Many people assume the diseases that kill us are pre-programmed into our genes. High blood pressure by 55, heart attacks at 60, maybe cancer at 70, and so on... But for most of the leading causes of death, our genes usually account for only 10-20 per cent of risk.
Interpretation
Genetics play a smaller role in our health outcomes than many believe.
Michael Greger emphasizes that while genetic predispositions are often thought to determine our health and longevity, they only account for a small percentage of the risks associated with major diseases. Environment and lifestyle choices significantly impact our health, suggesting that we have more control over our well-being than we might assume.
In practice
In a health seminar discussing the impact of lifestyle on well-being.
Anyone who's promoting the exact diet that they were in previous years probably isn't keeping up with the latest science, though in general, the balance of evidence has remained remarkably consistent - centering one's diet around whole plant foods.
While consumers may be more shocked by pink slime or the feeding of Prozac to poultry, the routine feeding of millions of pounds of human antibiotics to chickens presents a much graver threat.
We now eat at the end of a very long and opaque food chain. Food comes to us ready-made in packages that obscure as much information as they reveal.
I have never felt more confident in myself, more clear on who I am as a woman. But I am constantly thinking about my own health and making sure that I'm eating right and getting exercise and watching the aches and pains. I want to be this really fly 80-90-year old.
What's the ultimate price I'll pay if I don't stop this indulgence now? By asking questions like this, they'll associate pain to overeating, and their behavior will change immediately.
If a product has an endless list of ingredients, and you can't pronounce half of them, I would think twice about bringing them into your home.
You think everything can be magically cured with vitamins?” “Everything but us.
Your longevity and health are more determined by your ZIP code than they are by your genetic code.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.