Diet and nutrition are regularly discussed subjects. What is less reported is what is actually taking place inside the body when nutrition is considered bad or toxic, like ultra-processed foods including cookies, chips or frozen pizza. Similarly, there is less information about the same internal processes when healthy, whole methyl-donor-rich leafy veggies and other beneficial foods are consumed.
To understand what is happening, explains Dana Dolinoy, requires an understanding of epigenetics. This is Dolinoy’s specialty.
Epigenetics is the study of changes in gene expression that do not involve alterations to the underlying DNA sequence, influenced by environmental factors and behaviours.
As a nutritional and environmental scientist and professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, Dolinoy studies the changes that take place in response to nutrients. Her work digs deep down to the genes and DNA, at the epigenome, where the controls that turn genes on and off are located.
Dolinoy is also director of the NIH-supported Michigan Center on Lifestage Environmental Exposures and Disease and Michigan Medicine’s Epigenomics Core, teams that advance research and understanding of the environmental causes of chronic diseases and conditions. She is also on the team that launched MI-CARES, the Michigan Cancer and Research on the Environment Study, which is recruiting 100,000 Michigan residents to find causes of and solutions to disease.
Dolinoy has recently been discussing this aspect of science in an episode of Michigan Minds. Here Dolinoy that epigenetics “is actually a relatively new science. The term was first coined in the 1950s as a way to talk about the intersections of our genes in the environment.”
Epigenetics and nutrition are closely linked, as nutrition can significantly influence gene expression and health outcomes.
When asked the question ‘How do you feel about the direction of the federal government and the new dietary guidelines and other health guidance? Do you feel that’s mostly aligning with your work and your hopes for public health?’ Dolinoy weighs up a balanced response.
“One of my best defence mechanisms is being an optimist. And I think that this focus on reducing processed foods, thinking about eating cleaner is actually an opportunity for people to understand that it is these toxic chemicals that also come along with the poor nutrition.”
Explaining how this relates to epigenetics, Dolinoy states: “And when w”We think about the epigenome, unlike our genome, which is our DNA, it’s static and generally not modifiable. We don’t have a lot of options. The epigenome is dynamic and modifiable, so we may be able to use dietary approaches or lifestyle approaches to counteract the negative effects on our epigenome and bring it back into health.”
As to the consequences, Dolinoy finds: “This gives us agency. We’re sort of like our own coders. And it doesn’t matter; we can start and stop. We don’t always have to be disciplined. We can know that we can always make a change and think about how to improve the health of our epigenome.”
Understanding the relationship between food, nutrition and genes means insights can help in developing personalised health strategies and preventive measures against chronic diseases.
Science and policy move at different rates and not always in synchronicity. Dolinoy indicates: “Because sometimes science moves faster than policy, and sometimes vice-versa. So we’ll discover new chemicals like PFAS, these forever chemicals, or the plasticizers or phthalates, and it’ll take some time for government agencies to be able to regulate them. And we tend to regulate chemicals one by one, but that’s a little bit strange because we’re exposed to many different chemicals at one time.”
Yet some parts of policy can move faster than others. Dolinoy recommends: “If we can think about our nutritional choices, our nutrition policy to help counteract some of the slowness in the chemical policy, that’s a really positive aspect.”
