A Common Genetic Variant Increases the Risk of Obesity Only in People Born After 1942, The Scientist

Gene x Environment x Time                                                                                                 

The curve starts to climb around 1942

When I try to explain why our older generation with gluten sensitivity seems to tolerate and have less problems with gluten and grains I often quote the year 1945, as the turning point, although I have been known to say that I may revise this turning point year to some year earlier.

Let me explain why I have focused on 1945. Vitamin D is a very powerful gene protector, and influences some 2000 genes of our 20,000 genes in total. In 1945, the governments of Canada and the USA stopped giving out free cod liver oil to families with children, giving the idea that vitamin D supplementation is not important, and the tradition to supplement with cod liver oil or vitamin D went into decline. Leading to widespread vitamin D deficiency especially above the 30th parallel. The vitamin D levels in the population is still continuing to decline mainly because of declining exposure to sun, more work and recreation done indoors, and impaired vitamin D metabolism ) I say turning point to explain an observation that I have that those born in North America after 1945 have more complications of gluten sensitivity and increased morbidity and mortality before the age of 65, than the older generation (or those born with more sun exposure or more traditional foods with vitamin D, like cod liver oil, traditionally raised pork lard and wild fatty fish in their diet). 

Dr. Murray showed  in his study published in 2009, that those who were gluten sensitive and born around 1930 had a 400% increased risk of dying by the age of 65. Very disturbing information and worth getting the word out the undiagnosed gluten sensitivity is a public health issue. Note his subjects were born around 1930.

Now we have a study where researchers analyzed changes in body mass index (BMI) over time from 5,000 people enrolled in the Framingham Heart Study in 1948, as well as their offspring, whose health has been tracked since 1971. They all live in and around Framingham, which is at the 42nd degree parallel.

I am going to focus on the the observed turning point year from this study: 1942.  Those https://www.cspinet.org/nah/pdfs/article-epigenetics.pdfpeople, born before 1942, with the obesity associated gene seemed to have the gene dormant, meaning low risk of obesity.Those born after 1942, on the other hand, tended to have higher BMI levels, and the effect was stronger in the people born later.

What else happened around 1942?
The average person in North America was getting increasingly exposed to chemicals, now known to influence genes through the methylation processes, on/off switches on genes ( now called Epigenetics). Chemicals were introduced into every aspect of life in increasing numbers and numbers of ways. 

Some examples are:

• Where soap was used, they were replaced with chemical detergents with chemical scents, at home and in industry.
• Where dental care was non existent except to the upper middle class or more wealthy individuals, now the average American was becoming more affluent than the years before, and so could buy dental care which for the most part was mercury amalgams. Now we have titanium (nickel) implants and BPA containing composites.
• More makeup was being used by women, and makeup is a source of toxic chemicals. See www.ewg.org makeup and lead in lipstick.
• Air pollution has increased, which leads to toxins being inhaled. 
• Organic small farming was changed over to large scale commercial farming and the use of pesticides and herbicides, all patented chemicals. And now GMO crops.
• Fire retardant chemicals on our clothes, and mattresses. 
• BPA in our plastics, even those that contain food and drink which we then ingest. (And in our medical supplies like IV lines).
• The diet has increasing amounts of processed food containing larger and larger amounts of chemicals. 
• Public health officials wrongly promoting low fat (margarine), high omega 6, vegetable oil based diets that are inflammatory. Watch the movie Oiling of America.

The estimate is that we are now exposed to 84,000 chemicals, all influencing our genetics, through our microbiota and direct contact through the food we eat and the air we breath.

From The Scientist (my bold):

The study focused on a particular variant in the fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) gene, which has been found in several recent studies to confer an increased risk of obesity. Strikingly, the FTO variant was not associated with a higher BMI in people born before 1942. Those born after 1942, on the other hand, tended to have higher BMIs, and the effect was stronger in people who were born later.

Although specific environmental risk factors were not addressed in the study, the researchers propose that the rise of high-calorie diets and more sedentary lifestyles in the U.S. after World War II contributed to the observed effects of the FTO variant. (from my comments above, you know that I don't agree with this proposal as to the cause of these effect, but that severe pervasive vitamin D deficiency along with environmental exposure to chemical, even those in food are more likely to blame).

“We know that environment plays a huge role in the expression of genes, and the fact that our effect can be seen even among siblings born during different years implies that global environmental factors such as trends in food products and workplace activity, not just those found within families, may impact genetic traits,” study coauthor James Rosenquist of Massachusetts General Hospital said in a statement.

“Our results underscore the importance of interpreting any genetic studies with a grain of salt and leave open the possibility that new genetic risk factors may be seen in the future due to different genetically driven responses to our ever-changing environment,” added Rosenquist.

