“Never let your fear decide your future”. Although this quote is taken out of context from the Cinderella movie, it offers some good medical advice. This is especially true when it comes to our genes. We all have them and they all get confused at times and make the wrong proteins which can cause the wrong cells to start to grow and get out of control. However, we are not just along for the ride. We have control through our actions on what genes get turned on and how far things get out of control. The main action we do daily is eat. Our nutrition plays a much greater role in our health that our genes. The ratio is probably closer to 80-90% exposure and 10-20% genetic predisposition. We can turn genes on and off by eating foods that harm us or help us. November is prostate cancer month and Alzheimers awareness month. Both have a genetic component and both are strongly influenced by what we eat. Dr. Dean Ornish did a study looking at prostate cell growth when tumor cells were exposed to the blood of patients on a whole foods plant based diet. The tumor cells not only shrunk but 453 genes were turned off that were associated with prostate cancer. A similar situation exists with the gene for Alzheimer’s risk, ApoE4. If you possess 2 of the ApoE4 genes your risk of Alzheimer’s is 9 times that of the general population in the United States. However, native Algerians often have 2 genes and a very low incidence of Alzheimer’s. They eat a mainly plant based and very high fiber diet thus not giving the ApoE4 cholesterol carrying gene a chance to work. Timaree and I discuss these things and how your everyday choices affect your genetic outcome. So let your nutritional choices make your future something to look forward to instead of fear.
Check out Timaree’s website at thenutritionprofessor.com and my website at doctordulaney.com. Podcast t-shirts will soon be available so email me if interested at jami@doctordulaney.com or with any other questions you may have. Thanks for listening.