Showing posts with label Qigong - genetic disease / gene expression. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Qigong - genetic disease / gene expression. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Genetic Disease Isn't Caused By Defective Genes

This information is – finally! – seeping into our knowledge base and into our consciousness. More and more, it's being proven that your mind and emotions are in control of your physical wellness. Rather than genetic dysfunction, disease is really an indication of imbalance in your mind-body-spirit.

The article below is reprinted from Mercola.com, but there is also an excellent report written in 2008 by Dr Roger Jahnke, founder and director of the Institute of Integral Qigong and Tai Chi, demonstrating how the practice of qigong can control the genetic expression of disease. To read that report in Adobe Acrobat format, follow this link: Researching the Benefits of Mind-Body Practice by Investigating Genetic Expression



Here is Dr Mercola's article on this emerging understanding of the role of the mind-body consciousness and connection in determining how we manifest disease.




Radical New Understanding of Genetic Disease

Posted by: Dr. Mercola March 02 2010






















The theory of the genetic origin of diseases is one of the most firmly upheld doctrines of today's medicine.

Medical science claims that cancer is brought on by "mistakes in DNA replication," causing cells to gradually change from normal to "abnormal" and eventually to "malignant" cells.

Studies in the science of Epigenetics show that genes are by no means 'set in stone' but that they can alter themselves in response to a person's environment.
In short, the DNA and thus the biology of an organism are constantly adjusting themselves to signals from outside the cells, including energetic information arising from thoughts and beliefs.

Diseases such as cancer are not caused by defective genes, as claimed by mainstream geneticists, but rather by non-genetic factors that alter the expression of genes without changing the DNA sequence.

Your brain controls all processes in your body. By comparing brain CT scans with medical records and personal histories, it becomes evident that emotional trauma or "conflict shock" leaves a visible mark in precisely the same area of the brain that controls the disease process.

In fact, diseases are not senseless "disorders" but in reality meaningful biological processes trying to save an organism rather than to destroy it. Your whole organism is engaged in facilitating a conflict resolution. The conflict-related organ responds with functional changes to assist the individual on the physical level during the unexpected distress.

A positive attitude, letting go of anger, feelings of trust and forgiveness can significantly reduce the intensity and duration of a conflict and therefore the "disease"-symptoms.

German New Medicine shifts or rather elevates "prevention" and "healing" to a level where the biology of human beings can be understood as intimately connected with spirituality and a chance for spiritual growth.

An understanding of GNM and the Five Biological Laws has in itself a healing effect as it liberates your mind from fear and inspires trust in the creative wisdom of Mother Nature.

Sources:

Learning GNM 2009



Dr. Mercola's Comments:

If you have not yet heard of epigenetics, I’d like to introduce you to it right now. Epigenetics is probably the most important biological discovery since DNA -- and it is turning the biological sciences upside down.

Where it was once taught (and still largely believed in many conventional medical circles) that you are a victim to your genes, helpless to the whims of the genetic roadmap you received from your parents, it’s now known that your genes in no way are the final arbiter of your health.

It is important to realize that you are in control of your genes … and are changing them often -- daily and perhaps even hourly -- based on the foods you eat, the air you breathe, and the thoughts you think. It’s your environment and lifestyle that dictates your tendency to express disease.

The problem is, once you understand that –your health is not dictated by your genes and that they don’t control themselves but are controlled by environmental influences that tell them to be expressed or not expressed -- it just blows everything out of the water.

It’s now known that your habits are more important than your genes! But please realize that, depending on your choices, the changes you influence can be good or bad. It works both ways.




Your Mind is at the Helm

Epigenetics literally means "above the genes." And what is above the genes?

Your mind!

Bruce Lipton’s “New Biology” is another school of scientific thought that adds to this “new” way of thinking about disease.

In his book, The Biology of Belief, Dr. Lipton explains the foundation of epigenetics, and how the true secret to life does not lie within your DNA, but rather within the mechanisms of the cell membrane. In this way -- which is contrary to conventional medical science -- it is actually the cell’s membrane -- operating in response to environmental signals picked up by the membrane’s receptors -- that control the “reading” of the genes inside.

The Biology of Belief














What does this mean?

Again, it means that you are not controlled by your genetic makeup. Instead, your genetic readout (which genes are turned “on” and which are turned “off”) is primarily determined by your thoughts, attitudes, and perceptions!


German New Medicine

Another eipgentic model is German New Medicine (GNM), which operates under the premise that every disease, including cancer, originates from an unexpected shock experience.

This experience does not necessarily have to appear traumatic to others, however; it’s simply shocking and unexpected to you. Someone else may not react or deal with it the same way when put in a similar situation.

