Study shows bodily abuse can stretch all the way down to the genetic level
Okay, I’m relying on The Economist (“The Origin of Diabetes: Don’t Blame Your Genes,” May 9, 2009) and a study published in Cell Metabolism for the science on this one, but here goes. We are stuck with the genes we are born with BUT “the same gene can be expressed differently in different people, or at different times during an individual’s life.”
Given that fast food eating and a sedentary lifestyle contribute to insulin resistance and increased susceptibility to diabetes, the study sought to test the hypothesis that the same behavior could change the ways in which genes are expressed via epigenetic marks. Turns out it does: bathing cells in glucose and fats (chosen as substitutes for bad eating and a lack of exercise) resulted in the exhibition of the extra epigenetic marks typically found in diabetics and pre-diabetics.
According to The Economist, the study shows that “bodily abuse can stretch all the way down to the genetic level,” or as an author of the study stated, “we are not the victims of our genes. If anything, our genes are victims of us.”
The message? Same as always!
– Your tendency does not have to be your destiny
– You are “Response-able”
– You may have limited input into the cards you are dealt but you do control how you play them
– As always, life turns out best for those who make the best of how life turns out
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