Our DNA is not our Destiny

Our food, environment and our thoughts can change our DNA

The new science of Epigenetics, a study of changes in the gene activity, has revealed how the choices you make can change your genes, and those of your children and grand children.

Dr. Lars Olove Bygren-along with many other scientists, working for the last 20 years on the DNA project, have given birth to a new science called Epigenetics. The epigenome that sits on the top of the genome, (hence the prefix ‘epi’ a Greek word which means above) just outside it. It is these ‘epigenetic marks’ that tell our genes to switch on or off. It is through epigenetic marks that environmental factors like diet, stress and parental nutrition can make an imprint on genes that are passed from one generation to the next.

Epigenetic is the greatest scientific discovery after DNA

More than 50 years have passed since James Watson and Francis Crick first published the 3D structure of the DNA double helix. It consists of three billion individual letters of the genetic alphabet, arranged in a sequence that is unique to each person, which includes approximately 23,000 human genes that determine the production of the proteins, cells and tissues of the body. DNA is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms. Nearly every cell in a person’s body has the same DNA. Most DNA is located in the cell nucleus.

Can you change your Genetic traits? Yes, you can.

New Science of Epigenetics says the genetic blueprint, like a complex musical score, remains lifeless without an orchestra of cells (players) and epigenotypes (instruments) to express it.

Epigenetics brings both good news and bad.

Bad news first: There is evidence that our life style choices like smoking and eating too much can change the epigenetic marks atop one’s DNA in ways that cause the genes for obesity to express themselves too strongly the genes for longevity to express themselves too weakly. We all know that we can cut short our own life if we smoke or over eat, but it is becoming clear that those bad behaviours can also effect our children.

The good news is that our epigenetics mark can be changed by the healthy food we eat, congenial environment we live in and by our positive thoughts.

If the genome (genetic material of an organism) is hardware, then the epigenome (marks atop one’s DNA) is the software

‘I can load windows, if I want’ says Joseph Ecker, a Salk Institute biologist and leading epigenetic scientist. “You are going to have the same chip in there, the same genome, but different softwares. And the outcome is of different type. In cell, a gene is a portion of DNA and contains both “coding” sequences that determine what the gene does, and non-coding sequences that determine when the gene is active (expressed).

Change in genes starts with conditions in the mother’s womb that affect one’s health not only when one is in foetus but well into adulthood also.

The Lancet magazine published first of the two ground-breaking papers showing that if a pregnant woman is poor fed, her children will be at significantly higher than average risk for cardiovascular diseases as an adult. Also what a woman thinks and what she experiences emotionally will affect the physiology and psychology of her baby and change the traits they pass on to their children.

How our emotions (positive or negative) effect our DNA

In another fascinating study conducted by the Institute of Heart (USA) with regard to the effect of emotions on DNA, human placenta DNA was placed in vials from which they could measure changes in the DNA. Twenty-eight vials of DNA were given to 28 trained researchers who were trained in evoking strong emotions in themselves on demand. Since emotions are “powered” by thoughts and feelings, some tend to think that emotions have their origin and ending in the brain. But emotions are as much in the body as in the mind. Emotions don’t merely scratch the surface, they permeate throughout the “life stuff.” When researchers evoked the emotions of gratitude, love and appreciation in themselves, the DNA
strands in the vial unwound thereby increasing the length of the DNA. But, when the researchers evoked the emotions of anger, fear, frustration, or stress in themselves, the DNA in the vial became shorter and switched off many of the DNA codes.

According to Russian researchers, human DNA is not only responsible for building our body but also serves as repository of information and communication channel. That is a kind of internet.

The Russian linguists found that the entire genetic code, especially the 90% decl