I first heard about epigenetics about 15 years ago. My jaw dropped: “How can that be!?” Today, epigenetics still boggles my mind. In a recent podcast conversation between Howard Jacobson and Perry Marshall, Marshall says ” . . . not only can you change your genetics but you can change your children’s genetics, and your grandchildren’s genetics by not smoking, eating the right thing, exercising . . . and we don’t even know the extent of it….” He’s saying that how you take care of yourself changes your genes. And those changes are passed down to future generations.
He gives a heartbreaking example: When a woman smokes, she’s imparting a susceptibility to asthma in her grandchildren. Yes, because of how smoking affects the grandma’s genes, years later, even if she never knew her grandchildren, they will have a higher risk of asthma.
A healthy lifestyle doesn’t just improve our lives personally, but the lives of our children and of our children’s children. Taking care of ourselves truly helps others. Just more evidence of the beautiful web of life that we are all an integral part of.