It’s Time to Change Those Genes!
In a recent ETR article, I introduced you to the burgeoning new field of nutrigenomics – the use of your personal genetic information to create a tailor-made diet that can thwart the diseases you’re most prone to. But once you have this critical information in hand, wouldn’t it be nice to simply repair those damaged genes? New research suggests you can!
Dr. Dean Ornish and colleagues conducted a study on 30 men with low-risk prostate cancer who decided against “conventional” medical treatment. The men underwent three months of major lifestyle changes, including eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes; 30 minutes of moderate daily exercise; and 30 minutes of daily stress management.
After three months, the men had lost weight, lowered blood pressure, and were enjoying other health benefits. But what astounded researchers were the profound changes in their before and after biopsies. In only 90 days, there were changes in about 500 of the men’s genes – including 453 that were turned off and 48 that were turned on. The activity of disease-preventing genes had increased while the number of disease-promoting genes had shut off.
“In just three months, I can change hundreds of my genes simply by changing what I eat and how I live? That’s pretty exciting,” says Ornish. “The implications of our study are not limited to men with prostate cancer.”
So whenever you hear someone offer up yesterday’s excuse of “Oh, there’s nothing I can do about that – it’s just my genes,” smile and suggest they change them.
[It’s a lot easier to get healthy when your “health food” tastes good. Get delicious and healthy recipes at Kelley Herring’s website, HealingGourmet.com.]Kelley Herring
Kelley Herring is the Founder & CEO of Healing Gourmet – a multimedia company that educates on how foods promote health and protect against disease. As a young adult, Kelley battled a debilitating health condition that went misdiagnosed by multiple doctors for more than a year. Finding no help from “modern medicine”, she turned to her own knowledge of biochemistry and her passion for health research. She soon learned that her symptoms were related to nutrition and within weeks, she charted a course back to health with nothing more than simple lifestyle changes and the power of the plate. The lessons she learned spawned the creation of Healing Gourmet. Kelley is a firm believer in vigorous exercise, moderate sun exposure and delicious, healthy, home-cooked meals. She is also the creator of Healing Gourmet’s Personalized Nutrition Software and Editor-in-Chief of the Healing Gourmet book series published by McGraw-Hill including Eat to Fight Cancer, Eat to Beat Diabetes, Eat to Lower Cholesterol and Eat to Boost Fertility.