Protecting the human epigenome with nutritional epigenetic intervention programs

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Dr. Renee J. Dufault, director of the Food Ingredient and Health Research Institute, explains the importance of nutritional epigenetics in understanding the impact of nutrients and dietary chemicals on gene expression patterns, and their role in the development of conditions such as autism and ADHD.

Rising rates of autism, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and type 2 diabetes are occurring worldwide and may be explained by changes in the human epigenome. Nutrients and dietary chemicals can alter or modify the expression of genes and influence their behavioral patterns across generations. (1) Nutritional epigenetics is the field of research in which scientists study the effects of nutrients and food chemicals on gene expression. (2), (3) The heritable and reversible patterns of gene expression result from changes in the structure of DNA chromatin, which usually occur through methylation mechanisms. (2) Genes can be methylated (turned off) or demethylated (turned on) at different locations in the human genome, which contains all genes. Inherited DNA methylation patterns are reversible, depending on prenatal exposure to nutrients and dietary chemicals. (3), (4)

Exposure to chemicals in the diet

Exposure to chemicals in the diet can vary depending on food production and agricultural practices. Chemicals in the diet enter the food supply directly as food ingredients and permitted residues or indirectly as contaminants. Food quality depends on food ingredients and pesticide safety regulations, which vary by country and in some cases by geographic region. For example, in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration regulates petroleum-based food colorings by certifying each batch to ensure that heavy metal impurities do not exceed permitted levels. (5), (6) For example, each batch of yellow #5 (E-102) and yellow #6 (E-110) can contain up to 10 ppm lead (Pb), 3 ppm arsenic (As) and 1 ppm mercury (Hg). (6) In the European Union and the United Kingdom, any product containing these two petroleum-based food colourings must carry the warning ‘May have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.’ (7)

Exposure to chemicals in the diet through eating ultra-processed foods affects the behavior of genes. Yellow #5, Yellow #6, and high fructose corn syrup are examples of ingredients in ultra-processed foods that may contain specific traces of heavy metals and can lead to harmful zinc loss in the body. (6), (8), (9), (10) Consumption of chemicals or ingredients in the diet known to cause zinc loss or deficiency may affect the behavior of the metallothionein (MT) gene and lead to bioaccumulation of heavy metals in the blood and other tissues. (10), (11), (12) The MT gene contains the instructions for building metallothionein proteins, which consist in part of zinc and copper atoms bound to cysteine ​​molecules. (13) MTs function as metal transport proteins in the body and play an important role in the detoxification and elimination of heavy metals. (13)

Children with autism and ADHD often have a zinc deficiency and therefore have difficulty removing heavy metals due to disruption of the MT gene. (10), (12), (13) Because of this, they tend to store Cd, Pb and/or Hg in their blood. The severity of their symptoms is directly related to the amount of heavy metals in their blood. (14), (15), (16)

Changes in the epigenome caused by co-exposure to food chemicals

Co-exposure to dietary and other chemicals from ultra-processed food consumption may affect children’s development and gene methylation patterns across generations. In a recent study, researchers found that prenatal co-exposure to organophosphate (OP) pesticides and Pb residues, along with an unhealthy ultra-processed food diet, resulted in a significantly increased risk of ADHD in human offspring. (17) Another recent study found that a family history of poor diet affects DNA methylation patterns in tissues, creating conditions where offspring develop insulin resistance and are more susceptible to type 2 diabetes. (18) An unhealthy maternal diet, high in processed foods, results in poor nutrition during pregnancy and causes changes in the human epigenome. (18), (19) Avoiding unhealthy diets in pre- and post-pregnancy may therefore reduce the prevalence of autism and ADHD in children. Nutritional epigenetic education programs can now be used to protect the human epigenome from further damage and promote healing.

