Meditating affects your Genes

A new study by Dr. Herbert Benson, author of The Relaxation Response, found that meditation affects how your DNA expresses itself.

In a new Harvard study, both experienced meditation practitioners and those new to the practice were taught a simple meditation technique, which I teach in my book How to Give Clients the Skills to Stop Panic Attacks: Don't Forget to Breathe. The meditators had blood test results that proved that the meditation changed how the genes expressed themselves, but those who had meditated longer had more profound results. 

The exciting part is that genes associated with energy metabolism, mitochondrial function, insulin secretion, and telomere maintenance were turned on, while those involved in inflammation were turned off. In other words, meditation turns on gene expression that foster the body's natural self-repair mechanisms, helping to prevent and treat aging and disease, while shutting off gene expression that predisposes the body to illness.  Pretty cool!

Are Chemicals Making You Fat?

Many people say the obesity epidemic could be solved if we just got off our butt to hit the gym and stopped eating so many Big Macs. Diet and exercise do play a huge role in what we weigh, of course, but there’s one glitch with this theory: Over the past quarter century, the incidence of obesity has risen most markedly—by a whopping 74 percent—not in adults or children, but in infants.

In fact, six-month-olds today are fatter than they were in 1980, despite the fact that birth weights overall have been decreasing—a finding that makes some scientists wonder whether environmental chemicals could be causing babies to rapidly gain weight after birth. Bruce Blumberg, Ph.D., a biologist at the University of California-Irvine, is so concerned that these chemicals play a significant role in the rise in obesity that he considers them “obesogens.” “Not too long ago, no one would’ve believed there was such a thing as an obesogen and that anything except eating too much could make you fat,” he says. But in Blumberg’s research, TBT, a common chemical used to make PVC plastic (of the sort found in some shower curtains), caused mice to develop extra fat cells. And when Blumberg exposed pregnant mice to the chemical, their pups grew to be up to 15 percent fatter than mice that hadn’t been exposed.

Now, this is animal research, and no one knows just how widely humans are exposed to TBT, which hasn’t been tested extensively in humans. But last year researchers at the University at Albany in New York found traces of the chemical in every single sample of house dust they analyzed.

BPA and phthalates, chemicals used to make plastic flexible, may also impact your weight. Boston University research found that teen girls with greater levels of a certain phthalate in their urine were at higher BMIs than those without. Another study found that Americans who were most exposed to both chemicals were more at risk of developing diabetes. As a double whammy, BPA and some pesticides may even disrupt our body’s ability to regulate blood sugar and hunger—two key factors in losing weight. “For me, there’s no doubt common chemicals are playing a role in obesity and related diseases,” says Richard Stahlhut, M.D., an environmental health scientist at the University of Rochester in New York. “Some overweight people have been taking a beating for diseases that are not their fault.”

The good news, some researchers say, is that we may be able to lose weight not by starving ourselves but by avoiding obesogens. While researching his book The New American Diet, journalist Stephen Perrine asked 400 people to cut their obesogen exposure for six weeks. “We had them swap out foods that tended to be high in obesogens, such as canned foods and grain-fed meats, for versions of these foods with lower chemical loads,” Perrine says. They were still allowed to eat burgers and pork chops, just ones that were free-range and hormone-free. After six weeks, the subjects had lost, on average, 15 pounds. Filling your plate with (organic) green leafy vegetables like spinach and kale, which are high in folate, also helps.

Ginger and Lentil Soup

This anti-inflammatory, healing soup is perfect for a cool fall day. As we transition from summer to fall, try adding warming foods to your diet.

Healing Ginger and Lentil Soup

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped small
3 to 6 cloves garlic, minced
3 to 4 tablespoons ginger, grated or
nely diced
3 cups water
3 to 4 carrots, sliced
1 pound French lentils
6 cups vegetable or chicken broth
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to
taste)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
grated Gruyere cheese for serving
(optional)
cooked quinoa for serving

Sift through the lentils for rocks and pebbles. Place in a colander and rinse with cool water. Set aside.
Chop onions and garlic, grate ginger, and chop carrots.
Place a large pot over medium heat. Add oil. When oil is hot, add onions. Cook until transparent and slightly browned. Add garlic, ginger, carrots and cook, while stirring,for 1 minute.
Add cumin and cayenne pepper and cook for 30 seconds.
Add the water to the hot pot and scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pot as the liquid sizzles.
Add lentils and broth and simmer for about 45 minutes, until
lentils have softened.
Taste and season with salt and pepper. Finish with lemon.
Serve with grated cheese and/or quinoa.
The soup will last in an airtight container in the fridge for about a week. It’s also great to keep in the freezer.

10 ways to help your child grow their best brain

1. Help your child learn to sing or play music or learn a second language.
2. Make sure he or she has plenty of physical activity; whenever possible, outdoors is best.
3. Cut down on sugar, especially soda and diet soda.
4. Make sure they get plenty of protein.
5. Be consistent about hours for eating, sleeping and waking.
6. Help your child set goals and respect limits.
7. Feed various ways of learning. Take them to a science fair one weekend and an art fair the next. Take them to a sports competition another week and a play the next.
8. Provide opportunities for social interaction with people of all ages.
9. Remember that one-third of the brain is set up to execute and two-thirds, to receive information. Make room for quiet time.
10. If your child studies or reads all the time, plays computer games all the time, or plays sports all the time, know that too much of anything is too much. The brain needs balance and harmony.


Lee Gerdes
Author of Limitless You:
The Infinite Possibilities of a Balanced Brain

More muscle mass can protect against insulin resistance and prediabetes.

In a cross-sectional study, every 10% increase in the ratio of skeletal muscle mass to total body weight was associated with an 11% reduction in risk of insulin resistance and a 12% drop in risk of transitional, prediabetes, or overt diabetes.  Over 13,000 people were studied via an analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) III data. The findings point to the importance of gauging muscle mass, in addition to body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference, when assessing a patient's metabolic health, the researchers said.

Foods for Colon Health

A new study from a California research team suggests that eating more legumes (dried beans, dried peas and lentils) at least three times a week can cut the risk of developing colon polyps (which can lead to cancer) by 33 percent. Brown rice reduces the risk, too, by 40 percent. Researchers at Loma Linda University also found that eating cooked green vegetables at least once a day, and dried fruit at least three times a week offers additional protection. The researchers analyzed data from more than 2,800 adults in the Adventist Health Study-1 performed in 1976-77, including information on participants who responded to a follow up study 26 years later. The first study asked participants how often they consumed specific foods. The investigators also considered other factors that could influence colon cancer risk, including family history of the disease, education, physical activity level, and constipation. They also checked alcohol intake, how often the participants ate sweets, used pain medication and took multivitamins. The study was published in the May 2011 issue of Nutrition and Cancer.

Vitamin D Reduces Diabetes Risk

Higher levels of vitamin D in the blood appear to be associated with a reduced risk of diabetes among people at high risk for the disease, according to a new report. In a study of over 2,000 people with prediabetes, it was seen that the higher the level of vitamin D in the blood, the lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Dr. Pittas of Tuft's University says that vitamin D might play a role in diabetes by improving insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity. Though this has been seen over the years in a few other studies, this is the first one that reflects the benefit of a long-term vitamin D status.

The research showed that for every 5 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) increase in vitamin D levels, the risk of developing diabetes dropped by 8%.