Invisible Genetic Potential
How lifestyle and environments can influence how genes express.
Have you heard of this idea that genes can express themselves depending on what it experiences and encounters?
Once upon a time, neither did I, but apparently while our DNA is inherited at birth and cannot change, the way our genes express can.
I am not a scientist, nor am I professionally qualified for such subjects, so if you’re thinking about making changes to your life that’ll impact your health or wellbeing, it’s best to consult with a medical professional and do your own research before you do.
But, let’s review the foundational science on genes and DNA for a moment; as I need a refresher too.
Our genes are contained within our DNA. Each DNA is a distinct sequence, inherited from a combination of our biological parents DNAs; via the marriage of the sperm and egg, you and your unique DNA is born.
Apparently, even identical twins can have minor deviations in their ‘identical’ DNA’s:
When scientists recently read the DNA of 381 twin pairs, they reported that, on average, so-called identical twin pairs differed by 5.2 mutations. This is tiny on the scale of 3 billion letters but it is an average. Thirty-nine of these pairs actually differed by more than 100 mutations, while 38 pairs did not differ at all at the level of their DNA.
— “Identical Twins Are Not Identical.” Office for Science and Society, McGill University. 30 July 2024.
At it’s most simplified, think of your DNA as a massive instruction manual, made of billions of letters, that build and maintain you and all your functions— you, the complex living thinking feeling organism.
In this grand manual, of DNA, genes are contained within it that act like individual recipes of specific instructions. Each gene possess the commands for a cell on how to make a particular protein or perform a specific function. So, each gene influences how our cells operate and take action.
Practically, what this means is that how you live your life—your lifestyle, what you do, what you expose yourself to, what you eat—can all create a compounding impact on how your genes express and how your cells operate. Mind blowing, I know!
Here are some examples of how:
Fact #1: What you are exposed to—in your environments, nutrition, experiences, and more—can change how your genes express themselves.
Imagine your genes as a set of light switches. These switches control different functions like how your body digests food, responds to stress, or how efficiently it grows muscles.
Now, think about how certain factors can "flip" these switches on or off:
Environment: If you live in a polluted environment, your body may flip on genes that help to detoxify harmful substances.
Nutrition: Eating a healthy diet can flip on genes that help you stay fit and strong, while eating lots of processed foods might flip on genes that prefer to store extra fat.
Experiences: Regular strength training exercise can flip on genes that help to build muscle, which will also helps to improve your heart health, while chronic stress might flip on genes that fast tracks anxiety and depression.
This is how lifestyle habits and environment can influence which genes switches on or off. This is what it means, when your genes express themselves.
Fact #2: The stress and traumas from your grandparents can affect your genes and how your body works!
Imagine your grandparents went through a tough time, like war or poverty. Understandably some historical events and factors are beyond individual control.
But, the stress they experienced didn't just affect them—it can cause physiological changes in their bodies—more specifically, in the way their genes express, which can be passed down to your parents and then to you too. Here's how that works:
Stress Response: If your grandparents experienced severe stress due to something like war or poverty, their bodies might have turned on the genes that help them to regulate and manage their stress levels. These changes can be inherited, making you more sensitive to stress.
Nutritional Impact: If your grandparents had poor nutrition or grew up poor, their bodies might have adapted by flipping on genes that stores more fat. This trait can be passed down through the generations by making your body more geared towards storing more fat too.
So, the experiences of your ancestors can leave lasting marks, not only on their genes, but on what you’ve inherited too; which consequently influences how your body reacts to stress and nutrition too.
Fact #3: Laughing and having fun can positively influence your genes by strengthening the immune systems.
Imagine every time you laugh, it's like giving your genes a tickle that makes them happier and healthier, with higher doses of endorphins:
Oxygen Enhancing: Laughter increases your intake of oxygen-rich air, which in turn stimulates your heart, lungs, and muscles, and boosts the release of endorphins to your brain too.
Stress Response: Laughter and having fun can turn off genes related to stress and high cortisol release, which helps to reduce anxiety and improve mood.
Immune Boost: Enjoying yourself and staying positive can activate genes that strengthen your immune system, making you less likely to get sick.
So, simply allowing yourself to enjoy life, laugh, and have fun can positively impact how your genes express. It not only helps you become healthier and happier, but impacts your future offsprings too (should you are or wish to partake in parenting)!
It's like having a book where the text remains the same, but the way the text reads can change depending on various "highlighting" and "bookmarking" marks added to each page.
These markers can affect our moods and our overall body functions too. This includes the possibility of passing down traumas that weren’t processed or developing unfavorable habits in response to specific conditions.
This is why there’s such a thing as generational trauma and why you can be predisposed to obesity. While there are negative potentials expected of epigenetic influences, what’s hopeful is how there are also positive impact that are within our grasp.
The study of epigenetic is revelational, to say the least. We may not realise we each posses the power to either safeguard or damage our health outcomes; into our futures. It’s amazing how there’s this invisible potential within each of us, that many of us may not even be aware of.
The study of epigenetic is the study of how our environment and lifestyles can influence how our genes express, which consequently impacts how our cells adapt and operate.
Resources:
Fridovich-Keil, Judith L., and Kara Rogers. "Epigenetics." Encyclopaedia Britannica, 27 July 2024, www.britannica.com/science/epigenetics.
Hayasaki, Erika. "Identical Twins Hint at How Environments Change Gene Expression." The Atlantic, 15 May 2018, www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/05/twin-epigenetics/560189/.
Jarry, Jonathan. “Identical Twins Are Not Identical.” Office for Science and Society, McGill University, 21 Jan. 2021, www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/general-science/identical-twins-are-not-identical.
Roth, Tania L., and J. David Sweatt. "Epigenetic Marking of the BDNF Gene by Early-Life Adverse Experiences." Biological Psychiatry, vol. 65, no. 9, 2009, pp. 760–769, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3052688/.
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