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I often encounter people in my private practice who have lost hope that their health concerns can be improved due to some genetic flaw they believe they have, or because their parents or grandparents had the same problem. They always look at me in disbelief when I share with them that WE CAN CHANGE THEIR GENES. Yes, it really is that simple: we have control over how our genes express themselves.
Epigenetics is the study of genes and how they can be influenced by environmental factors. It is our environment, thoughts, and beliefs that determine the expression of our genes. Let’s consider an example of how this works in real life. Let’s say my father has developed heart disease, my grandfather died of heart disease, and my great-grandfather on my father’s side of the family also died of heart disease. Obviously, this means that there is a GREATER LIKELIHOOD that I will develop heart disease than if nobody in my family’s history had heart disease. However, I CAN CHOOSE how I respond to stress. I CAN CHOOSE what foods to eat and what foods to avoid. I CAN CHOOSE what nutrients or supplements to take. I CAN CHOOSE what type of exercise to do and how often to do it. I CAN CHOOSE whether or not to meditate. If I make the right choices, I have very little to worry about when it comes to heart disease, despite having a family history of it. (However, I could have chosen a better example, as heart disease, stroke, and cancer are the top three causes of death in the United States. Fifty percent of the population will indeed die of heart disease, whether you or I like it or not.)
Do you understand? My health and my life are directly affected by my personal lifestyle habits and choices. These choices impact every area of my life: my sex life, my relationships, my income, my health, my peace of mind, my energy levels, my spiritual life, how long I live, etc. Again, to reiterate, I can choose how to react in any situation when I am faced with certain circumstances (a family member dying, my wife leaving me, losing my job, etc.). As we know from the research of B.F. Skinner, M.D., and Ivan Pavlov, M.D., it is not so much the stimulus that is important but rather our response to that stimulus. What matters is how resilient we are in the face of stressors. Hans Selye, M.D., also discusses this extensively in his book The Stress of Life.
If you are not following the ideas in this post, it would certainly behoove you to pick up a copy of The Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton. Bruce Lipton is an epigeneticist who taught Molecular Biology to medical students in graduate school for over 10 years. According to a significant amount of research, approximately only 4 to 5% of genetic flaws or defects are permanent and cannot be changed. That’s it! So whether it’s high cholesterol, heart disease, stroke, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, or some other major health concern, there is a 95% chance that you can change your health and control the outcome of whatever health challenge you may be facing. All it really takes is the right thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, diet, and environmental influences.
I have spent 9 years of my life learning therapies that quickly and effectively change these health-related issues for people WITH THE CORRECT LIFESTYLE CHANGES. In no way do I mean to say that someone can come into my office with angina and walk out with a normally functioning heart after just one treatment. However, I did have a patient with Type 2 Diabetes who came in for six visits over the course of approximately four months, and by the end of that period, he no longer had Type 2 Diabetes or its symptoms! This is the truth, shocking as it may sound. Even I am amazed just thinking about it.
