Genes work by making proteins and telling other genes what to do. Type II diabetes is a disease of modern lifestyle banging up against older genes, programmed to make proteins for a different era.
A new CDC report in JAMA shows that female Hispanics run a 52.5% risk of diabetes from birth, while the risk for black women is 49%. The risk for male Hispanics is 51.9% and for black males 41.4%. The rate for white females was 31.2%; for white men, 26.7%.
But you can change which proteins your genes make, and therefore how they work, with what you eat. To learn how what you eat affects which proteins you make, try Nutrigenomics, Inc; UC Davis’ excellent site; and an exhibit of genetic research, all here.
http://Nutrigenomics.UCDavis.edu
Revolution in Progress: Human Genetics and Medical Research
An online exhibit on genetics research
http://history.nih.gov/exhibits/genetics
National Human Genome Research Institute
www.genome.gov
Western Human Nutrition Research Center
www.whnrc.usda.gov
NutraGenomics, Inc.
www.nutragenomics.com