You Can Change Your Genes!

DNA double helix

"It's in your genes." Everyone has heard this phrase before. Would you believe me if I told you that even though it's in your genes, you can change how your genes act? Although this concept is nothing new to mind-body medicine and holistic healing systems, it was not analyzed by evidence-based medicine until the turn of the century. When some scientific studies came to light around 2003-2004, they brought about a major transition in the scientific circles regarding genetics. The popular belief that you are born with a set of genes that is your karma is now being challenged by a new science called epigenetics. As promised in this post about the high incidence of immune system disorders, I'm here today with some basic facts about genetics, and lots more food for thought! Read on because this is important!

What is a gene? 

A gene is the basic physical and functional unit of heredity.¹  Genes are the set of instructions for the characteristics of an organism, which are passed on from parents to the child. 

Genes contain DNA which make up the code that contains these instructions.

If you need a detailed refresher in genetics, please see this link explaining the Basics of genetics.


What is heredity? 

To acquire a set of traits from your parents is known as heredity. 

Even though a child receives the same genetic material from paternal and maternal genes, only some traits of each parent are seen in the child; that is when we say that a child looks more like the father or the mother. When a child looks more like the mother, it is because her set of genes is expressed in the child's genetic code.


What is genetic expression?^2,3,4

Genes are like switches in our body. They can be turned on or off. Some genes always remain 'on', but some genes can be turned on or off. This alteration in gene activity is called gene expression.

For example, take the case of the genes that control hair color. As a man or woman ages, their hair will turn grey and then turn white. This happens because with aging, the gene for dark hair turns off and the gene for white hair is turned on. Further, premature greying of hair is also possible because of factors like stress. Now, how is that possible when all genes are coded to produce the trait of dark hair in young age? It is possible because of epigenetic changes. Normal changes of aging are also understood to be caused by epigenetics, which may explain why some people age faster than others.

 

Diagram 1 - Epigenetic mechanisms

What is epigenetics?^5,6,7

It is defined as the study of changes in gene expression that do not involve alteration of the genetic code but can be passed on to the successive generation(s) through heredity. If genes are switches, epigenetic causes are the tape over that switch that can keep them turned on or off. These epigenetic causes are environmental - diet, chemicals and toxins, nature - sun rays, exercise, stress, behavior, pollution - all of these are able to alter the way our genes act.

Diagram2 - Epigenetic causes of cancer

How can epigenetic changes affect our health during our lifetime?

We now know that environmental factors⁸ can change our genetic activity, but exactly how that happens is still not clear. Science has always believed that genes cannot be altered, but the study of epigenetic changes has brought about a completely different outlook to the Darwinian theory of evolution and natural selection. 

With the discovery of epigenetic changes, scientists are on the way to explaining how cancer^9,10 develops, the causes of developmental disorders^11,12,13 in children, Alzheimer's disease, autoimmune disorders like systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis, and also depression. If you think about the many diagnoses that are attributed to 'genetic' or 'unknown' causes today, you will be able to comprehend the importance of understanding epigenetics.


What can we do to prevent epigenetic changes?

Epigenetic changes can start at the developmental stages of a fetus, and accumulate throughout one's lifetime. This has been studied by examining the changes in monozygotic twins¹⁴, who are genetically identical. 

To prevent negative epigenetic changes, do what you have always been told to do for good health. Maintain a healthy lifestyle. Eat wholesome and nutritious food, drink chemical-free water, reduce your body's exposure to toxins in every way possible (think unnecessary medical drugs and treatments, GMOs), exercise, and stay stress free.

Can epigenetic changes be reversed?

Yes. Epigenetic changes are reversible because they do not alter the DNA.

How can we reverse epigenetic changes?¹⁵

There is a lot of research going on around this subject and we will know the definite answer to this question in the near future. However, since we know that environmental changes like stress, improper nutrition,  toxins and chemicals are all responsible for causing negative epigenetic effects on our cells at the level of the DNA, it is extremely important that we avoid these causes and practice a healthy lifestyle.

