AGING AND EPIGENETICS
Traveling abroad this past month has been quite an experience! Of course I only ventured to Panama City, FLA and Rocky Hill, CT, so one may consider this a quick excursion. I found that if you tell someone you are going to Panama and do not include "city" at the end of your sentence they think you are traveling out of the country. I noticed on my trip to Panama City that people in general did not look very happy nor did they look very healthy. Honestly, when I have previously traveled to the beach I had never noticed this before. It seems that lifestyle factors and stress have caught up with the natives of this area and many have aged beyond their years.
As I sat on the beach I started thinking about aging and how we are all going in that general direction but at different paces. Much of our aging is related to genetics, which provides us with a basic blueprint such as hair and skin color and diseases we are susceptible to developing, to name a few. The research from a currently evolving science known as "epigenetics" shows us how conditions in our own prenatal environment, and those of our ancestors, have profound effects on our genes. We can take control of their inheritance by turning on positive genes and silencing negative ones through methylation, histone acetylation and other biological processes. Our bodies are truly amazing if given the right environment and nutritional support, along with a strong spiritual foundation.
All things created serve a purpose and even though conventional medicine recognizes that blood type is crucial when you receive a blood transfusion, beyond this there is not much credence given. The question which always comes to mind is, why would God create different blood types if there was no purpose in doing so? I suppose the purpose of blood type is in the same company as our appendix and tonsils when it comes to not being a necessary asset for our existence. Many alternative practitioners have found that by incorporating the blood-type diet/ genotype diet in combination with supplements, we can help our patients silence and encourage genes at a cellular level.
Knowledge is crucial when it comes to having more control over your own aging process. Placing a strong emphasis on whole foods is an important first step. An easy way to remember healthy foods is to think of GROMBS. This is an acronym created by Joel Fuhrman, MD, which stands for greens, onions, mushrooms, berries and seeds. Each of these contains micronutrients essential for your body. All of the blood types benefit from GROMBS. The other component of the blood type diet is eliminating foods which can cause inflammation in the body. This component is linked to disease process and over time, chronic illness.
In addition, your genotype is all about "you" and is a very important component to personalize your nutritional program. Your genotype is determined by certain measurements and other variables which will place you into one of six categories. These categories fall under the four blood types and also factor in your secretor status. In my practice, I specialize in setting up specific nutritional programs based on your blood type/genotype. I determine your genotype and provide you with over 500 recipes personalized to help you obtain optimal health and weight management. If you would like more information on this specific program, please contact my office.