Genetics loaded in the gun.**

by

This is a conversation which started over on my Facebook page and it’s one Ive not been able to get off my mind.

Actually (dramatic pause) the convo. started long before that.

(this is your cue to wriggle around & get comfy in your chair. the post shall be mercifully short but there’s lottsa navel-gazing coming your way).

I was snarfing sushi and talking BRAVO TV debating political current affairs with friends when the subject of nature versus nurture came up.

More specifically the quote about genetics loading the gun but environment pulling the trigger.

Some of us weighed in heavily on the notion of nurture being everything, while others firmly believed nature predetermined everything from temperament to scholastic ability.

Me? Im an opinionated misfit and fall firmly into the camp (there’s a camp right? do we have tees?!) which believes genetics loads the gun, but environment pulls the trigger.

This is a concept I’ve pondered frequently as the Tornado gets older and faces the onslaught of potential negativity peer groups & media provides.

It’s a concept I’ve pondered frequently as Ive watched friends struggle with anxiety, depression & other mental health issues and wondered exactly what the Tornado’s gun contains.

It’s a concept, to the surprise and disagreement of friends, I find to be uplifting and inspiring.

As a parent I can’t help but worry about my daughter.

Will she be happy? Will she struggle? Will she experience the pain of bullying? Depression?

As a result I find great comfort in choosing to view our life together through the lens of she may be genetically predisposed for issues/ailments, but I can create an environment which may STOP this predisposition from becoming reality.

It gives me hope that:

  • By practicing (& not preaching) she will choose to live her life in a healthy fashion.
  • By trying to be the best adult role-model I can she will choose to create a healthy & supportive adult-environment of her own.
  • By teaching her even INACTION is a choice she will choose to create a life of purpose, intention and health.
  • By sharing with her my genetic blueprint and showing her how I’ve managed to change parts of it (oil pulling foreshadowing? we can only hope!) she will realize a ‘gun,’ while loaded, can be semi-dismantled, managed and worked around.

Which brings me back to my question to the others that day:

  • Do you read the quote as I do and choose to see it as empowering?
  • Do you, like the majority of my friends, find the line depressing /frustrating due to how little control we have over the gun & our environment?

Please to (holster yer guns and) hit us all up in the comments below.

 

 

**This is a flashback post sparked by your comments. You appropriately inquired why on EARTH Id oil pull if it was as yucky as my face intimated on video.  Three words: GUM DISEASE, ALZHEIMER’S.  One more word: PREDISPOSED (aka they’re waiting in my gun).

POSTS BY EMAIL

Never miss a post. Enter your email to get my latest posts delivered to your inbox.

Comments

  2. I think sometimes a stray bullet is released and it is easy to default to “it;s in my genes”. The choice to acknowledge that it was a choice and the pride, self-satisfaction, and self -worth that comes from not choosing that same action “bullet” in the future is priceless. Tough choices come with mistakes but hey…. everybody makes ’em!Here’s to shiny,well kept guns 😉

  3. I’d give up if I thought the loaded gun meant it was going to go off for sure 🙂
    We can exert our will upon it through healthy living.

  4. I don’t find it depressing, I find it informative. Apparently, my daughter and I are more alike than I am with my mother ao I serve as a bellweather for my her – these are things to watch out for and to guard against.

    She’s seen me turn the tide on obesity, when it is rampant in my family. She’s seen me become active and have a pretty consistent exercise-as-something-I-enjoy lifestyle. So yea, I’ve passed along a genetic stew that has some toxicity to it, but I’ve also done a good job of giving her a roadmap around the potholes.

  5. In college my medical & nutrition courses basically stated that less than 2% of the polulation can blame genes or medical conditions/medicated for their inability to keep a healthy weight. “I come from a large family” usually just means BAD HABITS were passed down, not bad genes. We decide what we wish to look like, and proper nutrition & fitness can play a HUGE role in surpressing, even eliminating predisposed disease.

  6. Great thoughts!

    I’m with you… I think it’s a combination of both.
    The guns is loaded to some degree (I have wrinkles forming at the exact places my mom does) but what I do or don’t do with my life helps determine how much damage the bullets do or don’t do.

