How Exercise Affects Your Genes

Studies shed light on how exercise can alter
the expression of genes.

We all know exercise is good for us. It can melt away fat and help build muscle, ease depression, and has been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. But how exactly does exercise work its magic? Evidence from several recent studies are shedding light on this mystery, showing how exercise can turn off and on genes within muscle and fat cells, altering metabolism and affecting disease risk.

Once thought to be unchangeable and the single determinant of what traits get passed on, it is now known that genes are greatly affected by the environment. Although the structure of the gene itself can’t be changed, lifestyle factors such as diet, stress, and exercise can change the expression of genes, turning them off or on. A gene that is silenced, or turned off, is unable to make the protein that will cause a certain effect in the body. A gene that is activated, or turned on, will make a protein when it receives the appropriate message from the body.

Methylation is one of the ways that genes are turned off or on. During methylation, a methyl group (structure made of carbon and hydrogen atoms) is added to the gene. Think of it as adding a cherry to the top of a sundae. The cherry (methyl group) will either block or assist the message from being received by the sundae (gene). Turning genes off and on affects all processes in the body, ultimately making an impact on behavior, mental processes, disease states, and physical appearance.

Exercise is one environmental factor that drives the process of methylation. In a recent study by researchers at Lund University Diabetes Center in Sweden, scientists set out to see exactly what exercise does to our genes. As part of their study, the scientists mapped expression of genes in fat cells before and after exercise in 23 men who worked out for one hour two times weekly for six months (1). Not only did exercising cause weight loss and improve cholesterol levels and blood pressure, but it also changed the methylation pattern at nearly 18,000 sites on 7,663 genes. Many of the modified genes were those involved in fat storage and obesity and diabetes risk.

Gene methylation isn’t limited to fat cells; exercise also affects methylation in muscle cells. In a study published in the journal Cell Metabolism last year, researchers collected muscle biopsies from 14 men and women both before and after exercise to determine the effect on gene methylation (2). Not only were major changes in the pattern of methylation seen after just one exercise session, but the researchers also found that more intense exercise caused even greater changes. Similar to what was seen in the fat cell study, several of the genes methylated in muscle cells following exercise are known to affect metabolism and the risk for obesity and diabetes.

It is often said that our genes and environment determine how we age and our risk for disease, suggesting that one factor (genes) is unchangeable, while the other (environment) we have control over. These new studies show how the environmental component of exercise is capable of influencing genes themselves, giving us an extra element of control. Exercise is an extremely powerful tool conferring loads of health benefits, likely driven largely by gene methylation. How exercise profoundly affects the body, even down to the level of DNA, is all the more reason for getting your daily dose of physical activity every day.

References

1. Rönn T, et al. A six months exercise intervention influences the genome-wide DNA methylation pattern in human adipose tissue. PLoS Genet. 2013 Jun;9(6):e1003572. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1003572. Epub 2013 Jun 27.

2. Barrès R, et al. Acute exercise remodels promoter methylation in human skeletal muscle. Cell Metab. 2012 Mar 7;15(3):405-11. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2012.01.001.

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Sharing Isagenix Solutions with the World

When you look at the statistics, it is hard to deny that the health of the world is worsening. In 2008, the World Health Organization found that more than 1.4 billion adults were overweight, and of those, 500 million were obese. Diabetes, a disease largely linked to obesity, is projected to become the seventh leading cause of death by 2030.

Luckily, there’s a solution—Isagenix. Backed by strong evidence from the University of Chicago at Illinois’s clinical study using Isagenix products, Isagenix products can reverse the trend of declining health with better diet and lifestyle habits for healthy weight management, energy and performance, and healthy aging.

Global challenges

Positioned as a global leader in health and wellness, Isagenix can help nurse the world back to health. However, as dedicated as our company is to share solutions with other countries, there are some challenges to get past when supplying nutritional products around the globe.

For example, each country has their own unique regulations as outlined by agencies—such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Health Canada—that specify limitations on certain ingredients, sources of ingredients, processing methods, and delivery systems. There are also rules regarding labeling of products and claims that can be made.

Another consideration is accommodating the different marketing environments in each country. This involves addressing differences in purchasing methods, product positioning, and market competitors. Isagenix must also consider cultural preferences—including taste profiles and kosher and halal certifications—when creating products for international use.

“Real Results” Around the World

Bringing Isagenix “no compromise” products to other markets takes skill and global partnerships. Isagenix Founder, Master Formulator, and Product B Formula Developer John Anderson and the International Regulatory Team are prepared to bring the highest of Isagenix standards for safety and efficacy to the world.

With the skilled professionals that make up the International Regulatory Team, Isagenix is prepared to overcome these barriers. This team is always expanding to keep pace with Isagenix’s incredible international growth. They work directly with John Anderson to reformulate products to ensure that products comply with regulations across international markets including Taiwan, New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Canada, and Mexico. Their goal is to maintain the overall integrity of the original products made for the U.S. as well as its purpose for use while staying compliant to each country’s rules and regulations (1, 2).

For example, while there may be a few minor differences in the vitamin and mineral content of an IsaLean Shake found in Canada compared to one in Hong Kong, the main ingredients are still there, and it is still a safe and effective product. Another product, Cleanse for Life, as a slightly different ingredient profile from country to country, but each has been formulated to maintain its effectiveness. With Isagenix, the integrity of a product is never compromised to meet international regulations.

