Lose weight smart! 8 useful epigenetic tips

Have you also decided after the holidays that you need to start losing weight? Unfortunately, the success rate of these efforts tends to be quite low. What can we do to prevent it from happening like last year? The findings of epigenetics can help us do this by increasing your body’s willingness to lose weight.

One of the reasons why weight loss often fails is impatience. People want everything as soon as possible – even though the extra pounds have been accumulating on their body for years, they want to get rid of them in a few weeks. However, speed is the biggest mistake in weight loss.

Extensive diets slow down the metabolism and increase the risk of the yo-yo effect, or rapid weight gain after the end of a weight loss diet. In addition, in an attempt to lose weight quickly, people choose practices that they perceive as a major limitation. Therefore, they find them unsustainable in the long term, so they sooner or later return to unhealthy habits.

So if we are trying to get rid of extra kilos, we need to be patient and, of course, follow the most important principle: maintain a state of energy deficit, i.e. lower intake than output. Even when following these two principles, however, there can be big differences between people in how successful they are in their efforts. And it certainly doesn’t have to be due to laziness and lack of willpower. The epigenetic setup of the body, i.e. the activity of the genes involved in the weight loss or weight gain process, also plays a big part.

Focus on genes

Obese people have significantly different rates of gene methylation. This is a biochemical reaction that, by binding a methyl group, can completely prevent the transcription of a gene, which can lead to its complete “switching off”. Incorrect patterns of gene methylation are also behind the problems that contribute to overweight and complicate weight loss: impaired glucose metabolism, insulin resistance and disorders of hormone secretion, such as leptin, which causes satiety, or adiponectin, which promotes fat loss.

Another epigenetic difference, which is typical for obesity, is the different level of enzymes that influence the course of another key epigenetic reaction called histone modification. This is a reaction that turns genes off or on by altering the structure of the proteins on which the DNA is “strung”. Modifications of genes have a major impact on, for example, the process of adipose tissue formation.

Finally, obese people have been found to have different levels of non-coding RNAs, nucleic acids that are also able to significantly reduce the activity of important genes. Their production is also closely linked to the formation of adipose tissue, for example.

How to fix what went wrong

First, disrupted epigenetic patterns make it easier to gain weight and harder to shed the extra pounds. And secondly, they are a major cause of the fact that obesity significantly increases the risk of a number of serious diseases.

But how does it happen that epigenetic reactions in our body take place differently than they should? Some of these changes are inherited from our parents along with our DNA, others are caused by our lifestyle. But the good news is that these negative epigenetic changes can be largely removed from our DNA. Here are a few helpful tips.

1. Limit exposure to toxins

We usually associate the onset of obesity with overeating and lack of physical activity, but environmental toxins – especially those that act as hormone disruptors – can also play a major role. In fact, 20 years ago, scientists pointed out that the onset of the obesity epidemic coincided suspiciously closely with the time when many of these substances, sometimes called ‘environmental obesogens’, began to be used extensively.

Bisphenol A (BPA), for example, which is often added to plastic food boxes, drinking bottles and dental materials, increases the risk of visceral (internal) fat, insulin resistance and metabolic disorders. Unfortunately, the negative epigenetic changes that are associated with exposure to this substance, while increasing the risk of obesity, often occur during intrauterine development when the mother is exposed to BPA.

Another problematic group of substances added to plastics are phthalates. These too negatively affect epigenetic processes linked to, for example, metabolic disorders and insulin resistance, thereby increasing the risk of obesity and diabetes. In the past, phthalates were commonly added, for example, to children’s toys. Although this has been banned since 2005, inspectors have repeatedly detected toys containing them on our market.

Other obesogens include certain pesticides, air pollutants and heavy metals.

2. Eat healthy

In the context of diet, the first thing to do when losing weight is to limit energy intake, but it is equally important to focus on the composition of the diet, which fundamentally limits the course of epigenetic reactions. Again, many of the negative epigenetic changes have already occurred in the prenatal period as a result of poor maternal diet, but many others are caused by unhealthy diet throughout life.

In particular, excessive intake of saturated fats and carbohydrates with a high glycaemic index and low protein intake have a negative impact on obesity-related epigenetic responses. In contrast, polyunsaturated fatty acids (e.g. omega-3), short-chain fatty acids (e.g. butyrate) and plant polyphenols have a positive epigenetic effect. The risk of obesity also increases with insufficient intake of zinc, selenium and B vitamins (including folic acid). Vitamins C, E and calcium may also have a positive epigenetic effect, whereas excessive intakes of magnesium and chromium may contribute to obesity.