    And sometimes the gun gets reloaded partway through life… like when my body was totally beat up when I was hit by 5 semi-trucks. Doctors gave me predictions about what damage these new bullets have done and what my recovery would be. (running is definitely a thing of your past!) Physical recovery took about 4 years and I spent 2 of those years angry and depressed thinking I had little choice in what my body will be capable of again.
    So NOT true! After dragging my depressed butt to counselors (yes, plural, I needed all the help I could get) I realized “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond.” (Lou Holtz) and step by step I returned to running and I recently ran/walked a full marathon.

    Yes, the doctors are impressed and they now send patients to my website to encourage them to do what they can to recover well.

  7. I’m there with you on this one. I have an 11yo daughter and she’s tall 5’4″ (genetics) but due to environment, she’s the healthiest eating child I’ve ever met. She’s also much more active than I was at that age, which makes me so happy!!!

  8. I do not know much about the science of any of this, but I do know if I believed the bullets in my gun were discharging no mater what I would quit too!

    I need to believe I can keep them holstered 🙂

  9. As someone that has risen about depression/anxiety….it is hard work, but I think it can be done. Of course there are disease/disorders that are darn near impossible to avoid but I often think it starts not with genetics but how you deal with it.

  10. We’re all handed a different beginning to our stories, but we get to write the tale.

    We can give up and say there’s nothing we can do, but it is a choice to do live that way!

  11. I have really bad social anxiety disorger and take medication for it.
    I also exercise and eat right and that helps lots too.
    I think we can keep the bullets in the gun if we work at it!!

  13. While I’m not a parent, I like to store up information for future-maybe’s. I like how you put that “she may be genetically predisposed for issues/ailments, but I can create an environment which may STOP this predisposition from becoming reality.” Absolutely. I think we can apply that principal to our own lives. Seeing my Mom struggle with a couple different cancers made me realize the importance of my pursuit of a healthy life. The choices we make today (good or bad) affect our tomorrow. Since cancer runs in my family, I have to make sure my environment, my lifestyle, my choices won’t push me further toward the risk of having cancer, but toward the prevention of it in my own life.

  14. If we give up and pull the trigger we are ensured of disastrous results.
    We have to at least try to keep the bullets inside.

  15. wow, tough question. I think environment is 90% along with faith/hope to overcome. I do realize some things are inevitable, but that’s where prayer can be so powerful. In my opinion.

  16. I tend to agree with Lindsay above me.
    I think society and doctors underestimate the power of our minds to control our bodies.
    Faith and prayer can keep the bullets in for sure.

    Great post, Miz.

  17. Miz, I agree with you. Science isn’t something that’s cut and dry. Nature vs. nuture’s been a long-time argument, as are most theories! Going through college for ecology and evolutionary biology, I heard a lot about this argument, as well as others I’m sure you’re aware of, and the one thing I took away from it? You MUST be open-minded. If you aren’t, you pick a side and stick with it…regardless of how incredibly legit the argument is for the other side. Being open-minded about something such as nature vs. nurture allows you to see the part of the argument that actually “connects”. Like genetics. Sure we have predisposed traits. Absolutely. I’m fair skinned. Pale as can be. It takes numerous times of going out in the sun and literally “forgetting” sunscreen to get a tan. Tans are NOT predisposed. They’re times we’ve gone outdoors (or indoors, unfortunately) and allowed our environments to change our genetics – the tan. If we can change our skin’s genetics just by exposure to sunlight, we can do it in other ways as well.

    Long winded comment, and I could go on…

  18. Nature and Nurture, Warp and Woof.

    One weaves one direction, the other crosswise to it.

    Together they make the pattern.

    We get to choose a lot of the nurture, which can brighten up a lot of the darker threads of nature.

  19. As a parent of a child who joined our family by adoption, I find all of this very interesting. I’m seeing things in my child that are absolutely genetic – and some of those things are kind of scary. But, as his parents, we can do everything we can to help him overcome some of the genetic issues that we think he’s been dealt.

