healthy eating

Utilizing your genetics for establishing ideal eating habits is a great way to take proactive steps in providing your body with a beneficial epigenetic environment. What we put in and on our bodies can have genetic implications. Knowing where and how our genetics are already affected in these areas gives a starting place for helping to heal and protect the body nutritionally and help it to be at it’s optimum.

Consider adding Cannabis to your diet.

Why would you think about adding Cannabis to your diet? Because, unless you’ve already added it, your probably cannabinoid deficient and your Endo Cannabinoid System requires cannabinoids to run efficiently. But, what is your Endo Cannabinoid System (ECS) and why does it matter? The ECS is a regulatory system in our bodies that helps to regulate other bodily systems and maintain homeostasis throughout. Our bodies naturally produce endo cannabinoids (aka: internally made cannabinoids) which are neurotransmitters that attach to specific target sites, called cannabinoid receptors. These receptor sites can be found in different places through out the body’s central and peripheral nervous systems. Take a look at the highlighted areas of the images below to get an idea of just what kind of effects damaging or not taking care of your Endo Cannabinoid System can do.

Looking at all of the medical issues that Agent Orange exposure has been linked to, it would not be unfathomable to speculate that TCDD affects this highly regulatory system linked to our very extinction, which could explain the variety of illnesses it causes, including those the ECS is directly linked to, such as the central and peripheral nervous systems.

Whether or not Agent Orange exposure is related to degradation of the Endo Cannabinoid System and inherently passed on through generations is unknown, but we do know that caring for your ECS is highly beneficial.

*Check with your state and local laws regarding the legal use of Cannabis, as every state, county, and city has their own laws regulating it’s use and propagation.

Consuming Oils With Intention

Today we have access to a wide array of food grade oils to consume, and that allows us to really begin to determine which can benefit our individual health needs. A personal favorite is grape seed oil, for it’s HDL cholesterol boosting and LDL lowering benefits, as well as some of it’s other reported benefits. Among those other beneficial properties are said to include anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective, antimicrobial, and anticancer properties. It may also interact with cellular and molecular pathways, which may provide very beneficial to those who have been impacted negatively in their cellular and molecular pathways. Grapeseed oil may not be considered the top performer compared to other oils, but it is a health promoting oil that can be consumed daily and be used for a variety of purposes.

One of the easiest ways to integrate oils into your diet is to start using it as your go to topping or dipping sauce. Salads are one of the perfect foods for oils and the recipes for them can be endless, and they don’t all have to have leafy greens in them. We very much enjoy something simple like a layered salad that includes: cooked rice, diced avocados, sautéed shitake mushrooms (seasoned with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, sage, and rosemary, sautéed in olive oil), fresh diced or sundried tomatoes, all drizzled with unfiltered apple cider vinegar and grapeseed oil, then add other seasonings as desired. It’s a simple recipe that can easily be adjusted and it’s a great way to add 2 tablespoons of a healthy oil to your diet everyday. And, if you’re trying to find healthy ways of adding Cannabis into your diet, Cannabis infused oils make for great salad toppings. (Talk to your healthcare professional about consuming Cannabis for your health.)

So, what types of oils are available? This list is just to give you an idea of the possibilities and we encourage you to seek out what oils would be beneficial for adding to your diet, and remember to look for organic and non- gmo and adjust when your body tells you that it needs something adjusted.

Almond Oil

Amaranth Oil

Apricot Kernel Oil

Avocado Oil

Babbasu Oil

Black Current Seed Oil

Black Seed Oil

Borage Seed Oil

Brazil Nut Oil

Camellia Seed Oil

Camelina Oil

Cayenne Pepper Oil

Cocoa Butter

Coconut Oil

Cranberry Seed Oil

Culinary Argan Oil

Evening Primrose Oil

Flax Seed Oil

Gooseberry Seed Oil

Grapeseed Oil

Guava Seed Oil

Hazel Nut Oil

Hemp Seed Oil

Kiwi Seed Oil

Lemon Oil

Herbs and Spice and Everything Nice!

