We think our genes are set in stone but it turns out that they can be impacted by our lifestyle.
Comprehensive lifestyle changes including a better diet and more exercise can lead not only to a better physique, but also to swift and dramatic changes at the genetic level, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
In a small study, the researchers tracked 30 men with low-risk prostate cancer who decided against conventional medical treatment such as surgery and radiation or hormone therapy.
The men underwent three months of major lifestyle changes, including eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and soy products, moderate exercise such as walking for half an hour a day, and an hour of daily stress management methods such as meditation.
As expected, they lost weight, lowered their blood pressure and saw other health improvements. But the researchers found more profound changes when they compared prostate biopsies taken before and after the lifestyle changes.
After the three months, the men had changes in activity in about 500 genes — including 48 that were turned on and 453 genes that were turned off.
My husband can attest to the benefits of diet and exercise on blood pressure. He was only on his diet for a little while and noticed a huge drop after only a minimal weight loss. 30 pounds later and his blood pressure is normal. His doctor had threaten to put him on blood pressure lowering medication because he was near the hypertension level but gave him 3 months to lose weight and lower it on his own. That was enough of a motivation to get him moving.
I mentioned it to her when I broke my nose (she’s my doctor as well) and she was stunned that she was able to motivate him, usually her patients don’t lose the weight, which I find amazing! I would think that the fear of being put on medication for life would be motivation enough. I wouldn’t want the expense and having to live with the side effects of the medication. Is that cheeseburger really worth the hundreds of dollars a year and the annoyance of having to take a pill everyday for the rest of your life?
Update: Ugh! If I have to have a typo in my post, why the heck does it have to be in the title!!!
posted June 17, 2008 at 11:20 am
What is this terror of taking medications for the rest of one’s life? As a kidney transplant recipient, I must take 3 medications every day (2 of them twice a day) “for the rest of my life” or as long as the kidney functions. When it stops functioning, either I will die or go on life support — dialysis.
Many people take a vitamin every day. What is so inconvenient about that?
If the diet and weight loss had not been enough to lower your husband’s blood pressure, what choice would you have made then?
posted June 17, 2008 at 11:24 am
Michelle, it’s pretty obvious you didn’t give up a career in biochemistry to start blogging, but you may be interested that this belief that actions cause change at the genetic level was the basis of Soviet biological science during Lenin and Stalin’s time. It’s resurfacing now among cell-level healers who use their psychic powers to change individual cells. One of the people who inspired this movement (although he works with past-life regression), Brian Weiss, was just on Oprah last month.
That being said, glad to hear of your husband’s weight loss success, and hope he keeps it off.
posted June 17, 2008 at 1:21 pm
“What is this terror of taking medications for the rest of one’s life? As a kidney transplant recipient, I must take 3 medications every day (2 of them twice a day) “for the rest of my life” or as long as the kidney functions. When it stops functioning, either I will die or go on life support — dialysis.”
I bet if there was a way for you to avoid taking it, you would. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with taking unavoidable medicine, I’m saying if you could avoid it with diet and exercise why not do it? It makes sense.
“If the diet and weight loss had not been enough to lower your husband’s blood pressure, what choice would you have made then?”
Obviously, he would have taken the medicine but that wasn’t the point I was making.
posted June 17, 2008 at 1:23 pm
“Michelle, it’s pretty obvious you didn’t give up a career in biochemistry to start blogging,”
Rob, it’s pretty obvious that you don’t have a clue what it means to blog.
posted June 17, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Genes – the sequence of nucleotides in our DNA that encode proteins and RNA – aren’t really being changed, only their levels of expression.
Gene expression is fluid and in some cells can change in minutes. That aspect has never been ‘set in stone’. If it were, we’d never bulk up muscles through exercise.
posted June 18, 2008 at 12:59 pm
And Michelle, what does it mean to blog? You cut and paste parts of articles that cast aspersions on a man you hate? Do you do contribute anything at all?
I’ve managed to acquire about 4 million readers for my own conventionally published works, not counting translations into German, Russian, Spanish, and Hindi, so although I may not be a blogger, I do know a thing or two about publishing. I have a feeling you’re about to get some lessons, yourself. I suggest you might consider whether it is time to allow the other chicks to take over for you, and whether you might ask Beliefnet to remove all your posts.
posted June 18, 2008 at 2:08 pm
“Comprehensive lifestyle” anything should include “The Gay Lifestyle” (TM) or else you aren’t the right wing hack we all think you are. don’t all religious/self-righteous/pious believe in The Gay Lifestyle” (TM) anymore? Your article is SO incomplete without referencing it. It just feels empty, devoid of any reality the RRR usually paints the “lifestyle” topic with.
posted June 18, 2008 at 10:06 pm
“cast aspersions on a man you hate”
I don’t hate anyone.
posted June 20, 2008 at 11:44 pm
Tiggers? I think you mean triggers.