Fighting Genetics

I am a 29-year-old African American female and have high blood pressure and prediabetes. These problems run in my family, and I’m discouraged because it seems that no matter what I will do, my genes will continue to determine the state of my health. Is this so, or is there some hope for me?

It is indeed discouraging to have to work through the problems of high blood pressure and early diabetes, particularly at a young age. They say that you can choose your friends but you cannot choose your parents, which means we have no say in our genetic makeup. But there is good news. Another very well-known and perhaps overused saying states that “genes load the gun, but lifestyle pulls the trigger!”

One of our earlier columns in Adventist World’s sister magazine Adventist Review (www.adventistreview.org/1808-67) covered the topic of epigenetics, the relationship between genetics and DNA. Lifestyle can indeed influence the extent to which even our faulty genes are activated and the effects they may have. So although one may inherit genetic tendencies to illness, lifestyle interventions can make a big difference in both quality and length of life (longevity).

A number of risk factors for hypertension, including family history, may result in a lifelong risk for high blood pressure. But the good news is that the risk for hypertension can be modified and sometimes even prevented by the application of key lifestyle practices. Modifiable risk factors include weight gain and obesity (these often begin in early childhood), unhealthful nutrition, excessive salt intake, inadequate potassium intake (potassium is normally consumed mainly through fruits and vegetables), insufficient physical exercise, and alcohol consumption.

Working with whichever risk factors are present can bring about significant change in blood pressure, and the best results are obtained when one addresses all the risk factors because the beneficial effects add up. The challenge, however, is that only a few adults change their lifestyle following a diagnosis of high blood pressure. It is very difficult to maintain ongoing change; we need motivation. The best motivation? We are bought at a price!

Despite family history and all the other factors related to hypertension, the science is robust that careful application of lifestyle changes make a huge difference across ethnicity, gender, and age group.*

You asked if there is hope for you. There is indeed. Once you decide to change your lifestyle, identify an accountability partner and a knowledgeable lifestyle-oriented physician and move forward with the changes you plan to make. Having someone who helps keep you accountable makes a world of difference. At the same time, we urge you to place your life and choices in God’s hands. Because of His promises we encourage you to attempt lifestyle changes. The apostle Paul stated: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). He further reports God’s reassurance: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9).

* The Journal of the American Medical Association, 320, no. 13 (2018): 1338-1348.