DNA, Diet, and Epigenetics: Understanding the Impact of Carnivore Nutrition

# DNA, Diet, and Epigenetics: Pierre-Alexandre Ponant’s Fascinating Insights into Our Biological Functioning

**Why Our Genetic Heritage Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story of Our Metabolism**

*by Laurent Glatz – for Athletic Carnivore*

What if our DNA is far less fixed in its function than we imagine? What if our diet could influence certain biological functions encoded in our genes without changing their sequence?

For a long time, genetics was seen as a kind of program determining much of our biological functioning. We inherit certain traits, metabolic predispositions, and sometimes genetic variations that may increase the risk of developing certain diseases.

Yet, one essential dimension deserves more attention: **having a gene and expressing its activity are two different things.**

This distinction emerges clearly from a particularly insightful interview given to *Nexus* magazine by Pierre-Alexandre Ponant, a financial engineer, statistician, and molecular biology enthusiast.

In this discussion about the mysteries of the genetic code, Ponant explores the mechanisms that allow our cells to read, interpret, and utilize the information contained in our DNA.

Some of his hypotheses about the origin of the genetic code remain speculative. However, the cellular regulation mechanisms he presents allow us to address a question directly related to nutrition: **to what extent does our dietary environment influence the use of our genetic heritage?**

Our DNA: A Library Whose Pages Are Not All Open at Once

To understand this question, imagine our DNA as a vast library containing the instructions necessary for our organism’s functioning.

All cells essentially share the same genetic heritage. Yet, a muscle cell does not operate like a liver cell, and a nerve cell does not produce exactly the same proteins as an intestinal cell.

Why?

Because these cells do not use the same genes, nor with the same intensity.

During the interview, Ponant illustrates this process through a series of animations showing mechanisms such as DNA transcription, messenger RNA production, and protein synthesis.

He reminds us that a cell can activate certain biological programs while downregulating others.

This phenomenon corresponds to the regulation of gene expression.

Some mechanisms involve epigenetics, notably modifications in chromatin organization and certain chemical markings that can influence gene accessibility.

But gene expression also depends on many other regulatory systems.

**DNA thus represents relatively stable information, while its usage constantly evolves according to physiological needs.**

This distinction is fundamental to understanding the relationships between genetics, environment, and nutrition.

Diet Is Part of the Signals Our Cells Receive

Each meal temporarily alters our metabolic environment.

The arrival of glucose, amino acids, and fatty acids influences various cellular signaling pathways.

Concentrations of insulin, glucagon, and other hormones then help direct certain biological functions.

Depending on circumstances, cells can increase or decrease the production of certain enzymes, modify their use of energy substrates, and adjust the activity of different metabolic pathways.

These adaptations can involve changes in the expression of specific genes.

Let’s take a relatively simple example.

When a person drastically reduces carbohydrate intake, their body must adapt its energy management.

The availability of dietary glucose decreases. Hepatic and muscular metabolism gradually adapts to a different use of available substrates.

Depending on energy intake, adaptation duration, and hormonal context, fatty acid oxidation may become more prominent, and hepatic ketone body production may increase.

Several enzymes and proteins involved in these processes then have their activity regulated.

Yet, **the body has not changed its genetic heritage to make these adaptations. It has modified the functioning of biological mechanisms already present.**

This is precisely what makes the relationship between diet and gene expression so fascinating.

What Happens When You Adopt a Carnivore Diet?

A carnivore diet is primarily based on animal products and generally involves a significant reduction or even elimination of dietary carbohydrates.

This change alters the nature of available energy substrates and the metabolic signals the body is exposed to.

The relative increase in lipid utilization, variations in ketone body production, and changes in insulin response can be accompanied by physiological adaptations.

Some of these involve regulation of gene expression.

However, it is important to distinguish these established biological mechanisms from a broader claim that a carnivore diet could deactivate any unfavorable gene.

Available studies do not support such a claim.

On the other hand, **it is biologically plausible that a tailored nutritional intervention can mitigate some metabolic consequences associated with genetic predispositions, without eliminating the genetic variants themselves.**

This difference is crucial.

An individual can retain exactly the same genetic heritage while exhibiting different metabolic parameters after a lasting dietary change.

Their genotype remains stable, but their phenotype can evolve.

A Genetic Predisposition Is Not Necessarily a Fate

Imagine two people with the same genetic variation linked to metabolic susceptibility.

The first leads a sedentary lifestyle, consumes a highly processed diet, and suffers from insufficient sleep.

The second follows a diet adapted to their needs, regularly exercises, and enjoys adequate recovery.