    Also, we fostered a baby (9 months old) from Guatemala for 2 1/2 months while he had surgery on his cleft lip. During that 2 1/2 months we nurtured him the best we could. He is now almost 5 and is heads taller then the other kids in his preschool in Guatemala. Those 2 1/2 months of good nutrition jump started his genetics and I’m hoping that stays with him as long as possible.

  21. I think yes, we are all predisposed to certain temperaments and behaviors but just like “choosing” to be healthy, we can modify our actions to be less prone to depression, shyness, etc.

    That said, Alzheimer’s, cancer, gum disease, etc. is pre-loaded into all of us and we can’t guarantee that certain lifestyle choices will allow us to sidestep those bullets…..but we can try!

    My healthiest lifestyle living grandparent died at 69 of a rare lung cancer (he exercised, ate oat bran, never smoked). He worked in a building for decades with asbestos though.
    My least lifestyle conscious grandparent will turn 92 next month. He’s had a quadruple bypass, has well controlled diabetes, and skin cancer. Yet he still lives independently, walks without a cane, and still mows his yard and rides a scooter. His doctor says he is in amazing shape for his age.

    You just never know.

  23. This is a tough one! I do think we ultimately control our destinies. And I do hope that all my healthy living modeling (among other things) wears off on the kiddos. Other issues, however, can cloud that along the way. Other influencers, a predisposition to depression in my husband’s side of the family, etc. So I guess I believe it is more nurture, but that we can’t control some parts of nature.

  25. I’m SO with you! I think we are totally born with a loaded gun…but that environment makes all the difference. I hope to help guide Kay so that her environment brings out the best in her….rather than the worst. It is a little frustrating that there are things outside of our control…but thats why we have to teach our peanuts how to deal with and react to various situations as best we can!

  26. BTW – still never see your share or tweet button & don’t know why – all I see is a pin button…

    OK – on to this… Yes, we have genetics but I do think we can all we can do to fight what we are supposedly predisposed to get or have or happen. I have similar probs as you with teeth & gum disease & Alzheimer’s disease in the family. I have obesity in the family too. I do all I can to try to beat these things. I do think though that we may not be able to get it all in the end – meaning some of this may catch up with us later in life – like cancers & other stuff even as hard as we try BUT if we do not try the end result could be worse. I do think though that we can change a lot of the predisposed stuff by not being complacent. LOVE this Carla!

  27. I love Steve’s answer above. We may have a loaded gun but we need to do our best to keep the bullets inside. I think to some extent we can control our destiny. Yes, we may have a predisposition to depression caused by chemical imbalances but maybe there are some ways to prevent the imbalance from even being trigged. I’m way over simplifying but maybe a proper diet keeps everything balanced and there is nothing out of wack. Or maybe the stars align and we live such a happy life that everything stays balanced. Again I know it’s not that simple, but I think we can control a lot more than we give ourselves credit for at times. 🙂

  28. The mind-body connection is powerful, and awareness is what allows us to strengthen that connection and either change or at least influence outcomes. I think there are some conditions that are pre-loaded that we just cannot change, no matter what (at least for now).

    Ever since I started really focusing on my health (back in 2009) versus just focusing on weight loss (which I started doing in 2005), my health has improved significantly. I also believe that having healthy-aging role models helps. Do they embrace their lives as they age or do they resist? Although my father died relatively young (75) I admired his zest for life…and that enjoyed it right up until the end. Same with my maternal grandfather, who lived to 94, calling square dances and traveling right up until about a month before he died.

    That brings up another interesting question: quality versus quantity? Is it better to live well for a shorter amount of time or to live longer with less quality?

    • I think about that a lot too Karen. In that there are things I am simply unwilling to give up (it sounds silly but salty beef jerky is one. I love it. I may live longer w/out it—though I dont have high BP—but it would also SEEM A LOT LONGER) because I truly enjoy them.

      It brings to mind the old joke about “sure I could give up xyz and live an extra 10 years—–but it would feel like 20!”

