Maybe you know a smoker who never exercises and lives fortunately into old age. Or you’ve read the story of a vegetable-loving marathon runner who suffered a central attack in middle age.
These kinds of stories can only make you think: if your fitness is only in your genes, what’s the point of all that exercise and healthy eating?Why do whatever you want?
But, says Laura Zimmermann, MD, medical director of the Prevention Center at Rush University, those stories stay with us because they’re unusual. These are examples of what scientists call “outliers. “
The truth is, for most people, lifestyle habits like eating healthy foods and exercising have a big impact on age-related health conditions, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease, Zimmermann says.
So, is it just a matter of lifestyle?Not exactly.
According to Zimmerman, genes can increase the risk of many diseases, but they usually don’t work on their own. And it’s rarely a single gene that determines whether or not you’ll get a disease. In most cases, you inherit certain genetic characteristics that make you more likely to get a disease, he says.
And even that is rarely set in stone. In other words, those genetic characteristics (genetic predisposition) would probably only affect you if they are activated through certain aspects of your environment (surrounding factors) or your lifestyle.
These “epigenetic adjustments” influence how your genetic material, or DNA, works in your body. An epigenetic replacement occurs when lifestyle or environmental factors cause a specific gene to turn on or off. In the case of cancer, for example, such settings can simply turn on a gene that allows cells to grow or turn off a gene that suppresses their growth.
To complicate matters further, the gene doesn’t have a single switch, or even a dozen switches. “There may be hundreds, if not thousands,” says John Kelly, MD, MPH, president of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.
This complexity makes it more complicated for scientists to determine precisely which epigenetic replacement is the culprit and how it increases the risk of developing a specific disease. But experts are convinced that lifestyle factors, such as poor diet, smoking and lack of exercise, play a major role. “They’re pushing gene expression into negative territory,” Kelly says.
They play such an important role in so-called “diseases of aging,” such as diabetes and core diseases, Kelly says, that they are best described as “diseases similar to a toxic way of life over time. “
For example, central disease is the leading cause of death among men and women in the United States. However, some studies show that it would be possible to save 80% of central disease. For what?
“I have a colleague who says coronary center disease is a foodborne illness,” Kelly says. “And he’s right! For the vast majority of people, this is caused by food and can be reversed through food.
Diet directly affects your fitness through nutrition. There is also an indirect link to the threat points of core diseases, such as obesity and high blood pressure. For example, there are more than three hundred genetic variants that can also increase the risk of high blood pressure. genes, can reduce the risk of central disease by a third party through healthy nutrition and normal physical activity. (You may also need medicine to lower your blood pressure; tell your doctor. )
For optimal health of the center, experts propose a plant-based diet. That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to go vegan or even vegetarian, Zimmermann says. “The goal is to update some processed foods with whole foods, adding tops and vegetables. for total grains, lean protein (adding nuts and seafood) and check the packaging for added salt and sugar. Talk to your doctor if you’re not sure how to design your own healthy diet for the center.
For exercise, experts recommend 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week. That’s 2 hours and 30 minutes a week, or less than 30 minutes a day. And you don’t need to run the Boston Marathon. A walk around the block, a bit of gardening, or even dancing are enough.
With a little time, you may be at risk for several diseases, whether or not you have a genetic predisposition to any of them. And yet, Zimmermann says, most people just don’t.
Smoking is one of the main risk points for core disease, and that’s true regardless of whether or not you’re genetically predisposed to core disease. If you smoke, quit, especially if you have or are at risk for central disease.
Your doctor can also set you up with a smoking cessation program.
Your physical behavior and your environment with your genes are the same with other diseases, including type 2 diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure and, to a lesser extent, certain types of cancer.
Type 2 diabetes tends to run in families. There are several genetic variations, such as KLF14, ENPP1, and many others, that increase the risk of developing diabetes by up to 30%. But nutritional factors, such as how much alcohol you drink, whether you’re a smoker or your activity level can tip the scales one way or the other, perhaps turning a gene on or off.
It is estimated that nine out of 10 cases can be prevented through healthy lifestyle changes.
The landmark Diabetes Prevention Program found that people can reduce their risk of developing diabetes by about 65 percent with careful nutrition and an exercise program, and only by 35 percent with the blood sugar-lowering drug metformin.
There is no doubt that genetic factors play a role in many cancers. Women who have a mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene, for example, have a 45 to 72% chance of developing breast cancer in their lifetime, which is much higher than average. But many women without a known genetic mutation also get breast cancer.
Perhaps most importantly, there is evidence that a healthy lifestyle can help reduce the risk of cancer in people with or without a genetic predisposition to certain types of cancer.
While a healthy lifestyle alone is not enough to save all cancers, there is growing evidence to suggest that it plays a vital role. A study by Cancer Research UK found that around four in 10 cancers could be saved by making wise lifestyle choices, such as not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, and eating a healthy diet. Sugar, alcohol, and time constraints in the sun can also help.
It’s true that certain mutations in the APOE gene increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. If you own a copy of an edition called APOE4, you are two to three times more likely than average to develop this condition. People who inherited two copies may have an average threat 12 times greater.
But it’s imaginable and even common to get Alzheimer’s if you don’t have an APOE mutation. While it’s possible that other, as yet undiscovered genetic factors play a role, studies suggest that lifestyle is a vital factor. Several studies, published in Lancet Neurology, found that about one-third of cases are caused by factors that can be controlled, such as nutrition and normal physical activity.
Again, studies show that nutrition and exercise are very important. While maximum healthy nutrition helps, MIND (Mediterranean Intervention-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) nutrition, which emphasizes brain-boosting foods like vegetables, berries, fish, and olive oil, turns out better.
Scientists still have a long way to go to understand the complex interplay between genes and the environment. Zimmermann is careful to point out that the effect of these points varies from disease to disease and user to user. There’s no doubt, he says, that in some cases, you can do everything right and still aggravate a serious illness.
What you can do, Zimmermann says, is try to replace points that are out of your control, such as diet, exercise, regular checkups, and taking medications as prescribed.
© 2005 – 2024 WebMD LLC, an Internet logo company. All rights reserved. WebMD provides medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Learn more.