Epigenetic Testing in Boca Raton, FL

Epigenetic Signature Mapping

Most of us believe that our DNA predicts who we are; that we are bound to a future that has been predestined to us by genetic inheritance. For some that can be a hard pill to swallow if there is, say, a family history of heart disease or diabetes.

The incredible truth, however, is that we can powerfully influence our fate with epigenetics.

The field of epigenetics has exploded in recent years, offering amazing new avenues to understanding how the body works, and how to reverse disease. One fascinating aspect of epigenetics is that a vast range of lifestyle and environmental factors can significantly affect, harm, or reverse harmful adaptations to our epigenomes (e.g., caused by smoking), which in turn can disrupt or harm DNA expression. There is no clear evidence that treatments based on anti-toxicity interventions, the adoption of a healthy diet, the use of nutritional supplements, the establishment of a great sleep routine, minimizing one’s exposure to air pollution, and exercising, all carry powerful epigenetic responses that can powerfully impact our health and longevity.

The truth is that we have much more control than we were ever led to believe and by taking back control we can change our lives for the better. – Studio Team

What is Epigenetics, Anyway?

Epigenetics (the study of epigenomes) describes the way in which your specific behaviors (e.g., lifestyle choices such as how much alcohol you drink, or whether you use a water filter) and environmental effects (e.g., air pollution) can alter the way that your genes work. Epigenetic changes can be extremely impactful, and even passed on from generation to generation, yet they are reversible and do not alter the DNA sequence (although they do change how your body READS a DNA sequence).

The term ‘epi’ means ‘above’ or ‘in addition to’ and describes the study of gene expression regulation that cannot be directly attributed to changes in the DNA sequence. The way our epigenomes are affected by our external environment basically represents the interaction between our environment and the process of adaptation that all living systems use to adapt & thrive (e.g., smokers have lower DNA methylation than non-smokers in the AHRR gene, which mediates toxicity – an epigenetic adaptation – but this epigenetically-altered DNA response is often reversed after a smoker quits the habit).

Epigenomes represent heritable phenotype changes that do not involve alterations to the DNA sequence itself.

Epigenomes: Not DNA, But Heritable, Anyway.

The epigenetic marks, or modifications, that you pick up in life, do not cause any adaptations to DNA itself. They can be temporary – yet they can still be inherited from cell to cell, as cells divide and reproduce, and passed down through generations (possibly to the detriment of your offspring, depending on what those epigenetic adaptations might be).

For example, a famed epigenetic study conducted in the Netherlands studied children born during ‘The Hunger Winter’ of 1944-1945 when food was severely rationed. Parents suffered a vastly decreased calorific intake, which impacted their children significantly. Children became significantly more likely to develop cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity, partly a result of the epigenetic adaptations made to the fetus’s intrauterine environment as a result of these environmental stressors.

How Does Epigenetic Testing Work?

Epigenetic mapping allows you to uncover your unique epigenetic signature using a few strands of your hair, making epigenetic scanning not only an incredibly insightful process, but one that is also painless, non-invasive, and fast, too. The scan will output a unique Epigenetic Map which profiles personal & environmental influences that powerfully affect your epigenetic health, highlighting areas of concern that require positive intervention.

These include a profile of recommended vitamins and minerals, essential fatty acids, antioxidants, amino acids, toxins such as chemicals, radiation, and toxic metals, a microbiological profile that profiles the presence and impact of bacteria, fungus, spores, viruses, and parasites (& how they can be eradicated), EMF & ELF (electromagnetic exposure that can negatively alter genome-wide methylation-a process where gene function & expression is altered), foods and food additives.

In understanding the epigenetic influences that are powering and altering your DNA genome expression, we can often gain a clear picture of the health genomic function of your body, & exactly what might be causing you to suffer inflammation, disease & dysfunction.

How Lifestyle Affects Your Epigenetics

The decisions you make in life – where to live, where you work, who you hang out with, what you eat – can all exert a powerful epigenetic effect that can, in turn, powerfully affect your DNA gene expression. The consequences can be powerful.

Consider air pollution. Air pollution can modulate the epigenetic mark & DNA methylation (where methyl groups are added to the DNA molecule, changing the activity of a DNA segment), causing disease & inflammation.

Six months of aerobic exercise, on the other hand, can positively alter whole-genome DNA methylation in skeletal muscle, & adipose (fat) tissue, directly influencing more effective lipogenesis (fat loss).

A body of evidence also supports the idea of an ‘epigenetic diet’ that can reverse abnormal gene activation or gene silencing, using bioactive dietary compounds (e.g., garlic, soy products, herbs, & cruciferous vegetables), with clear indicators that many nutritional compounds have epigenetic targets in cancer cells.

Alcohol can modify gene expression via affecting epigenetic processes (including DNA methylation and nucleosomal remodeling-the process whereby eukaryotic chromatin responds to environmental changes), modifying DNA, and potentially increasing our vulnerability to a range of diseases, including cancer.

Identical DNA, but Different Epigenomes

Many studies of epigenetics have involved the study of twins. If we compare the DNA of identical twins, we will see almost 100% shared DNA. Yet studies show that their epigenomic profile might be extremely different after their first few years of life, depending on how different their lives have been.  If one twin is, say, a tee-total triathlete who eats a plant-based diet and lives in the Alps, and the other is an extremely stressed financial markets trader living in a polluted city, who eats takeout every evening, smokes and does not exercise, their epigenetics will be likely to differ significantly, including the genomic distribution of something known as 5-methylcytosine DNA (which regulates gene transcription), and histone acetylation (essential to gene regulation).

While genetically their vulnerability to cancer is the same, epigenetically it becomes very different. Their gene-expression portrait will subsequently differ significantly, with the unhealthy twin subsequently at higher risk of cancer (alongside diabetes, obesity & a range of other diseases).

Rewrite the Future

The mind-blowing fact remains that we can reduce our risk of a wide range of serious diseases, slow down aging, and increase health, longevity & wellness by targeting the epigenetic response effectively. Research now shows that epigenetic adaptations that could be harmful are completely reversible using the right interventions, which is exactly why we offer Epigenetic Scanning and the most powerful follow-up treatments & therapies available.

Let the Doctors Studio help you understand your epigenetic health today – with possibly life-changing consequences.

A Molecular Footprint of The Environment

The epigenome has been referred to in research as ‘the molecular footprint of the environment’. Epigenetic silencing of cancerous tumor suppressors plays a key role in malignant tumor formation, for example, meaning that the lifestyle changes that you make daily, alongside the environmental variables that you are exposing yourself to, could be riskier than you think.

Benefits of Epigenetic Testing:

• Identification of epigenetic factors causing dysfunction, inflammation & heightened vulnerability to disease
• Utilization of data-led science to drive intelligent nutritional supplement choices that reverse epigenetic alterations that may have caused damage
• A better understanding of epigenetic adaptations that can reliably inform treatment plans
• Inform us of how to support you most powerfully in detoxification treatments
• Establishment of a diet that best supports epigenetic health
• Anti-aging insights that allow us to gain a view of your biological vs. chronological age

Ultimately, epigenetic science represents one of the most fascinating and exciting areas of modern medical research. By harnessing its power, the Doctors Studio is able to offer you an incredibly powerful window into your epigenetic health & DNA genome response, with potentially life-changing results. Contact us today if you feel that you, or someone you love, would benefit from this progressive & powerful new technology.