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Epigenetics: Understanding How our Choices Lead to our Diseases

Abstract

Shira E Grayson, F. Abel Ponce de Leon and Charles C Muscoplat

Epigenetics, a fairly new scientific field is uncovering how modifiable factors such as diet and lifestyle can alter genes on a chemical level and the subsequent gene expression for certain diseases. Epigenetics broadly studies the ways in which genes can be altered without changing the DNA sequence itself. This article will first equip the reader with background knowledge regarding the emergence of epigenetics and what epigenetic mechanisms have been discovered in association with changes in gene expression. Finally, this article will discuss current research that focuses on how environmental influences throughout an organism’s life can modulate the susceptibility and prevention of chronic diseases through epigenetic events. Our diets and lifestyle choices are also an integral part of reaching optimal health.