Continued from Page 1 Step 2 : Direct Your Genes
to Turn Off Inflammation Signals
To turn off the inflammation in your body,you need to send the right messages to your genes. Lack of exercise (see chapter 13) and stress (as we learned in chapter 10), in addition to a processed, high-glycemic-load diet(see chapter 9), all tell your genes to produce more inflammation.
The key message of this book is that food communicates with your genes. Food affects your weight (and everything else) by sending messages to burn or store fat. It does this through something called transcription factors.Transcription factors are regulatory proteins that initiate the transcription of certain genes upon binding with DNA.That means these little proteins actually make certain parts of your genetic code readable while ignoring other parts of it. Depending on which parts of your DNA these transcription factors decode, your body gets messages to put on weight or burn fat more rapidly.These transcription factors are regulated in part by what we eat.This is how food “talks to” your genes and tells them to either turn on genes that cause you to become inflamed and overweight or turn on genes that cause inflammation and weight to be reduced.
One of the most important transcription factors is called nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB).This little molecule creates much damage. If activated by emotional stress, toxins, or free radicals or certain toxic, inflammatory, or allergic foods, it can unleash the production of more than 125 inflammatory molecules—a fireball of inflammation that affects your whole system.
The good news is that antioxidants from food and supplements can turn this off.We will come back to our new friend, NF-kB, in the chapter on oxidative stress,but I bring it to your attention now because oxidative stress is another major cause of inflammation, and it is oxidative stress that activates NF-kB, starting the terrible cycle of inflammation.
Step 3: Eat Foods That Reduce Inflammation,
and Avoid Foods That Cause It
Your diet is the most important factor in helping you reduce inflammation. The UltraMetabolism guidelines for an optimal diet (see chapter 16) are an anti-inflammatory diet by design. In addition to typical foods that increase inflammation, such as sugar, processed foods, and trans fats, certain food allergies, sensitivities, and gluten sensitivity can be common sources of problems with weight and metabolism.
Foods to Avoid That Cause Inflammation
In addition to following the basic guidelines outlined in chapter 16, specific foods may be a particular problem for some people.
• Food allergens (the most common are wheat, dairy, eggs, corn, soy, and peanuts). Elimination and reintroduction of these foods, as in Phase I of the UltraMetabolism Prescription, is the best way to find out if you react to these foods, though testing can be a useful guide as well.
• Gluten. I pull this out separately because it affects 1 percent or more of the population (millions of people) and is an often undiagnosed cause of inflammation.Testing can confirm if this is a problem. Gluten containing grains includes wheat, rye, barley, spelt,kamut, and oats.
Step 4: Use Herbs to Reduce Your Inflammation
Using anti-inflammatory herbs can have remarkable results. Try adding these herbs to your regimen for inflammation reduction either in your diet or as supplements.
• Capsaicin (from cayenne pepper)
• Green tea
• Ginger
• Quercitin (in fruit and vegetable rinds)
• Turmeric (the yellow spice found in curry)
• Cocoa
Step 5: Use Supplements to Reduce
Your Inflammation
Taking the following supplements is an additional way to decrease the fires of inflammation.Try adding them to your standard supplement regimen of multivitamins and minerals and fish oil, which by themselves are powerful anti-inflammatories.
• Probiotics
• Enzymes (bromelain and other proteolytic enzymes)
Step 6: Test for Inflammation and Its Causes
If you scored in the moderate to high range on the quiz at the beginning of the chapter, you can pinpoint the causes of your inflammation and confirm that it is indeed a problem for you by taking the tests described below. More advanced testing is also available. In addition to the tests, I strongly encourageyou to seek professional medical assistance if you scored high on the quiz.
Copyright © 2006 by Mark Hyman, M.D. From the book ULTRAMETABOLISM by Mark Hyman. Published by Scribner, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc., N.Y. Reproduced by permission. 
