My mother has it, me… Genetic? or Familial

We love to blame our genes, but do they control us as much as we are told?

Probably not.

Truly, we are all individual and to a large extent our physical individualities are influenced by our genes but, with rare exception, you can either be in control or be controlled.

And those rare exceptions are far fewer than you think. About 1 person in 700-100 has a genetic alteration such as Downs, 1 in 5000 in the US a point mutation like sickle cell anemia, and while there are many common names on the Wikipedia list of “genetic disorders“; household names like Alzheimer’s, breast cancer, obesity, and more; specific “mutations” have not been found despite careful searching and a good understanding of our genetic code. 

A cousin is “bioindividuality” or a genetic diversity that influences how well or efficiently our bodies break down the nutrients given it and converts them into genuine building blocks. In other words, we are all different–we all need different proportions of the same building blocks in order to stay healthy and our diverse bodies will tolerate stressors to varying degrees.

Now add to the equation a new field called epigenetics–changes in gene activity not caused by the DNA sequence. Even identical twins can have very different physical attributes and disease; their DNA is the same but their womb experience and lifestyle is not.

Stress, diet, behavior, toxins and other factors activate chemical switches that regulate gene expression. And these “switches” change the health of future generations too. What you eat not only provides fuel for your unborn child but also tells their body what to expect and how to react to their future environment.

Your mother’s diet even before pregnancy, and what you’re fed during pregnancy and as an infant can cause critical changes that stick with you into adulthood.

A great, and extremely historical example, is the work done by Dr. Francis Pottenger and, separately, Dr. Weston Price. The following video by the Price Pottenger Nutrition Foundation shows changes that occur in the next generation from diet changes in the parents. When diets were shifted to the “corporate” processed food nutrition standard so common today, the future generation suffered. This is not genetic heredity as we think of it. Familial habits altered the way the DNA was read and used as a blueprint but the blueprint never changed

The good news is that this can put you in the driver’s seat. Find out what it is your body really needs by exploring these pages and paying attention.

References

McGowan P.O., Meaney M.J., Szyf M. (2008). Diet and the epigenetic (re)programming of phenotypic differences in behavior. Brain Research, 1237: 12-24 (subscription required).

Kaati G., Bygren L.O., Pembrey M., Sjostrom M. (2007). Transgenerational response to nutrition, early life circumstances and longevity. European Journal of Human Genetics, 15: 784-790.

Dolinoy D.C., Weidman J.R., Waterland R.A., Jirtle R.L. (2006). Maternal Genistein Alters Coat Color and Protects Avy Mouse Offspring from Obesity by Modifying the Fetal Epigenome. Environmental Health Perspectives, 114:567-572.

Dolinoy D.C., Huang D., Jirtle R.L. (2007). Maternal nutrient supplementation counteracts bisphenol A-induced DNA hypomethylation in early development. PNAS, 104: 13056-13061.

Kucharski R., Maleszka J., Foret S., Maleszka R. Nutritional Control of Reproductive Status in Honeybees via DNA Methylation (2008). Science, 319: 1827-1830 (registration required).