The #1 health hack nobody's talking about (Hint: it's not what you eat)

Do you remember where you were when you learned that scientists had started mapping the human genome?

I do. I was just a kid hanging out in my livingroom with my dad, and I didn’t understand why scientists were so into bluejeans. My dad, an environmental scientist, explained that it wasn’t bluejeans but a blueprint, a code in our cells that determines whether we have straight or curly hair, long or short legs, a friendly or reserved personality, and even cancer or no cancer. And not only that, but they were trying to figure out how they could change which genes we had, or which ones we expressed!

I was a short kid with olive skin and curly, dark hair (back before knowing how to manage curls was trendy). I idolized straight blonde hair and blue eyes, like the Sweet Valley Twins had (oh, also, I wanted a twin), so this news that scientists had a lead on how to help me fit in better seemed like an answered prayer. But then my dad said something that blew my mind: it might not be ethical to make this kind of change.

Of course, he had to explain what “ethics” meant, but his point hit home even to a five year old; making everyone the same might actually be bad, and even dangerous, and messing with nature’s blueprint may have consequences we could never imagine. At that time, scientists saw genetics as black-or-white and they promised us that as soon as they unlocked the whole genetic code, we’d have control over basically everything.

They were wrong.

Since that formative moment, I’ve learned to love my wild curls (okay also I’ve gotten some amazing curl products), my olive skin, and my short stature. I cherish who I am. And I know something now that researchers didn’t seem to imagine back then: much of your gene expression is determined by your environment. Genes can be turned off and on depending on the inputs we give them.

Are you likely to be a tall skinny blonde if both of your parents are short, stocky brunettes? No. But your personality and your health are much more fluid.

Healthy food turns on healthy genes and unhealthy food turns on unhealthy genes. Positive stress activates positive genes and negative stress, such as trauma, activates negative genes. You have a lot more control than you think. And one of the most fascinating things affecting your genetic expression is this:

Your sense of purpose.

Dr. Barbara Fredrickson, who studies happiness, discovered that people who have both a sense of purpose and a general sense of well-being experience more healthy gene expression.
In other words, if you know your purpose and you feel good about it, you’re more likely to be healthy. You’re also more likely to be resilient to life’s stressors.

You can eat all the broccoli in the world, but if you don’t know who you are and what you’re here to do, it won’t help you as much as knowing your purpose. It’s still better than eating all the Big Macs in the world, but only to a point; the research even shows that having a sense of purpose is protective against unhealthy eating habits! That’s not a free pass, but it is a powerful statement about the relationship between mind, body, and spirit.

I want that for you. When you align your life with the depth of who you are, suddenly so many things that seemed worth worrying about just fall away. Suddenly it’s easier to make healthy choices in your life because you have a reason to want health. It’s a positive feedback loop. Purpose creates health creates connection creates purpose. The human genome map is really cool, but the power was actually in your hands all along.