  29. I love this debate!
    I firmly believe we can keep the bullets in with lots of hard, dilligent work.

  30. totally agree with you. as a psych major we talked about this subject incessantly and i never could just pick one or the other. your daughter is going to chose to be fabulous because she has a fabulous role model like you!

  31. I think that quote is incredibly empowering! It emphasis the fact that YOU & only you have control over your journey in life. I think people can often use genetic predispositions as an excuse – while they may make things harder, overcoming them makes you stronger.

  33. Oh wow Carla, what a fantastic post!!!! I think the quote is more inspiring than depressing. I like to think that we can control our own destiny, and in your case as you referred to your daughter, you can control the type of environment she grows up in, hence lessening her predispositions to any sort of ailments or medical conditions. Yes, there are some genetic things we can’t control (I’ve always wanted a smaller nose but sadly there were no genes to be found for anything but a big one!!) but there’s so much more that we can. 🙂

  34. I do feel empowered by the quote! My ‘gun’ is loaded with some pretty shit-tastic stuff. But I can (and have) change so much with my choices.

  36. I do think that genetics plays a certain role, of course. If you have a history of heart problems or high cholestorol in your family, you may of course suffer from that later. However, any lifestyle a person chooses to lead – whether healthy or not, regardless of the environment – is always a choice. And as adults, we all have to take responsibility for our actions and our choices.

  37. i totally agree with you that genetics load the gun, but environment pulls the trigger. our genes have not changed in the past 60 years. our ENVIRONMENT has changed dramatically. same genes + hugely obesogenic environment = obesity epidemic. that’s pretty clear.

    i think i’ll lean a little bit more toward the environment being a bigger factor though. new research on epigenetics shows that the way genes are expressed change be CHANGED by environmental factors. it’s very scienc-y, but basically, some genes (good or bad) can be “hidden” OR “exposed” because of things in the environment. it’s pretty cool.

  38. I agree with your basic premise, but would argue that some of us have more bullets in the gun than others.

    Or to put it another way…

    Gee-ee-ee-ee-nes, genes, genes, genes
    Gee-ee-ee-ee-nes, genes, genes, genes
    When I want to, eat real bad.
    When I want to, I blame my dad.
    Whenever I want to, I just fault my faulty
    Gee-ee-ee-ee-nes, genes, genes, genes

  39. As a public school educator and parent, I have seen parents do all the “right” things for their kids and sometimes no matter what you do, say or model, you just get a bad seed and eventually you have to step away and let them live the life (however different it may be from what you had in mind) they choose for themselves.

  40. I believe we have many guns all around us. A gun for health, one for spirituality, one for marriage, one for finances, etc… With each we have to choose what the direction of each bullet will be. Each gun gets filled and fired, the only question is whether our daily choices see it aimed at our desired target, or, if we miss.

    Ready, Aim, Fire; has new meaning.

    You Rock!

  41. Great post!

    I am cursed with high blood pressure genetics. Even after losing 115 lbs and maintaining my 23 BMI now for 19 months, I am STILL on TWO high blood pressure medications. 🙁

    Thanks for stopping by my blog.

  42. It’s such a fascinating mental exercise, isn’t it? My family has been pretty lucky in the gene pool–regardless of bad habits, there’s a lot of longevity and health on both sides. My grandpa smoked for 60 years, quit cold turkey, and lived another 9 years as a non-smoker before passing away at 86. My other granddad (never a smoker) also died at 86. My parents are in their mid-60s and both still in great health. So I’ll admit it does make me a little lazy with exercise and a balanced diet. But you never know what is around the corner, right?

  43. Wellll… I agree to it for some things. For others, genetics may really rule the day, IMO. Take my familial high cholesterol. I have it. My dad (now dead from heard disease) had it. As does my mom. And both my brothers. I can make it skyrocket if I eat poorly:( But no matter how well I eat I have never been able to get it to go down to medically acceptable levels of normal. Such is life. Now on the flip side, what I am passing down… my boys are both 50% more likely to get skin cancer thanks to my genes. BUT, I suspect that my teen, who goes to school in CA and hates sunscreen, is increasing his personal risk. His choice. He’s an adult. Sigh.

