Change Your Lifestyle, Change Your Genes

Amazing isn't the word for it. (4.00 / 7)

This is the most astonishing thing I've read in a long time. Hardly necessary to say, but I'll say it: Very Important Publication.

Thanks.

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by: count @ Tue May 12, 2009 at 21:12:41 PM UTC

Interesting... (4.00 / 7)

Wish I could compare my genes now from those 6 or 7 years ago...

My jeans are about the same.  :)

Maybe it's just anecdotal, but I can say that since I changed my eating habits over 5 years ago, I just don't get sick anymore.  Which is a great thing since I have no health insurance these days, heh...

I went from catching like 4 or 5 colds a year 10 years ago, to maybe having one every 2 or 3 years now.  Last one I had was from a long flight.  Otherwise it probably never would have happened then, either...

I know I walk less than I used to now, though.  But to be fair, 2 years ago my commute to work involved a 1.5 mile walk from the train station every morning, and then from work back to the train every evening.  Every day, all year.  New Jersey Januaries were not fun to walk in like that.  Still, I never got sick, even walking in thundering downpours or snowstorms...

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by: JayinPortland @ Tue May 12, 2009 at 22:17:41 PM UTC

Just goes to show (4.00 / 8)

eating like we evolved to eat is a good thing....

Regarding locavores as elitists - explain to me how supporting local business is elitist....

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by: Joanne Rigutto @ Tue May 12, 2009 at 22:35:51 PM UTC

Darned Right! (4.00 / 6)

Here's an interesting story:  The "three tribes" of Mandan, Arikara, and Hidatsa lived in close proximity on the Missouri River bottoms of North Dakota for several hundred years up to about 1950. They lived well with their gardens in the rich soil and with the nuts, berries, fruits, and many kinds of meats they found in the forested landscape of the bottoms. They enjoyed a rich, supporting community life in their towns. They were healthy.

Then the Garrison Dam was built 1947-53 and the people of the tribes were forced from their homes and towns as the landscape was flooded by the dammed river.  The three tribes were forced out of the bottoms to the plateaus where the whites lived.  They were scattered, having to live in the various white towns and buy their food at the supermarkets. They lost their support communities of families, friends, and neighbors. Their health declined and they developed many diseases and mental health and behavioral problems they had not known before.

The account of this can be found in the book Coyote Warrior by Paul VanDevelder.

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by: DennisP @ Wed May 13, 2009 at 03:44:01 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Wasn't there someone who did a study on (4.00 / 3)

aborigines in Australia? They were suffering from type II diabetes, heart disease, obesity, etc. and when they went back into the bush and started hunting and gathering like people used to do before the Europeans came the health issues went away?

Just goes to show, we should go back to eating whole foods. I'm sure that excersise has a lot to do with that and I don't think that everyone wants to go back to doing everything by hand, I know I sure don't want to toss my tractor, rototiller or cut more than 1/2 acre of hay with a scythe, but at least we can go back to eating whole foods that we prepare ourselves....

Regarding locavores as elitists - explain to me how supporting local business is elitist....

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by: Joanne Rigutto @ Thu May 14, 2009 at 00:38:05 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

In the "blue zones" (I think that's what they are called) (4.00 / 1)

activity was part of daily life along with whole foods/good diet, but the activity didn't always include farming. Walking, making corn into tortillas, cutting brush are 3 that I remember.

It's really not that hard to increase your physical activity in a day. I remember when I started going out to a client in LI several times a week. I was a bit worn out and thought it was just the length of the commute until I realized I had added over a dozen sets of stairs to my day, not counting the ones in the building (3 floors no elevator). And I live in a 4th floor walk up and exercise a Dalmatian, lol!~  When I'm out and about running errands, I tend to walk fast to make sure and get my blood flowing and my body stretched out from sitting behind the computer. I'm looking forward to the weekend CSA distributions, 1 mile each way and a fair amount of lifting/carrying and all that morning sunshine :)  

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by: nycstray @ Thu May 14, 2009 at 01:30:40 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Yeah... (4.00 / 1)

And I just came across that Australian study again in something I was reading like a month ago, but now I can't remember what that was.

I think it was a study from almost 30 years ago now (early 80's?), but of course it's still relevant...

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by: JayinPortland @ Thu May 14, 2009 at 01:33:27 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Just to clarify (4.00 / 5)

this isn't changing your genes.  It's changing the triggers that influence them.  It's the difference between turning light switches on and off and rewiring the house.  We've known for some time that different triggers can activate genes.

In this case, you're telling the body "you don't need to do this" and the body changes its mind.

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by: JulieWaters @ Wed May 13, 2009 at 09:22:26 AM UTC

sure (4.00 / 3)

you're not getting new genes, but you are making changes in your genes.  

"I can understand someone from Iowa promoting corn and soy, but we are not feeding the world, we are feeding animals and soft drink companies." - Jim Goodman

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by: Jill Richardson @ Wed May 13, 2009 at 15:36:18 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

True, but... (4.00 / 1)

Just wanted to chime in here and mention that while this finding is cool and important, it is nothing unique. Everything we eat affects gene expression all over our bodies. Not just food, but also stress, experience, our environment, exercise, etc. This is how biology works.

My day job is studying molecular biology/genetics, in case you were wondering  :)

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by: darya @ Thu May 14, 2009 at 21:26:48 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Dr. Judith Rich, who posts on (4.00 / 3)

Huffington Post, was just diagnosed with breast cancer.  She has a post about her journey here -- and includes a very interesting video at the end that underscores the findings you write about here, Jill.

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by: Sara Reed @ Wed May 13, 2009 at 16:41:33 PM UTC

Corrected Link (4.00 / 3)

Judith Rich article

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by: count @ Wed May 13, 2009 at 16:54:45 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Thank you for fixing that! (4.00 / 3)

I should have checked it.

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by: Sara Reed @ Wed May 13, 2009 at 17:47:20 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Good video. (4.00 / 3)

I like the phrase "false hopelessness."

7 minutes.

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by: count @ Wed May 13, 2009 at 17:06:42 PM UTC

[ Parent ]