Your Genes are Not Your Destiny
Genes vs Lifestyle. How much of your health (and yourSELF) is predetermined by the genes you were born with versus your environment and lifestyle?
Bruce Lipton is a stem cell biologist, world renowned speaker and author of several bestselling books, such as The Biology of Belief, and he says that our environment is much more important than our genetic code in predicting health. Why? Because our environment has a direct effect on how our genes are expressed.
Between 1987 and 1992 Bruce Lipton conducted research at Stanford University’s School of Medicine having to do with cell behavior and quantum physics. What he found was that when he changed the environment of the cell through altering the substances in the cells’ Petri dish he changed the behavior and physiology of the cell. Altering the Petri dish solution would turn certain genes on or off and the cell would respond accordingly. Bruce Lipton discovered the existence of epigenetics.
This has profound ramifications for humans. Prior to his research it was believed that your genes were your destiny and your health was predetermined.
Born with ‘bad genes’? Too bad. Your mom had heart disease? You will too. Your dad had a ‘bad back’? Prepare for back pain too. (I hear that one all the time.)
This just isn’t true!
What Bruce Lipton’s findings teach us is that genes can be expressed in different ways based on the signal they receive from the environment.
The environment of your genes is YOU. That means YOU have a say in how your genes are expressed!
As the Petri dish is to the cell our lifestyle is to humans. When the solution of the Petri dish changes the cell changes. When our lifestyle changes we change. ON A CELLULAR LEVEL.
We now know that as little as merely 5% of all diseases are caused by genes alone. Lifestyle is a far greater contributor to illness and disease than your genetic code. For example, eating unhealthy food and not exercising are much higher risk factors for heart disease than having a mother who had heart disease. Sitting for several hours a day and not stretching are much higher risk factors for back pain than having a father who had back pain.
You can take control of your health by creating the best possible environment for your genes to express health.
So what makes up the environment of your genes?
Your Physical body - How well do you take care of your physical vessel? Movement, proper nutrition, recuperation and chiropractic care are absolutely essential for good physical health. Stretching, sweating and challenging your body are all crucial, as are rest and relaxation. Movement, what you eat, how much you rest and getting adjusted all change the chemistry of your body and therefore impact how your genes are expressed.
Your Mind - Your thoughts carry a frequency and this frequency is transmitted throughout your entire body, effecting every single cell of your being. Don’t believe me? Think of a time your were really really reeeeeaallly angry. Someone made you so mad you just wanted to strangle them. If you fully immerse yourself in this memory I can guarantee that your physical body will start to change. Your heart rate will increase, your muscles will tighten, your energy will rise. Your thoughts have an immediate and direct effect on your physical body. (Now stop thinking about that! Think about something happy instead.)
Your Toxic Load - We accumulate toxins in our bodies through eating food with toxins, breathing air with toxins, drinking water with toxins, using cleaning products that have toxins, using beauty products that are full of toxins, etc. It is literally impossible to avoid all toxins in your life but taking certain measures can help decrease the toxic load you carry. Avoid processed food, buy organic whenever possible, switch to toxic-free cleaning and beauty products (reach out if you want some recommendations), install a reverse osmosis water filtration system at home and look into getting an air purifier for the spaces you spend the most time in, such as the bedroom. Small changes can add up to make a big difference.
Your Social Environment - We are social creatures and will naturally start to think and behave similar to those around us. Have you heard the phrase “you are the top 5 people you spend the most time with”?. Consider who you surround yourself with and how their tendencies may be effecting yours. Choose wisely.
The key take away here is that you are NOT a victim of your genes. Your genes are not your destiny. Your lifestyle has a direct effect on the way your genes are expressed and therefore, how healthy you are. It’s never too late to take control of your health!
Please reach out to me or a trusted health care provider to get personal help with how and where to start :)