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True or false?

Genetics dictate your health.

There is a prevailing myth one’s health is dictated solely by genetics and completely beyond your control. Genetics play only a small part of your health. Each day we learn more regarding the development of chronic diseases (heart disease, cancer, diabetes,obesity, arthritis) and ways to prevent them.

This new area of scientific exploration is known as epigenetics. Wether or not your genes are expressed and manifest as disease may be determined by how you live your life. Epigenetics looks at how the environment influences your health. Influential factors include:

• Food and nutrition
• Exercise (too little or too much)
• Environmental factors- pollution/toxins
• Stressors
• Drugs
• Supplements

You can influence how your genes are expressed. You can positively (or negatively) influence your health by altering the way you move, the food you eat, the environment you encounter, the thoughts you generate and the company you keep. You can influence whether or not chronic illness and disease finds you.Your daily life sets the stage for future health. Dr. Frank Lipman wrote a great article on this topic in the Huffington Post. 

Begin today. Start with small changes to your habits, behaviors and choices.

Contact us at Premier Physical Therapy to learn how exercise and your environment influences your physical health. We can coach you on physical therapy, exercise, ergonomics and other wellness topics.

References

Daniel M, Tollefsbol TO. Epigenetic linkage of aging, cancer and nutrition. J Exp Biol. 2015 Jan 1;218(Pt 1):59-70.
J Phys Act Health. 2014 Sep;11(7):1304-12. doi: 10.1123/jpah.2012-0258.

Cadmus-Bertram LA, et al. Predicting adherence of adults to a 12-month exercise intervention. J Phys Act Health. 2014 Sep;11(7):1304-12