  44. I saw you tweet the link to this and knew it was going to be a good one.

    I am adopted, so I absolutely believe it’s nurture over nature. I’ve met both of my birthparents, so I have some idea of what’s in my “gun,” but growing up, I was so much like the parents who raised me, not the ones who conceived me.

    Now, of course, I’ve changed my environment myself, but there’s still a lot of influence from my parents, and none of it is genetic, obviously. In some ways, not knowing much about what’s in my “gun” has been freeing, as I have no “well my mom is X, so I will always be X, too.” But I do believe we all have the ability, adopted or not, to rise above what we’ve been told we’ll be to become what we really want to become.

  45. Over time, I’ve come to think that the only reason people want to answer that question is to get their excuses lined up when they fail. Seriously. It doesn’t MATTER whether it’s nature or nurture. I’ve seen too many “disabled” athletes and musicians and others with major health issues that reach the peak of their discipline to believe otherwise. The only thing that’s required is a desire to achieve and a thick head.

  46. You know, this also reminds me of a story I read once about a pair of twins who were separated at birth. They had some small things in common — the same toothpaste, the same shampoo, some of the same minor habits, like keeping spare rubberbands around their wrists.

    But on everything else, they differed enormously. They had been separated during WWII. One was raised in a family with some fascist leanings, and the other was raised in a Jewish family. They didn’t even LIKE one another much when they finally met.

    So even if genetics made them wear rubberbands around their wrists … who cares? All the big stuff was determined by nurture. Who remembers what brand of shampoo Martin Luther King used? Who cares? Genetics is the small stuff. The important things seem to be down to nurture and one’s own will.

  48. Of course genetics play a huge role in how we turn out, but so does environment, so I’m not 100% in either camp I suppose. (Guess that means I don’t get a t-shirt:) We are lucky enough to grow up and raise our children in an age where we have access to so many success stories about people “beating” genetics. What’s important is that we have goals and do our best to stick to them, particularly when it comes to goals for our little girls.

  50. I am firmly there with you in your ‘camp’ of being positive about our opportunities to react to and change course despite any genetic predisposition. I have absolutely seen the huge difference choice can make, even among very close relations. So much so that you wouldn’t think these people were related at all.
    I am also not a big believer in excuses at all so of course my beliefs go along with that. I have a sign on my wall that reads: Destiny is not a matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. -WJ Bryon Even if we end up with some genetic disease we can always choose how we deal with it.
    Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this and making it possible for me to see so many interesting opinions on the subject.

  51. I wholeheartedly am in the same camp and I find it encouraging to a large degree because we have so little control over so many things in our lives. I find it empowering because I have seen so many examples of people and communities coming together and rising up to change the systems around them and create a new reality / environment for themselves and their families, particularly with regard to the community food movement which I did some work in my former life.

    You are setting an incredible example for the Tornado and I love your perspective on this. Can I send my sons to Austin for a bit? Just a little bit? Thanks 🙂

  53. What a great thing to think about. I think we are a product made up on a combination of genes, personality and circumstances. My brother and I come from the same gene pool, were brought up under the same roof with the same values, but he and I couldn’t be more different (in EVERY aspect of our lives). My glass is usually “half full” (if its half full with wine, even better. KIDDING! 🙂 ), his is ALWAYS half empty and life is an emotional struggle for him. He’s made alot of dumb choice which may have put him where he is, but I also think my Grandma suffered from depression (though it wasn’t talked about back in her day) so he is likely a product of our genetics, and his choices. Not to say I’m perfect either, I make dumb choices sometimes too but I seem to be better equipped to “bounce back, put things behind me and move forward”. It’s funny how close blood relatives can be SOOO different. Thanks for giving me food for thought today Miz!!!!!

  55. Critically important discussion here. One thing that helps with accepting reality about how much is beyond our control with regard to both nature & nurture, is to battle any proclivities we may have toward perfectionism. Arthritis is teaching me this.

  56. I totally saw it as empowering. While I am genetically predisposed (and have been diagnosed with) high triglycerides, I have it WELL within my power to change the diagnosis. I can change the way I eat, I can change how I move my body.