As Isagenix expands into more countries all over the world, John Anderson and the International Regulatory Team will be there to pave the way and ensure that all products uphold the highest of quality and safety standards while providing real results. Isagenix is transforming lives and fighting for a healthy world, one country at a time.

References

1. Acts and Regulations. Health Canada. Retrieved June 2013, from www.hc-sc.gc.ca
2. Regulatory Compliance. Australian Government: Therapeutic Goods Administration. Retrieve June 2013, from www.tga.gov.au

How Your Cell Phone Feeds Your Muffin Top

by Dr. Michael Colgan

One of my college profs used to pile on the projects, meeting our groans about sleep with, “Five hours for a lazy man.” He seemed to thrive that way, very fit, legendary for his 6 a.m. workouts at the Uni gym. I never got up that early, but often noticed his office light when leaving the library after it shut at 10 p.m. He died of a stroke aged 64.

His death made me take a good look at sleep research. Studies cited in my little book, Sound Sleep (1), and numerous other reviews (2,3) show that fewer than seven hours sleep a night promotes increased risk of chronic health problems and growth of visceral fat.

Sleep is a circadian (24-hour) physiological rhythm, essential lifelong for more than 100 physiological processes, including brain growth, memory, and cellular restoration throughout the body. Because of the revolution of the Earth, sleep is programmed into our DNA and controlled by melatonin in the brain which switches on at night and off with the break of dawn. The night-time sleep cycle controls the physiology of one-third of your life, and largely determines your health in the other two-thirds (4).

The majority of Americans just don’t get it. The National Sleep Foundation reports that 63 percent of Americans, almost 200 million people, get insufficient sleep. No wonder most of us are sick and tired (5).

Like my old prof, you can easily cut your sleep, and tell yourself you don’t need much. You can also down a bottle of whiskey a day and tell yourself you have a titanium liver. You can follow any number of unhealthy practices, but I wouldn’t give much for your chance of seeing your grandchildren graduate from college.

I trust most of us are decades away from the reaper yet, but here’s the sleep crunch. If you’re struggling to improve your body and mind, or working through an Isagenix 30-day Program and not getting super results, sleep may be the problem. Poor sleep can cancel out all the health benefits of even the best diet, exercise, and supplement program.(6).

Permanent fat loss is a prime goal for many folk who consult me. No hope without sufficient sleep. In 2004, research at the University of Chicago first showed that poor sleep reduces the brain’s ability to regulate hormones that control hunger. Subjects let sleep only four hours a night for just two nights showed an 18 percent decline in leptin, the main hormone that turns off appetite. They also showed a 28 percent increase in ghrelin, the main hormone that triggers hunger and cravings for quick-sugar, high-carb foods (7).

Two summaries of recent studies, one in the British Medical Journal, and the other by world famous sleep researcher Dr. Russell Reiter, extend these findings. We know now that poor sleep causes severe damage to sugar and insulin metabolism, and a large drop in human growth hormone, the so-called “youth hormone”. Sleep deprived subjects not only eat more carbs, and gain more visceral fat, they also lose muscle, look haggard, look years older, and — nasty of nasties — develop irreversible saggy skin (8, 9).

So what has this to do with your cell phone? Simple. Waning of the light at night stimulates a nerve pathway from the eye to parts of the brain that release melatonin to control the sleep-wake cycle. Light at bedtime from a cell phone, tablet, E-reader, or computer suppresses melatonin release. To produce white backlight, these devices emit blue light at short wavelengths, right at the peak sensitivity to suppress melatonin (10). So there you lie, eyes like holes burned in a blanket, cultivating your muffin top.

If you just love to phone or text in bed, there are solutions. Keep your bedroom cool, and really dark. Once in bed use an amber night light. Amber enough to just see by does not affect melatonin. You can also use the software program that automatically changes the light of your device towards amber at night and blue during the day. Not perfect. So also use the unique Isagenix Sleep Support & Renewal spray to top up your melatonin. Sweet dreams will beat that muffin.

References

1. Colgan M. Sound Sleep. American Fork Utah: Sound Concepts, 2012.
2. Blask DE. Melatonin, sleep disturbance and cancer risk. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 2009;13 257–264.
3. Alberto Dominguez-Rodriguez, et al. Melatonin and circadian biology in human cardiovascular disease. J Pineal Research, published online: 1 June 2010 DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-079X.2010.00773.x
4. http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/how-sleep-works/how-much-sleep-do-we-really-need 
5. http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/press-release/annual-sleep-america-poll-exploring-connections-communications-technology-use-
6. Nedeltcheva A, et al. Insufficient sleep undermines dietary efforts to reduce adiposity. Ann Intern Med. 2011 April 5. Available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2951287/
7. Spiegel K, Tasali E, Penev P, Van Cauter E. Sleep curtailment in healthy young men is associated with decreased leptin levels, elevated ghrelin levels, and increased hunger and appetite. Ann Intern Med. 2004 Dec 7;141(11):846-50.
8. Axelsson J, et al. Beauty sleep the perceived health and attractiveness of sleep deprived people.BMJ 2010
9. Reiter R, et al. Obesity and metabolic syndrome: Association with chronodisruption, sleep deprivation, and melatonin suppression. Annals of Medicine, September 2012, Vol. 44, No. 6, Pages 564-577  doi: 10.3109/07853890.2011.586365
10. Wood B, et al. Light level and duration of exposure determine the impact of self-luminous tablets on melatonin suppression. Applied Ergonomics 2013 Mar;44(2):237-40. doi:10.1016/j.apergo.2012.07.008.

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