The Link between Food and Your DNA

Affect of Food on DNA

You may have heard the expression “no 2 people are alike”. Well reason we are not alike, is because at the genetic level there are tiny variations in our genes called single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNIPs for short. The reason this is important is because the food you eat has the ability to interact with these SNIPs, and turn on or turn off certain genes.

Turning On “Good Genes”

For example, if you eat certain anti cancer foods, such as broccoli, they can turn on “good genes” that activate detoxification pathways in the lungs, thereby reducing your risk of lung cancer.

Turning On “Bad Genes”

But if you smoke, you might turn on some “bad genes” that could eventually lead to cancer. So the important point to remember is that the food you eat, and the things you let into your body, directly affect your DNA and therefore your health.

Food Allergies

However because our genes are different, we each react to foods in different ways. Take my friend Nicole for example, Nicole cannot eat peanuts, if she does, she gets quite a severe allergic reaction. But I can eat them just fine.

Be Careful What Diet Advice You Follow!

What this all mean is that only you can determine what foods are best for you, and how they affect you. This is why it is not always a good idea to follow specific diet plans someone else has made up. What may work for them, may not necessarily work for you.