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HCM People: Dr Jason CulpResearch and development director: Chiva-Som Hua Hin
We talk about the joyful and meaningful activities people have in their lives. These factors are as important as diet and exercise
Chiva-Som was an early adopter of epigenetic testing. What’s this science about?
Epigenetic testing measures DNA methylation patterns to find out an individual’s biological age versus their chronological age, as well as the age of their immune system and how quickly their telomeres are shortening, which is another marker of age. It can also identify some predispositions to diabetes and heart disease.
Epigenetics have been used in research, primarily for discovering things such as the impact of environmental factors on ageing. As well as determining the genetic predispositions of an individual, the science can also be used to establish what elements of their lifestyle and environment could be impacting their health.
The good news is that health can be changed, even within a matter of weeks. This really exemplifies the concept of personalised wellness. Our clients frequently have individual requests as well and this gives us another piece of the puzzle to enable us work with them effectively.
The world is evidence-based now. If you don't have a result to show you've improved someone's health, they can become sceptical that what they're doing is the right thing, so this test gives assurance.
How do you do your testing?
There are various ways you can test: urine, saliva or blood. We use blood via a finger prick. It takes three to four weeks to get results.
What has the impact been so far?
The majority of people who get this test have not made substantial changes to their lifestyle habits, so many tests are coming back with biological age being greater than chronological age. However, we also have some data fanatics who are very engaged in wellness and have already optimised their lifestyle, so their tests typically come back younger.
Then you get the people who thought they were healthy – because they’re eating healthily and exercising – and are disappointed to find out they’re biologically older and we have to find out what else is having an impact. It’s often stress-related.
So you advise on diet and exercise and stress?
Yes, when I talk with a client I take a holistic approach. Diet and exercise are typically the easiest ones to engage with. Sleep and stress are more difficult and typically when one is off balance, so's the other. They have to be handled as a partnership.
We also talk about the joyful and meaningful activities they have in their lives and their relationships: whether they have a good support system; if they do things that make them happy and have hobbies.
All these factors are as important as talking about diet and exercise – because typically they're the things that give us the breaks we need from the stress, or the comfort we need to be resilient in stressful situations.
If someone has an acute or chronic stressor that’s perceived as uncontrollable – people often say they’re really stressed by their work, but can't quit their job – we work with them to find ways to build resilience against those stressors and possibly shift some of the perceptions about what they're going through. One of the methods I use to teach them how to deal with stress is breathwork.
People come to Chiva-Som Hua Hin to escape their stress. It’s a safe place to let go of emotions. With people who are considering a major change, we consider what their next steps would be.
Or if they’ve just been through a significant change, whether it's with a spouse or with an employer, we also explore the options. We never tell people what the right or wrong decisions are, but we give them space and explore the decision with them.
What is the future for this science?
I think epigenetics will go mainstream and might even get down to primary care levels, where doctors will be able to show people if they’re predisposed to an illness, or what their lifestyle choices are doing to their bodies, which is valuable as a motivating factor.
In the health, fitness and wellness industry, it will lead to the creation of a more personalised services and help us fine-tune programmes, so individuals see the most benefits.
In research, I think there will be more awareness of how our environment impacts our health, showing whether certain environments age people more quickly.
Some of our health markers are the result of intergenerational trauma. How do you work with this?
When we look at intergenerational trauma, we consider things such as family history and past health history.
For example, if a client suffers from panic attacks, I would ask whether their parents or grandparents had panic attacks.
It’s a bit more difficult to deal with family predisposition than somebody who has panic attacks from a trauma they suffered two years ago, however, it gives people comfort knowing there isn’t anything inherently wrong with them, but that previous generations passed down these traits, so we can talk through coping strategies.
Being aware of this does allow people to stop blaming themselves for how they react, they can start thinking that it’s something which makes them unique and that can be quite empowering. They can also look for solutions and take steps to undo this genetic programming.
Scientists have found that the lived experience of one generation can be passed on to the next. Traumas can result in a chemical tag being passed on via the genes, which cause individuals to get triggered by the same things as their ancestors, leading to the same response without the original stimulii.
Research from Emory University, Georgia, demonstrates how this works. Scientists exposed a group of mice to the smell of cherries, but then gave them a very mild electric shock. Instead of getting excited by the fruit, the mice learned to freeze in anticipation when they smelled cherries.
Two generations of mice later they found that the mice pups were still fearful of the smell of cherries. The team discovered that the DNA in the grandfather mice’s sperm had changed shape, which changed the neuronal circuit: rerouting nerve cells away from the pleasure and reward circuit to the amygdala, the brain’s fear centre.
To make sure the mice weren’t learning by imitation, they fostered out mice descendents and used sperm from the original mice to conceive more pups. All the mice showed the same sensitivity to cherries.
The researchers also set out to see whether the mice could be healed. Happily, after being exposed to the smell of cherries without shocks their neural circuits reverted to the original shape and the traumatic memory was no longer passed on.
Studies of humans descended from Holocaust survivors and famine victims have also found changes to gene expression which result in the production of higher levels of cortisol and immune system changes, allowing the immune system to alter the central nervous system.
However, the good news is that with the right support, people don’t need to be defined by the traumas of their ancestors – they can form new neural pathways and improve their stress responses through expert interventions.
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