This isn't to say that you can't bypass those genetic tendencies; that your health is predetermined. 

Along with gluten sensitivity, you may have the FTO gene. You can bypass the genetic sensitivities with methylation practices (B vitamins and treat any homocysteine levels above 8), exercising in moderation, sauna detoxification, removing toxins from your environment, doing intermittent fasting, and having a vitamin D level between 50 and 80 ( 120 -200 nmol/l).

An important step I would advise is to replace the obesogenic microbiota, as the microbiota contains 90% of your DNA, and communicates with all your tissues and metabolism. This is done by doing a GAPS programmen: eat fermented vegetables and supplement with probiotics, and starve the bad bugs by withholding, as in not eating carbs from grains, sugar or fructose ( minimal amounts of fructose is advised: keep below 20 -25 Glycemic load points). You can call this way of eating anything you want, but I call it GAPS, the natural treatment.

For my part, I have updated the year I think is the turning point for the increased incidence of gluten sensitivity and other "thrift" genes to 1942. But I think the incidence is on an exponential curve with younger generations more affected.

The hope for the future lies in the fact that we can do something about this. 
To Your Health
Dr. Barbara

How Genes Can Influence Our Mood-And How They Can Be By-Passed For Better Mental Health-Huffpost

Here is an article by Dr. Michael Stanclift ND in Huffpost Healthy Living on how adding gene studies to assess MTHFR status can be used to help people with mood issues, as part of a systemized approach. I've spoken a little bit about how these genes influence enzymes by the same name, MTHFR, that are important in the production of neurochemicals among other things, and can be by-passed with B12, folate and other supplements. As you know, when I first work with someone with mood issues, I do comprehensive testing for gluten sensitivity, serum vitamin D status, nutritional status, infections, hormone and thyroid status.

Thanks to Dr. Stanclift for sharing.
Here is an excerpt, but I suggest you read the whole thing.
Michael Stanclift, N.D. Naturopathic Doctor


How Genes Can Influence Our Mood
Posted: 07/06/2014 2:24 pm EDT Updated: 07/06/2014 2:59 pm EDT Print Article


When Susan* first came to see me, she was feeling pretty low. She had debilitating fatigue, and her body ached all over. Susan had been prescribed an antidepressant, and it helped with her depression a little, but she was still constantly anxious and had difficulty concentrating. Everything seemed "life or death," her performance at work was declining, and she was afraid she would lose her job if things didn't change soon.

..... I agreed and ordered comprehensive thyroid testing, a test to rule out anemia, and some "functional genetic" testing. Her thyroid and anemia tests came back right away: Everything looked normal. The genetic testing came back about two weeks later with some significant findings. Susan had variations in both copies (one from her mother and one from her father) of a gene that converts folate/folic acid into its active form. The gene, called "MTHFR" (think "Mon. THur. FRi.") helps an important biochemical reaction in our body called "methylation." Because of her variations, her body couldn't use folate very efficiently. So how did this factor into her condition?

Folate, in its activated form (5 MTHF), is needed for many important processes in our bodies. In Susan's case it was particularly important with relation to her neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are the chemicals our brains make to communicate messages to each other, and they have to be available in high enough amounts for us to successfully communicate those messages. Many of us have heard of serotonin, dopamine, and adrenaline (epinephrine), and may even be familiar with their effects on our emotions and mood. In order to make these neurotransmitters, that crucial step called "methylation" must occur. This step can be particularly difficult for someone with MTHFR variations like Susan had................

A few weeks into her treatment she came back reporting her coworkers had noticed a change. In my office I immediately saw the change in her mood, and even our front desk staff reported Susan sounded happier when she called. I know moods can change periodically, so I asked about something that had been consistent with her: exercise. She had exercised at least 50 percent more per week, and wasn't exhausted from it like before. Her sleep had improved, she reported her concentration was no longer an issue, and her libido was starting to return.We're now many months into her treatment and Susan has continued to do well.

Finding the variations in Susan's MTHFR gene was not the end-all be-all of her symptoms and treatment, but it was a significant factor. It opened up a window into why her depression and fatigue were so significant and why her medications weren't giving her satisfactory results. New and inexpensive "functional genetic" tests like this have opened up whole new areas of medicine and offer patients interventions that are personalized and nutritionally based. These tests have taken a significant amount of guess work into what interventions might work and explain why some people require drastically different dosages of nutrients to achieve the same outcomes. To find out if functional genetic testing could be important to you and your health, ask your doctor if these tests could be relevant for you.

