What I Mean by “Reprogram Your Genes”
From time to time I’ll get a comment from a skeptical reader that says something like, “I don’t think it’s possible to reprogram your genes through diet/lifestyle. Of course our genes are set at birth and our DNA, or program, is copied into every cell of our bodies. You cannot modify or reprogram your genetic code.” I’d like to address this misunderstanding.
One of the best ways to illustrate what I mean by “reprogram your genes” is to use the analogy that Duke University’s Randy Jirtle, Ph.D., uses in the following videos. Think of your genome as being like computer hardware. If you were to program your computer you wouldn’t be changing the hardware, rather, you would be changing the software that tells the computer what to do. So just as we talk about reprogramming or programming a computer and don’t suggest that the hardware itself has changed we likewise can talk about reprogramming our genes without suggesting that the genes have changed. In the case of genes what we are really changing is the epigenome. To quote Dr. Jirtle, “the epigenome would be like the software that tells the computer when to work, how to work and how much.”
Luckily for us our genes are not our destiny. We have immense control through lifestyle behaviors to turn some genes on and other genes off for desired physical results. Watch these videos for it to all come together if it hasn’t already.
Posted By: Mark Sisson
Professional endurance athlete 
Imagine a world where you could stroll into a clinic, spend fifteen minutes reading a magazine while a doctor’s assistant points a bizarre contraption at your backside, and skip out the door, down a few thousand bucks and twenty pounds lighter. Provided you had the money and the extra weight, would you do it? Would you be willing to take the ultimate weight loss shortcut? With less invasiveness than liposuction and fewer complications, it would be tough to say no. Just make sure you save money for new pants and a new belt on the same trip.
Although I haven’t read the book (Eat. Repent. Repeat.), it’s a concept we’re all familiar with. People eat something they know they shouldn’t, self-flagellate and run themselves ragged on the treadmill in penance, only to find themselves in the same boat a few days (or hours) later. Not much of a surprise on that one, is it? I’ll admit I’ve never understood this game, but I see it for the self-perpetuating cycle that it is: an endless rotation of escapism, guilt and punishment. Why do so many people insist upon this transgressive model of eating? And, why, for Pete’s sake, do they think raining retribution on themselves is any way to get back in the saddle?
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