Super Genes

This book follows the authors' collaboration on Super Brain, bringing together Chopra's expertise on mind-body medicine with Tanzi's knowledge of genetics – he is professor of neurology at Harvard. Readers will be aware of the revolution of thinking brought about by epigenetics, which has overturned neurogenetic determinism and clarified the extent to which we ourselves are responsible for the expression or non-expression of our genetic make-up. Genes are not fixed and unchangeable – they are predispositions rather than fate, as Dean Ornish puts it. We can therefore learn how to make our genes help us. The book is divided into three parts: the science of transformation, lifestyle choices for radical well-being, and guiding your own evolution. Perhaps the most important point to emerge from the first part is the key role played in health by our microbiome – our total ecology of micro-organisms in our guts. The authors describe some fascinating new work by Dr Paresh Dandona on foods and inflammation – a fast-food breakfast inflames the system while a high fibre one has the opposite effect. They give some guidance on what to do to reset the microbiome (p. 90).

In the second part they look at lifestyle choices for diet, stress, exercise, meditation, sleep and the emotions. Starting with an indicative quiz, they move on to discuss three kinds of choice we can make in these areas: easy, hard and experimental, giving examples of each and the scientific backing for healthy choices. We don't often think of the long-term implications of such everyday choices and may eventually have to make some hard choices in relation to health challenges. Bad choices may feel good while good choices often demand delayed gratification. Readers can therefore choose their own degree of commitment. Cells and indeed the body as a whole have their own wisdom with which we can choose to co-operate. The authors list nine essentials for life in the cell's wisdom, adding ways of living these in practice, including having a higher purpose, intimacy and communion and allowing the flow of life to bring you what you need; then they add being mindful to their view of evolution. This is a wise, practical and empowering book.