When we speak about creating good health or reversing disease, one of the most important factors that matters is our habits. Our health is just a by-product of our habits and lifestyle. Today, on World Health Day, let’s understand the science of Epi-genetics.
What is Epi-genetics
Epi-genetics, in simple terms, means the environment signals genes. In other words, whatever enters our body can signal our genes to act in a certain way. There are just two things that enter our body — the foods we eat and our thoughts and emotions. So, if we become conscious of these aspects and then improve the foods we eat and master our thoughts and emotions, we can easily create long-term good health and reverse disease.
How it works
Following are four basic points that we should be mindful about and apply in our lives.
Foods we eat
Eat more seasonal foods: One of the biggest changes in food consumption over the last 20 years is that people are eating less natural and seasonal plant foods. Plant foods contain fibre, phytonutrients, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that nourish our biology, build immunity and reverse disease.
Fruits on an empty stomach: The best way people can start their day is by consuming fruits on an empty stomach. Focus on seasonal fruits. Also, another common mistake that people make is having fruits and foods together. It is advisable to give a gap of at least an hour if possible.
Eating on time: While eating right is important, equally important is eating on time. Late dinners or meals at odd hours will disturb the gut and digestion. And our overall health depends on the health of our gut.
Minimising ultra-processed and deep-fried foods: Every time we consume processed and deep-fried foods, we damage our gut bacteria because of too many preservatives, artificial ingredients and lack of fibre.
Thoughts and emotions
Inculcate higher thoughts and emotions: On average, we have 60 to 70 thousand thoughts. Each thought has an emotion and every cell in our body is listening to our emotions. And, there are just two options, either we are living with higher thoughts and emotions like joy, happiness, gratitude, love or we are living with lower thoughts and emotions like fear, guilt, regret, anger, unworthiness.
Living more in the present moment: The biggest gift we can give to ourselves is to live in the present moment. Most people live either in the familiar past or in the predictable future and not in the NOW. But all we ever have is the present moment.
Gratitude meditation twice a day: We have seen hundreds of people benefiting when they sit with themselves a couple of times in the day and disconnect with everything outside of them and pay attention to their innermost feelings. There are so many studies that talk about the benefits of practising gratitude meditation twice a day: before going to bed and after getting up in the morning.
Forgive and let go: We should let go and forgive others only for ourselves and not for them. When we let go and forgive, we free ourselves from past emotions. And, memory without an emotional charge is wisdom.
(Karan Kakkad is a Nutri-genomics & Disease Reversal expert based in India. He is the Founder & CEO of Reverse Factor. To know more call: 8100550660, or visit www.reversefactor.in)
