Naperville Integrated Wellness

NAPERVILLE'S TOP RATED LOCAL® FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE FACILITY

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Optimize Your Genetics

Genetics are at the top of the health pyramid.

Can you change your genetics?

 

Before I answer that, let’s explore some terms you may have heard regarding genetics and/or a genetics doctor.

What is genetics?  It is the scientific study of genes or heredity.  What are blood genetics? Blood type genetics refers to ABO Blood types (A, AB, B, O) that you inherit from your parents.

What are genes?  They are the basic functional unit of heredity. Essentially, they determine qualities or traits that a person has.  They are a blueprint, in a sense.

All of our DNA, including our genes, are located on chromosomes.  Chromosomes are structures where proteins tie up DNA tightly so that it fits in the nucleus of our cells. Humans typically have 23 pairs of chromosomes in our cells.  One of each pair comes from your mother and the other from your father.

What is heredity? It is the passing on of physical or mental characteristics genetically from one generation to another.

What are genetic mutations? These occur when there is an error during cell division and replication whereby a gene structure is changed. There is a lot of room for error in this process, but there are times when these mutations, or combination of mutations cause proteins to not function properly. There are some significant mutations that have dire consequences for a person. But frequently, there are little or no serious detrimental effects with minor mutations.  However, mutations may affect a person’s likelihood of developing a disease.

Let me repeat that.  A mutation or series of mutations may affect a person’s likelihood of developing a disease. So, what does this mean? It means…

You are not destined to have the diseases of your parents!

So, although you can’t change your genetics, you CAN change what they do and therefore your quality of life!

Your genes are gifts from your parents, or in some cases the challenges you received from your parents. We all have some “good” (normal) genes and “bad” (mutated) genes. Your genes, located in your cell’s nucleus, tell your cells how to function. If you have diseases that run in your family, that means you have some “bad” genes that will make you more susceptible to those diseases. It does not necessarily mean you will get these diseases, it just means you will be more likely to suffer from them than someone who does not have those same genes.

Your genes are in your hands

Functional Medicine and Genetics

Each of us has genes that make us more susceptible to certain health conditions or diseases. A person can avoid these diseases if he or she works to support and care for these “bad” genes by not challenging them with a poor diet and lifestyle. By “challenge” what I mean is that one can avoid doing things that encourage these diseases to occur

Functional medicine addresses many of the underlying factors that contribute to the expression of disease that genetics plays a part in.

Epigenetics

As mentioned above, you can’t change your genes but in most cases you can change whether they express themselves as a disease. This is called epigenetics.  Epigenetics is the study of gene expression modification rather than the alteration of the genetic code itself. You are stuck with the genes you have, but you have a very powerful tool on your side with epigenetics. You can change what your genes do…you can do many things to help them create health and happiness instead of disease, poor quality of life and even death.

What kinds of things will have an impact on your genes and how they express themselves?

How you can alter the expression of your genes

  1. Diet
  2. Nutrition
  3. Digestive system health
  4. Optimize hormonal balance
  5. Immune system balance
  6. Treat chronic infections in the body
  7. Sleep quality
  8. Stress management
  9. Level of toxin exposure
  10. Blood sugar and insulin control
  11. Reduce inflammation and free radicals
  12. Exercise

If you look above at the Functional Medicine Health Pyramid, you will notice that Genes are at the top. This means that all of the levels below Genes will influence your genes. Getting your pyramid in balance IS YOUR EPIGENETICS PROGRAM!  Whether your genes lead you to heath and excellent quality of life or illness, disease and death depends on how well you manage YOUR PYRAMID.

HEALTH – RELATIONSHIPS – MONEY  

Most of us are preoccupied with 3 major areas of life. These do not encompass all of the important factors of a full and meaningful life, but a lack of any of these can impact our happiness and quality of life. How would you rank these 3 areas? This ranking will determine your priority when it comes to what you will spend your time on. I have given you my priorities in the order listed below.

genetics doctor naperville

HEALTH

RELATIONSHIPS

MONEY

We want to be healthy.

We want to have meaningful relationships with others.

We want to have enough money so we can survive and have a lifestyle we enjoy.

You might be wondering WHY I am talking about relationships and money. I’m just a doctor, so what do I know about these subjects? I have seen thousands of patients, and what these patients have told me is that they wish they had taken better care of their health. They also have told me how failing to maintain healthy relationships with their friends and loved ones have robbed them of quality of life. 

As for money, none have told me they wish they had spent more of their time and energy making more money. They wish they had spent the money and energy needed to take care of their health. Not one of them has said that their lives would be great if they just had another $100,000 in their 410K.

All 3 of these areas of life require time, effort and management. They don’t “just happen” good health is not an accident, good relationships take work to maintain and unless you were born into money, you will probably spend a large part of your life obtaining it so you can eat and put a roof over your head.

Without good health, it becomes much more difficult to maintain and enjoy your time and experiences with your friends and loved ones. Without good health and relationships, money is just a tool of survival. I have never heard anyone say on their deathbed that they wish they had spent more time and energy accumulating more money. They wish they had taken better care of their health and managed their relationships better.

Your LIFE is the time you are alive…so how do you get MORE LIFE?

You take care of your health and make it a priority. How do you enjoy more of this life? You work on creating and maintaining good relationships with friends and loved ones. As for money, that is up to you; how much you want, and need is your choice. Do you need it? Of course, but it won’t give you more LIFE and you can’t buy loving and meaningful relationships with it.

I like to learn from the experience and mistakes of others and hopefully avoid them. This is why I rate these areas of life in this order…

HEALTH, RELATIONSHIPS AND MONEY.

My goal is to improve quality of life and extend life. If you take care of your health, you will enjoy your life more and you will have more of it to enjoy.

I hope you have found value in this information.

I wish you health, happiness and a better quality of life!

If you are looking for functional medicine assistance or a doctor in Chicago, AuroraOrland ParkGeneva or any surrounding area? 

If you would like more information about functional medicine and integrative medicine or Dr. Borkowski go to napervilleintegratedwellness.com

Do your own research, inform yourself and ask lots of questions. When collecting information, you MUST consider the source. There is no shortage of false, misleading, outdated, profit-driven and utterly biased information in healthcare today; even from the most respected sources and organizations.

This approach to healthcare is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, mitigate, or prevent any disease. Why? The FDA enforces its position that these words can only be used with drugs. This approach does not use drugs.

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