A few years ago, my dear friend, Dr. Sara Gottfried noticed that I was exhibiting some interesting behavior during a conversation we were having, namely the tendency to "overthink" things. She made a statement that only a doctor would make, "Nick, I would love to see what your DNA has to say about your genetic predisposition to this pattern of thought."
This wasn't out of the blue. Dr. Sara and I had been discussing (because we're nerds) how spiritual nutrients may affect gene expression, meaning the way your DNA talks to the rest of the body. In fact, she wrote a seminal book about it.
She was actually serious about wanting to read my DNA, so two days later, I was shipping off a saliva sample to a DNA lab. I did this with trepidation, because of my past experiences with modern medicine, but with a fair amount of excitement too.
A month went by and finally my results came back – which initially looked like a hundred pages of indecipherable code.
The letter that came with my report had a yellow box at the top that read "What Is DNA?", followed by this basic explanation:
We are all made of cells, and the cells in our body have 23 pairs of chromosomes. Your chromosomes are made of DNA, which can tell you a lot about you. The DNA within us carries genetic instructions that are used in our body's growth, development, functioning and reproduction.
After taking a few hours to read through my results, Sara highlighted a few lines of biological code and sent them over to me.
She told me that this string of letters represented my COMT Gene – also known as the Corporate Warrior gene. This gene functions much like a switch, it's either set to "warrior" mode or "worrier" mode.
From each of her parents, Dr. Sara had inherited the “Warrior” version of this gene (she is “val-val” in the parlance of genetics). On the other hand, I inherited the “Worrier” version of the gene (known as “met-met”) from each of my parents - which explains my tendency to overthink.
Hang on while I briefly explain the science, then I’ll come back to why this may be relevant to you.
This is about to get personal!
There's good news and bad news with my DNA result. Basically, the COMT gene controls how you break down catecholamines—stress chemicals—in the brain. I have lower COMT activity, so I have higher dopamine levels in the prefrontal cortex of my brain. That’s good—and sometimes not so good. It means I’m more likely to be a worrier and have a harder time clearing stress. Together with my slow caffeine metabolism, this may be my Achilles heel.
As with most things in life, there’s an evolutionary benefit and a shadow side. The goal is to draw on the benefits, integrate them more in my work, personal life, and spiritual life, and to address the shadow side.
I'm finding that my genetic makeup can be used as a map for deeper spiritual exploration.
A few of the benefits of my “Worrier” strategy:
· Lower COMT activity than Dr. Sara, so I have better focus from higher dopamine levels. (Dr. Sara has a tendency toward ADD with tiny levels of dopamine because her COMT enzyme chews up all her dopamine.)
· Better attention and memory, which is called the “worrier” strategy. I’m the guy Dr. Sara wants to call to talk through the worst-case scenarios when she gets a crazy new entrepreneurial idea.
· More likely to have high levels of “executive functioning,” meaning one’s ability to focus and be cognitively flexible.
· More “exploratory” behavior—good thing I work as a documentary filmmaker!
The shadow side of my genetic variant:
· More likely to be a worrier.
· Lower pain threshold and enhanced vulnerability to stress, but at the same time, more efficient at processing information under low-stress conditions because of my access to dopamine. The pain threshold may explain my history of migraines.
· Under stress, I have less efficient neurotransmission and worse performance. Thankfully, meditation/contemplative practice helps counteract this.
· Increased risk of homocysteine levels, a blood marker of inflammation, as I’m more prone to it.
· More difficulty getting the benefits from hypnosis.
· Modest increased risk of breast cancer among women, which may be an issue if I have a daughter in the future.
I share these personal details with you in the hope that you will see the value of knowing not just your genetics, but, more importantly, the ways your genes talk to your body, mind, and soul.
When it comes to aging and disease, recent science estimates that only 10 percent of disease is attributable to genetics; 90 percent is attributable to environment—much of which is under your control with daily choices. That means you have a big opportunity to lengthen your healthspan—the period of time when you feel like you’re in your prime.
In the coming year, Dr. Sara has set her sights on helping people extend their healthspan—starting with their DNA and how it guides your body toward fast or slow aging. Ultimately, she wants to change the conversation we’re having about longevity.
Today, if you want to figure out your prospects for healthful aging and what you can do to live a more integrated life that allows you to be of service over a longer span of time, order a copy of Dr. Sara’s new book, Younger: A Breakthrough Program to Reset Your Genes, Reverse Aging, and Turn Back the Clock 10 Years. You’ll be surprised and delighted that you did.
If you’re still on the fence about whether Dr. Sara’s work applies to you, consider the wise words of author and spiritual teacher Marianne Williamson:
“Sara Gottfried speaks openly to the secret questions of a generation: ‘Now that we finally have things figured out, how do we stay on the planet long enough to live what we know?’ Her guidance on how to increase not only our lifespan, but also our healthspan, is an invaluable resource to those of us who feel we are spiritually youthing as we physically age.”
Before Dr. Sara’s book, I had no idea how important my genetics were and how I can work with them for spiritual, emotional, mental, or physical benefit. As I said to Dr. Sara when she told me about my worrier/warrior gene, "I’m so met-met".
Stay curious,
