The average individual’s understanding of the role of genetics in their life is often mistaken. From Darwin on down, people have been told that they were born with a genetic code stamped onto them that dictates the very fiber of their being. But, this is wrong. Well, maybe not entirely wrong, but it is far from entirely right.
The reality is, inherited genetics ― the double-helixed DNA code that stands as the very blueprint of the body ― is only part of the picture. There is a second and equally important counterpoint to the genetic code that plays just as significant a role in who and what an individual becomes. It is called epigenetics.
Epigenetics is a series of factors that interact with DNA to determine exactly how the genetic blueprint is expressed. Simply, if DNA is the hardware of the human computer, epigenetics is the software that tells that hardware what to do. Through epigenetic factors, parts of the DNA code are turned on or off and are allowed to be expressed fully, partially, or not at all.
In essence, unique DNA represents a wide spectrum of possibilities of what a person may physically become rather than a predetermined outcome of specifics. The quality of an epigenetic environment is what truly determines if genes will be expressed to the best of their potential possibility or will be expressed as something less.
So, while individuals do not have the power to change the DNA that they have inherited, each person has great power to make certain that he or she gets the absolute best out of what he or she has been given.
Take control of the factors that truly make all the difference. Try not to stress and give the body the sleep it needs. Exercise and allow ample time to recover from that exercise. Do not smoke and avoid unnecessary chemicals. Commit to a diet that is built around the most nourishing and nutritious items.
People should not be prisoners of their genetic code, but masters of their own fate and in control of the expression of the very genes they have been given. That is the part that really matters.