This weekend I was reminded of a common theme I heard about a lot growing up- creationism vs. evolution. (No, I'm not going to talk about religion- don't worry. And either way, my opinion doesn't matter. This blog is about health and has nothing to do with religion or politics.) The major premise of evolution is adaptation. Regardless of what beliefs you hold, adaptation is a reality. Ever since the human genome project started (and before), many brilliant scientists started talking about and researching epigenetics.
- Epigentics: In biology, epigenetics is the study of changes in phenotype (appearance) or gene expression caused by mechanisms other than changes in the underlying DNA sequence, hence the name epi- (Greek: επί- over, above) -genetics. (reference: wikipedia)
What the heck does this mean? You can turn genes on or off, and this changes your body. That "fat gene" your neighbor has? They can switch it off. That "heart disease gene" or "cancer gene" that runs in your family? You can switch it off. That "thin/fit, super healthy looking, high energy, fill in this blank with something you desire for your health gene"? You can turn it on!
You are NOT stuck with the genes you were given or currently have.
Claiming responsibility for your own body is very powerful. To often, we hear, "Well, cancer runs in my family- there's nothing I can do about it." Believing you'll get cancer, heart disease, an autoimmune disorder, etc.. is a horrible way to go through life. And it's just not the truth. Every decision you make alters your body's ability to adapt, or turn on and off genes.
I've often wondered how "health philosophies" different than my own view adaptation. Giving this plenty of thought, I feel confident to say that medicine gives very little credit to the body's ability to adapt on it's own. (Ex: "You've got a bacterial infection, you'll need this antibiotic" on the small end, as opposed to "You've got cancer, you'll need to have surgery and severe radiation/chemotherapy to survive" on the other side of the spectrum). My health philosophy is that the body can adapt to nearly anything, provided the genes are kept as natural as possible and the organ systems are all still connected. If you don't have a pulse or brain function, your body just cannot adapt.
My favorite lifestyle choices to increase the adaptability of my body are (in the correct order):
- Regular chiropractic adjustments and checkups
- 1x/week to keep my nervous system working at it's peak, and keep my brain and body communicating their best
- Clean and health eating
- Focus on eating as many organic non-starchy vegetables as possible, lots of healthy protein, fruit, water, and take supplements for things I have a hard time getting in my diet
- Exercise everyday
- Move my body for at least 30 minutes everyday, strength train at least 2x/week, and get plenty of time outdoors
- Stay happy and enjoy life
- This changes, but common themes are spending time with my husband, family, friends, and dog; enjoying nature; travelling; focus on my purpose in life
Most chiropractors believe in the body's ability to heal itself (or learn to adapt). It's actually the primary tenet of chiropractic philosophy, and it's guided by the nervous system. Medicine also believes in the body's ability to heal itself- it just doesn't give the body nearly as much credit as it deserves. Sometimes I can completely understand this though; many MDs see horrible life threatening diseases everyday, it's probably easier to believe that body needs a lot of help in its survival. While I'm thankful that there is medicine and amazing medical doctors in the world, I simply don't choose to trust my health to a paradigm that believes the body needs a lot of help. I choose chiropractic as my primary form of health care because the chiropractic philosophy states, "The body doesn't need a lot of help, it just doesn't need any hindrance." Hindrance in this case is Subluxation (the inability of the body to communicate through neural pathways, in which pain is actually an adaptation), and poor lifestyle choices.
Allow proper nervous system communication and add good lifestyle choices, and you've got a healthy/adaptable body.
Here's the truth and your call to lifestyle action:
Everyday we make lifestyle choices that change our genetic makeup and the genetic makeup of our future generations. Make good lifestyle choices and you and your family will be healthier tomorrow. Make bad lifestyle choices and you will be sicker tomorrow.
Health is simple, and it truly doesn't take much to be healthy. Health (like many of the best things we can experience in our world) is a more of a shedding process than anything else. Add in good lifestyle choices, make them into habits by repeating them, and you'll automatically shed all those things that make you less adaptable/healthy.
What genes can you change today?
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