Your genes no longer define you.
This is probably not what you learnt in high school biology. High school biology emphasizes the power of your genetic package and often leaves the impression that your genes determine what you look like, what you’re good at and what you will die of.
But you only have to look around to know, genes are only part of the story, you are what you do.
The environment-gene connection
Science is just beginning to understand the connection.
The genetic package is set at the moment of conception, but what you do, ultimately determines which genes are turned on and off. A phenomenon referred to as epigenetics.
Your DNA is made of a unique combination of four nucleotides – adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C) and thymine (T), arranged as a double helix.
The switching system depends on the presence or absence of an additional methyl group atop the cytosine nucleotide. Sometime it is there, causing the light to be switched on, sometimes it’s not, leaving the light off. At any point in time, only a select set of the genes you inherited are actually firing.
Healthy hearts are lit up like a Christmas trees
Researchers from the University of Cambridge set about looking at the genetic lighting system in the heart.
The team compared the pattern of methyl groups atop the cytosine bases, in healthy hearts and hearts that were on their last legs due to muscle damage (cardiomyopathy).
The study found that the lights are off in a broken heart. The pattern of methylation is very different in healthy and sick hearts.
Life has the power to turn the lights out
At this stage, all science can tell us is that the life we lead has the power to influence the body we live in. The influence is ultimately mediated through our DNA.
We’re still learning how to hang the lights for ultimate health.
A good place to begin is the 7 Big Spoons™ – each spoon has the power to light up your genes, so that you end up flickering with vitality.
If you need a little help enrol for the 31 day free e-course and start the journey to
Further reading
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| Your genes want you to line up your plate using the rule of thirds | How to juice up the heart battery so it pumps in a crisis | Laughing is not just good medicine for the soul it helps the heart too |
Did you learn something new or do you have a different perspective ? I’d love to hear from you so post me a comment below