this is what i imagine an epileptic seizure to look like... (Photo credit: candyls)
A recent scientific paper discusses the cause of seizures in humans. We now know that the neurons in our brain do increase. Seizures are a sudden electrical discharge of electricity from what appeared to be a normal neural network. This makes finding the area causing a seizure difficult unless you are looking as a seizure occurs. What causes this sudden discharge? It may be caused by genetic changes, trauma in birth, or now from environmental changes (epigenetics). Little is known about which environmental changes cause a seizure. This paper suggests that seizures may interfere with normal hippocampus functionality and causes cognitive impairments.
This must see video discusses the fact that we are not imprisoned by our genes. Most diseases we have are not genetic based but epigenetic. Science is finding that the so-called cancer gene does NOT predispose you to cancer. If you don’t have the gene, it doesn’t mean you can’t get cancer. Diseases come from the environment, diet, stress and thinking through our system of epigenetics. Our ideas that criminals and violent individuals should be punished and lock away doesn’t solve the problem. The real problem is in our society but no one wants to look at that or even admit it exists. It is in fact our social, economic and political forces that shape who we are. Some of us will turn violent under these forces. This is a video everyone should watch and understand.
Bruce Lipton, PhD says we perceive ourselves as an individual but in reality we are a community of over 50 trillion cells. When the leadership of these cells is not right, we get diseases, when it is good, we live in harmony. He says illness is NOT programmed into our genes but rather is how we perceive our environment.
It might if you drink a lot from plastic water bottles. Scitable, by Nature Education recently had an article on epigenetics and changes to the epigenome that may cause obesity from such things as the plastics in our water bottles. The study here was done on identical twin mice. Even though both had 100% the same DNA, their epigenome differed. The effects changed one of the twin mice with the result of being obese and having yellow fur. We also hear of human identical twins where one gets cancer and the other one doesn’t or one is obese and the other isn’t, etc. This is compelling evidence that the story of who we are is NOT in our genes but in which of our genes are turned ON or OFF. Wouldn’t it be nice if we each came with a User Manual that explained which genes does what and how to turn them ON/OFF? What we do know at this point is that eating lots of fruits and vegetables, exercising moderately and lowering stress through yoga or meditation does have a positive affect on our epigenome.
EPIGENETICS: Paul Brenner, M.D., Ph.D. and Daniel Vicario, M.D. discussing the effects of epigenetics at the San Diego Cancer Center. Dr. Paul Brenner says: “I believe that repetitive, formless, negative thoughts are the primary stresses that can turn a gene either on or off. I see it as a sculptor hitting granite with a hammer and chisel. We are the hammer and our thoughts are the chisel, the genes the stone.” The science is still looking at the chemistry of epigenetics but there seems to be mounting evidence as to the causes. What do you think?
“The China Study” is a book byBy Dr T. Colin Campbell and his son Dr Thomas Campbell II. This is the largest dietetic study ever done on the effects of diet and health. In this book the authors show how meat and dairy turn cancer on. Reversing your diet to eliminate or minimize these foods turns it off. They have extensive examples of people who have been cured of diabetes and heart disease as well by this diet.
I have spoken about vegetarianism before and am a firm believer in it. If you feel meat is OK or just can’t give it up, at least lower the total calories from animal products (meat, eggs, milk, cheese, etc) to 10% or less as per the book. If you or a loved one is diagnosed with a chronic or deadly disease consider this strongly. It may save your life! It certainly won’t hurt you to eat more vegetables. Watch the video! Read the book! It could you’re your life or the life of a loved one. What do you think?
This is the second of three parts on evil. How do we handle evil in our society? Clearly our prison system doesn’t work. If anything it creates more evil. We spend a huge amount of tax dollars on our prison system. Could we spend some of that on learning the epigenetic triggers in these people? Identify the differences and then figure out which environmental changes cause the triggers. If we could identify the cause of a trigger, we could reform criminals for a lot less than the costs of prisons. Of course that would put a huge number of people who work in and around prisons out of work. What is clear is the way we are dealing with it today is not working! If we do nothing it is bound to get worse. What do you think?
This is the first of three parts on evil. Is evil epigenetic? Does what we eat, think and feel effect if we are evil or good? People have always said our thoughts can lead to evil actions. Watching pornography can lead to more and more desire and possibly to act out a fantasy. Why do we feel sickness of the mind is so much different from sickness of the body? If someone has a broken leg or arm and needs help we are there to help but if someone has a mental disorder we look the other way and try to ignore them. Years ago a mentally retarded child might be kept locked away in the basement. Parents were ashamed of the child. Does our environment affect our mental order? Can we be making some people retarded or evil because of their environment? What do you think?
There are countless stories of miracle cures out there. The book “Eric is Winning” by Xlibris publishing is about a man named Eric who was diagnosed with ALS. He was an active man. Rather than accept his fate, he changed his life and diet greatly. He detoxified himself and moved his home to get away from toxins. He stalled the disease and is still living today. Eric, unknowingly, changed his epigenetics in a way that fought the disease and allowed him to continue enjoying life. How many of us are diagnosed with cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, etc and simply accept it? Fight for your life. Change your diet, change your home if you are near toxins, change the way you think and LIVE! We will all die sometime but we don’t have to die at the rate we are from diseases that are caused by how we live.
If you or someone you know is diagnosed with an incurable” disease, give them this book or “The China Study” or countless others that show disease can be fought by diet and life style changes. What do you or they have to lose? You are already sick.
Yesterday’s BLOG was about the relationship between dogs and humans and how dogs have adapted to attract us and read our emotions. Could it be that aggressive and angry humans, like wolves, change their appearance to look more aggressive and act more hostile? Can epigenetics be adapting us to who we feel we are? If we feel we are aggressive we look the part. On the other hand if we feel loving we adapt to look that part as well.
If we are in a society of aggressive and hostile people, we want to look the part or we will be singled out. If we can make others feel we are more aggressive, they will tend to leave us along. It is a survival instinct built deep into our genetics and activated by epigenetics. If we are in a more loving and nurturing society, we want to be non-aggressive or again we will be singled out as “bad” and dealt with. Again our survival depends on fitting into the environment we find ourselves living in. It is amazing that epigenetics is such a powerful force that it can change who we are to fit a social environment. What switches are your epigenetics throwing?
Buy The Book – Food For Thought – An Epigenetic Guide to Wellness, online at Amazon.com.
georgefebish
The Epigenetics Project Blog 