"We are not victims of our genes, but masters of our fates, able to create lives overflowing with peace, happiness, and love."
~Bruce Lipton
Recent scientific research in the past few decades has begun to shift our perspective from genetic determinism, where genes control our fate, to genome modification where certain factors can be adjusted to change our genetic expression.
This is common knowledge to many "biohackers" and health nuts such as myself, but it's still common to hear people blame their health problems on their genes. Sadly, many medical doctors are still clinging to this outdated belief. Still telling patients that because of their genes, they'll have to be on medications forever.
Even health savvy parents (myself included here too) are getting on the band wagon and testing their children for variations in genes that validate their suspicions of "faulty detox pathways" such as "MTHFR".
My hands in the air! 🙋🏽I bought into this. And I even tried all the supplements that the MTHFR "experts" recommended with no sustainable improvement in my health My stress actually increased with the awareness that I, and my children had this "mutation"!!!!
When I finally realized what could and needed that be done to ensure these genes would not be expressed, I had to laugh at the incredulity and ignorance of it all. And I let out a sigh of relief!!!!
There's so much that we can do, that is either free or really cheap to hack our genetic expression.
My purpose here is to share my personal experience and research into what is called "epigenetics"...and how we can access health, well-being and happiness through ancient practices...so that you may also experience a feeling of relief, knowing that our genes are not our fate.
Epigenetics 101
According to Wikipedia, "Epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in gene function that do not involve changes in the DNA sequence."
Epigenetics factors can turn genes on or off or turn them up or down in their expression.
Although human cells have an estimated 20,000 genes, only a fraction of those are turned on at any given time, depending on the cell’s needs — which can change by the minute or hour.
According to this article by Dr. Mercola, a leading expert in integrative health:
In 1988, the experiments of John Cairns demonstrated even primitive organisms can evolve “consciously,” as DNA changes in response to its environment. The cell’s “consciousness” lies in its membrane, which contains receptors that pick up various environmental signals. This mechanism controls the “reading” of the genes inside the cell.
The work of Dr. Bruce Lipton and other epigenetic researchers shows that the “environmental signals” also include thoughts and emotions—both of which have been shown to directly affect DNA expression.
Contrary to the Newtonian belief in your body as a biological machine, epigenetic science reveals that you are an extension of your environment, which includes everything from your thoughts and belief systems, to toxic exposures and exposure to sunlight, exercise, and, of course, everything you choose to put onto and into your body. Epigenetics shatters the idea that you are a victim of your genes, and shows that you have tremendous power to shape and direct your physical health.
That's all fascinating enough, but what really surprised me is that researchers have found that epigenetic factors can be passed on to our offspring. This article, from Discover magazine, points out that we carry emotional "scars" on our DNA from recent ancestors.
"According to the new insights of behavioral epigenetics, traumatic experiences in our past, or in our recent ancestors’ past, leave molecular scars adhering to our DNA. Jews whose great-grandparents were chased from their Russian shtetls; Chinese whose grandparents lived through the ravages of the Cultural Revolution; young immigrants from Africa whose parents survived massacres; adults of every ethnicity who grew up with alcoholic or abusive parents — all carry with them more than just memories."
"The genome has long been known as the blueprint of life, but the epigenome is life’s Etch A Sketch: Shake it hard enough, and you can wipe clean the family curse."
What happened in Vegas, doesn't have to keep affecting you or your your offspring 😉
This gives me so much validation as to the importance of addressing trauma and subconscious (inherited) patterns, in order to rewrite our programming for future generations.
Scientifically validated ways to change the expression of our genes.
Okay, so now that we know what we're working with...let's talk about what we can do when the rubber meets the road.
I'll start off with the foundational stuff first. Then take you into some mind-expanding theories, beyond epigenetics, and into actually recoding and activating our DNA to engage our "Superhuman powers".
Diet
So this one is a no-brainer! Yet people continue to eat toxic foods and doctors continue to tell patients that diet doesn't matter. So perhaps even if one person who is on the fence reads this, and finally gets it...it will he worth my efforts to provide some research.
In this article Markus Ralser, Ph. D explains the following about nutrition and genetic expression:
“Cellular metabolism plays a far more dynamic role in the cells than we previously thought … Nearly all of a cell's genes are influenced by changes to the nutrients they have access to.
*In fact, in many cases the effects were so strong, that changing a cell's metabolic profile could make some of its genes behave in a completely different manner … The classical view is that genes control how nutrients are broken down into important molecules … *
We've shown that the opposite is true, too — how the nutrients break down affects how our genes behave.”
The image above shows how components of different foods effect epigentic modulators
"It’s not the first time diet has been shown to alter your genes. For instance, certain foods, such as broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, garlic, and onions contain substances that act as histone inhibitors, which essentially block the histone protein.
This allows your tumor-suppressor genes to activate and fight cancer. By regularly consuming these foods, you are naturally supporting your body's ability to fight tumors.
Curcumin, the active ingredient in the spice turmeric, is also known for its ability to modulate genetic activity and expression — both by destroying cancer cells, and by promoting healthy cell function.
So, what we eat currently effects how our DNA expresses itself now. It has also been validated by research that our mother's diet in utero and before conception affects our health as adults.
