Fighting disease with winter foods
June 2013: As the cold weather sets in with it comes a new opportunity to rebalance our bodies and take advantage of the abundance of detoxifying seasonal foods.
“While our health is largely determined by our unique genetic makeup, there are ways that we can change our diets and our lifestyles to ensure that we support our genetic profile and optimise our health,” says Helen de Beer, dietician for DNAlysis Biotechnology, a South African molecular technology firm.
“The level of toxins in our bodies depends on what we are exposed to in our environment, but how effective our bodies are in getting rid of these toxins is determined by our genetic make-up. Nutrition and lifestyle changes allow us to improve our health by strengthening the ability of our bodies to get rid of toxins. Our genes control the enzymes which regulate the process of detoxification, but through certain foods we can influence the way that these enzymes work and encourage them to be more efficient,” she says.
Detoxification takes place mainly in the liver. This process happens in two distinct phases. In the first phase, toxins are activated by specific enzymes, and in this reactive form the toxins can be harmful to the body, damaging cell membranes and organs. During the second phase, these activated toxins are neutralised by another set of enzymes so that they can be excreted through the body.
However, many people have variants in their genetic profile that result in these two phases not working in sync with each other. In these cases, says De Beer, the DNA variants cause the enzymes in the first phase to work too fast, activating a high number of toxins. And in the second phase the DNA causes the enzymes to not work as fast as they need to in order for them to neutralise the toxins and to get rid of them. This imbalance results in a build up of activated toxins, and it is here that damage to cell membranes can occur.
But this process can be rebalanced through lifestyle changes and specific nutrients. “Understanding your genetic profile and knowing whether you have these gene variants allows you to change your lifestyle and adjust your nutritional intake to counteract the effects of these elevated toxicity levels, and to improve your health,” she says.
If you have the gene variant that causes the enzymes in the first phase to work too fast, and in the second phase to work too slowly, then the first step would be to prevent the build up of toxins during the first phase by avoiding polluted environments and cutting out unhealthy foods.
The next step would be to regulate the enzymes that control the process during the second phase to enable it to work more effectively and to ‘catch up’. “And this is where seasonal winter foods come in,” says De Beer. The enzymes in the second phase can be regulated by increasing our intake of antioxidant-type foods and cruciferous and allium vegetables.”
Anti-oxidants are found in brightly coloured vegetables and fruits like butternut, pumpkin, red sweet potato and oranges, as well as green tea and red wine.
Cruciferous vegetables – those with a cross formation in the middle – include turnips, parsnips, broccoli, cauliflower, kale and cabbage, and the allium vegetables are garlic, leeks and onions – all of which are popular in winter soups and casseroles.
“We need to take advantage of the opportunity that winter brings to enrich our daily diets with a balance of these foods,” she says.
DNAlysis Biotechnology’s DNA Health test identifies 20 genes involved in seven key biological processes, providing insight into the efficiency of your detoxification process. The results provide a gene-based healthy eating plan, dietary goals for relevant vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and foods as well as nutritional supplementation where required.
For more information on DNAlysis and its various products visit www.dnadiet.co.za or call (011) 268 0268.
