Interesting headlines again today…
“Good family life may counter depression gene”… NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A loving, supportive family can be enough to override a genetic vulnerability to depression, new research suggests. Studies have found that people who carry a “short” version of the serotonin transporter gene — known as 5-HTTLPR — tend to be more susceptible to depression than people without this gene variant. But the new findings, published in the journal Biological Psychiatry, show that to be true only of gene carriers who grew up in a stressful home environment. In contrast, the investigators found that young adult gene carriers whose families were warm and supportive had a reduced risk of depression.
You see…. It’s NOT the Genes! (geez… these silly gooses… when will they learn?!)
Next headline: “Positive emotions lower blood pressure”… NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Having a positive outlook makes life more enjoyable, and it may also lower blood pressure in older adults. Among more than 2,500 people aged 65 or older, the higher a person scored on a questionnaire measuring positive emotions, the lower was his or her blood pressure. “Our thoughts and emotions do affect our physical processes,” Dr. Glenn V. Ostir of the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, the study’s lead author, told Reuters Health. “The nice thing is that we have some control over that.”
Told you so…. (sorry… I just love being right!)
Of course… these studies are very behind the times really… L. Ron Hubbard figured all this out way back in 1950!