It is the common fact that most characteristics of our genes are fixed and they naturally pass in generations. Genetic appearance cannot be easily changed in our everyday life which assures that the following generations will obtain many features from their predecessors. Nevertheless, some genes do change in each of us throughout the lifetime – molecular structures naturally mutate under the influence of external factors which allows our body to adjust better to the changing surrounding world. Besides, there is a notion of “gene expression”: most scientists agree that a part of our genes are active while the others remain passive.
According to the study conducted in Quebec in 2012, various diets and physical activities change genetic expression, activating certain genes in our body and deactivating another. In their research, scientists surveyed gene expression in people that followed various diets. More than 1,000 genetic transcripts changed in testers during the experiment, which confirms that various dietary habits can expose people to a different risk of developing chronic conditions. But gene expression is not limited only to what we eat. Coaches claim that running and lifting activate quite different genes in athletes, which helps developing necessary physical skills.
Even if it is possible to activate different types of genes depending on what we do, we still cannot judge whether our genetic material changes much due to our lifetime activity. Nutritionists claim that highly-processed or modified food cause mutation of genes, which is frequently associated with various types of cancer. Therefore, we can assume that our lifestyle does change some of our genes.