Store
Home > Blog > Detoxification > Genes and Exercise: Are Your Genes Playing a Role In How Effective Your Health Plan Is?

Genes and Exercise: Are Your Genes Playing a Role In How Effective Your Health Plan Is?

An image of a woman exercisingExercise is a vital part of a healthy lifestyle. Regular exercise can help keep your heart healthy, reduce the risk of chronic diseases, improve your brain health, and increase your energy levels. And of course, it can help keep you in shape and manage your weight. However, your genes play a role in how well exercise works for you as well. Your genes and exercise can be working for you or against you.

Genes and How They Affect You

Your genes are vital to your identity. Genes are found in the nucleus of every cell and contain the information for your body's growth and development. Genes control how your body looks and how it functions. They determine how tall you will be, what color your hair will be, and whether or not you can roll your tongue. DNA is the genetic blueprint that contains instructions for living organisms to make proteins. Proteins are essential to all life because they are the building blocks of most biological molecules and are the primary source of chemical energy in food.

This is why genes are the basic units of heredity, because they are the only way to pass information about how to make proteins from one generation to another. Genes are passed from parent to offspring through DNA, found in the nucleus of almost every cell in the body. DNA is comprised of four bases: adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine.

In addition to this, genes also determine how well you respond to certain things.Ā  For example, some people need to eat less sugar because of their genes. People with type 2 diabetes often carry the TCF7L gene. This gene is responsible for insulin production in cells. If you have this gene, then it means that high levels of glucose remain in your blood even when you're fasting.

These genetic differences play a role in how exercise affects you too.

The Role of Adaptation in Genes and Exercise

Exercise is an integral part of staying healthy. Exercise is beneficial for your heart, may reduce the risk of chronic diseases, and even increases your energy levels. There are also several other ways that regular exercise can help you stay healthy and lose weight. Genetics, likewise, affect many aspects of our lives, from height, eye color, and weight to specific health conditions.

One way that exercise affects genes is by reducing the expression of specific genes. This happens through adaptation.

Adaptation is a body's ability to prepare itself for an activity better. One example is an increased muscle mass following increased physical exertion. There are many reasons for this, but it all boils down to various factors like diet, sleep, age, and recovery. We adapt differently because of genetics; hundreds or even thousands of genes influence how our body responds to exercise.

An image of a DNA strand and a glowing human bodyOne example is the ACE gene which helps deliver oxygen to your body's tissues and is responsible for cardiorespiratory and aerobic fitness. People with the ACE I gene are best suited for endurance, while those with the ACE D gene are better suited for strength. This is just one way genes and exercise affect your body.

In a study conducted by PLOS One, the gene for fitness was examined in participants who exercised three times a week for 12 weeks. The meta-analysis included 3,012 people in total. They found that, on average, everyone can improve their fitness by exercising despite genetics. The role of genes was mainly useful for professional athletes who want to know where they can make minor improvements to increase their performance. Genes only explained 10% of the variability in power, with outside factors explaining the rest. In this case, genes and adaptation did not play a huge role in fittness.

In contrast, lack of exercise harms your health and affects the genes related to cholesterol and glucose. And physical activity has been found to positively affect genes related to fat cell storage and muscle cells - increasing metabolism and energy levels. Lack of exercise also makes depression more likely.

Some people also store fat more quickly than others due to their genes and exercise. If you're predisposed to storing more fat, losing weight may be more challenging with exercise alone.

What Genes Affect the Ability to Lose Weight?

Genes and exercise can make it easier or harder to maintain a healthy weight, so if you have difficulty losing weight, it helps to know how they affect you.

One of the most important genes for weight loss is the fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene. This gene controls a protein that affects people's ability to lose weight and stay healthy by playing a role in appetite, energy expenditure, and body mass index.

Other genes involved with weight loss include the melanocortin-4 receptor gene (MC4R) gene, which regulates appetite and body weight; and the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene, which produces a factor associated with relieving depression when you exercise.

Another gene, called peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma 2 (PPARG2), influences how the body turns food into usable energy. People with a specific gene variant cannot lose weight and have an abnormal response to blood sugar levels. If you have this variant of the PPARG2 gene, it may be wise to consult with your doctor about weight loss and diabetes management strategies that don't rely on diet and exercise alone, such as medications or surgery, to help manage your health issues.

We each have different genetic profiles, but there are many ways we can all get healthier with regular exercise habits. Even if you have a family history of obesity or other health issues, your genes and exercise might be just what you need to improve your health for generations to come.

How to Optimize Your Genes

An image of a DNA strandA gene is a segment of DNA that carries information about one trait or function in the body. Genes are constantly changing, but some genes are more sensitive to these changes than others. These genes are called variable genes. They change at a higher rate and can be studied to understand how certain traits, like exercise habits, affect them. The term "variable gene" can be confusing because there isn't just one type of variable gene. There is variation within each type of variable gene too. And not all variable genes change at the same rate.

