Study Shows Exercise, Better Diet Can Change Genes

Boston (dbTechno) - According to a new study, improving your lifestyle with a better diet and more exercise can not only lead to lost weight and a healthier life, but it can also cause genetic changes.

Researchers were led by Dr. Dean Ornish of the Preventice Medicine Research Institute in California, and followed 30 men who all had low-risk prostate cancer and decided to change their lifestyle as a means of treatment.

The men went through lifestyle changes for a period of three months.

For the changes, they ate a diet which was rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, soy products, and whole grains. They also exercised each day by walking for around 30-minutes, and going through stress management drills each day.

At the conclusion of the three months, 500 genes in the men had changed in how they acted. In total, 453 genes were turned off, while 48 were turned on.

Many genes which contribute to disease turned off, while genes which prevented disease were found to turn on.

The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.