The “Shadow Organ” Often Ignored by Western Medicine, Lifesaving News

The AHA! Team — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 06:12:12 +0000

Lori Alton via NaturalHealth365 – Whether you are fat or thin may be a family trait, but not just through the inheritance of poor eating habits and a tradition of second helpings. Before you jump to conclusions, this isn’t your typical story about genetics. If you want to avoid degenerative diseases, I suggest you read this lifesaving news about a “shadow organ” often ignored by Western medicine. Recent research highlights that your gut microbiome – the trillions of microorganisms living in your digestive tract – plays a pivotal role in determining body weight and overall health. A study published in Current Gastroenterology Reports explores how gut bacteria, influenced by genetics and lifestyle, are key contributors to obesity and obesity-related disorders. But here’s the good news: gut microbiota can be modulated. Nonetheless, this isn’t a free pass to skip healthy eating, though. The food you consume directly influences which genes are turned on or off, shaping your gut microbiome and metabolic health. By taking charge of your diet and gut health, you can rewrite the script for your well-being, regardless of genetic predisposition. Conventionally trained physicians need to learn more about the lifesaving value of gut bacteria Known collectively as the microbiome, these trillions of live bacteria found in the human body influence everything from your immune system to your likelihood of developing chronic degenerative disease. These families of bacteria weigh about four pounds and actually outnumber the amount of cells in the body. The size and weighty influence of these collective bacteria are so significant that some scientists have begun thinking of the microbiome as a “shadow organ” of the human body. With advanced gene technologies being developed, this extra organ is getting greater attention from scientists worldwide. New study: How genes are connected to obesity In one study, scientists from Cornell University joined with researchers at King’s College London to sequence genes of microbes derived from more than 1,000 fecal samples of over 400 pairs of twins. Twins were used in the research because of their similar gene makeup. Scientists found that identical twins, whose genes are 100 percent the same, shared greater numbers of specific microbial families in the intestinal tract compared with non-identical twins, who share only half their genes. These findings provide clear evidence that genes are a major determining factor in the composition of the gut’s microbial makeup. This microbial composition can influence a host of health factors, including digestion, metabolism and even mood, as well as act as a cause of obesity. In their published findings, the scientists conclude that identifying bacterial families more prevalent among thin people could hold the key to customized probiotic treatments that exploit healthy traits and lead to weight loss. Emerging weight loss treatment plans When transplanted into mice, those microbes found predominantly in thin people were found to actually slow weight gain, suggesting that identification of the exact genetic composition of gut bacteria could hold the key to future weight loss treatments. Exploiting health-related bacteria families may, one day, be as common of an approach to wellness as exercise and a healthy diet. These genetic findings may also change how the medical community and the general population approach issues of obesity. More than one-third of United States adults are obese This is truly exciting information – when you consider the fact that more than one-third of United States adults are obese, and millions suffer from obesity-related conditions, including heart disease, stroke, type-2 diabetes, and many forms of cancer – which lead to premature death. Hopefully, with the help of independent scientists and holistically-minded educators, we’ll achieve critical mass (soon) about the importance of living a healthy lifestyle and implementing safer solutions for the obesity crisis before it’s too late for our society. Sources for this article include: NIH.gov Cell.com MedicalDaily.com Cornell.edu AnnualReviews.org To read the original article click here.

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Epigenetics and Obesity

The AHA! Team — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 06:06:42 +0000