These two individuals may display different metabolic characteristics despite comparable genetic predispositions.

This is explained notably by the interaction between genetic and environmental factors.

Genetics influences certain biological probabilities. The environment can modify how some of these risks manifest.

There are naturally limits to this plasticity.

Some genetic mutations cause enzyme deficiencies that a simple dietary change cannot eliminate. Others require, conversely, very specific nutritional interventions.

But for many complex metabolic traits, risk expression depends on multiple factors.

**Knowing a predisposition does not mean knowing in advance the actual functioning of the organism.**

This nuance opens a particularly interesting reflection on genetic tests used in nutrition.

Genetic Tests: Additional Information, but Not Always Essential

Nutrigenetics studies interactions between genetic variations and individual responses to nutrients.

Nutrigenomics examines, among other things, the effects of nutrition on gene expression.

These two fields provide important insights for nutritional research.

However, commercial applications of this knowledge should be distinguished from their fundamental scientific value.

A genetic test can identify a variant associated with a predisposition.

But this information does not automatically prove that a metabolic function is currently impaired, that a deficiency exists, or that a particular supplementation will be beneficial.

This is illustrated by the European Food4Me study.

This randomized trial, published in 2016, compared different approaches to personalized nutrition, some incorporating genetic information.

Researchers observed improvements in dietary behaviors through personalization, but adding genetic information did not systematically provide additional benefits.

This does not mean genetic tests are useless in all situations.

Some have important clinical value, especially when a genetic disease or inherited metabolic disorder is suspected.

Conversely, **to personalize a common nutritional intervention, detailed genome knowledge is not always indispensable.**

Dietary habits, biological parameters, symptoms, physical activity, and individual responses to changes can already provide particularly useful information.

What This Reflection Means for Athletic Carnivore

The value of Pierre-Alexandre Ponant’s intervention ultimately goes beyond mere fascination with the genetic code.

It reminds us how cellular functioning relies on dynamic, complex, and continuously regulated mechanisms.

For Athletic Carnivore, this observation aligns with a fundamental conviction: diet cannot be considered independently from the person’s physiological context.

Two individuals can adopt a similar carnivore diet without showing exactly the same responses.

Their dietary history, insulin sensitivity, body composition, physical activity, sleep, and metabolic adaptability can influence outcomes.

The real value of a personalized nutritional approach is therefore to understand how these factors interact.

A genetic variation can provide useful information. But it should not become a universal explanation for every metabolic difficulty.

Conversely, a nutritional change can improve certain functions without necessarily correcting all consequences of a genetic predisposition.

It is also important to distinguish rapid changes in gene expression, progressive physiological adaptations, and epigenetic modifications that may persist longer.

Not all these phenomena are equivalent.

Understanding Your Functioning Rather Than Just Your Genetic Heritage

Ponant’s explanations ultimately raise a fascinating question: does our genetic heritage describe who we are, or only part of the biological possibilities we have?

The scientific answer is that our organism results from ongoing interactions between genetic heritage, environment, and physiological regulations.

This does not make genetics secondary.

It simply reminds us that genetics alone does not always explain a person’s functioning at a given moment.

For Athletic Carnivore, animal-based nutrition, energy metabolism, and individual response are all dimensions to examine together.

Before multiplying tests or further changing one’s diet, it can be useful to understand which mechanisms are truly at play.

This is precisely the value of a personalized reading of the metabolic terrain: distinguishing a theoretical predisposition from an actual physiological difficulty and identifying parameters on which nutritional intervention can act.

**What if, instead of only seeking what your DNA predisposes you to become, you sought to understand how your nutritional environment already influences your biological functioning?**

**Understanding My Metabolic Terrain — Athletic Carnivore**

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Sources and References

**Pierre-Alexandre Ponant — Nexus Interview.** Presentation of genetic transcription mechanisms, protein synthesis, and cellular regulation. His hypotheses regarding an artificial origin of the genetic code are not established scientific conclusions.

**Celis-Morales et al., 2016.** *Effect of personalized nutrition on health-related behaviour change: evidence from the Food4Me European randomized controlled trial.* International Journal of Epidemiology.

**Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 2021.** *Consensus Report: Incorporating Genetic Testing into Nutrition Care.* Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

**Jaenisch R. & Bird A., 2003.** *Epigenetic regulation of gene expression: how the genome integrates intrinsic and environmental signals.* Nature Genetics, 33, 245–254.

**Feinberg A. P., 2007.** *Phenotypic plasticity and the epigenetics of human disease.* Nature, 447, 433–440.

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