Genetic Behavior

DIET BY EPIGENETICS

Overweight is generally due to genetic predispositions.  Diets don’t work because they won’t accept this reality.  The solution is to reduce our genetic drives for fats sweets and calories.  The concerned ‘hungry’ genes can be turned off by the new science of epigenetics, using your conscious mind. An understanding and a self help program are described in the book. THE MINDFUL MEALS DIET by James D Baird PhD, which is available from Amazon.com

diet with epigenetics

Decreasing anxiety by epigenetics

Epigenetics is the science of heritable changes in gene expression or cellular phenotype caused by mechanisms other than changes in the underlying DNA sequence Examples of such changes might be DNA methylation or histone deacetylation, both of which serve to suppress gene expression without altering the sequence of the silenced genes. In simple terms, it’s the science of why two people with the same DNA can have such different states of health, and can act, feel, and perform so much differently. Epigenetic signals come from our environment, and include such as: toxic chemicals, food, survival threats, and even from our mind, as beliefs and perceptions. A common epigenetic signal is anxiety, which can range from acute to chronic.   

It has long been known that anxiety reduction is one of the most important factors for a long, healthy and happy life. But what is not generally known is that anxiety comes in an acute and chronic state.  Most of us are aware when we are in an acute state of anxiety, and our ‘flight or fight’ syndrome kicks in and stress hormones adjust our biology to meet the perceived threat.  As the threat dissipates our homeostasis starts to return.  This process can be accelerated by exercising the epigenetic signals that affect our ‘relaxation response’.   

Unfortunately, what is not commonly known is that the body can be in a state of chronic anxiety without our conscious mind being aware of it.  Generally we operate in our unconscious state of mind, which consists of our genetic code and life experiences.  Our unconscious mind communicates with us as the ‘voice in our head’, a constant noise about the worries of the past and the fears of the future, thus keeping us in a chronic state of anxiety. Since this is considered the ‘norm’ in our over active, highly competitive culture, we are unaware of its damaging effects. This anxiety effect of our unconscious mind has long been the concern of spiritual teachers such as Buddha and Jesus as they taught about the damaging suffering of worry and fear.The ‘antidote’ for chronic anxiety is to be at peace. This condition occurs when we are living in the ‘present’ where worry and fear cannot exist. The way to peace is to practice epigenetic exercises for developing more consciousness which dilutes both acute and chronic anxiety. There a number of such exercise that has been taught for thousands of years, but a set of more modern efficient ones are shown in the happiness program section of www.happinessgenes.com     

Modern Forager: Epigenetics

Modern Forager: Epigenetics

Changing our genetic behavior with epigenetics

  

Until recent times, it has been assumed that the reason why we behave the way we do, is due to our inherited genetic programming modified by our environment, over generations –in other words - evolution. However, it has recently been discovered that we are not prisoners of our genes in our lifetime; rather, we can modify our behavior by our beliefs and perceptions.    

Conventional biology has long taught that that our genes were like a blueprint of how to build a human, and each had a protein to do the work of bioconstruction. But the recent Human Genome Project upset that theory by discovering that there were actually about 5 times as many proteins as genes. This finding overturned conventional biology and opened the door to the discovery of the mechanism of epigenetics, so named because it is “over our genes”

The epigenetic mechanism influences our behavior and traits by environmental signals without affecting the sequence of the genes in our DNA. For example, cigarette smoke can cause a chemical reaction which enters the blood stream and modifies proteins to cause disease.  Another common example is that of an unhealthy diet causing epigenetic processes which damage cells.

 Examples of signals that effect behavior include life experiences, such as childhood trauma, which can affect lifetime behavior, or the compulsive ‘voice in our head’ which incites the emotions of worry and fear.  The epigenetic process initiated by our perceptions, and beliefs commonly result in the ‘placebo effect.’

 By control of our perceptions, we can initiate epigenetic mechanisms which modify our proteins, and turn off their associated genes. This can modify our inherited genetic priority and turn off primitive survival genes reducing negative behavior, such as: competition and greed.  Modifying our genetic priorities permits the expression of lower priority genes, such as our altruistic genes.  As discussed in the book Happiness Genes, expressing our altruistic genes, such as compassion, ignite the neurotransmitters that are associated with the rewarding emotions of happiness. 

PEACE, HAPPINESS and WELL-BEING 101

Peace is a condition of nonresistance to external circumstances. A condition of not desiring anything you don’t already have. Pease is the mental state of no suffering as taught by the Buddha and Jesus.

Happiness is genetic and consequently not subject to changing external conditions. It results from a genetic reward for performing altruistic acts, such as a good deed or love of neighbor, as taught by Jesus.

Well-being has to do with pleasures derived from external circumstances. While this state is commonly taught by popular psychology it is subject to ever changing external circumstances. Consequently well-being is always conditional and its emotional rewards are of low quality compared to genetic happiness.

The proof of these states can easily be verified by you

For self help, see www.happinessgenes.com