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM via Nutrition Facts – Identical twins don’t just share DNA; they also share a uterus. Identical twins don’t just share DNA; they also share a uterus. Might that help account for some of their metabolic similarities? “Fetal overnutrition, evidenced by large infant birth weight for gestational age, is a strong predictor of obesity in childhood and later life.” Could it be that you are what your mom ate? A dramatic illustration from the animal world is the crossbreeding of Shetland ponies with massive draft horses. Either way, the offspring are half pony/half horse, but when carried in the pony uterus, they come out much smaller, as you can see below and at 0:47 in my video The Role of Epigenetics in the Obesity Epidemic. (Thank heavens for the pony mother!) This is presumably the same reason why the mule (horse mom and donkey dad) is larger than the hinny (donkey mom and horse dad). The way you test this in people is to study the size of babies from surrogates after in vitro fertilization. Who do you think most determines the birth weight of a test-tube baby? Is it the donor mom who provided all the DNA or the surrogate who provided the intrauterine environment? When it was put to the test, the womb won. Incredibly, a baby who had a thin biological mother but was born to a surrogate with obesity may harbor a greater risk of becoming obese than a baby with a heavier biological mother but born to a slim surrogate. The researchers “concluded that the environment provided by the human mother is more important than her genetic contribution to birth weight.” The most compelling data come from comparing obesity rates in siblings born to the same mother, before and after her bariatric surgery. Compared to their brothers and sisters born before the surgery, those born when mom weighed about 100 pounds less had lower rates of inflammation, metabolic derangements, and, most critically, three times less risk of developing severe obesity—35 percent of those born before the weight loss were affected, compared to 11 percent born after. The researchers concluded that “these data emphasize how critical it is to prevent obesity and treat it effectively to prevent further transmission to future generations.” Hold on. Mom had the same DNA before and after surgery. She passed down the same genes. How could her weight during pregnancy affect the weight destiny of her children any differently? Darwin himself admitted, “In my opinion, the greatest error which I have committed, has been not allowing sufﬁcient weight to the direct action of the environment, i.e. food…independently of natural selection.” We finally figured out the mechanism by which this can happen—epigenetics. Epigenetics, which means “above genetics,” layers an extra level of information on top of the DNA sequence that can be affected by our surroundings, as well as potentially passed on to our children. This is thought to explain the “developmental programming” that can occur in the womb, depending on the weight of the mother—or even the grandmother. Since all the eggs in your infant daughter’s ovaries are already preformed before birth, a mother’s weight status during pregnancy could potentially affect the obesity risk of her grandchildren, too. Either way, you can imagine how this could result in an intergenerational vicious cycle where obesity begets obesity. Is there anything we can do about it? Well, breastfed infants may be at lower risk for later obesity, though the benefits may be confined to those who are exclusively breastfed, as the effect may be due to growth factors triggered by exposure to the excess protein in baby formula, as you can see below and at 3:51 in my video. The breastfeeding data are controversial, though, with charges leveled of a “white hat bias.” That’s the concern that public health researchers might disproportionally shelve research results that don’t fit some goal for the greater good. (In this case, preferably publishing breastfeeding studies showing more positive results.) But, of course, that criticism came from someone who works for an infant formula company. Breast is best, regardless. However, its role in the childhood obesity epidemic remains arguably uncertain. Prevention may be the key. Given the epigenetic influence of maternal weight during pregnancy, a symposium of experts on pediatric nutrition concluded that “planning of pregnancy, including prior optimization of maternal weight and metabolic condition, offers a safe means to initiate the prevention rather than treatment of pediatric obesity.” Easier said than done, but overweight moms-to-be may take comfort in the fact that after the weight loss in the surgery study, even the moms who gave birth to kids with three times lower risk were still, on average, obese themselves, suggesting weight loss before pregnancy is not an all-or-nothing proposition. What triggered the whole obesity epidemic to begin with? There are a multitude of factors, and I covered many of them in my 11-video series on the epidemic in the related posts below. We are what our moms ate in other ways, too. Check out: Heart Disease May Start in the Womb Maternal Diet May Affect Stress Responses in Children Flashback Friday: The Effect of Animal Protein on Stress Hormones, Testosterone, and Pregnancy Key Takeaways Babies who are born larger are at higher risk of obesity later in life, suggesting early metabolic programming by maternal diet. The intrauterine environment significantly influences birth weight and later obesity risk, potentially outweighing genetic contributions from the biological mother. A baby with a thin biological mother but born to a surrogate with obesity may harbor a greater risk of future obesity than a baby with a heavier biological mother but born to a slim surrogate. Siblings born to the same mother before and after her bariatric surgery show reduced obesity risk in later-born children, highlighting the critical role of maternal weight during pregnancy. Epigenetics explain how environmental factors, like maternal weight, can influence gene expression and obesity risk across generations. Breastfeeding, especially exclusive breastfeeding, may lower obesity risk in children, contrasting with potential risks associated with formula feeding and excess protein exposure. To read the original article click here.

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The “Shadow Organ” Often Ignored by Western Medicine, Lifesaving News

Epigenetics and Obesity