Genetic disorder or malfunction has become the “go to” explanation for the rise of disease. It is all too common in these days of rising heart, cardiovascular, and diabetic conditions, to blame it all on genes. And while this may be a factor in some cases, it is likely not the root cause. Genetics are slow to change; it doesn’t happen over a few generations.

There are of course hereditary factors. These factors, however, have their roots in diet and nutrition, and are much more rapidly affected by such. Information presented by “trusted resources” such as the CDC and FDA, frequently obfuscates actual causes by altering the sequence of importance of related factors.

This throws lay person, and especially the aspiring student scientist or practitioner, a curve ball. He is now given a false education and trained to “relate” dis-related facts.

I will give you a good example, directly lifted from the CDC website on heart disease, as it is presented today. The CDC website lists causes for heart disease, bullet-pointed in the order shown in the below chart:

Inaccurate chart for causes of heart disease.

The lay person reading this chart and sequence would be left with the impression that diabetes and overweight are at the heart of the matter. This is simply not true. The CDC itself attributes overweight and obesity to diet and nutrition and states: “Genetic changes in human populations occur too slowly to be responsible for the obesity epidemic.” Diabetes is attributed to overweight and obesity as well by the CDC, and these are named as the primary risk factors to diabetes.

The only two factors which are directly related are poor diet, and physical inactivity. The other factors — diabetes, overweight and excessive alcohol use — place one in an “at risk” category and have as their underlying causes “poor diet and physical inactivity.” It is therefore incorrect to include them among the causes, as they are part of a “progression of disease” rather than its source.
A more correct representation of the cause for heart disease, and other health issues, for that matter, would look quite different. It appears as you see in the following chart:

Better chart for causes of heart disease.

This chart, while more correct, is still inaccurate. It omits another vital factor related to disease, that is not overtly attributed to these conditions on CDC websites. The information can, however, be found on their site — if you know where to look.

This factor is toxicity: the presence bio-hostile ingredients in products such as chemical preservatives, artificial sweeteners, coloring agents, drugs, and other biologically hostile additives used to treat or flavor food.
 

Most accurate chart for causes of heart disease.

If one wanted to, one could add related factors, such as overweight, obesity and diabetes — but to add these to the list would still create a false impression of causation and lead to wrong diagnosis and treatment.

Except in very rare cases, overweight and obesity are a consequence of poor diet.

Why they would not plot an accurate chart is a question that begs an answer. Scientists aren’t stupid, so one would have to look for vested interest. Current mainline medical approach is “effective disease management,” — not cure.

“Effective Disease management” is a misnomer. It alludes that a condition cannot be remedied and that no cure is available. The afflicted individual thus is convinced that his condition cannot be resolved and therefore ceases to search for a correct solution to his condition. He or she is now stuck with the condition for life.

Inherited Nutritional Deficiencies

When we discuss hereditary conditions, lines can get blurred very quickly. Most people think of hereditary conditions in terms of DNA, or genes. While DNA is one aspect of hereditary condition, it is likely the least important factor in most cases. This fact has gotten lost in our excitement about genetic engineering, cloning, and all the other advanced scientific vistas that open up with the use of DNA.

A correct medical view of hereditary diseases embraces a far wider scope. When discussing or screening for hereditary factors one must look at the following: parental nutrition, inherited deficiency, diet by family habit, current nutrition (we will cover some of the evidence for this later in this article). One could roughly chart these as follows:

 

When one understands the above related hereditary factors, it becomes obvious that genetics or DNA have a far smaller role than is currently envisioned, in the formation of disease. It doesn’t mean they do not affect a disease or condition, but predisposition to a condition is likely generated through nutritional deficiency, inherited deficiencies, and the prevention of remediation of the condition, through continued bad diet due to existing misconceptions on nutrition in the family environment.

This can become a vicious circle, but it is one that can be broken. And while some people are at a disadvantage in terms of health, due to hereditary reasons, it is likely not locked in due to DNA. It is therefore possible to improve, and possibly resolve, some conditions currently incorrectly attributed to DNA, or Genetics.

The terms genetic and hereditary have become synonymous, especially to the lay person. They are not and need to be kept strictly separate. They are two different disciplines entirely. Every health professional should understand hereditary factors; not every health professional needs to understand DNA. DNA is a highly specialized subject and is not the cause of the vast majority of conditions a health professional will face.

A Look at Hereditary Nutritional Deficiency and its Results

One particular study done in the late 1930’s, titled POTTENGERS CATS, a Study in Nutrition tracks the effects of hereditary nutritional deficiency over the course of several generations of cats, as well as the reversal of it. It adequately demonstrates the impact of nutrition-deficient diets on successive generations.

It is very pertinent today, as we are seeing an explosion of disease and health issues since the age of industrialized food created “processed food” which is nutritionally deficient. Likewise, we are seeing a parallel rise in developmental disorders, one example of which is autism, which currently lacks a plausible explanation. DNA does not just corrupt over the period of one or two generations, save for nuclear contamination.

Following are a few tables of several generations of cats that show inherited nutritional deficiency, over generations, and the subsequent reversal over generations. We have focused here on the prevalence of allergies in nutritionally-deficient offspring. Many other health and developmental issues were observed, and by the third generation of nutritionally deficient cats, they were no longer capable of reproducing.

First entirely healthy cats were produced through a diet with complete nutrition by already healthy cats.

 

Next cats were put on food lacking adequate nutrition. Over two generations the health of the cats suffers dramatically. By the 3rd generation cats stopped reproducing.

 

Cats were then placed on a nutritionally sufficient diet, and the “inherited” diseases were completely
reversed over two generations.

Nutrition is an important factor in health across generations

As you can see, nutrition or its deficiency drastically affects the state of health and the immune system on the following generation. Many more studies exist which prove this. It is the easiest in the world to replicate.

Of particular note in the study on cats is that by the 3rd generation, virtually all cats were allergic to something. This is alarming as the CDC currently estimates 30-40 percent of people are affected by allergies. Additionally, asthma has been increasing steadily since the 1960s, up to what are now described to epidemic levels. No suitable cause or “reason” for this has been found ….

One study done on allergies found that “farmers’ children suffer less from hay fever and asthma,” and attempted to understand why children who were born on farms, worked on farms, and were more exposed than city children, were much less affected by allergies. The study concluded that “farm children develop a natural immunity, due to exposure.” It had no evidence to back this conclusion, but the study stands. But diets on farms are notably more nutrient-rich than diets in the city … need we say more?

In closing, while DNA and genetics obviously do have a role in illness and disease, it is likely a minor one and only relevant in highly specialized instances, not in general health or in the production of disorders of epidemic proportions.

Nutritional hereditary factors, hereditary diet by education and present diet play a much larger role than previously credited, and these can be adjusted.

William Tucker
VP D&Y Laboratories