Are your genes the only determining factor to your well-being and quality of life?

Are your genes the only determining factor to your well-being and quality of life?

What are the things that we have control over

According to epigenetics (above genetics), factors other than genes can turn on or off the genes:

• Nutrition: one’s medicine can be one’s poison. Different people have different deficiencies and needs. Therefore identifying and avoiding foods that stimulating the immune system in a certain situation can be very effective in disease control. For this reason following the “standard healthy diet” (like a lot of whole grains consumption) may be harmful for some.
• Physical and mental activity: “What you don`t use, you loose”. It`s true both for body muscles as well as brain. Therefore physical and mental activities become more important as we age.
•  Mindset: If we believe that we are the victim of the situation that we are in (genes, age), we won`t try to get out of it. Having a sense of meaning and purpose in life can motivate us to find real solutions. If we want to be healthy, strong and vital to help and guide our family, children, grandchildren or our community, age or genes will no longer be a barrier to stop us from trying to get well and live painlessly.
• Enough night rest: body recovers and gets rid of toxins during deep sleep. Those with chronic or auto-immune diseases need more sleep. Lack of sleep interfere with different hormonal functions and can even lead to weight gain in long term and wrong choices during the day.
• Environment: being expose to electromagnetic field (wi-fi), chemicals (furniture, wall paints, toys, detergents, cosmetics) heavy metals (in water, not organic vegetables and meat), pollutants in what we breath, touch, eat or drink can affect the nervous system and can even lead to Alzheimer`s.
• Stress management: chronic stress interferes with immune system function and bodies healing mechanisms.

There are factors that are out of our control. Most of the times genetics is blamed as the cause of diseases or even gaining weight, whereas these people follow the same habits of their family members who suffer from the same conditions.

Many illnesses and diseases (including Alzheimer, hormonal disorders) develop gradually for years in our bodies. Therefore our lifestyle and habits deteriorate our bodies and turn on faulty genes, not old age.