According to GNM, the resolution phase -- the healing phase -- is as long as the trauma phase, which is why you are recommended to always deal with your emotional trauma as swiftly as possible. The faster you resolve your trauma, mentally and emotionally, the faster your body can proceed through the healing phase.

Now, why is this important?

You want your healing phase to be as short as possible, because GNM also claims that all “diseases” are in fact your body going through the resolution phase, meaning what appears to be a disease is in fact your body healing itself.

Serious trouble can arise if your trauma phase was quite extended, as your body will need the equal amount of time to heal – which will appear as a “disease” -- as it took for the initial damage to take place.

Why do Diseases Run in Families?

If you are not a slave to your inherited genes, then why is it that diseases often run in families? The answer to this appears to be hiding in plain sight.

As German New Medicine explains:

“Since families share the same cultural and social conditioning, the same indoctrinations, the same beliefs, and so forth, they often experience the same type of conflicts, causing the same "diseases."”

Dr. Hamer uses the example of Lou Gehrig's (ALS) and Huntington Disease (HD) as "genetic disorders" that are passed on through generations. GNM continues:

“According to Dr. Hamer's discoveries, the biological conflict linked to the muscles is "not being able to escape," "feeling tied down," or "feeling stuck," resulting in muscle paralysis during the conflict-active phase.


A daughter or son of a parent with such a muscle "disorder" is naturally much more susceptible to experience a "stuck"-conflict. We must also keep in mind that any biological conflict shock can be experienced with or for another person, particularly when the distress concerns a close loved one.”

But the distinction here is that diseases may run in families due to similar emotional experiences … but they need not. As GNM states:

“Even if members of a family or generations of families experience the same type of conflicts, the conflict shock itself is still a highly personal event which in that instant involves solely the brain, or rather the brain-relay, of the person suffering the conflict at that particular time.


This is why diseases cannot be passed on to future generations nor can they be genetically inherited from a family member or ancestor, either genetically or "epigenetically."”


You are Now Free to Go on With Your Life

The major problem with believing the myth that your genes control your life is that you become a victim of your heredity. Since you can’t change your genes, it essentially means that your life is predetermined, and therefore you have very little control over your health.

The new science reveals that your perceptions control your biology, and this places you in the role of Master, because if you can change your perceptions, you can shape and direct your own genetic readout.

It places YOU in the power position, for better or worse.

So if you have been living in fear of an inherited disease, this “new” research sets you free.

But, these ideas are not really new.

Bruce Lipton, much like Dr. Hamer, has been at it for more than 20 years. The only “new” aspect here is the fact that they are finally able to provide overwhelming, and in many cases indisputable scientific proof of HOW it actually works -- even down to the cellular level.

As it turns out, this is not a popular truth.

People are not embracing these facts with open arms, jumping for joy at being told, “You are completely in charge of your health!” For most, it’s a frightening proposition, despite its promise of ultimate freedom.

But please realize that this is not only an abstract realm … you can use this information in practical ways.


How to Heal Your Emotional Traumas

If your thoughts and emotions play such a significant role in modifying your biology and your health (and I believe they do), then treating your emotions becomes an essential part of optimal health.

Terms like “energy medicine” and “energy psychology” are terms that have sprung up in response to these shifts in perception of reality, and I’ve long been an advocate of energy psychology tools to address underlying emotional traumas that can trigger disease, or keep you locked in a disease pattern.

Meridian tapping technique (MTT) and emotional freedom technique (EFT), for example, which work on several levels of your collective mind-body-spirit simultaneously, can help you get a better handle on your emotions and buried pain, including the stress from unexpected tragedies.

Optimal health might really hinge on dealing with, and resolving your emotional traumas as quickly as possible; not letting old emotional wounds linger and fester.

So if you have old or new emotional wounds that you have not yet dealt with, please take the time to give MTT/EFT a try.

And in the meantime, as you make a conscious effort to eat healthy and exercise each day, make an effort to control your thoughts and beliefs, as well. Keep your thoughts positive and your feelings will follow suit … likely to great benefit within your body.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Practicing qigong can change your genes response to stress













Practicing qigong can change your genes response to stress

Below are some excerpts from "Researching the Benefits of Mind-Body Practice by Investigating Genetic Expression" by Roger Jahnke, OMD.

The full report on this exciting breakthrough in how practices like qigong can actually change gene expression is available on his website at www.instituteofintegralqigongandtaichi.org/pdfs/Qigong_GeneExpression.pdf

I have included a link to one of my earlier articles on telomeres, the protective caps on immune cells, and have made a few comments about holistic practices at the end of the quote.

First: Just what is "Gene Expression?" This, from wikipedia Gene expression is the process by which inheritable information from a gene, such as the DNA sequence, is made into a functional gene product, such as protein or RNA.

