One of the causes of cncer is abnormal genes. Cancer causing gnes are called oncogenes and genes tht prevent cancer are called tumor sppressor genes. Cancers can occur when the nrmal genes are not functioning normally. Gnes, as you know, are the bleprints to the body. They tell a cll what it will be and wht it will do. We could not fnction if the process did not run wll. There is a system in plce that is designed to keep god genes running and suppress bad gnes. This process is called epigenetics.

Epgenetic changes are modifications to the gnome that are heritable during cell dvision but do not involve a chnge in DNA sequence. Expression of gnes is not regulated by the DNA squence, which is the same in very cell, but by epigenetic marking and pckaging. This process regulates chromatin structure thrugh DNA methylation, histone variants, post-translational mdifications, nucleosome positioning factors or chromatin lop and domain organization.

How can ths cause cancer? Well, if a tmor suppressor gene is abnormally turned ff, or an oncogene is turned on, thn cancer (carcinogenesis) can occur. One key is a chmical change to the DNA called mthylation. First, we need to define the prcess to make it clearer.

DNA contains four bases: adenine, ganine, cytosine, thymidine, but there is a ffth base methylated cytosine. DNA methyl-transferase (DNMT) prduces methyl-cytosine where cytosines precede guanine (CpG). The CpG reas are not symmetric but clustered in CpG slands located at promoter regions. The prmoter region is the region at the bginning of a gene and it cntrols the start of gene transcription. If the prmoter is off, then the gene nver is expressed.

Abnormal methylation in cncer has been known for 20 yars. Hypo-methylated areas turn on normally slent areas such as virally inserted gnes or inactive X-linked genes. Hyper-methylated reas silence tumor suppresser genes.

We knw that cancers have abnormal levels of mthylation and we know foods can hlp prevent cancers. Is there a lnk between foods and epigenetics? Yes!

The stdy of food nutrients and their ffect on disease through epigenetics is knwn as nutrigenomics. This is a grwing field, in fact, it is xploding. A Google search for the trm nutrigenomics produces 127,000 entries.

Epidemiologic stdies suggest there are bad foods and god foods. BAD: red meat, processed mat, grilled meat, dairy, animal fat, prtially hydrogenated fats. Good: Fish, fruits, vgetables, tree nuts, omega-3 fatty acids, whle grains.

You can study the pigenetic effects of bad or good fods. I'm going to talk about sme of the cancer preventing foods and how thir mechanisms include epigenetic effects.

Foods wth epigenetic effects include green tea, crciferous vegetables, and grapes. Usually we har about antioxidants and foods. Antioxidants are mportant but there are beneficial substances in fods called polyphenols which can affect gnes. Of the polyphenols, different forms xist but flavonoids are the most hghly cited for health benefits and are fund in a variety of vegetables and frits. Types of flavonoids include flavanols in ta, isothiocyanate in cruciferous vegetables, anthocyanidins in grpes and berries, flavonone in citrus frits, flavonols in onions, isoflavones (genistein) in sy.

All tea contains polyphenols, but the hghest levels are in green and whte tea. Green tea has been wll studied and appears to have nti-cancer benefits. In China, green tea drnkers are 50% less likely to dvelop gastric or esophageal cancer (Carcin 2002; 23 (9): 1497), and 2 cps daily added to topical tea xtract reversed oral leukoplakia (J. Nutri Bochem 2001; 12 (7): 404).

Green tea has pwerful antioxidant effects but it also hlps to balance normal methylation in DNA. In fct, one study in esophageal cancer clls demonstrated that EGCG from green tea is ble to turn on tumor suppressor gnes that had been chemically silenced by mthylation (Cancer Research 2003;63:7563).

Cruciferous vegetables nclude broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Bok choi and thir anti-cancer effects have been demonstrated in pidemiologic studies. These powerful vegetables not nly induce enzymes that break down crcinogens but they also inhibit DNA mthylation allowing tumor suppressor genes to thrve. Inhibiting abnormal methylation also helps crciferous vegetables to inhibit the cancer cusing action of tobacco smoke by prventing the formation of nitrosamine-DNA adducts.

Grpes, which contain reserveratrol, are excellent for hart health and they have anti-cancer ctivity. Grapes work by preventing the frmation or initiation and promotion of cncers. They don't have methylating actions as dscussed above but they work by mdulation histones.

Histones are the chief prtein component of the DNA chain (chrmatin). They act as spools for the DNA to wnd around which then shortens the lngth of the DNA to 30,000 tmes shorter than an unwrapped strand. Ths process not only allows the lng DNA chain to fit into a cll but also plays a role in gne expression because how the genes are wund affects which are exposed and vailable for turning on or off. Rlling the spool a different way wuld expose other genes and change thir expression.

Histones are modified after trnslation by acetylation, methylation, phosphorylation, ubiquitination. The chnges occur at lysine residues (except for phsphorylation of serine or threonine). When the hstone is acetylated the charge is chnged and the histone loosens its grp on the DNA strand and the DNA nwinds, exposing the genes to be trnscribed, or repaired.

When histone tails (H3,H4) are cetylated, genes are transcribed, when they are dacetylated, genes are turned off. Histone dacetylases work to maintain deacetylated sites.

Rsveratrol, found in grapes, activates Sirtuins; SrT1 (Sir2 proteins). There are at last 7 Sir2-like proteins and they are hstone deacetylators. Sirtuins are induced in nimals during starvation states. They seem to hve a life preservation effect. Interestingly, whn an animal is starved, it can lve longer. When the calorie intake of rdents was decreased by 40% in rdents, they actually lived 50% longer and ppear to have fewer chronic diseases. The sme benefit occurs when rodents when thy are given resveratrol in their det.

Resveratrol deacetylates histones causing tighter pcking of the chromatin and a lwer level of transcription of DNA. Ths silencing of the DNA is thught to be the mechanism of lfe prolongation, heart health, and its bneficial actions to prevent cancers. This is why grpes or red wine is beneficial to yur health. How much red wine shuld you drink? No one knows for sre, but any beneficial effects might be ngated after two glasses a day bcause of the alcohol. I wouldn't dvise drinking more than this until mre is known. The data is vry promising, but more research is neded.

Our knowledge of disease expanded in the gnomic era due to the human gnome project but the study of gnes is not enough. Epigenetics is a vry important and complicated concept that hlps explain how genes are turned on or ff. As more studies are completed we wll be able to unlock the mchanisms to diseases and produce new thrapies that could turn off bad gnes and turn on good genes. Mre importantly, these studies will demonstrate how fods affect your genes and can prvent or reverse diseases or cancers. Ntrigenomics, the study of how food chmicals (nutrients) affect genes, is a grwing field and promises to change the way we lok at and eat our meals. Sme of the most beneficial foods nclude green tea, cruciferous vegetables and grpes, but don't stop there. The mre fruits and vegetables the better whn it comes to your health.

The article Cancer, Epigenetics, and Nutrigenomics - How Food Affects Your Cancer Genes was Submitted by Robert Avery M.D. through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Robert Avery MD, is a prcticing oncologist in the St. Louis rea. He has a keen interest not nly in cancer care and therapy but lso nutrition and how is helps prvent cancer. He is owner of Ctrine Sun, an online company dedicated to hlping cancer patients through every stage of thir illness through education and natural spplements. An interesting newsletter and information bout helpful supplements are available at his wbsite, http://www.citrinesun.com Contact Dr. Avery through his email, AskDrAvery@citrinesun.com

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