In a study conducted by Dean Ornish, M.D., the researchers tracked 30 men with low-risk prostate cancer who decided against conventional medical treatment such as surgery and radiation. The men underwent three months of major lifestyle changes, including diet, moderate exercise and an hour of daily stress management methods.
 
 After the three months, the men had changes in activity in about 500 genes -- including 48 that were turned on and 453 genes that were turned off.  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," the authors said.
 
 "'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," Ornish said. "The implications of our study are not limited to men with prostate cancer.”  (June 17, 2008 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.)
 
 Your health is not determined by your genes or your circumstances.  It is determined by your choices.  One of the hottest fields in science right now is called Epi-Genetics.  It means that the environment in your body that comes from your lifestyle choices is what determines whether or not your genes get “switched on” for better or worse.  In other words, if you have “bad” genes that cause cancer, you can keep them from being activated to a large extent by how you treat your body.  That’s what this study is all about!  So, you’re not a victim of bad genes or bad luck.  You may be a victim of poor choices, but you can change that.
 
 You don’t have to get cancer because your parents had it.  You don’t have to get heart disease because of “bad genes.”  You are in control of your future, again, for better or worse.  Despite what drug companies commercials say, you are not broken.  You are not flawed.  You are not weak.  You are an overcomer, but you have to make the right choices, and remember, not making a choice is a choice.
 
 This past October 8th, over 10,000 people all participated on a Maximized Living Makeover.  At the event, their doctors showed them how to make the changes that will allow you to end up on a beach or playing golf when you are 70, instead of in a nursing home.  If you missed it, take advantage of other events at our clinic and find out how to turn on the good and turn off the bad. You are more than your grandparents genetics say you are. You have something you can do about your future. Take action. It's your life. Make the change!