8d • General discussion
Nerding out
I regularly blow people's minds in the clinic with this information, so I thought I would share it here. If this is old news to you, feel free to pass it along! Since I work in oncology genetics, I'll use a cancer gene example.
Did you know that the dreaded genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 actually supress the growth of tumors? These genes sound really scary, as they are named after breast cancer (BR = breast, CA = cancer); however, they are in the gene category called "tumor suppressors." Their job (among other things) is to code for proteins that work to STOP tumors and cancer. The BRCA proteins are highly active in the breast, ovary, pancreas, prostate, and other organs. Females have BRCA, males have BRCA, even some plants and animals have versions of the BRCA genes.
The issue isn't the gene itself. Genes are recipes for proteins that do a job in the body. Our risk of disease increases when a gene has one or more mutations that prevent the gene from making enough functional protein to carry out its job. If the job is to suppress tumors and there is a mutation in the gene, the gene makes less functional protein, and the risk of cancer goes up.
Carrying a gene mutation does NOT mean you will get cancer (or other chronic illness)! This is why lifestyle is incredibly important. We can all improve the health of our body and the functioning of our genes with diet, exercise, limited or no alcohol, stress management, restorative sleep, community, mindset, etc. This is why I love Lifestyle Evolution...health from the inside out!
Thoughts?
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Nerding out
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