{"id":672,"date":"2018-10-30T05:46:31","date_gmt":"2018-10-30T05:46:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/healing-health-wellness\/?p=672"},"modified":"2018-10-30T06:04:31","modified_gmt":"2018-10-30T06:04:31","slug":"social-connections-and-environment-shape-our-genes-and-behavior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/healing-health-wellness\/2018\/10\/social-connections-and-environment-shape-our-genes-and-behavior\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Connections and Environment Shape Our Genes and Behavior"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The interest in the field of epigenetics<\/a> has increased rapidly over the last decade. Attention to this subject now spans across many scientific specialties, and even into mainstream. (source,<\/a> source<\/a>) This is due to the powerful paradigm shift it entails.<\/p>\n

Epigenetics, the study of how environmental factors interact with our genes, has verified that although our DNA contains the \u201chardware\u201d to our biological book of life, we can influence how it is \u201cread\u201d and \u201cexpressed.\u201d Through changing our \u201ccellular environment\u201d by various lifestyle practices<\/a>, we can modify wellness in a way that no longer makes us victims to our genetics.<\/p>\n

These alterations<\/a> in our genes occur through very complex, molecular mechanisms. For the science buffs, these include:<\/p>\n