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Excerpt from
“Live Pain Free! 6 Steps to a Pain Free Life” by Dr.Pamela Avery
The role of genetics in pain is complex. The human genome project has given us more information today than we had in the past. This has allowed us to understand why some of us are predisposed to developing excessive or chronic pain. Since inflammation plays at least some role in many of the conditions which produce pain, we can search for certain genetic predispositions towards inflammation and thus, chronic or excessive pain.
In 1866, a monk named Gregor Mendel discovered inherited “factors” that seemed to play a role in the selection of certain traits in common peas. This discovery led to many other investigations. Ultimately, James Watson and Francis Crick made the well-known discovery that resulted in a Nobel Prize for their delineation of the double helix as the primal genetic material of life. This amazing discovery helped us understand many of the confounding inherited diseases such as sickle cell anemia, Down’s syndrome, cystic fibrosis and even some cancers such as breast cancer. These diseases are a result of gross abnormalities of the chromosomes, large collections of DNA found in paired sequences within each of our individual cells.
The human genome project allowed the scientific world to peer deeper into each paired chromosome and analyze each strand of DNA, building block by building block. These building blocks are composed of four purine bases – adenine, guanine, cytosine and thymine. They are arranged in an amazing variety of sequences to give the human body its complex series of codes. These codes produce enzymes, proteins, hormones and much more, creating the master plan for your own unique body.
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It is deep in the genetic code where scientists have discovered minor small variations that occur on a fairly common basis for some of us, determining how our bodies function in a variety of “less than normal” ways.
These minor variations are called gene SNPs (pronounced snips) or single nucleotide polymorphisms. These SNPs are important to understand for many reasons. Because SNPs produce a wide variation of physiological responses in the body, they are intimately involved in the reason we see wide variations in how individual bodies respond to trauma, injury and common causes of illnesses. Even more importantly, these gene SNPs impact the ways your body absorbs and utilizes nutrition, vitamins, minerals and even synthetic compounds such as pharmaceutical drugs.
So what gene SNPs may be involved in the development of chronic or excessive pain? It appears there are many. Since inflammation is one component of chronic or excessive pain, then any genetic control of inflammation will impact your tendency to develop chronic or excessive pain. Indeed, there are several genetic variants of common genes known to predispose an individual towards the production of excessive inflammation. In addition, there are known genes that control your body’s ability to neutralize oxidative stress, another source of inflammation. And finally, there are genes that control your body’s ability to detoxify. Variants of these particular genes can limit your body’s ability to remove toxins, increasing the tendancy of these toxins to cause damage to DNA, proteins and tissues of your body and produce inflammation in the process. Notice I said “tendency”.
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An amazing concept has stood traditional science on its head. Some genes, in fact, can be turned on and off by many factors, including the foods you eat, the supplements you take and the lifestyle you lead. This is a radical discovery. For years, it was believed that our genetic make-up resulted in specific and consistent types of responses in the body. In fact, you may believe you have a genetic destiny based on the genes you have inherited. We now know this isn’t the complete picture.
While some genetic conditions may in fact be our physiological destiny, especially when large variations in chromosomes occur such as Down’s syndrome, far more genetic conditions can be modulated by the lifestyle we choose to lead. This is great news! This means that if you are willing to learn what conditions your genetic constitution predisposes you to develop, you can then create a lifestyle to avoid, modulate or moderate its effect. You can choose the food you eat wisely, add specific supplements to help where your body is challenged and avoid known triggers that your body will be challenged in handling. The Gene SNP program can examine over 19 common gene variants that impact numerous areas of your health and can all be modulated by diet and lifestyle choices.
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