Genetics, Predispositions and Health Care

I’ve recently become incredibly fascinated by biology, and there are a few basic truths about it when it comes to health that we all should know.

The genes we inherit from our parents have an effect on our health, there’s no doubt about that. Some genes carry illnesses such as diabetes, asthma, and heart disease. If we get these genes, then we are predisposed to getting those illnesses. However, lifestyle and diet will also determine whether or not we get these diseases. For example, if we have the right diet and maintain a healthy lifestyle, we can lessen our chances of contracting these diseases. 

Genetics and Nursing

For those of you who may be looking at getting into nursing, genetic nursing is one of those specialties. A genetics nurse is one who assists patients who have or who are at risk for diseases that are related to genetics – such as Alzheimer’s, heart disease, diabetes, and/or cancer. These nurses will perform risk assessments and then analyze the data that is collected. Careers in this field can be extremely rewarding because of the fact that you will be assisting patients as well as their families to better prepare themselves for any potential diseases that run in the family.

Health Care Administration

Nursing isn’t for everyone. That being said, some people might still want to work in the medical field and help people. If this sounds like you, you might want to consider a career in health care administration. This will allow you to still make an impact in peoples’ lives without necessarily needing to deal with them on a physical level. You will be running things at either a doctor’s office or in a hospital setting.

Personalized Medicine

You might also want to get into personalized medicine if genetics interests you. Personalized medicine is also known as precision or genomic medicine. This branch of medicine deals with the link between someone’s health profile, known disease risks, and genetic makeup to come up with medicine that is made specifically for that person. Today’s medicine is geared more towards making treatments and drugs that will work for most patients. This type breaks that mold by defining whether or not a specific treatment would work for one specific patient.

Other Genetic Influences

Your health isn’t the only thing influenced by genetics. Your hair and eye color are influenced by genetics as is your height and even your weight and body type and more. Some of us are predisposed to be short and pudgy while others of us have the right genes to make us tall and svelte. Some of us have the right genes for having a great metabolism, while others of us just don’t.

If you are not genetically predisposed to having a great body, you really don’t need to worry that much about it anymore. There are all sorts of things on the market to help you reach your body goals, whether or not you have the right genes. Just as you can change your hair or even eye color now, with hair dye and colored contacts.

The bottom line is this: yes, you are born with genes that make you predisposed to certain health conditions, physical attributes, etc. We no longer need to keep those maladies though. We have the medicines to treat the diseases and various other products to deal with the physical attributes.