Nutritional Epigenetics Education Interventions

Dr. Dufault and her collaborators at the nonprofit Food Ingredient and Health Research Institute were the first in the world to develop nutritional epigenetic models to explain autism and ADHD. (1), (10), (16) They developed a curriculum for differentiated nutritional epigenetics instruction that was successfully used in a clinical trial to significantly reduce parents’ intake of ultra-processed foods. (20) Parents participating in the clinical trial also significantly increased their intake of whole foods. (20) When parents understand the behavioral patterns of gene expression from a nutritional epigenetic perspective, they are better equipped to prevent developmental disorders in their children.

References

  1. Dufault, RJ et al. Higher rates of autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in US children: do dietary quality problems influence epigenetic inheritance? World J Clin Pediatr. 12(2), 25-37 (2023).
  2. Choi, SW., Frisco, S. Epigenetics: a new bridge between nutrition and health. Adv Nutr. 1(1), 8-16 (2010).
  3. Farhud, DD, Yeganeh, MZ, Yeganeh, MZ Nutrigenomics and nutrigenetics. Iranian J Publ Health. 39(4), 1-14 (2010).
  4. Kaati, G., Bygren, L. O., Pembrey, M., Sjostrom, M. Transgenerational response to nutrition, early life conditions and lifespan. European Journal of Human Genetics. 15, 784-790 (2007).
  5. United States Food and Drug Administration. Color Additives in Foods. (2023, July 6). Available at URL https://www.fda.gov/food/color-additives-information-consumers/color-additives-foods
  6. United States Code of Federal Regulations. Part 74: List of Colorants Subject to Certification, Subpart A – Foods. (2024, April 25). Available at URL https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-74
  7. United Kingdom. Food Standards Agency. Food additives. (2024, April 12)
  8. Harder, NHO et al. Effects of dietary glucose and fructose on copper, iron, and zinc metabolism parameters in humans. Nutrients. 12(9), 2581 (2020).
  9. Ward, N.I. et al. The influence of the chemical additive tartrazine on the zinc status of hyperactive children – a double-blind placebo-controlled study. J Nutr Med. 1, 51-57 (1990).
  10. Dufault, R. et al. Mercury exposure, nutritional deficiencies, and metabolic disturbances may affect learning in children. Behav Brain Funct. 5, 44 (2009).
  11. Bakthavachalu, P. et al. Food color and autism: a meta-analysis. Adv Neurobiol. 24, 481-504 (2020).
  12. de Oliveira, Z. et al. Synthetic dyes in food: a warning for children’s health. Int J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 21, 682 (2024).
  13. Coyle, P., Philcox, JC, Carey, LC, Rofe, AM Metallothionein: the multifunctional protein. Cell Mol Life Sci. 59, 627-647 (2002).
  14. Awadh et al. The role of environmental trace element toxicants in autism: a medical biogeochemical perspective. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 251, 114561 (2023).
  15. Baj, J. et al. Autism spectrum disorder: trace element imbalances and the pathogenesis and severity of autistic symptoms. Neurosci Biobehav Rev.129, 117-132 (2021).
  16. Dufault, RJ. et al. Linking inorganic mercury and lead measurements in blood with dietary sources of exposure that may affect child development. World J Methodol. 11(4), 144-159 (2021).
  17. Maitre, L. et al. Early environmental exposures as determinants of childhood behavior in Europe: a longitudinal, population-based study. Environ Int. 153:10652d3 (2021).
  18. Nilsson, E., Ling, C. DNA methylation links genetics, fetal environment, and unhealthy lifestyle to the development of type 2 diabetes. Clin Epigenetics. 9, 105 (2017).
  19. Rijlaarsdam, J. et al. Prenatal unhealthy diet, insulin-like growth factor 2 gene (IGF2) methylation, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms in adolescents with early-onset behavioral problems. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 58, 1, 19-27 (2017).
  20. Dufault, RJ. et al. Nutritional epigenetic education improves diets and attitudes in parents of children with autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. World J Psychiatry. 14(1):159-178 (2024).

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