At one point we thought our genes were static, meaning that if your mom had arthritis…you were very likely to get it to. While this is still true, we now know that what we eat, how we think and move can actually influence our genes.

The good news…we can talk to our genes and influence which of these disease factors will be expressed.

One of the biggest ways that our lifestyle can influence this is through telomers. Telomers are basically protective caps on the end of our chromosomes and the longer our telomers the longer we live. Studies are now showing that 12 weeks on a healthy whole food lifestyle program (including reducing stress, improving sleep and exercise) can positively influence the length of the telomers.

New research is also showing that the omega 3 fats found in fish can also keep your telomers from shortening. Yet another reason to eat wild sources of fish and take your omega 3 supplement (that has been tested for heavy metals of course).