In Health,

Michael Stanclift, N.D.Naturopathic Doctor in Practice in Carlsbad, California

"Functional genetic" testing is done in a number of laboratories in Canada, USA, Europe and Asia. Most require a requisition from your doctor. A normal homocysteine can not be used to assess your MTHFR status (because the "short route" may be working overtime). A high homocysteine level means you probably have a MTHFR issue (lower function of the MTHFR enzymes) and a requirement for more B12, folate,zinc, magnesium, vitamin C and other supplements. If you should decide to add genetic testing, it is best to be guided by a doctor who has some experience with MTHFR issues, as there is the rare person who, to avoid unpleasant effects, needs an individualized programme before starting folate in higher doses.

To Your Health

Dr. Barbara 

The Gluten-Thyroid Connection Interview with Dr. Tom O'Bryan

Looks like I have a third interview for you, this time of Dr. Tom O'Bryan on the subject of thyroid disease and it's link to gluten ingestion in the person who is gluten sensitive. 

He explains what the immune system is built of, and the importance of a healthy bowel. Or the presence of a leaky gut with or without celiac disease. (I use the term gluten sensitivity to include both celiac disease and non-celiac disease, as both conditions are induced by gluten and other parts of grains).

The list of foods I think people should avoid to heal the leaky gut, is a lot longer than what he lists. You will find a comprehensive list of foods to avoid to heal at www.gaps.me ,Dr. Natasha Campbell- McBride's website. For sure stopping gluten from wheat stops the further damage, but, what I have found in practice and in research is that it alone doesn't promote healing. GAPS protocol promotes healing. It is more than a diet.

For those of you who want to learn more about thyroid health from a fine line up of health practitioners including Dr. David Bronstein, there will be a Thyroid Sessions Summit with more info here.

Thanks to Sean Croxton of UndergroundWellness.com and Thyroid Sessions for  the link to The Gluten-Thyroid Connection interview with Dr. Tom O'Bryan. It is just 39 minutes and chock full of useful information, including references to published research for those who want to go deeper. 

To Your Health
Dr. Barbara

Don't Miss The Link to Gluten When Affected by an Autoimmune Disorder-Dr. Shoenfeld Interviewed

Dr. Yehuda Shoenfeld

We have known that the risk of developing autoimmune disorders in someone with celiac disease is 12 times the normal rate ( Farrell, NEJM 2002). This is such a high risk that one wonders who is left except those with gluten sensitivity/celiac disease to get auto immune diseases like Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Lupus or psoriasis. 

Since 2002 the science of autoimmune disorders has exploded. 
According to one of the top ten lead researchers in the world on autoimmune (AI) disorders, Dr. Yehuda Shoenfeld, there are situations that can predict the development of an AI disorder and the lead one is gluten sensitivity. 

And he knows that there are ways to prevent or slow down the onset of an autoimmune disorder and they are all lifestyle stuff:
-exercise
-stop smoking
-eat a healthy diet with lots of vegetables and no grains
-get some sun
-and supplement with vitamin D and I would add omega 3's.

In the interview which is linked below, he talks about the links between autoimmune disease and how the body attacks itself and why.

And the strong protection of vitamin D. 

Thanks to Dr. Tom O'Bryan, who put on the Gluten Summit last November, Dr. Shoenfeld's interview is available. 


Autoimmune disorders can cause recurrent miscarriages, infertility, pregnancy loss after 12 weeks. Hypo or hyperthyroidism, joint destruction from Rheumatoid arthritis or Lupus arthritis, or rashes, or cerebellar ataxia which shows up as a loss of balance not explained by low B12. Cardiovascular disease is very common. Some psychiatric conditions are considered autoimmune with the classic being PANDAS. And so many other disabling conditions as the body is attacking itself. Usually fuelled by gluten and gluten mimicking proteins in grains, and vitamin D deficiency. 

Practically speaking, today it can be hard to get the testing done for every possible antibody linked to every AI disorder, but some can be ordered by your doctor.Until it is possible to do these tests routinely, in practice, I assume everyone with a diagnosis of gluten sensitivity is already making antibodies to a handful of their own tissues, as many studies have shown, even before the person has symptoms. 

The remedies are the lifestyle changes listed above and are founded on a good vitamin D level. All these lifestyle recommendations are good for everyone and have been shown to reduce antibody levels in research settings. 

Do not presume just because you are getting sun exposure or you are taking D3, the real thing, that you have the protective blood levels of vitamin D3, which are 100-150 nmol/l (or 40 -60 ng/ml). Get a blood test.

Some resources for vitamin D are The Vitamin D Society and Vitamin D Council which has a newsletter that you can sign up for.

To Your Health
Dr. Barbara

Latest Cold and Flu News- Garlic

Cold and flu symptoms are a sign of vitamin D deficiency, but once you think you have these symptoms, what do you do? Besides taking extra vitamin D3, take garlic.

