Recent studies confirm that what you actually do with your life influences the DNA you were given at birth.  Understanding the physical nature of our lives, including but not limited to things like diet, has placed more responsibility on us as individuals and the choices we make day to day.  This begs the question, “Are the children in the family overweight like the parents because of the genetic predisposition or just bad eating habits passed down?”

And do the issues go deeper than this?  Are their habits transforming the genetic structure to match the stimulus?  Well, that’s what science is supporting at this point.  What we do seems to be adversely affecting our DNA structure.  It seems that the gene, referred to as the genome, has a coating resting on its surface, the epigenome.  The study of this phenomenon, Epigenetics, is the new science of heredity, genes, and lifestyle. 

It’s all about the choices we make, according to Randy Jirtle, a geneticist at Duke University. 

“Your genomes are like the hardware of your computer; the epigenome is like the software telling your computer what to do,” Jirtle says. 

It appears that the lifestyle choices we make have an influence on our genes, either turning on certain traits or turning off certain traits.  This can explain why some people who might inherit a certain gene for a particular disease never manifest the disease.  It has to do with their choices.  Disease isn’t the inevitable downside to heredity but rather a result of poor lifestyle choices over a long enough period of time.  According to Jirtle, the epigenetic influence appears to turn genes on and off without altering the gene itself.

It appears the biggest influence of epigenetics happens during fetal development.  According to David Williams, principal investigator for the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, “…the fetus is especially susceptible because these pathways are very active as tissues grow and differentiate.” 

What the mother eats, drinks, thinks, and stresses about plays a very important part in epigenetic expression.  Certainly, as these areas are vitally important to the adult, the same holds true for the developing child.  And, when choices we make affect the unborn to such a great degree, imagine the results of proper choices throughout the infant to teen and all the way to adult life.  This latest research, again, proves the choices we make determine the outcome of our lives.  No longer can we sit back and simply blame our parents and lineage for our current situations. 

Granted, the science of epigenomes has only been popularized in the last ten years or so, and certainly more research is forthcoming.  At MHS, we believe the outcome will further substantiate the idea that our choices reflect our genetic makeup.  And we also feel the thinking process, the minding if you will, will definitely prove to be the most important issue at hand.  In fact, when the relationship between subconscious patterning, SEMO(Subconscious Emotional Override), and our epigenetic influence on our genetic health is as well established in the scientific community as the clinical results verify, the view of disease and cause will dramatically change.  And this, my friends, is the shift in consciousness we all anxiously await!