The other 98 percent can be turned on or off.” “The good news is that these “fixed” genes make up only about 2 percent of the total. This is true for most of the disorders we associate with aging-Alzheimer’s, cancer, arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension. The other 98 percent can be turned on or off. The good news is that these “fixed” genes make up only about 2 percent of the total. If you have the genes for those conditions, you’ll suffer from those disorders no matter what you do. Likewise, certain genetic conditions, such as sickle-cell anemia or Tay-Sachs disease, are not affected by diet or lifestyle. No matter what we eat, we can’t turn our brown eyes blue. For example, the genes that determine eye color are fixed by the time we emerge from the womb. Of course, some of our genes will always express themselves in the same way.
The science of genetic expression is known as epigenetics, and it is one of the most exciting frontiers of medical science. But in the vast majority of cases, we can change how our genes express themselves. We all have a lot more control over our health than we think. But whether you develop those diseases are usually determined by how you live your life: what you eat, how much you move, whether you get enough good sleep, how well you deal with your stress, and which supplements you take. Most of us were raised to believe that the genes we were born with are our destiny, and that the diseases that “run in the family” are most likely coming for us too. are said to run in families.) But you say that when it comes to disorders associated with aging, we have vastly more control over our genes than we think. (Heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, being overweight, etc. We tend to think of a lot of our health woes, especially later in life, as genetic. So yes, in that case, our bodies’ natural functions-our intricate systems of hormones, nerves, brain function, digestion, detoxification, and immune function-begin to break down. And most insidious of all, many of us lack the personal support and community we need to feel fully human. We take one medication after another, never realizing that they might be disrupting our bodies’ own innate ability to heal, depleting our bodies of essential nutrients and draining our natural resilience. We become overwhelmed by the pressures of our lives, burdened by an unremitting stress that saps our bodies of vitality and drains our life of joy.
We misunderstand what our bodies need to function at their best, so we eat the wrong foods, skimp on sleep, and deprive our bodies of the movement they crave. The problem is that most of us don’t do that. If you know the right ways to eat, sleep, move, and de-stress, and if you commit to creating community, meaning, and passion in your life, the years of your 40s, 50s, and beyond can be some of the most rewarding and vital you have ever known.
Our bodies are perfectly capable of remaining slim and vigorous, and our brains can absolutely stay clear and sharp-if we give them what they need. “Most people in our society view aging as this slow and painful deterioration, where you gain weight, you slow down, you develop memory issues, you get sick more and don’t bounce back from illness as quickly, you feel tired all the time, you lose interest in sex, and you develop unexplained aches and pains.” And, once you restore function or improve function of your organs-no matter your age-the problems that we associate with aging disappear, or at least markedly improve. Most people in our society view aging as this slow and painful deterioration, where you gain weight, you slow down, you develop memory issues, you get sick more and don’t bounce back from illness as quickly, you feel tired all the time, you lose interest in sex, and you develop unexplained aches and pains.īut that just doesn’t have to be true! The problem isn’t how old you are, but rather, the declining function of your organs. Yes, I think this is a HUGE misunderstanding of aging. We commonly think of problems like fatigue, weight gain, and memory loss as signs of age, but you say that this is a misunderstanding-that none of these systems are actually signs of age.
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