NHS HIGHLAND: Our genetic make-up and our bodies were not designed for the type of lifestyle we live
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When we are ill, we will most likely want to get better as quickly as we can.
This could involve treatment with medicine, perhaps even an operation. We may spend less time thinking about why we are ill and what caused the illness.
Thinking about what causes an illness may do little to help our immediate health but it could do a great deal to stop us becoming sick again.
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Sometimes the cause of an injury or illness can be obvious, such as slipping on ice outside our front door. That should prompt us to make sure that the area is gritted, or a water leak stopped. At other times the cause of an illness may seem far removed from any immediate remedy.
Looking at the causes of illness is something we do a lot in public health, but the overall aim is to tackle that cause of the disease and reduce the level of illness.
I was struck recently by a news report that looked at one factor that contributes to causing multiple sclerosis. At first sight the report seemed to have little to offer us today. The news was about research from ancient skeletons where the DNA from the bones had been examined and the genes compared with those genes known to increase the risk of conditions such as multiple sclerosis.
What the research showed was that a gene that was linked to development of multiple sclerosis was present among people who migrated thousands of miles from the area north of the Black Sea across to northern Europe.
The gene that was studied appears to have helped the ancient people be resistant to infections that they could have contracted from animals such as sheep and cattle. However, the gene’s effects on the immune system that helped fight infection also makes it more likely that a person with the gene will develop multiple sclerosis.
We are the descendants of these people and so have some of their genes.
I hope that this research will have benefit for people at risk of multiple sclerosis, for example in the design of treatments. But it does show us something important about the way that we all live.
Our genetic make-up and our bodies were not designed for the type of lifestyle that we live now. The lifestyle that best suits our natural instincts and our genetics is one of hunting and foraging or perhaps farming with basic crops. However, few of us spend much time on these activities.
Instead, we hunt through supermarket shelves filled with products high in salt and sugar. We fight not against wild animals but against the urge to buy highly processed and less nutritious food because it is what we can afford.
The research on ancient genes may not offer us simple solutions for how we live our lives, but it does help us see some of the difficulties we face. Knowledge of that can help us decide to look for healthier options and perhaps encourage us to do some foraging in the fruit and vegetable section of the supermarket.
Dr Tim Allison is NHS Highland’s director of public health and policy.