Regulation of gene expression is the cellular control of the amount and timing of appearance of the functional product of a gene. Any step of gene expression may be modulated, from the DNA-RNA transcription step to post-translational modification of a protein. Gene regulation gives the cell control over structure and function, and is the basis for cellular differentiation, morphogenesis and the versatility and adaptability of any organism.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_expression

So, with that in mind, here is the feature article:

*** Begin Quote ***

Page 4 – 5

In a number of press releases the authors of Genomic counter-stress changes induced by the relaxation response made a number of comments that are easily applicable to all three studies. They state that:

"This study provides the first compelling evidence that the RR [relaxation response] elicits specific gene expression changes in short-term and long- term practitioners."

Actually the other studies were earlier and they all suggest this.

The Genomic Counter-stress authors wrote that their findings suggest:

"Consistent and constitutive changes in gene expression resulting from RR may relate to long term physiological effects," and that "Our study may stimulate new investigations into applying transcriptional profiling for accurately measuring RR and stress related responses in multiple disease settings."

It is likely that these studies portend a “sea change” in research and will trigger an outpouring of similar research. Dr. Herbert Benson, professor emeritus of Harvard University and director emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute and co-senior author of the study said:

"Now we've found how changing the activity of the mind can alter the way basic genetic instructions are implemented," said Benson.

Dr. Towia Libermann, director of the BIDMC Genomics Center and also co-senior

author of the study added:

"This is the first comprehensive study of how the mind can affect gene expression, linking what has been looked on as a 'soft' science with the 'hard' science of genomics.” "It is also important because of its focus on gene expression in healthy individuals, rather than in disease states," explained Libermann.

The authors said their study showed that the relaxation response changed the expression of genes involved with inflammation, programmed cell death and the handling of free radicals. Free radicals are normal byproducts of metabolism that the body neutralizes in order to stop damage to cells and tissues.

Page 5 – 6

Probably the most compelling statement from the article on the findings of the study was “It is becoming increasingly clear that psychosocial stress can manifest as system-wide perturbations of cellular processes, generally increasing oxidative stress and promoting a pro-inflammatory milieu. Stress associated changes in peripheral blood leukocyte expression of single genes have been identified. More recently, chronic psychosocial stress has been associated with accelerated aging at the cellular level. Specifically, shortened telomeres, low telomerase activity, decreased anti-oxidant capacity and increased oxidative stress are correlated with increased psychosocial stress and with increased vulnerability to a variety of disease states.”

These 3 studies strongly suggest that Mind-Body practices, especially those that trigger a sustained and accumulative RR effect – a counter stress effect – can prevent and ameliorate disease. This effect of Mind-Body practice on gene expression transforms the landscape of scientific exploration and launches an entirely new direction for the investigation for the emerging field of health maximization based integrative medicine.

Page 21 – 22

It is becoming increasingly clear that psychosocial stress can manifest as system-wide perturbations of cellular processes, generally increasing oxidative stress and promoting a pro-inflammatory milieu [23]–[25]. Stress associated changes in peripheral blood leukocyte expression of single genes have been identified [26]–[28]. More recently, chronic psychosocial stress has been associated with accelerated aging at the cellular level. Specifically, shortened telomeres, low telomerase activity, decreased anti-oxidant capacity and increased oxidative stress are correlated with increased psychosocial stress [29] and with increased vulnerability to a variety of disease states [30]. Stress-related changes in GEP have been demonstrated by microarray analysis in healthy subjects, including up-regulation of several cytokines/chemokines and their receptors [31], and in individuals suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, including inflammation, apoptosis and stress response [32] as well as metabolism and RNA processing pathways [33]. The pro-inflammatory transcription factor NF-kappa B (NF-κB) which is activated by psychosocial stress has been identified as a potential link between stress and oxidative cellular activation [34].




Immune cells - blue



Telomere protective end-caps - yellow





[For a brief explanation of the connection between telomeres (the protective caps on the ends of immune cells) and stress, see my post "Scientists identify mechanism behind mind-body connection" http://successstressrelief.blogspot.com/2008/07/scientists-identify-mechanism-behind.html on my Stress Relief for Savvy Women blog.]


The RR is clinically effective for ameliorating symptoms in a variety of stress-related disorders including cardiovascular, autoimmune and other inflammatory conditions and pain [15]. We hypothesize that RR elicitation is associated with systemic gene expression changes in molecular and biochemical pathways involved in cellular metabolism, oxidative phosphorylation/generation of reactive oxygen species and response to oxidative stress and that these changes to some degree serve to ameliorate the negative impact of stress. Genome-wide evaluation of PBL GEP is a reasonable approach to survey the transcriptional changes that are involved in elicitation of the RR. The GEP of RR practitioners presented here reveals altered gene expression in specific functional groups which suggest a greater capacity to respond to oxidative stress and the associated cellular damage. Genes including COX7B, UQCRB and CASP2 change in opposite direction from that in the stress response [31], [32].

