You are never simply a victim of your genetics. According to Bruce Lipton, world renowned microbiologist and author of The Biology of Belief, your perceptions, thoughts, emotions and other elements that make up your environment provide control of the expression of your genetic makeup (Lipton, 2005). Environmental and nutritional factors modulate the genetic risk of obesity and disease patterns – but you also influence the expression of your genes by your thoughts, beliefs and lifestyle choices.
STEPS TO TAKE FOR AN ASSESSMENT…
-
You must get your 23andme.com report first; submit that report to livewello.com (usually $19.95 and they mail a saliva kit to you. They will notify you to download their report ( about 4-6 weeks).
-
Next, allow livewello.com to send the report to Dr. Turcotte from the Village by email.
-
Dr. Turcotte will do the Genetic Risk Assessment and set up an appointment with you to discuss the results at that time.
-
Set up the appointment (40 min)
-
Following the appointment you will receive a written report from Dr. Turcotte individualized for you with recommendations called the GRA.
Genetics involves the study of genes, which are made up of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). Genetic information can be a powerful tool for preventing disease and restoring health. A personalized understanding of how your DNA is expressing itself can be obtained through a Genetic Risk Assessment.
Genetic Risk Assessments are based upon knowledge about how genes produce proteins that signal the internal functions of the cell. Genetic Risk Assessments can identify genetic mutations that make individuals more susceptible to disease processes which can sometimes be prevented or successfully addressed
DNA inside the nucleus of the cell provides reproductive information on the cellular level, much like the body’s gonads. Your genes allow your body to repair and reproduce itself. This genetic reproduction is done via the expression of proteins controlled by codes embedded within your DNA; these are the blueprint for your physical body.
ENVIRONMENT AND YOUR EPIGENOME
You do not have to be a victim of your inherited DNA when it comes to many possible benefits of healthy lifestyle choices. Although genetics plays a large role in the appearance and behavior of your body, how and when these genetics may be activated or inactivated is often determined by your lifestyle and environment.
One strand of DNA is over six feet long and contains 6 billion base nucleotides. Each strand of DNA holds as much information as all the books ever written (Programming of Life. by Dr. Donald E. Johnson (D. E. Johnson, 2010).
YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR EPIGENOME
You can control your own health. While all cells in your body contain essentially the same genome or DNA sequencing, the epigenome can be different in different cell types due to rearrangement of chemical tags in response to the cellular environments. Your epigenome can change throughout your lifetime.
Lifestyle and environmental factors can expose a person to chemical tags that change the epigenome. Therefore, it is essential that you are well informed to make good choices regarding your nutrition, medicines, lifestyle habits, and drainage of toxins. These factors all influence your epigenome and can determine how quickly your body ages.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URUJD5NEXC8
The History of the Mitochondria from Dr. Turcotte
MITOCHONDRIAL EVE AND DNA
Sperm and egg cells both contain mitochondria. The mitochondria from the male’s sperm are broken down shortly after fertilization, leaving only the copies of the mitochondrial DNA from the mother to be passed on to the newborn. Consequently, genetic mitochondrial diseases can only be inherited from the mother (Wellcome Trust Center, 2015).
The field of human genetics refers to the original woman as ‘Mitochondrial Eve’, the maternal side from whom all humans descend. Since Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is inherited directly from only the mother, mtDNA can be used to trace lineage of human ancestry back to a single female in Africa known as “Mitochondrial Eve”.
Many scientists believe that mitochondria evolved when a proteobacterium became entrapped within another single cell organism and started to make ATP for the newly formed symbiotic cell. According to this theory, part of the adaptation from proteobacteria into mitochondrial organelles was that the ATP-making bacteria gave up all regulator genes, retaining only 1% of original bacterial genes.
Mitrochondondrial DNA
Genetic risk assessment and a working knowledge of genetics comprise a basis for understanding processes that affect metabolism. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) codes for energy production in the cells. Mitochondria are an integral part of the anatomy of a typical human cell. It is central to metabolism and critical for maintaining our health.
The epidemic of obesity and chronic degenerative diseases are directly related to damage being done to our mitochondria at the genetic level.
MITOCHONDRIAL DISEASE
Mitochondrial disease, also known as metabolic syndrome is a disorder in which genetic factors coupled with over nutrition and inactivity produce unhealthy changes that predispose individuals to metabolic disorders including type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, hypertension, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, certain cancers and Alzheimer’s disease. Metabolic disease is diagnosed clinically by the presence of at least three of the following: abdominal obesity, hyperglycemia (fasting glucose > 100 mg/dl), hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia and decreased HDL cholesterol (Thomason, Brantley, Jones, Dyer, & Morris, 1992).
The growing body of evidence for the importance of reestablishing mitochondrial health brings hope for safer treatments of mood disorders. Mitochondrial-directed therapies have demonstrated improvement in patients with mitochondrial disorders (Rodriguez et al., 2007).