Garlic, raw garlic, is an all round health promoting herb.It can be very powerful at preventing and treating colds and flu symptoms. Because it is anti-viral, it can be used against warts. 

See what Cochrane Summaries, ( a newsletter that is part of Cochrane Library, a source of "Independent high-quality evidence for health care decision making") says about garlic.

Read what Dr. Mercola writes about garlic and about commonly offered medical management: ( my comments are in bold)

Cochrane Database—which has repeatedly reported that the science does not support the use of flu vaccine as a first-line defense for those persons over 65 years of age—has also reviewed studies on the alternatives, such as the use of garlic.15

They found that those who took garlic daily for three months had fewer colds than those who took a placebo, and, when they did come down with a cold, the duration of illness was shorter—an average of 4.5 days compared to 5.5 days for the placebo group.

While this may not seem overly impressive, it’s still better than the results achieved by the much-advertised flu drug Tamiflu. If taken within 48 hours of onset of illness, Tamiflu might reduce the duration of flu symptoms by about a day to a day and a half. That's the extent of what this $100-plus treatment will get you. It’s virtually identical to just taking garlic on a regular basis!

However, some patients with influenza are at increased risk for secondary bacterial infections when on Tamiflu—a risk you won’t take by eating garlic... Other adverse events of Tamiflu include pediatric deaths, serious skin reactions, and neuropsychiatric events, including suicide committed while delirious.



Read the whole article to find out the best way to take garlic and why. And what lifestyle issues lower your immune system and how to make changes for better health.

I can't forget to mention the finding, by Canadian scientists, in 2010, reported by the Vancouver Sun, that getting the seasonal flu shot appeared to increase the seriousness of a future flu illness. A new study by US government investigators reported in Science Translational Medicine August 28,2013, may have found the explanation. They did confirm the finding by the Canadian researchers, lead by Dr. Danuta Skowronski.


Get ready for flu season by building up your immune system.


To Your Health
Dr. Barbara

Avoid Vitamin D Deficiency at All Costs.

Vitamin Vitamin D3 deficiency is 100% in persons who are celiac or gluten sensitivity unless there is active ingestion of Vitamin D3 or active exposure to the vitamin D3 making sunlight- UV B light, which above the 49th parallel is only significant from late May to mid September.

 It is very important to keep your Vitamin D3 blood levels up because Vitamin D3 controls as many as 2000 of our 20,000 genes. ( Which are controlled by their on-off switches or epigenetic sites. Each gene may have as many as 100,000 epigenetic sites.The other major controller of epigenetic sites are the agents of methylation, like folate ).

Vitamin D3 deficiency is related to the onset of autoimmune diseases such as celiac disease, diabetes type 1, and many others. Deficiency is related to poor immune system and the inability to fight viruses and bacteria, like colds and flu's but also supplementing with Vitamin D aids in the cure of TB with anti-TB medications.

Deficiency is related to increased risk of cancer,depression, schizophrenia and other psychiatric conditions, neurological conditions and heart disease.

Slowly, administrative bureaus are recognizing the importance of getting more vitamin D3 both from food but also from supplements and sun. And recognizing it's safety in high doses up to 11,000 iu's a day (especially when combined with vitamin A and K). A great source of up to date information on Vitamin D3 is the newsfile Vitamin D Council.

Here they report on The European Food Safety Authority's recommendation to increase the their tolerable upper limit for Vitamin D to 4,000 iu's in adults and in teens above age 11.If put into policy and foods have more Vitamin D, and people will ingest more vitamin D, there will be less deficiency overall.
Vitamin D Council >
News


European Food Safety Authority ups vitamin D upper limit

14 August 2012


The European Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies has recently increased their tolerable upper limit for vitamin D. Following a request from the European Commission, the panel took a look at research to date to re-evaluate if a change in the upper limit was necessary.

In result, the panel raised the upper limit to 4,000 IU of vitamin D/day for adults and teenagers older than eleven, despite finding no evidence of hypercalcemia or hypercalcuria in supplementation up to 11,000 IU/day. The panel cited that they did not want to raise the upper limit higher for the time being in order to take “into account uncertainties associated with these studies.”

Children between 1-10 years old, the panel proposed an upper limit of 2000 IU/day. For infants under one year old, the upper limit was set at 1,000 IU/day.

Their scientific opinion can be found in full in the European Food Safety Journal.

Source:

EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies. Scientific Opinion on the Tolerable Upper Intake Level of vitamin D. EFSA Journal, 2012.">">

Page last edited: 14 December 2012

How does one know if one has a blood level of Vitamin D above 100 nmol/L?
You don't know unless you get a blood test. Ask for one or get one from the Vitamin D Council web page.


To your health!
Dr. Barbara