Genes: do they really determine our disease destiny?

By Nimrod Weiner
An article in today’s Sydney Morning Herald (1) states that “Scientists have taken a leap forward in their quest to find a cure for multiple sclerosis (MS) by identifying more than 50 genes linked to the disease.” It makes me think how much we believe that we are slaves to our genes, and that leaves us with no control over our destiny. That is a terrifying way to live, because in that model we have no ability to determine our own health. Whether we get cancer, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, die young, get fat or get a hangover seems to be predestined by our genes. Of course, in that model, if you have no control over your future health, then what you do today would make no difference, which should give you licence to do whatever you want! And yet, it does make a difference how you live your life.
It’s interesting to me that in the last century the rate of diseases in industrialised societies has sky-rocketed, whereas our genes have remained more or less the same for the last 40,000 years. How could we possibly blame genes for the exponential increase in obesity, diabetes, cancers, depression, lack of libido, infertility, autism, ADHD, acne, and anxiety?
When the birds fell out of the sky, when thousands of fish floated to the surface, when the Tasmanian Devil went extinct, did we blame genes?
Today’s SMH article also implicated a weak immune system and deficiency in Vitamin D. Perhaps we do need to better look to our environment, and how we are living a lifestyle that is not suitable to our genes. Interesting, as Vitamin D deficiency has also been recently implicated in diabetes. (2)

Perhaps a better explanation lies in epigenetics, as renowned author of Well Adjusted Babies, Jennifer Barham-Floreani, describes so well in her article “Worried your genes will determine what diseases you’ll get or whether you will end up being fat?” (3)
Should we be letting our health be dictated by the fear of what genes we have, or be proactive and determine the health of our lives ourselves?
The only way to get healthier is to live a healthier lifestyle. Decrease the stress that is in your life, increase your resilience and see a chiropractor to remove the impact of old stress on your body. 1. http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/genes-shed-new-light-on-cause-of-ms-20110811-1in6x.html 2. http://www.theage.com.au/national/vitamin-linked-to-diabetes-20110725-1hx5a.html 3. http://www.koraorganics.com/blog/live-in-my-skin/all-things-organic/organic-certification/worried-your-genes-will-determine-what-diseases-youll-get-or-whether-you-will-end-up-being-fat/