Outsmart your genes: How understanding your DNA will empower you to protect yourself against cancer, Alzheimer's, heart disease, obesity, and many other conditions

With a straightforward, readable text that combines entertaining anecdotes in lay terms with established medical facts, the author encourages the reader to take the initiative and become curious about his/her genetic make-up. In part this is due to the well-organised structure of the book, which partitions every topic of interest, such as the history of genetics, genetic screening and predictive medicine, how to execute genetic screening, parental and reproductive screening, as well as the screening of newborns, children and adults, and the corresponding interpretation regarding the risk of developing major diseases such as obesity, cardiovascular problems, Alzheimer's disease and cancers. Well-structured tables and a scheme that lists the prevalent genes and their genetic impact on a particular health issue, and potential lifestyle changes and treatment options for individuals with mutations in these genes, further help in understanding the notion of how to live a longer, better life in terms of one's complex individual genetic make-up. Besides tables, the book summarises essential take-home messages in fat print and contains boxes with anecdotes, including examples from the media, movie world and children's books/riddles, as well as evidence of historical and current genetics, which further underline and enlighten the main text in a humorous manner. Thus, some of the historical anecdotes, such as Mendel and his colleagues getting stung by his new cross-bred hive of bees, remain truly anecdotal.Regarding the science, the text uses numerous solid references to support the content. It includes a very detailed discussion about currently known genetic variations that determine genetic traits or disease states and gives examples of how changes in lifestyle or therapeutic interventions can positively affect a patient's quality of life. With this in mind, the book is well written for a reader who is seeking advice on genetic screening and its interpretation. Yet, the book