Genes aren’t the boss of your health — you are
Some genetic traits are easier to defy than others, like your mom’s mousy hair and petite stature. (Bring on the highlights and heels!) Others, such as cancer or diabetes, are not so simple to escape. But now you can reduce your risk with proven tips for protecting your health from head to toe....
Experts have long known that heredity plays a role in respiratory conditions like asthma and allergies, and they’ve added lung cancer to that list. True, smoking is linked to 87 percent of lung cancer deaths, but that leaves 13 percent of victims who are nonsmokers. What’s more, “many smokers don’t get lung cancer, which suggests a genetic difference in those who do,” says Ming You, M.D., director of the Chemoprevention Program at the Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University in St. Louis. He has found a more than five times higher risk for lung cancer among puffers and nonsmokers alike who have both a family history of the disease and a specific cluster of genetic variations.
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