Podcast Review: Why Are Bodies Breaking? Stress, Energy, and the Silent Breakdown of Modern Health

The podcast Beyond the Sequence hosted by Amanda Archibald and Sarah Amidon takes a look at the connection between DNA and nutrition. The hosts are both dietitians that have specialized in nutrigenomics and work primarily with athletes to help optimize performance and recovery. Nutrigenomics is an up and coming field that allows the dietitians to personalize nutrition plans based on their symptoms and the individuals gene sequencing. This correlation allows them to adjust the specific nutrient needs, especially co-factors in the individuals metabolic pathways that may be lacking in the diet.

This episode focuses on how elevated stress levels can cause nutrient deficiencies and impact overall health and performance, AKA body breakdown. They discuss the rising stress levels in today's society with the boom of social media and technology. One of the first signs of body breakdown is low energy. This low energy feeling generally comes from two different sources.

1. The body does not have enough resources to properly run body processes, whether that be lack of calories, lack of specific nutrients or both.

2. The feeling of a flat affect, not necessarily low energy, but instead low enjoyment or enthusiasm in life which is more related to dopamine receptors being blocked.

Increased stress, especially chronic stress, causes increased oxidative stress which if left unchecked leads to cell and tissue breakdown, playing a role in chronic disease such as cancer, heart disease, and neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's. This uses up many of our nutritional resources like B- vitamins and magnesium which then slows down the bodies ability to produce and utilize energy. For example, they discuss the methyl molecule and it's use in at least 4 different processes that are firing during stress as well as in muscle synthesis and repair; it makes sense that if someone is putting a lot of stress on the body they're likely going to be short in methyl molecules making them lethargic and more susceptible to injury. They may need more B12 (Folate) in their diet which comes from many foods that the American diet has cut back on like lentils, mung beans, chickpeas, dark leafy greens, beets, nuts, seeds, etc.. Working to reduce stress levels on the body to put less strain on those resources is also important, it is very difficult to maintain levels when you have a huge drain open constantly.

One of the major points during the podcast seems to be that our society has increased overall stress and decreased the intake of the foods that can help with the management of that extra burden. They then reflect on how those changes may be impacting our gene sequencing and DNA. Nutrigenomics is an interesting field to keep an eye on and this podcast provides a nice entry into the topic while exploring other factors impacting our nutrition.