behavioral modifications for protecting family members

Healthy eating habits are one of the behavioral changes that can shield family members from devastating experiences that have plagued previous generations. The advantages are validated by current science, where certain food ingredients optimize health benefits. Beans, for example, are high in folic acid, which lowers the risk of diabetes due to genetic susceptibility. Similarly, phytonutrients, as well as Vitamins B6 and B12, found in fruits and leafy vegetables, reduce the incidence of certain malignancies. Reduced consumption of red meat reduces genetic polymorphism, which raises the risk of colon cancer (Cotterchio et al., 2008).

Stopping smoking is also important for lowering the risk of genetic problems. The observation is founded on a well-explored concept stating that substance in burnt tobacco have a harmful effect on the epigenome, and thus aggravate the risk of genetic disorders and conditions. Chemicals such as PTK2, CPOX, FDR, and CDKNIA contribute to smoke-related DNA methylation, while arsenic-enriched substances in burnt tobacco disrupt a number of biochemical pathways. The biological changes and molecular alterations greatly impact the genes linked with heritable conditions (Besingi & Johansson, 2013). One of the best-documented cases is type 2 diabetes, where the chemicals increase the susceptibility by aggravating genetically influenced changes such as the negative regulation of glucose import as well as binding of insulin receptors. The same trend is also observed in autoimmune diseases, where smoking affects differentiation of T-helper cells, production of interleukin-13, and interleukin-6-mediated signaling pathway. Quitting smoking reduces DNA methylation, lowering the deleterious impacts in genes associated with diabetes such as TCF7L2, ABCC8, and CAPN10.

Another lifestyle modification is reducing the rate of drinking. The benefit of decreased alcoholism is evidence-based, with neurofibromatosis type 1 providing the best example. While the condition is genetic, alcohol worsens the problem among the genetically predisposed individuals.

In conclusion, there are proven evidence that introducing particular dietary habits, quitting smoking and eliminating alcohol have a great impact on reducing the risk of heredity disorders.

References

Besingi, W., & Johansson, Å. (2013). Smoke related DNA methylation changes in the etiology of human disease. Human molecular genetics, ddt621.

Cotterchio, M., Boucher, B. A., Manno, M., Gallinger, S., Okey, A. B., & Harper, P. A. (2008). Red meat intake, doneness, polymorphisms in genes that encode carcinogen-metabolizing enzymes, and colorectal cancer risk. Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Biomarkers, 17(11), 3098-3107.