Do My Genes Decide My Destiny?

Sarita Prasad M.D.

Are you worried about your family's medical history of a condition or disease affecting you? And are you looking to do everything possible to prevent it? Here is something you want to know!

If we observe most chronic disease frequency, it does run in families, and scientists call it familial predisposition. For the longest time, scientists did not know what made identical twins have different outcomes for their health and disease even though they have the same genetics. And then, we stumbled on Epigenetics, which I would like to explain today. Genes are small sections of DNA, the blueprint for building a body. The DNA interacts with a multitude of smaller molecules found within cells that can activate and deactivate genes. If you think of DNA as a recipe book, those molecules are ingredients in your pantry and determine what gets cooked. The grocery stores that decide what you are buying for your pantry are your lifestyle and nutrition. Their presence and concentration within cells make the difference in our gene expression. The good news is that epigenetics are not fixed and are very dynamic. Epigenetics is influenced by what nutrients you consume and when you consume them, your environment, stress, sleep, exercise, mood, age!

Just like genes, we pass our epigenetics to the next generation, and if we want to give any gift it our next generation, we can pass on the gift of good health. Epigenetics can scientifically explain the old wisdom of Nature versus Nurture. There is a variation of epigenetics that can be associated with specific micronutrient deficiencies. This variation leads to a disease state or blocks the body's process of getting rid of toxic by-products of our body. It is pertinent that we look into every person individually for their treatment of disease state rather than taking the approach of one size fits all.