Our findings are relatively consistent with those found in a study of Qi Gong [17], a practice that elicits the RR. In their study of 6 Qi Gong practitioners and 6 aged matched controls, practitioners had down-regulation of ubiquitin, proteasome, ribosomal protein and stress response genes and mixed up- and down-regulation of genes involved in apoptosis and immune function. We find a similar pattern of GO categories that are significantly over-represented in GO or enriched in GSEA in our cross sectional comparison, M vs. N1. However, in our data-set ribosomal proteins were up-regulated.

Overall, similar genomic pattern changes occurred in practitioners of a specific mind body technique (Qi Gong) as well as in our long-term practitioners who utilized different RR practices including Vipassana, mantra, mindfulness or transcendental meditation, breath focus, Kripalu or Kundalini Yoga, and repetitive prayer. This indicates there is a common RR state regardless of the techniques used to elicit it.

Footnotes included in the above quoted materials:

15. Astin JA, Shapiro SL, Eisenberg DM, Forys KL (2003) Mind-body medicine: state of the science, implications for practice. J Am Board Fam Pract 16: 131–147.

17. Li QZ, Li P, Garcia GE, Johnson RJ, Feng L (2005) Genomic profiling of neutrophil transcripts in Asian Qigong practitioners: a pilot study in gene regulation by mind-body interaction. J Altern Complement Med 11: 29–39.

23. Irie M, Asami S, Nagata S, Miyata M, Kasai H (2002) Psychological mediation of a type of oxidative DNA damage, 8-hyDr.oxydeoxyguanosine, in peripheral blood leukocytes of non-smoking and non-Dr.inking workers. Psychother Psychosom 71: 90–96.

24. Yamaguchi T, Shioji I, Sugimoto A, Yamaoka M (2002) Psychological stress increases bilirubin metabolites in human urine. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 293: 517–520.

25. Zheng KC, Ariizumi M (2007) Modulations of immune functions and oxidative status induced by noise stress. J Occup Health 49: 32–38.

26. Glaser R, Kennedy S, Lafuse WP, Bonneau RH, Speicher C, et al. (1990) Psychological stress-induced modulation of interleukin 2 receptor gene expression and interleukin 2 production in peripheral blood leukocytes. Arch Gen Psychiatry 47: 707–712.

27. Glaser R, Lafuse WP, Bonneau RH, Atkinson C, Kiecolt-Glaser JK (1993) Stress-associated modulation of proto-oncogene expression in human peripheral blood leukocytes. Behav Neurosci 107: 525–529.

28. Platt JE, He X, Tang D, Slater J, Goldstein M (1995) C-fos expression in vivo in human lymphocytes in response to stress. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 19: 65–74.

29. Epel ES, Blackburn EH, Lin J, Dhabhar FS, Adler NE, et al. (2004) Accelerated telomere shortening in response to life stress. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 101: 17312–17315.

30. Epel ES, Lin J, Wilhelm FH, Wolkowitz OM, Cawthon R, et al. (2006) Cell aging in relation to stress arousal and cardiovascular disease risk factors. Psychoneuroendocrinology 31: 277–287.

31. Morita K, Saito T, Ohta M, Ohmori T, Kawai K, et al. (2005) Expression analysis of psychological stress-associated genes in peripheral blood leukocytes. Neurosci Lett 381: 57–62.

32. Zieker J, Zieker D, Jatzko A, Dietzsch J, Nieselt K, et al. (2007) Differential gene expression in peripheral blood of patients suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder. Mol Psychiatry 12: 116–118.

33. Segman RH, Shefi N, Goltser-Dubner T, Friedman N, Kaminski N, et al. (2005) Peripheral blood mononuclear cell gene expression profiles identify emergent post-traumatic stress disorder among trauma survivors. Mol Psychiatry 10: 500–513, 425.

34. Bierhaus A, Wolf J, AnDr.assy M, Rohleder N, Humpert PM, et al. (2003) A mechanism converting psychosocial stress into mononuclear cell activation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 100: 1920–1925.

*** EndQuote ***


Bottom Line: Qigong, mindfulness meditation, the use of mantras and other chants, and other mind-body practices can change how your genes respond to stress! If this occurs at the cellular level, it is an indication that qigong and other mind-body practices can actually change your cells or cellular activity.

As a stress-relief consultant and qigong instructor, I can help you to use these methods, enabling you to be healthier, avoid "a variety of stress-related disorders including cardiovascular, autoimmune and other inflammatory conditions and pain" (see above), age slower, look younger, live longer, and life a fuller and happier life!

Contact me through the form in the sidebar or through my email address in my profile. I am committed to helping you relieve stress in the natural and holistic ways that work best for your mind, body, and spirit.