Knowing your family health history can help you to take better care of yourself. Learning about what illnesses have affected members of your family can alert you to health risks that people in your family are particularly susceptible to. This is good knowledge to have for yourself, and it is valuable information that you should share with your doctor. By talking about your family health history with your doctor, you give your doctor information that helps him or her to assess your health in a big-picture sort of way. For example, that skin-colored bump above your ear normally would not cause your doctor to make a referral to a dermatologist, but if he knows that skin cancer runs in your family he may suggest that you get it checked out.
Family history affects health largely because of genetics. Genes are passed down from generation to generation, and some genes make the people that carry them susceptible to certain illnesses. Fortunately, having these genes does not have to mean that you are doomed to suffer the illnesses of your ancestors. Just because you have a certain gene does not mean that it will be expressed. Genes function in a way similar to the volume button on your radio. The “volume” on a gene can be turned up or down.
According to Dr. Peter D’Adamo, author of the book “Change Your Genetic Destiny”, we have the ability to change the behavior of our genes. Your environment, your family history, and the foods that you put into your body all affect the behavior of your genes. In his book, Dr. D’Adamo explains how you can use family history and other information to figure out how to change the behavior of your genes so that you avoid the health problems that affected earlier generations of your family. This is certainly encouraging news for those of us that have many illnesses lurking in the branches of our family tree.