In a message dated 6/23/0 10:26:41 PM, [log in to unmask] writes:
<< concerned about which genes are expressing themselves w/ more frequency,
due
> in large part to artificial feeding and all of its implications. The
human
> gene pool is now at greater risk than ever due to the increased use of GE
> ingredients in artificial milk products.
Tell us more Jennifer. What exactly is the concern that you heard
expressed? It sounds very interesting. >>
Karleen
Okay, everybody, remember I am *not* a medical person, but I will desribe as
best I can. What this research indicates is that "something" is altering the
way mediating molecules or chemical communicators in the cells are behaving.
This in turn alters the way that genes express their function. In other
words, disease is caused by malfunctioning of signaling components. In this
paradigm, the foods we eat "speak" to our genes. Since genes have the ability
to express in a variety of ways, the interaction of a gene w/ its environment
determines its expression.
Think of it this way--if you change the parameters of an experiment, you
change the outcome. The expression of human genes is the same--it is like an
experiment the outcome of which is determined by the parameters. A key
parameter is diet.
Insulin is important in this concept. As more insulin washes over the
cells of the gut, mitochondrial function is decreased and growth hormone is
impaired. I recently heard a dermatologist speak who said that all illness is
a result of inflammation in the body. This is the concept behind functional
medicine. The more insulin resistant a person becomes, the more the body
resides in a constant state of inflammation.
So, we basically "eat" information and how the gut translates and
communicates this information determines gene expression. For example, there
is a strong correlation between children with gastric disturbances and
learning disabilites and autism. Gut function=brain function.
Many of us are familiar w/ the plight of the Pima Indians and the concept
of the "thrifty genotype". A gene which has been environmentally selected for
due to life in an extremely hostile environment is no longer an ally in the
modern world. This very same gene is now the "cause" of diabetes. But, it is
not the gene which has caused diabetes--it is the change in environment.
These are not genetically frail people--they are genetically superior when
living in a hostile environment w/ little food or water. It is the easy
availability of resources that has caused this gene to express itself as
diabetes.
The human infant's genes will certainly respond in one way to breastmilk
and in another to ABM. Considering that there is a much greater likelihood of
gut inflammation with artificial feeding, we are justified in being very
concerned about the implications for chronic conditions. Now, add to this
the wild card of GE foods. These are molecules the human body has never seen,
has not evolved to recognize and are unlikely to optimize genetic expression.
What has happened is that we have created a new experiment w/o even any idea
of what the outcome may be--we may not even know how to recognize that
something is an outcome.
If you have a human gene next to a whale gene, for example--the whale
gene would be most optimized when the information it receives is from whale
milk, the human gene with information from human milk. The gut of the
particular animal would be unlikely to suffer inflammation. From that point
on, of course, the situation is more complex. But, it is unlikely that there
can be any good argument for fast foods, processed foods, fatty foods or GE
foods creating an optimum environment for any human gene.
You can find a lot more information, better presented, at
www.healthcomm.com
Jennifer Tow, IBCLC, CT, USA
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