{"id":4725,"date":"2023-01-31T07:28:35","date_gmt":"2023-01-31T12:28:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chaneyhealth.com\/healthtips\/?p=4725"},"modified":"2022-12-15T20:59:11","modified_gmt":"2022-12-16T01:59:11","slug":"can-lifestyle-overcome-bad-genes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chaneyhealth.com\/healthtips\/can-lifestyle-overcome-bad-genes\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Lifestyle Overcome Bad Genes?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lifestyle, Genetics, And Dementia Risk<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Cognitive-Decline\"<\/a>Alzheimer\u2019s disease and other forms of dementia are among the most feared diseases of aging. What use is it to have a healthy body, a loving family, and a successful career if you can\u2019t remember any of it? You should be able to enjoy your Golden years, not see them slip through your fingers.<\/p>\n

If you have a family history of dementia or have sent your DNA off for testing and learned you are genetically predisposed to dementia, you are probably worried.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the scariest thing about Alzheimer\u2019s is that the medical community has no answers. There are no drugs to prevent or cure Alzheimer\u2019s and brain transplants are out of the question. Some medical professionals will tell you nothing can be done, but is that true?<\/p>\n

Before I answer that question let me share a fictional story because it provides a clue. In 1997, when I was still a relatively young scientist, I saw a film called GAATACA. [If you are looking for an entertaining film to watch, it is \"\"<\/a>still available on some streaming services.]<\/p>\n

This film envisioned a future society in which parents had their sperm and eggs sequenced so that their children would be genetically perfect. In that society the term \u201clove child\u201d had been redefined as a child who had been conceived without prior DNA sequencing.<\/p>\n

The hero of this film was, of course, a love child. He was born with a genetic predisposition for heart disease. He was considered inferior, a second-class citizen of this future world.<\/p>\n

Without giving away the plot of the film (I don\u2019t want to spoil the enjoyment for you if you are thinking of watching it), he overcame his genetic inferiority. With a strict regimen of diet and physical fitness he became stronger and healthier than many of his genetically perfect peers.<\/p>\n

This is when I first began to realize that\u00a0our genes do not have to determine our destiny<\/strong>.<\/span> We have the power to overcome bad genetics. We also have the power to undermine good genetics.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, let\u2019s return to Alzheimer\u2019s. Studies have suggested that a healthy lifestyle can help reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer\u2019s and other forms of dementia. But what about genetics? Will a healthy lifestyle only reduce your risk of dementia if your genetic risk is low, or will it be equally effective when your genetic risk is high? Can lifestyle overcome genetics?<\/p>\n

The current study (A Tin et al, Neurology, 99: e154-e163, 2022<\/a><\/span>) was designed to answer these questions.<\/p>\n

How Was This Study Done?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

\"clinical<\/a>This study included 11,561 participants from the Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities (ARIC) study. The ARIC study recruited middle-aged adults (average age of 54) from both urban and rural areas of the United States and followed them for 26 years. The participants were 57% female and 53% white.<\/p>\n

Simply put, the study was designed to look at the effect of a healthy lifestyle on the genetic risk of developing dementia.<\/p>\n

A healthy lifestyle<\/strong><\/span> was defined based on something called \u201cLife\u2019s Simple 7\u201d (LS7) score.<\/p>\n