One More Reason to Exercise

When most disregulated eaters think about genes, they look at them as static predeterminants of body weight, but there is more going on than meets the eye. Did you know that you can actually change your cellular structure by exercising? “How exercise changes cells is a mystery” (Sarasota Herald-Tribune, 8/27/13, p. 18F), reminds us that some of our genes turn on and off—called expression—“depending on what biochemical signals they receive from elsewhere in the body. When they turn on, genes express various proteins that, in turn, prompt a range of physiological actions.” For example, it turns out that something called the “methylation process” is substantially driven by lifestyle choices. This process is important because “differing methylation patterns resulting from differing diets may partly determine whether someone develops diabetes and other metabolic diseases.” So, it’s not as simple as thinking that you have or don’t have a gene for diabetes or other conditions. For example, research tells us that exercise can affect the process of methylation in a positive way. In a Swedish study, men who exercised twice a week for six months not only shed fat and lost inches, but altered their methylation expression. This means they changed the ways fat was stored in their bodies. Other studies found “that exercise has an equally profound effect on DNS methylation within human muscle cells even after a single workout,” proving the oft-made point that ...
Source: Normal Eating - Category: Eating Disorders Authors: Source Type: blogs