Changing your genes, not just your jeans!!
by Kathrina Peterson
Aging is directly correlated to increased inflammation in the body. Inflammation is the natural healing response of the body and we definitely want that. It is how the immune system is summoned to do its job. The problem arises when it becomes chronic inflammation that lasts for months and even years. Then we have high blood pressure, arthritis, diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer's. Interestingly enough, though there may be genetic factors in some of these age related illnesses, recent cell biology research points out that even genes can be altered by your thoughts. Cell biologist Bruce Lipton shared, "Within every one of our bodies at this very moment, there are billions of stem cells, embryonic cells designed to repair or replace damaged tissues and organs. However, the activity and fate of these regenerative cells are epigenetically controlled. That means they are profoundly influenced by our thoughts and perceptions about the environment. Hence our beliefs about aging can either interfere with or enhance stem cell function, causing our physiological regeneration or decline."
Inflammation at the cellular level is the most powerful cause of aging. Most people I see in my practice come in because of pain, which is also an inflammatory condition. Simply put: inflammation digs the grave. More inflammation means more energy directed to keeping what it perceives as enemy out. This could be energy used more optimally for other brain activities such as growth rather than just defense. Think INFLAME and fighting as opposed to resting and nourishing. The whole psycho-physical system perceives the environment as not safe and supportive. It means less sleep, less rest, the sympathetic nervous system is more on overdrive. The HPA axis is activated and the whole system is on edge. The body acts as though it is under attack, and the relentless chronic spike of white blood cells run havoc to the system.The homeostasis of the body-mind is off balanced. Stress is present. This leads to dysfunction and disease. Unfortunately, this is often the arc of aging in our culture as most people know it.
What can we do to minimize inflammation in our lives? Most of us can do something in our diets, exercise habits, smoking/alcohol consumption, pollution and toxic exposure. We can use supplements such as turmeric and ginger. We can eat more colorful fruits and vegetables, lean meats/fish, whole grains and omega-3 fats instead of sugar, trans-fatty acids and refined carbohydrates. But even when we do all these, we still deal with inflammation.
What inflames you? What gets you and keeps you in stress? Sure we can target those conscious patterns that are obvious. We all know that the tip of the iceberg of willpower is just that, a tip on the iceberg. Over 90 percent of our belief structures are submerged in the water and not peering out so obtusely, at least to ourselves. This is the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind is like a go-to behavioral tape programmed by the age of six. (Some say age 8 for the super-ego to completely form). Other beliefs told repeatedly to this child along with behaviors observed by the child of his/her parents, teachers and peers constitute the voice of the body's cellular community, not just psychic storehouse.
Lipton clarifies it, "The (self-) conscious mind is the thinking you; it is the creative mind that expresses free will. It's the equivalent of a 40-bit processor in that it can handle the input from about 40 nerves per second. In contrast, the subconscious mind is a super computer loaded with a database of pre-programmed behaviors. It is a powerful 40-million-bit processor, interpreting and responding to over 40 million nerve impulses every second. Some programs are derived from genetics: these are our instincts. However, the vast majority of the subconscious programs are acquired through our developmental learning experiences.The subconscious mind is not a seat of reasoning or creative consciousness, it is strictly a stimulus-response "play-back" device. When an environmental signal is perceived, the subconscious mind reflexively activates a previously-stored behavioral response - no thinking required!"
Mind-body medicine points to the direct correlation of the perception of the mind and your biochemistry. And that it is plastic by nature and can be changed on a daily basis. Just like you can change jeans, you also change genes!!! Rewriting genetic programs via how we use our minds is the direction of new medicine. Meditation and other modalities that bring awareness to this feedback loop rewrite these tapes. Ancient healing arts and spiritual traditions have pointed this same conclusion for thousands of years.
