PRETTIER, CLEANER, HEALTHIER WITH THE HELP OF THESE FIVE

1 GENETICS: 90 IS THE NEW 40

Spiritual guru Deepak Chopra says: ‘Our DNA is only a blueprint. It’s not our destiny.’

You can blame your genes for just five percent of what happens to your body, and research is now increasingly showing how genes can be switched on and off for your best health and appearance.

Genetics is important, but you do have some control over the other 95% – your lifestyle can beat genes that age you or make you ill. It’s a question of choice. Things as simple as how well you sleep, how much you weigh and what you eat all have an enormous impact on the way your genes behave.

The Australian naturopath Barbara O’Neill puts it like this: Genes load the gun – but lifestyle pulls the trigger.

But how do we know what parts of our lifestyle need to be adapted to avert a catastrophe? How can we use genetics most effectively to stay youthful and healthy? I enlisted the help of the DNAlysis laboratory in Illovo, Johannesburg to find out more about my genes.

The test kit was delivered to me, I swabbed a sample from the inside of my cheek, sealed it up and sent it off. As easy as that; no effort at all.