As someone who lives in New Zealand, I have been to the United States many times—giving medical lectures, doing book tours, visiting friends or family—and believe that no holiday is more ingrained in the DNA of American families than Thanksgiving!
First, I find it interesting that the Thanksgiving holiday is different in the United States and Canada. The American version dates back to the 1600s, when the first settlers discovered pumpkins. Encyclopedia Britannica The exact date is 1621, when the Wampanoags shared a harvest feast with English colonists in Plymouth. The feast is said to have included fowl, and historians disagree on whether these were geese or turkeys. this Canadian version It is said to be a Thanksgiving meal shared by British explorer Martin Frobisher and his crew after they discovered the Northwest Passage while searching for minerals—he discovered gold and land. They served corned beef, biscuits and mashed peas as thanks for their safe arrival in what is now Nunavut, Canada.
I have always said that “genes are our blueprint, but not our destiny.” my new book, Biohacking your genesis about “health tips”—things you can do in your diet and lifestyle to live healthier, fitter, and smarter. I’m going to look at two foods that come to mind when people think of American Thanksgiving: turkey and pumpkin.
turkey
People can purchase turkey raw or brined/basted. In the latter, the turkey is injected with a salt solution to make it more tender and juicy. Brining is essentially soaking the turkey in brine for 24 hours before roasting to prevent the meat from drying out. The problem with adding salt to turkey is that it changes the nutritional profile, specifically increasing the sodium (salt) and phosphorus content.
The National Academy of Medicine recommends that 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day is sufficient for the average American and recommends limiting sodium intake to less than 2,300 milligrams per day. However, the average American consumes 3,600 milligrams per day. Ninety percent exceeded recommended salt levels.
one study of turkeys who purchased raw and brined turkey found that consuming salted turkey can lead to high levels of sodium and phosphorus, which may have adverse health effects in people with high blood pressure, heart disease, or kidney disease.
A person’s genetic makeup determines how it affects you as an individual. As I mention in my book, the ACE gene directs the body to produce angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), which regulates blood pressure in relation to salt intake. This is why some blood pressure-lowering drugs are called ACE inhibitors. If you have the GA or AA variant of the ACE gene, you are at greater risk of developing high blood pressure from eating salted turkey. If you want to find out your genetic type, you can do it here.
pumpkin pie
Pumpkin pie is as American as Thanksgiving. Pumpkins are native to every state in the United States. Like chocolate, Europeans did not discover pumpkin until Columbus returned from his voyage. In the UK, when pumpkin first arrived, people experimented with layers of sliced pumpkin baked between the skins after adding sugar and spices. However, according to Library of Congressmodern pumpkin pie appeared as “Pompkin Pudding” in 1796, when Amelia Simmons first published American cooking, The first cookbook written by an American.
Recently, especially in the wake of Covid-19, pumpkin has seen a resurgence in the medical research community as an antiviral superfood. Pumpkin contains vitamins A, C and E, which play a vital role in helping our immune system fight viruses. Pumpkin soup, pumpkin powder, pumpkin bars and various pumpkin recipes are considered beneficial “medicines”. scientific paper.
Essentially, Biohacking your genes It’s about targeting diet and exercise to your genetic type – doing things that may seem simple but can be very effective when combined, especially with an understanding of our individual genes.
What is it about pumpkin that can do this? Do we really have pumpkin genes? Pumpkin is rich in vitamin A. carotenoids It’s the pigment in plants that gives pumpkins (and other vegetables) their color. Essentially, vitamin A comes in two forms: preformed and easily absorbed, such as retinol from animal sources in our diet, especially liver, cod liver oil, milk and eggs. Plant sources such as pumpkin contain provitamin A carotenoids, which need to be converted into active forms by the body. They are beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, lutein and zeaxanthin. Animal retinol is 12 times more potent than the plant form: 1 mcg retinol = 12 mcg beta-carotene = 1 RAE (retinol activity equivalent).
Pumpkin pie is delicious. It is estimated that a slice of store-bought pumpkin pie contains an average of 488 RAE per serving!
This is where a person’s genes come into play. We now know that there are genetic variations between people in the enzymes that convert vitamin A from plants. β-carotene monooxygenase 1 (BCMO1) is involved in converting beta-carotene into the active form of vitamin A and has AA, AG and GG variants. If you are a GG version holder, you are less capable of converting vitamin A, so you need to make sure you are getting enough preformed vitamin A from animal sources or supplements (if you are vegetarian). Or you could gorge on pumpkin.
You can find your genetic type at: www.biohackingyourgenes.com
About the author
Sharad P. Paul, MD, is a skin cancer expert, family physician, evolutionary biologist, storyteller, social entrepreneur, and adjunct professor at Oakland University of Technology. Born in England and spending his childhood in India, he was a global citizen and a renowned polymath. He received the Ko Awatea International Excellence Award for his “leadership in health improvement globally and commitment to patient-centered medicine in multiple countries.”
He has produced works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and medical textbooks. His new book is Biohacking Your Genes: 25 Rules for Living Smarter, Healthier, and Longer (Beyond Language Publishing, October 14, 2024). For more information, please visit Skin in your gaming blog.
