In society today, we have been told by the higher ups in the medical world that genes are what control our life. We see it as this, if your mother or father had cancer, the chances of you having cancer are very high. If your parents had Alzheimer's, you will end up with Alzheimer's. Overtime, we have come to believe this is what the facts are. Medical doctors will always end up blaming it on your genes. The question I ask you is, as perfect and amazing as our body is, do you think it would create faulty genes? Ever since I was 12 years old, I never accepted this model and I had living proof of it. Heart disease is very common in both sides of my family. My grandfather had 5 heart attacks in his life and still kicking strong at 76 years of age. His first heart attack was at 45 years old. Now, if it was truly genes that control your life, my mother and her 3 sisters should all of had their first heart attack. In this case, I will talk more about my mother. My mother is 53 years old and she is a fitness instructor for the past 25 years. At 53, her heart is in better shape than most 18 year old girls. On her fit test, her heart is considered an 18 year old. If genes are what dictate our lives, how could it she have such a healthy heart and be in such great shape?

New research has proven that our genes have not changed at all. Why is it that cancer, heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, pulmonary conditions have been the top killers for Americans in the past 60 years or so? Have our genes changed from 100 years ago until now? Research shows that our genes have only changed 0.02% in the past 40,000 years. So, the question is, is it really our genes that control our body? How could our genes that haven't changed at all be the dictator to tell us what disease we will die of and how long of a life we will live?

In the past decade, we have coined a new term to understand what controls our genes and it is called, "Epigenetics." Epigenetics has unlocked the hidden truth to our genes and our life. It has been proven that it is not our genes that control our life but our lifestyle and our environment. It is the choices we make that determine our outcome on health. A question to ask is, if you want to be healthy, can you? Can you choose health rather than have it by chance? Would you rather choose to gamble the most sacred thing you have is your body and your life rather than make the choice to be healthy? In many religious texts, it states, "Your body is your temple. It is the temple that gives home to your soul, your spirit, your innate intelligence." Have health by choice and not by chance. You are not damned by your genes but by your choices.

In the health care crisis we are in, if we changed our lifestyle rather than over-medicate ourselves, would you think we would have a healthier country? There was a study based upon the placebo effect (placebo effect is when they give you a sugar pill rather than the medication without you knowing and still get the same results) which showed the placebo effect works 1/3 of the time. If we used the placebo effect, we would automatically cut our healthcare costs by a 1/3. The main factor would be changing our lifestyle choices. The top 6 diseases/illnesses that kill over 2 million Americans a year can be all prevented with healthy lifestyles. And the beauty of it all, it is not based upon your genes but your choices.

Here is an article about epigenetics that was in Time magazine.
Epigenetics

Thank you for your time and wish you and your family much health, happiness and joy in 2010!

Dr. Manzo
www.HealthByDrVic.com
www.ChicagoWellnessCommunity.com