Virtually Anything In Our Environment Can Alter Gene Activity

It is now understood that virtually anything in our environment can alter gene activity: diet, exercise, drug use, pollution, and more. Perhaps more surprisingly, experiences can also alter gene activity through epigenetics. Children who suffer trauma have epigenetic changes in genes regulating stress responses, which may explain why many grow up to have health and behavioral problems. Emerging studies have also implicated epigenetics in several types of mood disorders.