"In a study conducted at the German Research Center for Environmental Health and published in Nature Genetics in 2016, genetically identical mice that consumed a high-fat diet were more likely to produce obese offspring with impaired glucose tolerance, an early sign of type 2 diabetes."
Read more on this subject here.
Fasting and Detoxification
Intermittent fasting and detoxification are practices I've personally done a lot of, so I can testify that I feel like a different person now than I did before. The MTHFR gene, that I supposedly have, no longer negatively affects me as long as I continue to eat the right foods for me and practice terrain modification techniques to keep my biome healthy. You can read more about that here.
Furthermore, having taken my children through a detoxification protocol, I can say that they too shifted in their presentation of overall health.
Most of the clients I've worked with have been able to reverse symptoms of disease and some have even reversed symptoms of so-called "genetic " diseases.
Intermittent fasting
Intermittent fasting shows major promise in altering genetic expression. In this [article] (https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/8096262) a study is referenced that found the following:
“We found that intermittent fasting caused a slight increase to SIRT3, a well-known gene that promotes longevity and is involved in protective cell responses.”
~Michael Guo
And this study showed that fasting induces changes in DNA methylation.
Detoxification
As far as toxins go...this article points to the research showing that...
"Women with ovarian disease may have inherited it from great grandmothers who were exposed to toxic chemicals decades ago, according to a study by Washington State University researchers."
Additionally, "In-vitro, animal, and human investigations have identified several classes of environmental chemicals that modify epigenetic marks, including metals (cadmium, arsenic, nickel, chromium, methylmercury), peroxisome proliferators (trichloroethylene, dichloroacetic acid, trichloroacetic acid), air pollutants (particulate matter, black carbon, benzene), and endocrine-disrupting/reproductive toxicants (diethylstilbestrol, bisphenol A, persistent organic pollutants, dioxin)."
More on this subject here.
With this knowledge in hand, it becomes even more crucial to regularly practice some kind of detoxification strategy, whether it is regular fasting on fruits, juice, or water...or using infrared saunas or heavy metal binding agents. Avoiding and/or removing these toxins from one's environment and body is an important step in changing ones genetic expression.
Also, I must point to one of the underappreciated functions of our microbiome, bio-remediation. This term is common amongst environmentalist circles and basically means the use of micro-organisms, plant's, terrain modification and fungi, to transmute, process, or dispose of toxins. Did you know that we have helpers inside us that do that too? Check out this article and go to the references below for this fascinating area of research.
Not only do these little guys help inactivate toxins, but they also directly effect the epigenome through improving nutrient uptake and immune and and stress responses in the host.
In my personal experience, and what I wrote about in this article one needs not take large doses of probiotics to engage these little helpers.
Nutritious movement
*"The pattern of disease or injury that affects any group of people is never a matter of chance. It is invariably the expression of stresses and strains to which they were exposed, a response to everything in their environment and behavior."
Calvin Wells, BONES, BODIES, AND DISEASE
Although studies have shown that exercise is a factor in genetic expression, we have yet to grasp the greater impact on our overall health when we engage in repetitive, linear movements.
These modern diseases are "diseases of captivity" and a product of domestication.
One of my favorite books on this subject is "Move your DNA," by Biomechanist Katy Bowman.
She gives us the example of a whale in captivity that swims in circles everyday and ultimately develops a "floppy dorsal fin". Sure, the whale is getting his exercise, but he is not getting omnidirectional movement patterns.
This phenomenon translates to human activity such as sitting in chairs all day or running on a treadmill.
We are essentially not engaging our full genetic expression when we opt out of nutritious dynamic movements.
Our cells, (DNA and RNA included) respond to a variety loads/forces such as shearing, compression, torsion, and tension.
The way we move has a direct bearing on how our bodies are shaped and how they function--for good and for ill. Not only do we need to "move more," but we must also "move better".
I talk a little more about nutritious movement in this article.
One easy way to get more movement is to get rid of the chairs and couches in your home. This will force you to vary your sitting positions and engage the dynamic muscles of the spine, pelvic floor, feet and legs to get up and down each time you sit.
I love this chart that shows the variety of sitting patterns to change the load profile you impose on your body and cells more frequently.
And this inspiring dude, Stephen Jepsen, always delights me. He's really taken this idea of genetic adaptation through challenging our perceptual-motor skills to an extreme!!!
Well, that's all for now! Thank you for all for reading this report!!! I hope this inspires, enlightens and empowers you with practical ways to engage self-healing. If it ever gets overwhelming...just take baby steps.
When I first started I was not able to even get up from the floor if I ever unconsciously landed there. So personalize your journey, and love every step of the way.
We will continue this discussion in part 2, and go into depth about how to alter your genetic expression through meditation, emotional integration, sleep, and sun-gazing.
Loving ALL of you and your unique genetic expressions,
Pachee
P.S. If you need any assistance with getting started on a cellular detoxification program, there is one person who I have found who encompasses all of the strategies I discussed above, plus the strategies that I will go into in part 2.
Her name is Alexander Cousins, and her website is here.
She leads private fasting retreats and has a Facebook page where she provides daily support, recipes, videos, etc. to make this shift into "embodied vitality" more easy. One of her slogans, which I love so much, is "Liberation Through Elimination".
Her next group fasting experience starts May 19, 2018.
