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How many times have you heard “It’s in my genes” or “My mom had it so I have it“? In many cases it’s a copout and a farce. What we were taught in school about genetics has led many men to believe that their lives and health are predetermined. Everything from high cholesterol to a paunch belly is blamed on genes. However, new research into the field of epigenes, or epigenetics, tells a different story.
My guest, Gray Graham, talks about how we’ve come to the conclusion that our thoughts, our environment, and what we eat and do, plays the most important role in not only our own health, but also that of future generations.
What are Epigenes?
Genes, as you know, are essentially code for how an organism should be. They were thought to be the only factor in determining how our bodies worked and were to blame for every malformity under the sun. Evolution teaches that over billions of years DNA code gets dropped, damaged, or duplicated resulting in mutations that has somehow lead to everything around us. Epigenes give evidence that adaptation is built in and can happy far more rapidly that previously thought. In short, epigenes are like a governor, allowing certain genes to be expressed or restrained.
How Does Our Environment and Culture Affect Epigenes
Gray Graham informs us on a few studies that show how what we eat and drink, how we work, and how we think have an effect on our health and gene expression. Not only does this affect us, but it also affects the traits passed down to the next generation. Both Graham and I give examples of how environment has a quick effect on the expression of genes as a body attempts to adapt.
Key Topics
- What are Epigenes
- Pottenger’s Cats
- How food affects your gene expression
- How each generation affects the next by how they live
- How you can begin to make changes for the next generation
Resources
Here are a few links to items we may have mentioned in the podcast or you’ll find helpful on this subject.
Russian Fox Breeding – There are a few stories like this where animals adapt very quickly to domestication.
Pottenger’s Cats – One of the first studies that showed a link between diet and generation health impacts.
Pottenger’s Prophecy – The book by Gray Graham. Get it from Amazon!
More on Gray Graham
On the Web: https://www.nutritionaltherapy.com/bios/gray-graham-ba-ntp