Richmond mom and doctor Rebecca Muminovick
With all the hoopla surrounding Paula Dean’s diabetic coming out, I thought it only fitting to address one of her comments about her medical condition, diabetes mellitus type 2. When asked on The Today Show if her high fat diet was responsible for her diabetes, she skirted around the issue with genetics, her genetics, which she views as playing a more significant role in her health than her dietary choices. I do not think she is alone in her thoughts as many people today believe that their family history will ultimately become their own.
I am here to tell Ms. Paula Dean and anyone who will listen that your genetics is not your destiny. The expression of your genes depends on many important factors and one of the most important of those factors is . . .your diet.
In the year 2000 a Duke University study was published by Dr Randy Jirtle and Robert Waterland that changed the way scientists thought of gene expression. They took a pair of genetically bred mice called agouti mice, who were bred to be obese, diabetic and develop cancer, and mated them. In past matings all of the offspring had been genetically and pheonotypically the same.
In laymen’s terms this means they looked obese, were diabetic and developed cancer as their genes would indicate. However, this mating would be different in that they gave the mother mouse while pregnant high doses of what they called “methylating substances.”
These substances can be found in beets, garlic and onions to name a few. Folic acid and B vitamins would also fall into this category. What they found once the offspring were born was astonishing. The offspring although genetically like their parents, looked totally normal and did not develop obesity, cancer or diabetes. With this and other similar research, scientists have shown that your dietary choices have the power to change the expression of not only your genes potentially but your children’s and grandchildren’s as well. This is the field of Epigenetics.
What does this mean for you, me and Ms. Paula Dean?
Well Dr Jirtle summarized it like this: “Epigenetics is proving we have some responsibility for the integrity of our genome,” Jirtle says. “Before, genes predetermined outcomes. Now everything we do—everything we eat or smoke—can affect our gene expression and that of future generations. Epigenetics introduces the concept of free will into our idea of genetics.”
The buck stops right here for us all. In our own hands is the power to modify our own genetic template and the template for generations ahead of us. Talk about a legacy.
What we eat matters more than we think and affects not just our jeans, but our genes! So as we enter into a new year, I call upon you to consider what you put into your body and the dramatic affect it can have on your health and the health of your family. Throw away your Paula Dean cookbooks and replace them healthier alternatives.
Hopefully one day very soon Ms. Dean herself will have one of those to offer you, but make the choice for yourself first before a disease comes knocking at your door to remind you that food is medicine!