It might be easy to want to bypass spending too much time on incorporating herbs and spices into your diet, but doing so really closes off such opportunity to strengthen your body’s systems. From cleansing impurities out of your blood, to clarifying your mental focus, to fighting off infections and detoxing the body, to calming and protecting stressed nerves. They can be added to foods and drinks, infused into oils, made into teas and extracts, incorporated into body care, and turned into potpourris. Herbs and spices are “The spice to life”. With it’s abundance of variety and uses, we cannot help but love these treasures. So, what herbs and spices might be beneficial for those in the line of exposure to Agent Orange? Some of our personal stories have found benefit in utilizing those with properties that are neuroprotective, blood cleansing, detoxing, mind clarifying, anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and immune and gut health supportive. Because diabetes and/or dysregulation of glucose is common in those affected by AO, you’ll want to pay attention to whether your body tends to be hyperglycemic vs hypoglycemic. Many descriptions out there will say that the plant helps diabetes, but what they are saying is that it helps to reduce blood sugar levels. If you’re hypoglycemic, you do not want your blood sugar levels to go lower. If you haven’t been diagnosed with either, but you can feel that it is off in your body, pay special attention when you are trying a new ingredient that affects glucose processing. For example, some people with diabetes may find cinnamon helpful, but cinnamon can make a hypoglycemic persons body nauseated and sick, even just from smelling it. Be sure to communicate with your healthcare professional about any changes that you are making for medical purposes and if you have any noticeable results, whether positive or negative. With that said, some of our favorite herbs and spices include:

Bay Leaf

Basil

Cayenne

Chive

Cilantro

Cumin

Curry

Fennel

Garlic

Horseradish

Leeks

Marjoram

Nutritional Yeast

Onion

Oregano

Paprika

Rosemary

Sage

Tarragon

Thyme

Turmeric

Wasabi

Activated Charcoal

Bee Pollen

Cardamom

Cocoa Powder

Diatomaceous Earth

Nutmeg

Red Maca

Vanilla

Coconut Aminos

Rice Vinegar

Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar

Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables are essential to a well balanced, health promoting diet. They can be eaten in many different forms these days, from farm and market fresh, to canned, powdered, freeze dried, pureed, juiced, frozen, fermented, to restaurant and hospitality service prepared. We have a lot of options to choose from, which is great, because we need the variety to keep our bodies working in homeostasis within all of its systems. Because of the way that Agent Orange affects the human body, we also want to be sure that we are seeking out the fruits and vegetables that are going to help particularly in these areas. If you have your DNA sequenced, you can also utilize it for determining what foods your DNA says that you would benefit from, like through nutrition apps on Sequencing.com. Because our bodies have already been dealing with the effects of a chemical, it is also going to be vital to creating an epigenetically healthy environment by obtaining these items as free from chemicals and synthetics, and as organic/non-gmo as possible. If you notice that your stomach feels kind of irritable after eating fresh fruits and vegetables, you may want look at whether it could be contaminated with chemicals that the farmers are allowed to use on our foods. If there’s no concern of chemicals, then it may also be an indicator of what’s going on in your systems, and that goes the same as if you were having cravings. For example: someone’s stomach area begins to severely hurt after they’ve been eating clean/non gmo protein foods; this might be an indicator that their body is having trouble processing proteins and they should see their doctor and incorporate a balanced diet with healthy carbohydrates. On the other side, someone may have a deep craving that they cannot get enough of something, either they may be addicted or their body may be deficient in a vital nutrient, for example: a person with anemia may crave spinach or beef to get more nutrients that help their body produce more blood. The key is to listen to what your body is telling you and stay informed on what specifically addresses your needs. So, what kind of fruits and vegetables might benefit those with Agent Orange exposure? We are always keeping in mind those that are neuroprotective, anti-cancer/anti-tumor, immuno-protective, cognitive support, reproductive system support, hematological support, chemical balancing, and cleansing.

Apples

Apricots

Bananas

Black Chokeberries (Aronia)

Black and Red Currants

Black Elderberries

Black grapes

Blackberries

Blueberries

Cherries

Dragon Fruit

Grapes

Grapefruit

Lemon

Mango

Nectarines

Peaches

Pears

Pineapple

Pomegranate

Plums

Raspberries

Star Fruit

Strawberries

Proteins

Proteins are a vital part of our health, but there is much debate as to whether we benefit better from consuming animal proteins or plant based proteins. One research study that we found at the US National Library of Medicine website, states:

“Long-term consumption of red meat (and even more clearly processed meat) is associated with significant increase in all-cause mortality, likely contributing to the current epidemic of cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and to increased risk of certain kinds of adenocarcinomas (cancers of mucosal epithelial origin), particularly colorectal cancer. Aggravation of age-dependent macular degeneration and of rheumatoid arthritis, have also been reported as being associated with red meat consumption. Corroborating with these facts, Seventh-Day Adventists consuming a vegetarian diet are at lower risks of cancer, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and arthritis when compared to non-vegetarians from the same community. In fact, follow up studies show that a lifestyle pattern that includes a very low meat intake is associated with greater longevity.”

These are increased risk areas that someone in the line of Agent Orange exposure does not need added risk to.

