PROBIOTICS: Epigenetics Shows They Can Help Prevent Cancer

Gut health. Yes, it's trendy - you're now on the cool list if you drink kombucha and indulge in kimchi, but recent epigenetic research has revealed that there's actually something to this - outside of just microbiome health. Probiotics have been shown to exert cancer preventing activity.

Monumental research published in the journal Nutrition Reviews gave us more insight to this fact – that probiotics, through their metabolites or digestion end products, have the ability to beneficially change the expression of our DNA, and thus the level of wellbeing we experience on a day to day basis. These findings, reiterated by other research conducted since this review, help to justify the health and wellness worlds’ recent obsession with all things fermented, as well as why I continue to make my own coconut yogurt on a weekly basis. Before I dive into the this exciting science, I think it’s important to define some key terms I will be using throughout this post.

Short-Chain Fatty Acids (SCFA): These are what we call probiotic metabolites or digestive end products. SCFAs are produced by the friendly gut bacteria housed in your colon, through the process of fermentation, and serve as the main source of energy for the cells residing here.

Methylation: Methylation is the process by which specific biochemical “tags” known as methyl groups (CH3) are added to certain parts of DNA molecules. When methylation occurs on a segment of DNA, it can change the activity of the protein produced by this DNA segment by changing how tightly it is packaged– aka methylation changes the action of DNA without changing the DNA sequence itself. Keep in mind that methylation, at its most basic level, is often inhibitory, meaning it prevents the expression and thus production of the protein the gene codes for. For more on this, refer back to my post covering epigenetics.

Acetylation: Acetylation is essentially the same process as methylation, but with a different biochemical “tag”, thus changing the DNA in a different way. When an acetyl group is used, it often makes the thread of our genetic spools (DNA) wrapped more loosely, more exposed. In doing so, the genes are more easily read and expressed. While methylation often prevents genes from being read, acetylation usually allows genes to be read.

I know these terms and concepts can scare some people away especially if you’re not obsessed with science like me, but don't worry, I’m going to break this all down and make it as simple as possible - because I truly think this information can greatly benefit all of us. So, back to the studies – these groups of researchers have found that the consumption of probiotics can alter the amount and characteristics of these SCFAs I just defined. They do so by changing the composition of the bacteria living in your gut. Rather than operating from a place of dysbiosis where the "bad" bacteria in your microbiome outnumber the "good", probiotic foods and supplements can put your gut in a place of symbiosis meaning the beneficial bacteria are in balance with the pathogenic bacteria. Probiotics change the players of the game, effectively changing the results. Here’s where it gets interesting - the beneficial changes that occur in the production of these SCFAs change the expression of our genes in such a way that lowers the risk or progression of certain types of cancers by restoring normal gene expression.

Cancers, especially those defined by the growth of tumors, are characterized by foundational mishaps in gene expression; something goes haywire in the expression of the genes housed in tumor cells, making them grow uncontrollably. Often times this is a result of methylation, the DNA “tagging” process described above. When these methylation tags are placed on what are called tumor suppressor genes (more specifically the promotor region of tumor suppressor genes for my fellow genetics freaks), it effectively prevents the expression and ultimate formation of proteins involved in, well, suppressing the growth of tumors as the name suggests. Without the expression of such genes, this is how tumor cell growth goes awry.

This is where SCFAs, those probiotic-derived digestive metabolites produced by your gut microbiome, come into play. These SCFAs promote the acetylation process, that mechanism that allows genes to be read. Applying this thought process to the tumor suppressor genes described above, SCFAs place “tags” on their spools, allowing the thread to be normally read and expressed, rather than inhibited as seen with methylation. As a result, by expressing tumor suppressor genes, this abnormal expression of cells that is defined as a tumor is ultimately prevented or diminished, decreasing your risk or progression of certain types of cancers.

BOTTOM LINE: Probiotics beneficially alter the colony of bacteria in your gut which produce SCFAs, the primary fuel for your colon cells. These SCFAs go on to restore and promote normal gene expression, especially as it relates to that DNA which codes for the suppression of tumors.

Let this be your answer as to why I am so obsessed with making my own coconut yogurt. By consuming a probiotic food every day, I am ultimately using my friendly gut bacteria to my advantage, almost instructing them to influence my genes in a way that promotes health over disease.