Cancer Study Shows Lifestyle Improvement Triggers Genetic Changes

Teresa Neumann : Jun 18, 2008
Will Dunham - Reuters

"After three months of lifestyle changes, [diet, exercise, etc.] the report notes that the activity of disease-preventing genes increased while a number of disease-promoting genes, including those involved in prostate cancer and breast cancer, shut down."

A study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, led by Dr. Dean Ornish, head of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, contends that stress management, changes in diet and exercise can actually result in dramatic changes on a genetic level.

According to a Reuters report, the research was done with patients with prostate cancer, allowing researchers to look at biopsies before and after lifestyle changes. After three months of lifestyle changes, the report notes that the activity of disease-preventing genes increased while a number of disease-promoting genes, including those involved in prostate cancer and breast cancer, shut down.

"It's an exciting finding because so often people say, 'Oh, it's all in my genes, what can I do?' Well, it turns out you may be able to do a lot," said Ornish. "'In just three months, I can change hundreds of my genes simply by changing what I eat and how I live?' That's pretty exciting."