muscles, however, we can alter that profile so that when we look at the proteins and cell structure again it has changed to the kind of muscle that is used for fast-paced activities such as running. The muscles of our limbs are based on aerobic activity. They need oxygen so there’s a different chemistry pro-file, energy use and cell structure. If we were to exercise the postural muscles in a way that requires them to work in an alternating ‘on-off ’, quick bursting kind of fashion we will see a transformation to the other type of muscle. Changes of this kind are not imposed on the cell by some external source – they emerge out of new and activity-dependant genetic ex-pression that produces these proteins that change the nature of the cell. These are phenotypic changes of the cell at a very basic level.” Dr. Vernon suggests that we are now learning more about how this occurs and, in the process, we have also learned more about pain. Pain, in a sense, becomes a laboratory for that very basic process. Once we understand the mechanisms of pain at the cellular and intra-cellular pathway levels, we can begin to see how the processes behind phenotypic cellu-lar changes occur. Pain becomes useful to those who want to study this phenomenon and, conversely, we now understand that the changes in function and phenotypic expression are part of the mechanism of how pain works – particularly how it becomes chronic. “The major issue of pain that references epigenetics,” Dr. Vernon states, “has to do with how it is that when pain persists, things start changing. Epigenetic processes are at play to pro-duce changes in cells such that they begin to behave differently – like staying “on” all the time instead of turning “off.” This can lead to pain for a longer period than anticipated, creating the clinical situations experienced by many people. “Because the story of epigenesis has an impact on chronic pain, those who deal with pain should be made aware that pain is an adapting type of situation. It is not just an “on-off” state. When we look at people who experience pain for a longer period of time, it’s not just that the injury is still there. The nervous system is plastic. Pain has a profound effect on the way the nervous system functions and changes, and it is the alterations in the nervous system – that is, changes in the way the programming inside us works – that are the problem. It’s a software issue that comes about in large part because of these epigenetic changes. “We have not been able to observe this clinically,” continues Dr. Vernon. “This is work we’re doing in animals where we can study cellular change but we have no way to test and prove it in humans. When a patient asks me ‘Why am I still in pain?’ we have to understand that people’s bodies change in response to chronic pain and it is these changes that are the basis for the next stages in the progression of their condition. This is where pain and epigenesis come full circle.” Epigenetics is the influence of the environment on the ex-pression of genes – specifically, the expression of the genome to produce different phenotypes. Dr. Vernon believes “we do not have a single pathway from our inherited genome to some deterministic outcome the moment we are conceived. The en-vironment has a strong influence on this genetic expression and the subsequent manifestations of our physiology and our mode of life. Pain is part of that continuum.” 28 • CANADiAN CHiROPRACTOR | JUNE 2011 WELLNESS Chiropractors provide holistic, wellness care to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the nature of their practice. In a nutshell, the same advice about sound, health-promoting life choices that applies to the individual today would also apply in the context of our current understanding of epigenetics. What has changed is our awareness that deleterious life choices can have a profound effect not only us, but also on the health and longevity of future generations. Epigenetic research suggests that the impact on longev-ity witnessed in the Norrbotten descendants was caused by changes to epigenetic markers on their DNA. According to a consortium of European epigenetic researchers, one of the most important diet-related epigenetic changes is methyla-tion. 3 DNA methylation, along with modifications of DNA-packaging histone proteins, is one of the major epigenetic mechanisms that cells use to control gene expression and is a common signalling tool that cells use to lock genes in the “off” position. It is an important component in numerous cellular processes, including embryonic development and preserva-tion of chromosome stability. Given the critical processes in which methylation plays a part, it is not surprising that errors in methylation have been linked to a variety of catastrophic human diseases such as cancer, lupus, muscular dystrophy, and a spectrum of birth defects. 4 DNA methylation has also attracted the attention of behavioural epigeneticists who, in addition to short-and long-term memory, study an array of psychological issues including children’s aggression, drug ad-diction, depression and suicide. 5 “In order to faithfully maintain the correct patterns of methylation through cell division, new methyl groups are stuck onto freshly-copied DNA. This requires a constant sup-ply of new methyl groups, which can be provided directly from our food, including the trio of molecules methionine, betaine and choline.” 6 We can also make methyl groups from chemicals such as folic acid. Other nutrients, such as vitamin B12 and zinc, are involved Feeding Your Epigenome In the estimation of one international research group, until we understand more about the links between diet and epi-genetics, one approach is to consume foods that provide the building blocks for methylation in the body: • Leaf vegetables, peas and beans, sunflower seeds and liver are good sources of folic acid. • Choline comes from eggs, lettuce, peanuts and liver. • To boost your intake of methionine, try spinach, garlic, brazil nuts, kidney beans or tofu. Chicken, beef and fish are also good sources. • Sample oysters for zinc and eat fish, cheese, milk, meat and liver for vitamin B12. • Resveratrol in red wine might help to prevent can-cer and aging, and some wines also contain the beneficial molecule, betaine. Alcohol, however, can interfere with folic acid in the body and disrupt methylation patterns. 7 www.canadianchiropractor.ca
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