So what does this mean? Some of your genes may be more sensitive to your lifestyle choices than others. For instance, if you have a variable gene for an increased risk for obesity, it is more likely that your weight will be affected by your food choices and exercise habits. On the other hand, if you have a gene with minimal variability, it would not be as likely that your weight would vary with these lifestyle factors.

Genes comprise the blueprints for your entire body, including muscles. What genes you have in your muscle cells determines how fast they will grow when you exercise. Genes may not change, but you can alter how they express themselves. A strength-training routine that incorporates heavy lifting and explosive movements like plyometrics or jump squats is the best way to grow muscle mass. This type of training will increase the number of muscle fibers in your body, which means that more of your muscle cells will have a higher capacity for growth.

There are other ways to optimize your genes and exercise as well. For example, specific genetic mutations make it easier for people to gain lean muscle mass when they work out. These mutations allow people to build more muscle mass even with fewer workouts. Suppose you want to establish a healthy exercise routine. When you don't know what kind of genetic code you were born with, it's essential to try different workouts and take advantage of any inherent benefits that nature may have granted.

In Connection to Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome

Many other conditions are affected by your genes as well. Genes that make it hard for you to cope with stress can lead to Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome (AFS),Ā a stress-related condition that affects millions of people. It occurs when chronic stress has left your body unable to keep producing the levels of hormones needed to handle stress. When your cortisol levels are too low, you may experience low energy, sleep issues, weight gain, or feeling stressed. When your adrenaline levels are too low, you may experience a decrease in physical and mental performance, or issues with concentration and focus.

AFS also causes a tendency to gain weight and the inability to lose it, especially around the waist.

AFS is not always serious, and you can reverse it once the stressful period is over. However, if you already suffer from advanced adrenal fatigue, strenuous exercise could adversely affect your health. When someone has reached a more advanced level in their adrenal depletion, moderate to high-intensity exercises should be avoided because they risk causing an adrenal crash. In this case, very gentle exercise is best until you have recovered more.

An image of a man running in a fieldThe best practices for AFS, in general, are types that do not trigger a drastic rise in cortisol. Long slow distance (LSD) training may be most beneficial, along with adrenal breathing and yoga.

As long as exercise does not produce too much physical stress, though, most people will find exercise helpful for circulation, increased moods, and improved sleep patterns. Exercise can reduce symptoms, improve mood, and relax the body. By exercising, you can help optimize your genes and improve your overall health.

How Exercise Helps You Detoxify

Whenever a person encounters stress in daily life, the body responds through the NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) Stress Response. The NEM is comprised of six circuits, of three organs and systems each, that become activated when facing stress. Your Detoxification Circuit is especially influenced by exercise.

Detoxification involves your kidneys, the immune system, the liver-lymphatic circulation, and the extracellular matrix. These all work together to eliminate any harmful toxins or pathogens quickly and efficiently. If they are not able to remove toxins from your body effectively, the result is high toxicity levels.

Exercise can affect the efficiency of this system. Certain yoga movements can provide gentle compression on your kidneys and liver, helping them to flush toxins more efficiently. Exercise also helps improve circulation, which helps flush toxins out of your extracellular matrix, or the fluid between your cells. All this can help support your Detoxification Circuit.

Conclusion

Regular exercise is a great way to stay in shape and maintain your general health. However, your genes and exercise can play a role in how quickly you will achieve your fitness goals. While research shows genes only play a small role in how much exercise helps your performance, exercise activates other genes related to living a healthier lifestyle. For example, it activates BDNF genes and factors that help reduce depression.

Exercise is one of the best ways to optimize your genes and DNA.

However, if you have advanced AFS or other health conditions, do consult your healthcare practitioner before you begin a new exercise routine. Exercise raises cortisol levels, which can be the last thing you need if you are already under chronic stress. In this case, it is best to start with very gentle exercises until your body is stronger. Make sure you consult with a doctor first though.

If you need help determining the right exercise routine for you or how your genetics are playing a role in how that exercise is working, we offer a free** no-obligation phone consultation. We can discuss your symptoms privately over the phone at +1 (626) 571-1234 or through our Ask The Doctor system.

Ā© Copyright 2022 Michael Lam, M.D. All Rights Reserved.

Dr. Lamā€™s Key Question

The impact of exercise is not changing people's genetic coding, but it does cause some genes to be expressed more than others. Exercise can increase the release of neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and norepinephrine, that combat anxiety and stress. And genes can predispose you to be better at certain kinds of exercise or build muscle faster.

Ready to Start Your
Adrenal Fatigue Recovery Journey?
FREE HEALTH CONSULTATION
Dr. Lam Coaching is rated 4.7 / 5 average from 70+ reviews on Google
userphone-handsetmap-markermagnifiercrossmenu