The Key to Weight Loss Is Diet Quality, Not Quantity, a New Study Finds

Today’s modern society is focused on a healthier lifestyle and different diets.Typically when people go on diets for weight loss, the standard procedure is to count and reduce the amount of calories in foods that are consumed. However, new studies are showing that those who do not focus on counting calories or reducing portions, and instead focus on avoiding processed foods and eating plenty of fruits and vegetables had a more significant weight loss. But what about genetics? Does DNA makeup determine what type of diet is suited for each person? No, according to the study's results, "their success did not appear to be influenced by their genetics or their insulin-response to carbohydrates, a finding that casts doubt on the increasing popular idea that different diets should be recommended to people bases on their DNA makeup or on their tolerance for carbs and fats.” Furthermore, another study tested the hypothesis using a different method by offering people specific diets pertaining to their genotype. Again, results found that the, “genotypes did not appear to influence their response to the diets.” However, the studies do not stop there as the department at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is planning to look further into other genetic factors.

I found this article to be interesting because living a healthy lifestyle has played a big role in social media and it demonstrates the million of ways to do so. People always recommend their way of eating healthy and getting in shape and I have always wondered if it matter about the person’s genetic makeup and/or family background. But now, for those to pick a way to have a healthy lifestyle really depends on the person’s interest, desire and drive. All ways of losing weight has the same underlying basis but there are still different techniques to go about it.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/20/well/eat/counting-calories-weight-loss-diet-dieting-low-carb-low-fat.html

https://futurism.com/dna-based-diets-dont-work/

Diets Might Affect the DNA Sequence of an Organism's Genes

Research conducted at the University of Oxford discovered that what you eat might decide a lot more than what was originally thought. It turns out that an organism's diet has the potential to change their DNA sequence. This was discovered based off the idea that because organisms use food to build DNA, couldn't a difference in the food composition they consume lead to a differences in DNA sequences.Then, if this is true, is it possible to predict such differences based on how two organism's diets vary.

The study was conducted on two parasites who shared a common ancestor with each other, but both evolved to infect different hosts and therefor eat different foods. They discovered that the differences in the amount of nitrogen in these parasites diets bring out a change in their DNA. This is seen in the amount of nitrogen present in the different parasite's DNA sequences. Those that ate less nitrogen had less nitrogen present in their DNA compared to those whose diets consisted of more nitrogen. Based off these results a relationship is shown to exist between an organisms metabolism and its evolution, and how by adapting to a new diet an organism can bring about changes to its DNA sequences.

All of this is very interesting because it shows that it is possible to predict changes that may occur in related organisms by looking at their diets, but I'm not so sure yet whether this relationship between metabolism and evolution really exists. The changes in DNA sequences among those parasites could have come about due to a variety of things, not solely because they consume different levels of nitrogen. Nevertheless, I look forward to seeing more studies done on this in the future that both provide more evidence supporting the  existance of this relationship and how it can be applied to discover new things about evolution.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/11/161115111720.htm

http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2016-11-15-scientists-uncover-genetic-evidence-we-are-what-we-eat

Some Cultures Hardwired for Vegetarian Diet

       Ever heard of the expression "you are what you eat," well in this study, scientists compared the genetic make up of individuals who have a lineage of vegetarianism to those who eat red meat daily. Scientists discovered the gene that is affected by vegetarianism is called s66698963 found in the FADS2 gene.

The scientists compared genomes to those from Kansans who love red meat, to those from Pune India who have a long history of vegetarians. When searching for the genetic mutation throughout other cultures and populations, researchers found the mutation has spread from South America, Northern Europe, and other similar locations.

Although researchers found the spreading of the mutation, they also discovered the deletion of the mutation in Northern Canada, Greenland, and Alaska this mutation became maladaptive. Results explain there is no Paleo diet out there for anyone. Instead, you can now thank your ancestors for your eating habits and diet patterns.

I found this article extremely interesting due to the fact that I was raised into a meat eating family but since my heritage's primary diet consists of seafood and shellfish my diet for the last 10 years have consisted of a strict pescatarian diet. I never imagined that the diets of my ancestors would have such a strong influence on my diet today.

Click here for original source: http://news.discovery.com/human/genetics/some-cultures-are-hardwired-for-vegetarian-diet-160329.htm