Memories When Young

I have some interesting memories of the place and city where I was born, ones that key me in to my family's situation in life. What do you remember about your family when you were very young? The perspectives were much different then, due to the degree of control and focus you and I possessed.

For example, I remember riding on the handlebars of a friend's bike, and falling off and skinning my right knee. Memories of that knee include a large, thick scab that covered most of it.That taught me to avoid sitting on bicycle handlebars. Other memories include being taken out of church on a Sunday, by my father, who was separated from my mother. I was then taken to a store, which, at the age of three, I knew was wrong, because we normally observed the Sabbath by refraining from purchases, and the toy blue jet that my father purchased for me. He then took me to his parents' home, and tried to get me to take a nap. I believe I found the jet plane much more interesting. I also remember watching my mother pitch a fit, and throw the airplane across the room.

What does that say about my family of origin? They were not unified, and a divorce soon ensued. I was also interested in technology, as I perceived it, from a very early age. How does that affect me today? It set the tone for my family's, and thus my social dynamics, the who-I-am-based-on-my-experiences setting, and the decisions I have made from that time forward. This carried into becoming a stepchild, getting a new first, middle, and last name, and what I have done with those names.

So what are your earliest memories? Have you written them down, or transcribed them in any way to electronic media? This leads to the next point...what do you want to do with your memories, and your past? Recording them is the first step to assessment.

Your Grandparents' Lifestyles, and your DNA

     Researchers, intrigued with advances in DNA analysis, have discovered more and more evidence that what your progenitors did, how they exercised, how they ate, and what their addictions were, affect your health today. Doctor Claudia Aguirre of the Huffington Post, see http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-claudia-aguirre/how-diet-changes-your-dna_b_7129758.html, has determined that the lack of certain essential foods in your parents' diet can increase the probably that you will get diabetes, be obese, and contract cardiovascular disease. She was also able to discover that there are dietary changes that will increase the number of neurons a child's body will make, thus making children smarter.

     Christopher Wanjek, of Lifescience.com, see http://www.livescience.com/21902-diet-epigenetics-grandchildren.html, seconds what Claudia stated, only he published his findings three years ago. Deficient parental diets cause health problems for their children, including obesity and diabetes. It's quite interesting that two of the largest health epidemics today are diabetes and obesity. And diabetes is the seventh largest cause of death.

     Scientists, of course, don't always agree. The scientists in charge of study about how diet affects human DNA in the U.K., see http://metro.co.uk/2012/09/21/feeding-your-dna-does-your-diet-affect-your-genes-581760/ never came to a conclusion which foods would help parents gift their children healthy bodies, but they did gain an understanding that what the parents consumed changed what physical traits their children inherited.

Dr. Aguirre also has show how parental exercise can affect the brain health of the children of those who exercise. See http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-claudia-aguirre/your-brain-on-exercise_b_7066856.html .

     Other epigeneticists have discovered how better nutrition can affect the DNA you pass down, most importantly the mother, but also, the father of any and every child. See http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/epigenetics/nutrition/. So your children will get to deal with how well you live, eat, and exercise, and what you hand down to them will very likely largely determine the quality of their lives.

Other Sources:

Sources: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/leading-causes-of-death.htm