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Don’t Blame your Genes If You Don’t Fit Into Your Jeans

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July 19, 2010
	Dr. Gary Huber : Head Medical Ego

Your genetics play a very small role in determining who you are.  Sorry to take that “get out of jail free card” away form you but the facts of the literature have spoken and your genes may determine your eye color but they have very little to do with your pant size, your heart health, your diabetes, your cancer, or almost any other aspect of your health. 

What does control your health outcome? YOU. 

It seems that our genes simply respond to the environment that we put them in. That’s great news because that means we have control and are not helpless sheep at the mercy of our genetics. 

The Human Genome Project began in the late 80’s with the ambitious goal of mapping out all the genes that make us tick. This led to a huge amount of excitement as many thought we would be able to simply alter our genes to alter our health. Well the news is much better than that. 

We don’t really need to alter our genes as they are under a much simpler control mechanism . . . our environment. The old adage in medicine that our family history determines our risk for future disease just does not hold up under greater scrutiny. 

Yes genes are complicated but let me share with you some of the very cool facts that have come to light and tomorrow you can be the cool geek at the water cooler who has the wacky inside tract to some fun facts.

Let’s, just for the sake of argument, say that we are more evolved than worms. Maybe not ALL of us, but most of us. After all we have opposable thumbs, free will, the ability to create and engage in abstract thought, and of course we have “American Idol” so all in all I would say we have it all over those worms. So, certainly our gene pool must be huge to allow for such complex function. 

The primitve Caenorhabditis worm has a mere 969 cells in its entire body and a brain comprised of just 302 cells. (I’ve lost more brain cells than that at a frat party back in college.) These worms have a total of 24,000 genes.  Loser. 

We advanced specimens of life have over 50 trillion cells in our human body. Our bodies contain a whopping 25,500 genes. Oops.  My apologies Mr. Worm; apparently those extra 1500 genes serve only to afford me the ability to generate arrogance. 

This begins to challenge the notion that one gene correlates with one effect or job. Complex function does not necessarily correlate with just the gene pool; there are other factors in play.

Prior to the Human Genome Project it was thought that we certainly must contain at least one gene for each of the 100,000 proteins that we generate for bodily functions and another 20,000 genes just to regulate these proteins.  So if our gene allotment is little more than a worms, how can we generate all these proteins and complex functions? Good question Nancy Drew, let’s go ask the Hardy Boys. 

It seems that in our haste to explore the fancy genes we skipped right past the protein sleeve that was connected to them. 

Our chromosomes are made up of two things: proteins and DNA. The DNA is a long strand of genes but the protein coating around it determines how these genes behave. 

It seems that a single gene can code for more than 2000 different proteins but which ones will get expressed has a lot to do with the protein sleeve around it.  So what do you think might effect the protein sleeve and thus the DNA?  ENVIRONMENT !!! 

Environment translates into diet, exercise, pesticides, herbicides, chemical exposure, liver clearance of junk, bowel habits, sleep patterns, emotional status and a ton of other stuff. 

We have 25,500 genes but only 10 to 15 % of them are active. Which ones are turning on or turning off?  It’s determined by the effect of our lifestyle on the protein coating or sleeve that surrounds those genes. So even if your Dad and your cousins, and all of your grand parents had type 2 diabetes or breast cancer, that does not mean YOU have to have it.