3. Movement must not be missed

Physical activity is not only about “burning calories”, but it also promotes positive epigenetic changes related not only to health, but also to the body’s increased willingness to lose weight. In addition to its effects on insulin resistance and other metabolic processes, movement is particularly indispensable in supporting the function of mitochondria, the cellular organelles where nutrients are converted into energy. When their function is deficient, energy production decreases, thus reducing energy expenditure (and also impairing the function of the tissue in question).

In one study, for example, a group of obese people underwent six months of endurance training, and then researchers found significant changes in the methylation of 63 obesity- and diabetes-related genes. In other research, positive epigenetic changes affecting weight loss were confirmed after 16 and 8 weeks of endurance or strength training, respectively.

4. Limit alcohol

Alcohol is not only a very energy-dense food, but also has significant negative epigenetic effects. These include not only the effects on the brain, for example, but some of the changes in gene methylation and histone modification caused by alcohol, for example, increase insulin resistance and promote other negative metabolic changes. In addition, alcohol impairs the absorption of certain nutrients, such as B vitamins, which again can promote weight gain.

5. Support the gut microbiome

The ratio of bacteria and other microorganisms in our gut influences, for example, mitochondrial function, butyrate production, fat metabolism, the level of inflammatory processes, and the epigenetic reactions related to the body’s willingness to lose weight. Therefore, gut care is also important, especially the consumption of probiotics and probiotics. Read more here ”

6. Sleep more

Sleep deprivation causes negative epigenetic changes in thousands of genes, including those related to weight gain and the body’s willingness to lose weight. Even a single night of significantly reduced sleep causes changes in gene methylation in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue that affect metabolism, fat storage and other important processes!

7. Eliminate stress

The stress hormone cortisol causes an increase in blood glucose levels. If blood sugar is not used as an immediate source of energy for physical activity, massive insulin secretion follows causing a rapid drop in glucose levels, leading to hunger and cravings for sweets. In addition, stress hormones cause negative epigenetic changes in the body.

8. Bet on dietary supplements

Currently, drugs for obesity that work by influencing epigenetic processes are being intensively tested. In particular, these are substances that affect the production of enzymes necessary for epigenetic reactions. A typical example is valproic acid, which belongs to the so-called deacetylase inhibitors and is able to influence, for example, adipose tissue formation or insulin sensitivity. However, some dietary supplements with epigenetic effects can also be very effective. Here are some of them:

EGCG – epigallocatechin gallate from green tea increases energy expenditure, the rate of fat oxidation (i.e. burning), reduces glucose and fat absorption, suppresses fat cell differentiation and lipase enzyme activity, and affects appetite. In addition, it helps to maintain the achieved weight after the end of the weight reduction treatment.

Butyrate – the microbiome of obese people contains a smaller proportion of butyrate-producing bacteria, so it may be appropriate to take this short-chain fatty acid in the form of dietary supplements. This has been shown to alleviate insulin resistance, reduce appetite and improve mitochondrial function (and thus increase energy expenditure). Butyrate supplementation even reduces weight gain in people consuming a high-calorie diet.

Coleus forskohlii – a herb native to the Himalayas improves the use of fat as a source of energy, affects appetite, has a thermogenic effect (promotes the conversion of calories into heat) and helps increase testosterone levels.

Saffron – a spice known primarily for its antidepressant effects – also affects weight loss through several mechanisms: it limits fat absorption from the digestive tract and glucose metabolism, has an anti-inflammatory effect and reduces appetite.

Rhodiola – is effective in relieving binge eating caused by stress and reduces the processes of adipose tissue formation.

OPCs – oligomeric proanthocyanidins, which are found for example in grape seeds, are among the very effective mitochondrial activators. They also affect the secretion of the hormones leptin and adiponectin and prevent the development of insulin resistance.

Resveratrol – a dye from red wine is a potent activator of sirtuins, which are enzymes important for mitochondrial function. It also affects the production of histone deacetylase enzymes, alleviates insulin resistance and helps to establish a balance between fat storage and burning.

Five-leaf ginseng – reduces insulin resistance, reduces fat storage, improves glucose metabolism. In studies, after taking it, volunteers experienced a reduction in BMI even without lifestyle modifications!