Genetics research is everywhere these days. Good genes. Bad genes. Cancer genes. Obesity genes. Chances are you've heard at least something about your genes lately.

It's much less likely, however, that you've heard much about your genes' boss -- the epigenome. Since, the epigenome's management skills can make or break your health, despite how good or bad your given genes are, this kat thought you should know more.

The Epigenome: Master of Cells, Master of Fate?

Epigenome literally means "on top of the genome" and refers to all the factors that control how genes are expressed -- and even whether a particular gene ever gets expressed.

Take recent research on identical twins, for example.

Identical twins come from the same egg, have the same genetic code, and are thus completely genetically identical. However, when it comes to health problems later in life, what affects one twin often doesn't affect the other, even with diseases that have a reputation for being genetic, like cancer.

Researchers got curious and discovered a way to measure which genes were "on" and "off."

Genes from 40 pairs of identical twins, ages 3 to 74, were overlapped to measure discrepancy. Genes of younger twins overlapped almost completely, showing highly similar DNA strands. However, genes of older twins had far fewer overlaps and thus far fewer similarities.

This means that lifestyle and environmental influences -- like diet, exercise, smoking, drinking, stress, toxins, etc. -- all influence how the epigenome manages gene expression.

"People think there is nothing you can do (about your disease risk)," said researcher Rod Dashwood of Oregon State University (yes, home of The Linus Pauling Institute, for our Dr. Pauling fans out there).

But, fair members, genes do not spell destiny so much as tendency.

Diet's Vital Role in Gene Expression

For decades, studies have been associating diet with disease risk. Now, research on the epigenome may be revealing the mechanism at play.

Dashwood's work indicates that many whole foods — including broccoli sprouts, onions, garlic, radishes, wasabi, daikon, horseradish and wheat bran — may "switch off" genes that lead to degenerative diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, stroke and even aging. Conversely bad diets can work against your genes.

Researchers at Georgetown University discovered an unhealthy balance of omega-6 fatty acids (all-too-common in the American diet) may indirectly turn off genes that impact normal cell life-cycles. Cells can then proliferate and lead to tumors, which are essentially a bundle of multiplying cells gone wild.

Managing Gene Expression – Healthy Basics

I know that you all know the basics – more whole foods, more exercise, less stress. I hate to be a nag, but you humans require so many repetitions sometimes, so here’s a reminder about cellular health. ^..^

Remember Dr. Rodier’s central focus on helping cells stop “TOILing” by addressing toxicity, oxidation, inflammation, and lack of mitochondrial energy?

While most of our members are savvy on antioxidants to fight free radicals and omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) to fight inflammation, cellular detoxification is still relatively new to many.

Detoxifying products you may want to consider include: Milk Thistle, Constant Health, and Alpha Lipoic Acid.