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[Information on boosting immunity] Why traditional Japanese food suits Japanese people ⑤

[Immune power up information]
Recently, the new coronavirus has taken the world by storm.
In this corner, you can find information on how to build a body that can withstand corona,
We will introduce excerpts from past musubi magazines and books published by Seishoku Publishing.
The second installment is from the September XNUMX issue of Musubi magazine, with the theme of "why traditional Japanese food suits Japanese people."
This is an interview article with Masako Okuda. (XNUMX times in total)

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“Your body will always respond” by improving your diet

Secrets of health seen from epigenetics
　At the end of Mr. Okuda's interview, the word "epigenetics" came up.Recently, it has been used as the title of a book and sometimes seen in weekly magazines.In fact, epigenetics is also a keyword when considering how diet affects health.Epigenetics will be explained in an easy-to-understand manner based on Okuda's books and interviews.

Do identical twins have the same disease?

　The “physical constitution” that we have been paying attention to so far.When we say constitution, we tend to think of it as something that is innate and unchangeable, but as there is a way of saying that we can improve our constitution, we can change our constitution.
　Let's say that what you are born with is called "genetic predisposition".On the other hand, "environmental factors" include the way of life after birth and the climate of the land where the child was raised.
　Then, the human constitution can be defined as "formed by the interaction of genetic predisposition and environmental factors" (from "Daijisen").In fact, as the term "lifestyle-related disease" appeared, habits such as diet, exercise, smoking, and drinking are related to the onset of various diseases.
　For example, there is a Nordic study that investigated the probability that the other of identical twins will get the same cancer if one gets colorectal cancer, breast cancer, or prostate cancer.
　The results were 11% for colorectal cancer, 13% for breast cancer, and 18% for prostate cancer.Even if the genetic predisposition was 10% the same, the probability of developing the same cancer was only in the XNUMX% range.
　For at least three cancers, it turns out that environmental factors seem to have a major influence.
　Also, in terms of appearance, even if the faces and impressions are similar when they are small, they become easily distinguishable as they age.

a switch attached to a gene

　The example of identical twins also suggests that even if the genetic information written in the genes is the same, whether it actually works is another story.
　Epigenetics is the switching mechanism that turns the action of genes on and off, and it is the basis for the belief that environmental factors, including lifestyle habits, have a great influence on the onset of diseases.

See Figure XNUMX.

[Fig. 6] Genes turn on and off depending on lifestyle habits

Some people are born with genes that make them susceptible to diseases, and others have genetic defects that make them susceptible to diseases (red robots) after they are born.

Even if you have genes that make you susceptible to illness, if you turn off the switch through lifestyle habits, you won't get sick.

Bad lifestyle habits can turn off the good genes that make you healthy.But if you change your lifestyle and turn the switch back on and off, you may be able to get your health back.

　Each robot represents a single gene.Suppose you are born with a gene that makes you susceptible to disease, or you have a gene that becomes susceptible to disease due to damage caused by environmental factors after birth.That's the red robot in the top row.
　However, even if you have a gene that makes you prone to illness, if the action of the gene is weakened by improving your lifestyle, the switch will be turned off and you will not get sick (the red robot in the center row).
　Conversely, even though we have genes that have beneficial effects on our health (the green robot below), bad lifestyle habits can switch them off (left).At that time, if you change your lifestyle and turn it back on, you may be able to regain your health (right).

switch on or off

Summary-

・Among the genes inherited from parents, there are genes that have the effect of creating health and genes that have the effect of creating disease, and all genes have a switch that expresses that effect.
・The switch is originally on and off, but if you continue to have bad lifestyle habits, even if the switch of the gene that creates health was originally on, it may turn off.Also, even if the switch of the gene that creates the disease was OFF, it may turn ON.
・Conversely, if you improve your lifestyle habits, the genes that create health may turn on even if they were originally off.Also, even if the switch of the gene that causes the disease is ON, it may be turned OFF.

-about it.

Do food and drink matter?

　So what are the environmental factors that influence the switching of genes?
　According to a study conducted by Harvard University in the United States in 30, the biggest causes of death from cancer were "diet and obesity" and "smoking" in adulthood, each accounting for XNUMX%.Next, "lack of exercise" was XNUMX%, and "drinking" was XNUMX%. "Genetic predisposition" was XNUMX%.
　However, this is the case of Americans, and it seems that it cannot be applied to Japanese as it is.In particular, smoking is thought to have a greater impact on Americans than Japanese.On the other hand, it has been pointed out that Japanese people are more likely to be affected by "drinking" than Americans.
　Mr. Okuda thinks that "diet" is the most important factor for Japanese people, and that "drinking" is an equally important environmental factor.
　Another factor that cannot be overlooked is stress.
　For example, when living in an evacuation shelter due to a major disaster such as the Great East Japan Earthquake, the effect of genes that raise blood pressure in response to salt increases, and eating highly salty preserved food raises blood pressure. A phenomenon called high blood pressure may occur.

“There will be a difference in 10 years and 20 years”

　If genetic predisposition determines everything, there is nothing we can do about it, but if we think that we can switch the genes to the best possible state according to the way we live after we are born, we have great hopes.
　“Cancer cells, in particular, grow by undergoing many stages of changes in the genes of a single cell, so at some stage, like falling dominoes, a gene switch that promotes the onset of cancer is generated. If we can cut it, we can't go any further," says Okuda.
　Regarding the significance of changing eating habits, he said, "It doesn't mean that there will be immediate positive effects, but the body will definitely respond. Changes in epigenetics will appear in 10 or 20 years. If anything, I think there will be a difference between those who did (diet improvement) and those who didn't."
　Continuation is power.And if dust piles up, it becomes a mountain.
　It means that your usual mindset will affect not only your physical constitution, but also your life and destiny after that.


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Masako Okuda
Physician, medical examiner.medical doctor.He graduated from Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine.Over the past XNUMX years, he has provided medical checkups and medical examinations for XNUMX people at a large-scale health checkup center, and has also translated medical literature and books.His books include “Japanese constitution so different from Westerners” (Kodansha Bluebacks), “It is scary to miss the “B judgment” of health check” (Seishun Shinsho Intelligence).