The most important lesson to learn from epigenetics is that our genes are not our destiny. Your genes can change during your lifetime, and you have the power to change them - both positively and negatively - as well as pass on these changes to your children¹⁶, so choose wisely!

I have attempted a very concise explanation of how an age-old thought is now being scientifically explained. For better understanding, please read all the information provided in the references and watch the short video (link in number 7).
 

References

1. What is a gene?

2. Gene Expression and Regulation - An explanation at Nature.com

3. The Mechanism of Gene Expression - The Human Genome by Wellcome Trust 

4. Environmental Influences on Gene Expression - Nature.com

5. Epigenetic - Definition at National Institutes of Health

6. What is the Epigenome? - The National Institutes of Health

7. A 13:25 minute PBS video on Epigenetics - Watch it!

8. Epigenetics and Environmental Diseases - An explanation of epigenetic mechanisms and environmental factors that cause epigenetic changes 

9. Epigenetics and Cancer - A study summarizing epigenetic mechanisms involved in the development of cancer, published in the Journal of Applied Physiology in 2010. The study concludes:

"The importance of epigenetics in cancer has been recognized and interest in the field has grown dramatically over the last few years...An understanding of the link between epigenetic deregulation and cancer will help in designing better treatment strategies. Additionally, the intrinsic reversibility of epigenetic alterations represents an exciting opportunity for the development of novel strategies for cancer prevention."

10. Epigenetic Factors in Understanding Cancer - National Cancer Institute

11. Modern Views on the Genetics of Autism - Johns Hopkins McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine  

"Genes, by themselves, probably don’t cause autism, Goldstein says, and wouldn’t make good targets for therapy. Most likely, it’s a combination of genetic variants—deletions, duplications and/or insertions—spread across the genome that makes an individual susceptible to some provocateur: an epigenetic, environmental or immunological factor that tips the balance and causes a disorder on the very wide spectrum defined as autism."

12. Autism Researchers Discover Epigenetic Changes - Autism Speaks

13. Autism Spectrum Disorders and Epigenetics - A study summarizing epigenetic modifications to genes possibly involved in the causation of ASD, published in 2010 in the Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The study concludes: 

"Data reviewed in this article highlight a variety of situations in which epigenetic dysregulation is associated with the development of ASD, thereby supporting a role for epigenetics in the multifactorial etiologies of ASD."

14. The Epigenetic Profiles of Monozygotic (Identical) Twins - From Epigenome.eu, supporting the communication of high calibre science in the rapidly expanding field of epigenetics across Europe

15. Nutritional changes can reverse epigenetic effects - A study published in 2010 in an international review journal - Advances in Nutrition

16. Epigenetics now explains Attachment Parenting - The ground-breaking results of a study by Dr. Michael Meaney at McGill University, Montreal.

17. An excellent article explaining genotype, phenotype, mutations, and trans-generational epigenetic influences on inherited mutations:

Burga, A. and Lehner, B. (2012), Beyond genotype to phenotype: why the phenotype of an individual cannot always be predicted from their genome sequence and the environment that they experience. FEBS Journal, 279: 3765–3775. doi: 10.1111/j.1742-4658.2012.08810.x

News articles on epigenetics:


18. Epigenetics - An article on Nature.com

19. Epigenetics - 100 reasons to change the way we think about genetics - An article on Sciencedaily.com

20. DNA is not destiny - A Nov. 2006 article in Discover Magazine

21. Why your DNA is not your destiny - The Times article that introduced me to epigenetics

22. You can change your DNA - Institute of HeartMath




DNA double helix image by ghutchis/Flickr CC

Diagram1 By National Institutes of Health (http://commonfund.nih.gov/epigenomics/figure.aspx) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Diagram2 By Bernstein0275 (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0  (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0 )], via Wikimedia Commons