According to recent research led by Dr. Dean Ornish at the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, a healthy lifestyle can cause swift and dramatic changes at the genetic level.

In the study, the researchers tracked 30 men with low-risk prostate cancer who decided against conventional medical treatment such as surgery and radiation or hormone therapy. The men underwent three months of major lifestyle changes, including eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and soy products, moderate exercise such as walking for half an hour a day, and an hour of daily stress management methods such as meditation.

After the three months, as expected, they lost weight, lowered their blood pressure and saw other health improvements. The researchers also found more profound changes: the men had changes in activity in 501 genes, 48 of the disease-preventing genes were turned on while 453 of their disease-promoting genes, including those involved in prostate cancer and other cancers like breast cancer were turned off.

Often times, people feel that they cannot do anything about their disease because it is genetic. They say, “Oh, it's all in my genes, what can I do?” Dr. Ornish disagrees and commented, “Well, it turns out you may be able to do a lot. ‘In just three months, I can change hundreds of my genes simply by changing what I eat and how I live?’ That's pretty exciting.”

Yes, it is exciting to know that simply by changing your lifestyle to include a vegetarian or vegan diet, moderate exercise and meditation to reduce stress, you can save your life.

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