Our genes determine almost every single part of who we are. They’re our ‘instructions’ and the day that scientists can read them fully we’ll see that literally everything about us is written in the smallest parts of us. They’re fascinating things and they’ve been studied for decades, even the smallest advances in our understanding of genes can move medicine and science forwards in leaps and bounds.
Genes modify as we grow and markers are left which were long thought to be erased in the egg and sperm, providing the proverbial blank slate from which new life can be born. What’s become apparent is that those marked or silenced genes aren’t returned to their base settings and it’s been suggested that we pass on every marker to our children.
There are various things which can alter our genes. Stress is a potent factor but other things like diet, smoking, famine and psychiatric disease can leave their marks too. It’s worrying that these often totally environmental things can cause such profound changes in our bodies and then in our children. The study that showed this for the first time was fairly recent and scientists are still arguing over all the possible interpretations of it. It’s becoming more and more clear than the mistakes and issues we face in life could well mark our children more than we ever though was possible.
This is all the more reason to look after yourself. If you smoke, try and quit smoking. If you live a stressful life try and make the effort to calm down and ease your tension. If your diet isn’t great then improve it. Some things are of course out of your control but one day your kids might well thank you for making all the changes which are physically capable of!
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