Two DNA hacks to improve your bad genes

When you’re trying to lead a healthy lifestyle, you often focus on things like building muscles and maintaining a healthy weight.

But there’s something very important we often overlook — frankly, because we don’t realize our actions can have much effect on it.

It’s the tiniest but most essential part of what makes you tick — your precious genetic code, residing deep in the heart of each and every cell.

Your miraculous DNA

Most people think DNA sets everything in stone, but research is showing how environment, diet, lifestyle and even thoughts and emotions can have a powerful an impact on gene function

That means your DNA expression can be influenced by a number of factors that you can modify, including nutrient intake, exercise and hormonal alterations due to stress and toxin exposures.

Forces that damage your DNA can produce errors in the genetic code, making the body operate poorly and even lead to disease. For example, cancer cells have multiple DNA mutations. But the list does not end with cancer; there are many conditions that can result when our genetic code goes awry.

One of the miracles of DNA is that more errors don’t occur. Each time a cell divides, it replicates three billion DNA base pairs. That’s a lot of opportunity for mistakes.

Fortunately, another miracle of DNA is that your cells have profoundly complex error correction mechanisms that spot problems and halt cell division until they are fixed. Sometimes, if the mistake is irreparable, cells can self-destruct, a process called apoptosis. This final resort mechanism is not functional, however, in cancer cells which then go on to replicate, leading to unlimited cell growth.

Fighting Free Radicals to Protect DNA Integrity

One of the ways DNA, cells, and tissues become damaged is when there is oxidative stress due to free radicals. When an atom or molecule loses an electron, it becomes a free radical. To recover that electron, a free radical scavenges from other atoms or molecules, creating a domino effect.

This destructive process, called oxidative stress, is a normal part of human biology, and your body, once again, has elaborate systems in place, including a wide array of antioxidant compounds to counteract damage.

However, this protective network is not inexhaustible and constant insults combined with nutrient insufficiencies can deplete your inherent protective mechanisms. A wide variety of chemicals, heavy metals and other insults, are known to increase oxidative stress, making detoxification important…

Protective Strategies

In my practice, I recommend a two-pronged approach to detoxification — ongoing gentle detox combined with a deeper, more focused seasonal detoxification.

The first step is to have a clean foundational diet: lean proteins, whole grains, lots of fruits and vegetables, healthy fats and oils.

Many foods support detoxification, including a wide array of vegetables, especially those in the cruciferous vegetable family, such as broccoli, kale, etc. Fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut and kimchee are full of beneficial bacteria and enzymes. A healthy microbiome is now being recognized as a foundational aspect of health, which underscores the importance of including these foods that provide prebiotic and probiotic support. Seaweed and other sea vegetables are rich in vitamins and minerals needed as cofactors to support detoxification pathways.

Removing heavy metals and toxins from the body is not an easy matter, and this is the reason for the second approach…

Toxins, the generators of oxidative stress, often store in fatty tissue, bone and vital organs. Fortunately there are natural compounds that have been shown in research studies to bind to these toxins and promote their elimination. Modified citrus pectin (MCP) and alginates are two natural compounds that I use extensively in my practice for this purpose. MCP also binds galectin-3, an inflammatory protein that has been implicated in many serious chronic conditions, so maintaining healthy Galectin-3 levels is an important added benefit.

PectaClear, which contains both MCP and alginates, is an ideal formula because the MCP is absorbed into the circulation to exert systemic detoxification effects, while the alginates, derived from brown kelp, are too large to be absorbed and stay in the digestive tract where they bind to incoming toxins from our water supply, food and beverages. Alginates have been shown to remove radioactive particles, such as iodine and cesium, as well as chemicals and heavy metals. Keep in mind that even organic produce can have heavy metal and toxin contamination from soil, air and water. This is why I strongly recommend daily use to continuously remove these offenders.

As a long-time practitioner of Traditional Chinese medicine, detoxing is something I undertake in my personal life and recommend to my patients.

We can’t really see DNA, so it can seem abstract, but it couldn’t get more essential! By making a few simple lifestyle changes, adopting meditation and stress reduction practices, a healthy diet, and ongoing gentle detoxification we are way ahead in preserving our genetic code and positively influencing how are genes are expressed promoting our health and longevity.