Live Healthy: Protecting Your DNA

May 23, 2011 by Dr. Julie Marchiol

Every cell in your body has over six feet of DNA (genetic material). This DNA – your body’s instruction manual – is the instruction manual for your metabolism, how your body loses or gains weight, how you age, what illness you get or don’t get, and much more.  When it’s damaged, nothing in your body works correctly. This is when you open the door to acquired diseases such as cancer, autoimmune disease, and heart disease. But taking just a few simple steps can prevent the unraveling of your body’s instruction manual.

How Can You Protect Your Body’s Instruction Manual (DNA)?

Eat The Right Foods

Include a diet rich in “color” from vegetables and fruits. These colors found in polyphenolic rich “super foods” include:

• Green tea
• Berries of all kinds, such as blueberries, raspberries, etc.
• Spinach, kale, and Swiss chard
• Cruciferous vegetables: broccoli sprouts, spinach, kale, and Swiss chard
• Purple potatoes and black rice
• Grapes and red wine
• Spices, including rosemary, curcumin and others
• Dark chocolate

Get The Right Nutrients

In addition to wholesome foods and rest, your body needs the proper “gas”= nutrients.  Sadly, you would have a hard time getting these only in foods.  Our soil is just not rich enough anymore to get the quantity of nutrients we need to function optimally.

• Mitochondrial Renewal Kit (MRK): contains alpha lipoic acid (to maintain proper blood sugar), resveratrol (to aid in the prevention of cell breakdown) and nitric oxide (an important component of the energy or Krebs cycle)
• OncoSupport: contains the active ingredient sulforaphane, which has been researched and shown to have scientific evidence in protection of cells from cancer causing agents

Protect Your Telomeres

The telomere is the protective cap on your chromosomes. Its length slowly declines with age. You can prolong your life by preventing telomere length destruction.

How to Prevent Telomere Shortening

• Caloric restriction: Fast for 12 hours, at night, three nights per week (i.e., eat at 6 p.m. and don’t eat breakfast until 6 a.m. or later).
• Exercise: 4-6 days per week, aim for 20-40 minutes of moderate intensity exercise (interval training, weight training, and walking)
• Balance your blood sugar: Fluctuations in blood sugar cause telomere shortening. Eat breakfast every day, and eat a balanced vegetable and protein lunch and dinner. Starting your day with a protein rich smoothie or eggs is a great way to balance your blood sugar for the rest of the day.
• Try Endurance Protein for Life in vanilla, chocolate, banana or berry!
• Telomere testing: the length of your telomeres can now be determined using a technology called PCR. It’s a once-a-year test to let you know your “biological age.”