Pop Quiz: What do excess body fat, heart burn, heart disease, constipation, eczema, insomnia, and depression have in common? Answer: They are all “common” health woes today that were anything but “normal” through most of our evolutionary history. And they are all caused―or at least worsened―by poor food and lifestyle choices. The good news is that our genes are not our fate and we can change our health by changing how we eat and live.
The Pillars of Health & The Hallway of Life
Many people live in fear of one day developing heart disease, an autoimmune disease, cancer, Type II diabetes, or Alzheimer’s, assuming all the while that one’s chances for developing such a condition are purely a matter of bad luck and bad genetics. They assume their only option is to cross their fingers, hope they don’t get sick, and rely on health insurance if/when a dreaded diagnosis comes. The good news is that this genetic-determinism model is wrong (or at least incomplete). The truth is that we can influence which genes get turned on or off by changing how you eat, sleep, and move.