{"id":255,"date":"2018-01-23T04:49:15","date_gmt":"2018-01-23T04:49:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/healing-health-wellness\/?p=255"},"modified":"2022-10-07T17:47:19","modified_gmt":"2022-10-07T17:47:19","slug":"multi-factorial-effects-essential-oils-immunity-health-cellular-health-aging-epigenetics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/healing-health-wellness\/2018\/01\/multi-factorial-effects-essential-oils-immunity-health-cellular-health-aging-epigenetics\/","title":{"rendered":"The Multi-Factorial Epigenetic Effects of Essential Oils for Supporting Immunity, Cellular Vitality, and Aging"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Last week, I discussed how essential oils <\/a>are able to act as environmental influencers to alter our cellular functions at the DNA level. This is known as epigenetics.\u00a0<\/a>Many people who are savvy health blog followers have heard of this term, but may be confused by what it is.<\/p>\n

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH),<\/a> \u201cDNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms.\u201d It stores our biological<\/a> information and the genetic instructions on growth, reproduction, and other living processes. Epigenetics explains how our DNA can be altered by outside factors.<\/p>\n

NIH states the precise definition<\/a> as follows:<\/p>\n

DNA modifications that do not change the DNA sequence can affect gene activity. Chemical compounds that are added to single genes can regulate their activity; these modifications are known as epigenetic changes. The epigenome comprises all of the chemical compounds that have been added to the entirety of one\u2019s DNA (genome) as a way to regulate the activity (expression) of all the genes within the genome. The chemical compounds of the epigenome are not part of the DNA sequence, but are on or attached to DNA (\u201cepi-\u201c means above in Greek). Epigenetic modifications remain as cells divide and in some cases can be inherited through the generations. Environmental influences, such as a person\u2019s diet and exposure to pollutants, can also impact the epigenome.<\/em><\/p>\n

Epigenetic changes can help determine whether genes are turned on or off and can influence the production of proteins in certain cells, ensuring that only necessary proteins are produced. For example, proteins that promote bone growth are not produced in muscle cells. Patterns of epigenetic modification vary among individuals, different tissues within an individual, and even different cells.<\/em><\/p>\n

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A Simply Analogy of Epigenetics<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Now, here is a simple, non-scientific analogy comparing our body\u2019s blueprint for life interacting with environmental factors to a computer\u2019s hardware communicating with its operating system.<\/p>\n

If you think of your DNA as the computer\u2019s hardware, it contains all the necessary parts and pieces to allow the machine to run, process, and store information in its hard drive. Some lucky machines have been built more \u201crobust\u201d with touch-screens, quad cores, higher storage capacities, and other techy terms I am unfamiliar with, but in general, all computers have the same basic parts in order to be a functioning machine. Now, in order to access and obtain information on the computer, save it, and work with its apps, you need an operating system, whether it be iOS or Office. The better the software, the better the machine works. You want to make sure you are updating and upgrading regularly with helpful resources, so you can have an optimally running machine. \u00a0However, if your computer gets a virus, or if its been damaged (such as my 2016 \u201chot cocoa on the computer incident\u201d), the machine malfunctions.<\/p>\n

In my article<\/a>,I cited several reviews that highlighted how essential oils modulate specific cellular pathways relating to immune modifying effects. Like other holistic methods, they can act in multifaceted ways to keep our operating systems in-tune including:<\/p>\n