Some of our favorite foods for protein consumptions include:

Artichoke

Avocado

Barley

Black Beans

Cannellini Beans

Chickpeas

gardein Meatless

Guava

Hemp Seeds

Legumes

Lima Beans

Lentils

Nut Butters

Oats

Peas

Pistachios

Quinoa

Refried beans

Veggie Burgers

White Beans

Dairy and Non-Dairies

Many people have talked about and debated whether or not dairy and dairy products cause the body to increase it’s mucus production, and, does it matter if it does? Mucus production serves a highly valuable purpose of protecting epithelial cells in the human body. Epithelial cells make up epithelial tissue, which line the outer surfaces of organs and blood vessels , as well as the inner surfaces of cavities in many internal organs, such as the lungs, the gastrointestinal tract, the reproductive and urinary tracts, and on the outer surface of the cornea, the inner lining of blood vessels and the heart, lining lymphatic vessels, and the walls of the pericardium, pleurae, and peritoneum. All glands, including exocrine and endocrine glands, are also made up of epithelial cells. (Table of epithelia of human organs)

Some of the responsibilities of epithelial cells in the human body include secretion, selective absorption, protection, transcellular transport, and sensing, so it is important to keep the functioning of our epithelial cells and the systems they are functioning for intact and healthy in all areas of our body that they are found. Mucus production can be found in these locations of epithelial cells, such as, but not limited to the respiratory, digestive, and urogenital systems, and structures in the visual and auditory systems, and exocrine and endocrine glands, as a natural part of the body’s systems.

A variety of factors can influence the production of mucus, whether it cause over production or under production, including environmental factors, foods, disease, inflammation, genetics, bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc. In a study found on Taylor & Francis Online, titled “Dairy products and inflammation: A review of the clinical evidence”, a systematic review of 52 clinical trials investigating inflammatory markers in relation to the consumption of dairy products was performed. They concluded that: “Taken together, our review suggests that dairy products, in particular fermented products, have anti-inflammatory properties in humans not suffering from allergy to milk, in particular in subjects with metabolic disorders.” This is great news to know that fermented dairy products may be of healthful benefit for those that Agent Orange has affected metabolic processes. Some metabolic disorders include diabetes, insulin resistance, and hypercholesterolemia and we know that Diabetes and Ischemic Heart Disease are connected to exposure and are on the VA’s Presumptive Illnesses list. They continued through the discussion in the study, that they, “identified a pro-inflammatory activity of dairy products in subjects with milk allergy. This result is mechanistically expected, as hypersensitive reactions can obviously be linked to the pro-inflammatory state”. It is in this finding of those with hypersensitive reactions, such as with milk allergy, “can obviously be linked to the pro-inflammatory state” that we take further consideration. With exposure to Agent Orange and because of it’s mechanisms of actions on human life, it may be possible that anyone of the areas of epithelial cells in our bodies can be subject to dysregulation and/or chronic inflammation, thus our bodies being in more of a reactive (or “allergic/sensitive”) state. How?

In a study found on US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health website, they aimed to “investigate the relationship between newborn size and the concentration of dioxin isomers” and “to subsequently evaluate the potential toxicity of each dioxin isomer”. In the Discussion, they state that “This results suggests that the toxicity of 2,3,7,8-TCDD may be specific to the development of the central nervous system. However, the length and head circumference of almost all newborns tested were within the normal range”. This evidence is supportive of the actions and mechanisms of how TCDD affects the human body and how TCDD contaminated Agent Orange can be affecting the offspring of males exposed. Even though this study was on children with maternal exposure, we know that central nervous system disorders are on the VA’s Presumptive Lists for male veterans. We are all just awaiting the specific studies to be performed that will get admittance that a father passes down these genetic changes/disorders caused by TCDD’s epigenetic transgenerational inheritance effects.

The same study went on to state that: TCDD “ is the most toxic isomer of the dioxins, and several animal studies have demonstrated that maternal exposure to 2,3,7,8-TCDD affects neurodevelopment and induces neuro-behavioral alterations in offspring…” and “In particular, we found a developmental delay in the forebrain, which suggests that 2,3,7,8-TCDD affects the limbic system, which in turn plays an important role in avoidance behaviors [34]. A functional change in the limbic system can induce not only learning deficits but also emotional disturbances, and 2,3,7,8-TCDD may therefore affect both the emotional development and cognitive development of the human infant. A well-designed epidemiological study to investigate cognitive and emotional development is necessary in the future to clarify the effects of 2,3,7,8-TCDD on brain development in human infants.”

So, what about the limbic system? According to Dartmouth Medical School “The limbic system is a convenient way of describing several functionally and anatomically interconnected nuclei and cortical structures that are located in the telencephalon(cerebrum) and diencephalon(a division of the forebrain). These nuclei serve several functions, however most have to do with control of functions necessary for self preservation and species preservation. They regulate autonomic and endocrine function, particularly in response to emotional stimuli. They set the level of arousal and are involved in motivation and reinforcing behaviors. Additionally, many of these areas are critical to particular types of memory. Some of these regions are closely connected to the olfactory system, since this system is critical to survival of many species.”

