Your Gene Expression is Modifiable

You are not doomed by your genes. How your genes express themselves can be modified by several factors that are mostly in your control.

Only 5% of the world's population suffers an inherited disease. Some experts say even less than that. That means the 95% of the world's population has inherently healthy genes. You may be asking why there is so much disease in the world. Many attribute this absence of health to dietary and lifestyle choices.

"What we eat, drink, feel, do, breathe, perceive and believe, can influence the way our DNA functions."

Essentially, our genes stay the same throughout our life, unless there is a rare mutation. However, we can influence our Epigenetics (little chemical tags that control a gene’s expression) which turn genes on or off. Some genes always need to remain on, e.g. Tumour Suppressor gene.

We can modify our gene expression positively or negatively. What we eat, drink, feel, do, breathe, perceive and believe, can influence the way our DNA functions. We all know the effect meditation or powerful antioxidants can have on ‘rewiring’ our genetic code and by this, we mean our Epigenetics.

We are constantly communicating with our body and our body communicates with us.

Similarly, all food and drink we consume can either be to the benefit of our gene expression or not. Healthy, whole foods have an incredible make-up of molecules that have far reaching effects in our cells. These molecules form powerful phytochemicals and nutrients that propel every function and process within our body. The same can be said for the chemicals in processed foods (preservatives, flavorants, colorants, additives, trans fats etc.), the only difference is that these chemicals can potentially harm our cells and modify our gene expression in an unfavorable way.

For more information; Dr Yael Joffe; Author of "It's not just your Genes" & "Genes to Plate"