You Are What You Eat!

This article talks about how microRNA from rice and other vegetables were found in the blood of 21 volunteers. Chen-Yu Zhang of Nanjing University in China conducted a study about plant-animal microRNA transfers. Blood was collected from 21 volunteers, and their bloodstreams contained about 30 different microRNAs from commonly eaten plants. MicroRNAs are short sequences of nucleotides and although they do not code for proteins, they prevent specific genes from producing the proteins the encode for.

 Although the microRNAs do not code for proteins, they can apparently cell function. A specific rice microRNA was shown to bind to and inhibit the activity of receptors controlling the removal of LDL ("bad" cholesterol) from the bloodstream. MicroRNAs are now being compared to vitamins and minerals as perhaps another functional molecule obtained from food. Zhang comments that these findings may also illuminate our understanding of co-evolution. Co-evolution is the process by which genetic changes in one species trigger genetic changes in another species. For example, human ability to digest lactose in milk after infancy arose only after we began to domesticate cattle. This suggests that perhaps the plants we cultivate and eat have altered us in some way.