    History does not have to repeat itself if I put a little effort in.

  57. Although genetics play an important role in EVERYTHING fitness related- I believe that we can transform our bodies any way we please if we are willing to put in the neccesary work.

    I was an ectomorph-very skinny..and through slow motion training and high intensity plyometrics was able to look much more like a muscular athlete..

  58. “genetics loads the gun, but environment pulls the trigger”

    yes yes yes. Genetically speaking. I’m a hot mess…. but IM in control of what happens to my life, my body. Eating well. Being active. Living as clean and healthy as I can will play a huge role in how genetics plays a part of my life.

  59. I think about this a lot. I’m getting closer to the age of wanting kids and I think about what good habits I want to pass on to them so they avoid a life like what I had (overweight, unhappy etc).

    I agree that genetics loads the gun — all the women in my family have a similar body type (i.e. NOT small framed or skinny) but I definitely pulled the trigger that caused me to gain 100 pounds! And I will have to work HARD the rest of my life to keep that weight off because genetics wants me to be curvy and thick.

  60. I look so much like yet have such different traits, headspace, and outlooks than my parents, I think there is a lot to the fact that nature can load the gun, but in general, nurture pulls the trigger (I know there are anomalies, but in general, most things can be managed). I indeed believe you can change just about anything with focus.

  61. Agree Agree Agree. It would be entirely too depressing if we looked at it the other way.

    This was such a great topic. I really enjoyed reading all the comments from other readers =) Thanks for letting me have some deep thoughts tonight!!

  62. Totally agree! Just because you are dealt crappy cards in life doesn’t mean you should fold entirely. (nice analogy, right?)

    I see it very often with my cardiac patients. Some have horrible family history of heart disease. Because they choose to eat right and exercise in their lives, they were able to SURVIVE and THRIVE after their heart attack or bypass surgery. Genetics helped cause the disease but their healthy environment helped save their life.

  63. Those are valid points. I think it’s probably relative. In a sense that genetics can map out a person’s life, but your choice of transportation and tools can make it a different adventure all together. Does that make sense?

  64. What about genes predisposing us to good things despite a bad environment, or having good genes that are never triggered because of a bad environment? Genes are always blamed for our shortcomings while we take credit personally for our accomplishments but we can also blame the genes for our resilience to weight gain or our uncanny speed. I’m not a determinist by the way, just a psych major. 🙂

  68. I think genetics-nature are the gun…
    Environment-nurture is the bullets
    and
    it’s what leads to individual choices (whether it is genetic or environment(s) (home,peers,work, society) that put different levels of pressure on the trigger

  69. I remember this Q in school many of times. Never came to a clear answer. I do believe it is both. We may be predisposed by genetics, but nurturing it will help determine how it plays out.

    my family, my daughter is predisposed to having a higher rate of dealing with depression. i can only hope by teaching healthy, positive reactions to situations and learning to understand conflicting feelings, will help her to be able to learn to do it with her own feelings. And push past the conflicts. And be a happy, positive child.

  71. WAAAAAY to many comments to go through. Wowzers. I’m with you… genetics can play a huge role, but environment is just as important.

    Having children can definitely put things immediately into a different perspective. I have the same worries as you with our girl and she is only 9 months… it gets better, right?

  72. The theory (and that’s all it ever was) that genetics determine our health was disproven in the 80s. It has since been demonstrated time and time again scientifically and well documented that genes RESPOND, not CAUSE. Genes are basically just recipe books the cell uses to create chemicals it doesn’t have. There is too much to write here, but I am certainly one that has been convinced environment is the most important factor.

Trackbacks

  2. […] Genetics Loaded In the GunThis post by Carla over at MizFitOnline has generated some interesting discussion, the premise being that genetics loads the gun but environment pulls the trigger. I agree with this statement – that while we may be predisposed to certain attributes, diseases/ailments, behaviors, etc., we can create an environment that either stops or encourages its development. I’ve seen so many examples of people and communities coming together to change the negative systems around them and create a new reality / environment for themselves and their families. Where do you stand? […]

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This