epigenetics It is the science that studies the modifications in the expression of genes. These are hereditary and not attributable to alterations in the DNA sequence.
The structure of DNA takes hundreds of years to be altered. Epigenetics shows changes in its expression from one generation to the next. In other words, it works as an emergency solution that allows us to better adapt to changes in the environment.
In this new look, our genetic material is no longer something static and determining, we now know that it changes depending on lifestyle. Discover in this article what epigenetics consists of and what implications it has for our development and well-being.
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What is epigenetics?
In the late 80s of the last century was born for the purpose of encode human DNA sequencethe genetic code. One of the main hypotheses of the project stated that by knowing the genome, the response to many diseases would be known. But the results did not bear the expected results.
The scientists found far fewer genes than they expected. However, in the collective imagination settled that our biology responded to a predetermined heredity.
Over time, various studies have shown that the number of human genes resembles that of other animal and plant species, and science has been expanding genetic research from various points of viewincluding Epigenetics.
Definition of epigenetics and its relationship with health
Epigenetics studies the factors that, without being strictly genetic, play a determining role in the activation or not of genes (also called methylation).
The Greek prefix “epi» in front the word “genetics” indicates that we are talking on or above something, in this case, of the various processes and reactions that occur above the DNA base sequence. Also, the Greek termgenes”means “beget” and “family”.
Therefore, in relation to health, when epigenetics sets out to study a pathology, it takes into account factors that go beyond genetics, such as the environment and, social and cultural. They are changes in gene expression but due to environmental influences.
One of the most relevant physiological mechanisms in the modification of gene expression is methylation, a chemical process capable of “turning off” the expression of a gene – as if it were a switch – that under normal conditions it would act by performing its function, but in the presence of this chemical alteration it is inactivated.
This chemical modification occurs in response to a given environment, such as a change in habits related to eating, physical exercise, etc. And, also, with the changes in our emotional states.
For example, through the research of Michael Meaney, at McGill University in Montréal. Experimenting with rats, it was concluded that the differences in methylation induced by the degree of maternal care are responsible for changes in gene expression. As these studies show, stress increases the number of methyl groups in the body.
«There are no genetic factors that can be studied independently of their environment, nor are there environmental factors that can be studied independently of their genome. An attribute emerges only from the interaction of the gene and the environment»
michael meaney
Subsequently, Meaney and his colleagues found a correlation between histories of abuse and increased methylation. These findings have been corroborated in humans by examining the brains of deceased individuals who appear to have had neglectful or abusive childhoods.
The methylation process explains why some people, despite having genes that predispose them to a certain disease, never develop it.
Epigenetics and Dr. Manel Esteller
Dr. Manel Esteller is director of the Cancer Biology and Epigenetics Program at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL). He has received numerous national and international awards for his scientific work, one of the latest being in 2015, when he received the National Research Award.
Dr. Esteller claims that “the influence of genes in diseases is only 10%” and that “genes are only part of our history”
This means that having certain genes related to specific diseases does not imply that we will necessarily develop them, since what will cause these genes to be activated or not, influencing our state of health, has to do to a great extent with our lifestyle. , with .
Epigenetic changes are modifiable and heritable
Paraphrasing Dr. Manel, we can affirm that epigenetics“is what makes two people with the same genetic materialsuch as identical twins, especially if they live apart, may become less alike as they grow up and may develop different diseases. This is due to chemical marks that are added to the genes based on lifestyle.”
Epigenetic changes can span up to three generations from the same family and “Maybe even longer if the conditions that caused them persist. Genetic changes are permanent, epigenetic changes are a kind of testing period”.
behavioral epigenetics
According to behavioral epigenetics, of an organism, or of its recent ancestors, leave molecular scars that stick to your DNA. Methylation marks are maintained after cell division. This constitutes a “memory” mechanism that contains information about the genes that have been expressed or not.
This scientific discipline offers us a new perspective that explains the mechanisms by which related to the experiences of our family system.
Empirically demonstrates that, in addition to inheriting physical traits, you also . All this ends up determining our way of perceiving and experiencing reality.
“Perceptions not only control behavior, they also control genetic activity.”
Bruce H Lipton
Understanding in a rigorous and precise way how the traumatic experiences of our ancestors influence our conditioning, limitations and state of health, is key to become aware of our information and .
In this regard, it is important to understand that just as methylation occurs as a result of stress, so too the reverse process can be given when overcoming traumas through new experiences and solutions.
We can therefore say that we have the ability to “rewrite” our epigenetic information and that we do not inherit this information as a punishment, but to be able to transcend conflicts and evolve.
Bioneuroemotion and epigenetics
The emotional environment has a great influence on epigenetic changes and health
The contributions of Epigenetics are essential to understand that we can participate in our recovery processes, since it shows us that it is possible to influence our organisms by changing the environment, which implies begin to perceive differently.
It is about understanding that DNA does not completely determine who we are and what happens to us on a physiological level and, therefore, what we habitually do can activate or deactivate genes and with it, make us sick or protect ourselves.
The environment is not only the physical conditions, weather or pollution, or the food we eat, but also daily stress and emotional states to which we have become accustomed in our daily lives.
Epigenetics demonstrates the importance of investigating family history
The origin of the conflicts that we experience is in the experiences that we have lived, mainly during childhood. But also in the events that marked our mother’s pregnancy, our conception and even the experiences of our ancestors.
In this sense, Epigenetics reinforces the importance of inquiring into family history. Thus, in a Bioneuroemoción consultation, the companion seeks information on the family system related to the conflict his client is currently experiencing.
Y this information tells us about emotions, traumas, and blockages inherited from previous generations that are still frozen and need to be transcended
Consequently, the way of It is not to follow in their footsteps, but our function in relation to the family system is to allow it to evolve and balance, achieving what our relatives could not.
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