Many people are convinced that genes control destiny when it comes to their family’s health. Although there are certain illnesses and diseases that have a strong genetic component, there is new hope for parents and children suffering from lifestyle diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and obesity.
You may have heard these sentiments before: “My father and mother were both obese, so naturally my kids and I will be too. It’s genetic,” or “Heart disease and diabetes run in the family.” While some people still hold fast to these beliefs, an entirely new filed of study called Epigenetics says you and your family can actually reprogram those bad genes for better health.
Researchers and healthcare professionals alike are scrambling to find ways to turn genes on and off. While drug manufactures have had minimal success creating a product that consistently does just that, some in healthcare are now looking at lifestyle changes as a better way to reprogram these bad genes.
Consider the example of the fat mouse. There is a certain type of lab mouse bred for its genetic predisposition to obesity and diabetes. It has the gene for both diseases. However, when scientists fed these same pregnant mice a diet rich in B vitamins (folic acid and vitamin B12) they produced healthy pups with normal weight and no diabetes. They were able to change the baby mices’ genes before they were born!
While genes for heart disease, diabetes and obesity may run in the family, so do eating habits, attitudes towards exercise and lifestyles. Often, shared family habits can be far greater predictors of future disease and illness.
It’s clear that simple lifestyle changes can reduce your risk from some of the most common illness. While exercising 30 min a day and eating a diet of healthy meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar, may be a good start, one study also showed regular, long-term chiropractic care can actually repair DNA and reduce the effects of oxidative stress caused by poor lifestyle.
While it may be popular to blame genetics for poor health, Epigenetics suggests you have way more control over your destiny than you might think. Simply making the right decisions for your family’s health today, can have lasting effects tomorrow.
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