The limbic system serves several functions, and it is in this finding :“most have to do with control of functions necessary for self preservation and species preservation. They regulate autonomic and endocrine function” that we can take head and nurture the limbic systems of those who are impacted by Agent Orange. Parts of the limbic system include the thalamus, the hypothalamus, the epithalamus, the subthalamus, and the cerebrum, which is “the largest part of the brain containing the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, basal ganglia, and olfactory bulb. In the human brain, the cerebrum is the uppermost region of the central nervous system. The cerebrum develops prenatally from the forebrain.”

According to University of Queensland Brain Institute, “The limbic system is the part of the brain involved in our behavioural and emotional responses, especially when it comes to behaviours we need for survival: feeding, reproduction and caring for our young, and fight or flight responses. You can find the structures of the limbic system buried deep within the brain, underneath the cerebral cortex and above the brainstem. The thalamus, hypothalamus (production of important hormones and regulation of thirst, hunger, mood etc) and basal ganglia (reward processing, habit formation, movement and learning) are also involved in the actions of the limbic system, but two of the major structures are the hippocampus and the amygdala.”

Knowing that Agent Orange impacts these areas of the human body systems and knowing that these impacts can affect our bodies mucosal production and regulation, it is possible that milk consumption may have undesirable effects on those affected by TCDD. If you think that you may be experiencing dysregulation of mucus in your body, talk to your doctor about it and test cutting out, or adding if you’re lacking, some of your dairy intake. When mucus builds up, or thickens, in the nasal cavities, or around glands within the brain structures, some people experience headaches, fatigue, and “brain fog” and with the reduction of mucus triggering foods, these symptoms can become lessened. The Lung Health Institute has a list of 21 foods that trigger mucus production. Finding foods that are going to support healthy functioning of these systems just might be crucial in combating the overall effect of Agent Orange, as they are the systems linked to the very development of our brains and our self/species preservation.

Non Dairy Milk Alternatives:

Almond Milk

Banana Milk

Cashew Nut Milk

Coconut Milk

Flax Seed Milk

Hemp Milk

Hazelnut Milk

Macadamia Nut Milk

Oat Milk

Pea Milk

Rice Milk

Soy Milk

Walnut Milk

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates just might play a major role in maintaining a daily balanced diet for those whom Agent Orange has come in contact with. According to a study found on the National Library of Medicine website, their findings “suggest that TCDD plays a role in the development of metabolic impairment and vascular changes”. The study found “prevalence of diabetes, arterial hypertension, dyslipidaemia, history of coronary heart disease and eye fundus hypertension angiopathy”. In another study, from the same website, 245 former employees of a pesticide production plant exposed to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) in New Zealand were examined. Some of their results revealed that diabetes was more common in those who had worked in TCDD exposed jobs, IgG was negatively associated with TCDD. They concluded that “in this occupationally exposed population, TCDD was associated with an increased risk of diabetes and a range of subclinical responses in multiple systems (peripheral nervous system, immune system, thyroid hormones and lipid metabolism), several decades after last exposure.”

Adjusting your diet to help boost it’s natural abilities may become easier by balancing out the intakes of protein vs carbohydrates. How much of either would be dependent on your particular situation. If you are trying to reduce mucus in the body, by reducing red meat intake, a clean carbohydrate for your body is going to help your body cleanse it of the mucus easier. Because Agent Orange has been linked to Diabetes (hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia) the processing of carbohydrates may be off in our bodies. It is important to pay attention to the way that your body is able to process carbs so that you can keep it in a balanced state and not going too much one way or the other.

Some forms of carbohydrates that may be beneficial include, but are not limited to:

Bananas

Banana Flour

Barley

Brown Rice

Brown Rice Flour

Buckwheat Noodles

Cauliflower Noodles

Gluten free breads/grains

Konjac Noodles

Mango

Oats

Oat Flour

Pineapple

Purple Potatoes

Quinoa

Red Potatoes

Rice

Rice Noodles

Udon Noodles

Whole Grain Cereals

Whole Grain Breads

Whole Grain Flours

Whole Grain Noodles

Wild Rice

Yams/ Sweet Potatoes

Harmonizing the balance between fruits, vegetables, proteins, grains, carbohydrates, fats, oils, dairies, non dairies, vitamins, minerals, herbs, and spices, and possible medications and medical limitations may seem overwhelming, but our bodies have a natural tendency to seek out balance and we can find that harmony if we give the time to listen. Today, we can also take proactive steps in maintaining our own health and well being through diet and lifestyle, by combining it with advancements in genetics that are accessible now that weren’t available before.