been found to activate genes that prevent disease and deactivate genes that cause breast cancer, heart disease, prostate cancer, and other diseases. But before we get into that topic, I'd like to talk about telomeres - they are tiny endings at the end of each strand of DNA that protect our chromosomes!

What are telomeres?

Telomeres are like caps of non-coding DNA at the ends of our chromosomes, which protect our genetic material and allow our cells to divide. You can think of them as the plastic tips at the end of shoelaces. Telomeres are where the DNA replication "machinery" attaches itself during the process of cell division, so that the entire DNA strand can be copied. Every time a cell divides, telomeres shorten. In order for the next cell division to occur, there must be enough room left on the telomere for replication enzymes. If the telomere becomes too short, the DNA cannot be copied properly and the cell cannot divide.

To prevent excessive shortening, the enzyme telomerase renews our telomeres. The length of telomeres is closely related to cellular age: over the years, the telomeres in our cells become shorter and shorter. Shorter telomere length is not only associated with biological age, but also with lifestyle-related diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, cancer and premature death.

What affects telomere length?

Although telomere length is mostly genetic, it can also be affected by environmental factors, such as diet and lifestyle. A whole plant-based diet and a generally healthy lifestyle are associated with longer telomere length. On the other hand, oxidative stress and chronic inflammation are associated with telomere shortening. Studies reveal factors that promote these poor body conditions, such as high body mass index, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, smoking, chronic stress and low socioeconomic status.  Plant-based diet, lifestyle changes and telomeres Doctor Dean Ornish, who created the so-called Ornish's diet, showed in one study that heart disease is reversible if comprehensive lifestyle changes are made, including a healthy diet, anti-stress techniques, smoking cessation, moderate exercise and social support. Ornish is in favor HuffPost explained: "in more than 35 years of scientific research, we found that this diet and lifestyle program could reverse even severe coronary heart disease." Because of that Medicare (it's the national health insurance program in the United States of America, started in 1966 under the Social Security Administration) now covers "Dr. Ornish's Heart Disease Reversal Program" - it's the first time that Medicare covers one comprehensive medicine program.

By affecting gene expression, Ornish's program can activate genes that prevent disease and turn off genes that promote breast, prostate, colon, and heart disease. Another study showed that Ornish's diet and lifestyle program can also slow, stop or even reverse the progress of early-stage prostate cancer. In this pilot study, Dr. Ornish enrolled 30 low-risk prostate cancer men who had not undergone surgery or radiation for their low-risk tumors. They ate a low-fat diet (10% calories from fat), whole plant foods, and underwent anti-stress techniques, engaged in moderate exercise and participated in group support sessions. In just three months, more than 500 genes underwent changes! Although 48 genes key to cancer growth were found to be more active, 453 genes that controlled tumor growth and protein production were less active in protein production. Overall, blood tests for prostate cancer activity improved and tumors shrank. Although the results are promising, the authors still point out that larger clinical studies are needed to confirm the results of this pilot study.

The next study From the same group studied above, Dr. Ornish and Dr. Blackburn conducted a follow-up study to measure enzyme activity telomerase which is produced by genes, and which is believed to slow down the aging process. This next study compared ten men and 25 external controls who had biopsy-proven low-risk prostate cancer. As described in the study above, the men in the intervention group underwent comprehensive lifestyle changes (a plant-based diet, social support, moderate exercise, and an anti-stress program). Men from the control group underwent only active surveillance, without comprehensive lifestyle changes. After five years of this changed lifestyle, the age-related decline in telomerase activity was much less in the intervention group than in the control group, and their telomeres were longer, suggesting that the aging process was slowed.  Other studies Another research group from Pennsylvania studied 63 people with heart disease who followed the Ornish program and compared them to a group of 63 people who did not follow any particular program. The results? No better health for the control group, but Ornish's group lost weight and their blood pressure dropped by about 10%.

After 12 weeks, the researchers found that 26 genes showed differential activity in Ornish's group. After a year, 143 genes underwent the same change. The activity of genes that increased inflammation and damage to blood vessels decreased significantly. The control group did not perform better during that year. Dean Ornish, founder and president of the nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research Institute and professor of clinical medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, explained that plant-based foods—such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, and soy products—are the very foods that promote health. The least healthy people consume red meat, fried foods and trans fats.

Problems with studies

Although the participants in these studies experienced a complete lifestyle change, I was prompted to ask: did a plant-based diet, reduced stress, exercise regimen, or all three affect telomere length? Or was telomere length only affected by the fact that the participants lost body mass? Because Ornish's study does not isolate the variable of veganism from other variables, it is difficult to draw conclusions about whether veganism alone is responsible for these telomere changes. Also, these experiments were not random. The sample sizes were very small, and the participants who experienced comprehensive lifestyle changes were significantly changed people years later than when they first entered the study. It is difficult to draw general conclusions from the small sample size, as this requires larger clinical studies. Some studies controlled for factors such as diet and exercise and looked at changes in telomere length. For example, one study included 400 women and randomly divided them into four groups: (1) dietary weight loss; (2) aerobic exercises; (3) diet and exercise and (4) control group. The diet was a group program with the goal of losing 10% body mass, and the exercise was 45 minutes a day, 5 days a week, with moderate to vigorous aerobic activities. The study took place over the course of a year. What were the results? There was no change in telomere length in the control group (-0.3%), nor in the exercise group (-0.2%). The weight loss diet group (-1.6%) and the combination diet and exercise group (+ 0.1%) also had no statistically significant changes in telomere length. So as long as we eat the same bad diet, it doesn't matter how small our portions are, how much weight we lose or how hard we exercise - after a year no benefit has been seen. Comparing this to a three-month study by Ornish and colleagues, participants on a plant-based diet lost the same amount of weight after just three months, exercised half as hard, and experienced significant telomere protection. So could nutrition really be the key factor that triggered these changes in genes? Unfortunately, due to the fact that Ornish conducted his own study without the mentioned reliability factors, we don't really know for sure.

Is a vegan diet better than the standard American diet for health protection?

While reduced stress, more exercise, and community connection significantly improve your health, as well as your life, a plant-based diet has been shown to do the same. What is the advantage of a vegan diet? Greater consumption of vegetables, less butter and more fruit and more food rich in fiber and vitamins. In other words, these are indicators of slower biological aging, along with lower cholesterol. But it seems crucial to avoid saturated animal fats. By substituting just 1% of saturated fat calories in our diet for anything else, we can add almost a full year to our lifespan using our telomeres. As the authors of this study describe, it is no wonder that lifelong low cholesterol levels are associated with longer telomeres and a lower proportion of short telomeres. The good news is that even if we "beat" our telomeres before, despite the accumulated injuries that shortened them, current healthy habits can reduce the risk of some consequences, such as heart disease. This is encouraging news, given that most people are carried away by the idea that they are a victim of their genes. As we can see, we are not helpless at all, and this power is largely in our hands - we just need to do our part to preserve health and keep diseases away from us.

More about basic nutrition: https://detoksikacija-organizma.com/zdrava-prehrana/