Change your genes!

The results of a 3-month study of 30 men with low-risk prostate cancer, who decided against surgery, radiation, or hormone therapy in favour of lifestyle modification, diet, and supplementation, was reported last week in the journal ‘Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America’ (PNAS, for short).

Starting with a 3-day intensive residential retreat, the volunteers were tutored in healthy lifestyle changes. These included a whole-food, plant-based diet, low in fat (10% of daily calories from fat). The men were also taught stress management: an hour each day of gentle yoga-based stretching, breathing, meditation, imagery, and progressive relaxation. They were also encouragd to do moderate aerobic exercise by walking 30 minutes a day, 6 days a week.

In addition, each man had 1 serving of tofu, and 58g of a soy-protein drink; 3g fish oil; 100 units of vitamin E; 200mcg of selenium, and 2g of vitamin C every day.

Not surprisingly, the men lost weight. And reduced their waist measurements. They also reduced their blood pressure, and improved their cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

Biopsies of their prostate glands were taken before and after the trial, so that changes, if any, could be assessed. Remarkably, 48 genes that prevent disease were found to be upgraded, and 453 that are involved in disease were downgraded. The downgraded ones included cancer-forming oncogenes.

The research team from the University of California was led by Dr. Dean Ornish, head of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, and a well-respected author advocating lifestyle changes to improve health.

In a telephone interview reported by Reuters, Dr Ornish said “It’s an exciting finding because so often people say, ‘Oh, it’s all in my genes, what can I do?’ Well, it turns out you may be able to do a lot.” “‘In just three months, I can change hundreds of my genes simply by changing what I eat and how I live?’ That’s pretty exciting.”

Over 400 years before the birth of Christ, Hippocrates, the Greek doctor who founded the study of medicine, believed disease was the result of incorrect diet and lifestyle. Although this new study by Dr Ornish and his team is a small one, it’s another piece of evidence in the growing body of evidence, that Hippocrates got it right over 2400 years ago.

We need more enlightened medics like Dr Dean Ornish, but why wait until the full story has been proven? Take a close look at your lifestyle choices, and make the changes necessary to improve your health… and your genes.

If you’d like to read the study for yourself on the PNAS site, you can do so here… study