HEALTH
Features
gene
eXPReSSiOn
REWRITING YOUR LIFE STORY
So…what happens to avid cyclists when the winter winds begin to blow? Do they scurry to put
their bikes away, hit a spin class and pray for and early spring thaw?
So...your family has a history
of high blood pressure, heart
failure and strokes. Everyone’s
obese by the time they hit 50
(Grandma likes to call it ‘husky’
but let’s get serious) so why
should you bother hitting the
gym and eating healthy? In your
family book, the chapter on you
is already written, isn’t it?
Not so fast. says Dr. Michael
Torigian. Epigenetics - the study
of how lifestyle influences gene
expression - could give you the
chance for a major rewrite.
“Think of your genes as being like the
words in a sentence. All the words
are there - words like heart disease,
cancer and diabetes - but they don’t
all have to be read out loud. They
don’t all have to be expressed.”
Dr. Torigian explains that while your
genes are indeed written in stone
- a gift at birth from your parents,
grandparents and other blood relatives – you have the power to control
how those genes are expressed
or manifested in your own life.
“We thought once that our genes
simply were what they were and
we were destined to suffer many of
the health challenges our parents
and grandparents did. We now
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realize that a number of elements
in our lifestyle and our environment
can change things dramatically.”
The key is optimizing your particular genetic makeup. It’s a matter of
understanding what your predispositions for certain health challenges
are, based on your family history,
watching for their signs and taking
preventative measures to ensure
that you live a long and healthy life.
Step one is to take a