Epigenetics: You Are Not a Victim of Your Genes

I have great news for you! WE ARE NOT VICTIMS OF OUR GENES! That’s right, we might have some not so great genes, but we can help control whether or not those genes are expressed.

Let’s take a step back first and talk about one of my favorite scientific fields, epigenetics. What is epigenetics? Epigenetics actually means “above your genes” and this field studies what influences our gene expression. Now, let’s take one more step back. Each of us have inherited a set of genes from both our mother and our father, and it was previously commonly believed that these genes would dictate who we were. Now we know that they do to an extent. A bunch of scientists around the world got together for The Human Genome Project, and were able to identify around 25,000 genes. However, after identifying all of those genes, scientists were still unable to look at a person’s genes and tell much about them. SAY WHAT?! I know. The scientists were also surprised about this and started asking a lot of questions. Soon they realized that while a person has a set of genes, it was environmental factors such as diet, exercise, and stress levels that influence which genes were expressed, and which were not. This showed us that we have the power to influence our health, and it is largely up to us if that influence is for better, or for worse. So, even if we have some genes that predispose us to disease or obesity we can still keep those genes dormant by improving our nutrition, and improving how we live.

Several studies have shown the effects of nutrition on gene expression, including this study “Epigenetics: A New Bridge Between Nutrition and Health” in the journal, Advances with Nutrition. The study shows the importance of several nutrients, especially folate, which is found in leafy greens and beans, to decrease the risk of autoimmune diseases in older adults, and decrease the risk of cancer for children who were exposed to folate in the mother’s womb. Of course it is not just folate that is important. The study shows how other nutrients found in whole foods work synergistically to turn off genes that could potentially cause damage later in life.

Now, nutrition is just one aspect of epigenetics. Other factors that influence gene expression are stress levels and sleep. One study “A Good Night’s Sleep” published in the Scientist shows how getting a good night’s sleep positively influences your genes to create a stronger immune system. Then there was a study conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center that looked at 22,000 genes and showed after evoking a relaxation response through meditation, prayer, yoga, or deep breathing, it significantly altered gene expression. That’s right, talk about the power of relaxation! Want to read more about it? Here is a link to the article “Mind-Body Genomics.” After reading “Mind-Body Genomics” I’m glad that I have started a daily meditation practice. Here is how I got started with my meditation practice.

Okay, all this talk about epigenetics has made me want to go relax with a green smoothie. I hope this article has shown you how powerful your choices are and that we are not doomed to poor health and obesity because of our genes.

Cheers!

Rachel Alvarado