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Where do genetic defects come from?
What are genes?
Let our expert explain it to you!
The blueprint of your body
The human body consists of several billions of small cells ,which together, form the tissues of our body. Each individual cell has a cell nucleus in which, in turn, there are roughly 30,000 different genes which control the most diverse of characteristics and mechanisms in the body .For example, there are genes that determine the colour of our eyes; genes that control how tall we will become, genes that are responsible for the digestion of certain foods and genes that are responsible for the function of nerve cells in our brain. All genes, as a whole, form the blueprint of our individual body.

Unfortunately our genes are not free from defects and each of us carries certain genetic defects that we have either inherited from our parents or that have formed by chance and now have a negative impact on our health. These genetic defects make our immune system slightly weaker, increase our risk of a heart attack and give us bad eyesight. They trigger asthma and allergies and lead us to becoming overweight if we eat an uncontrolled diet. Of course, all of us carry different genetic defects, some lead us to having a great risk of a heart attack and others to suffering from lactose intolerance. Diseases, which are frequent in certain families, are a good example for showing that the individual risk of disease can vary from one family to another and from one person to another.
Predisposition to disease caused by defective genes
Genetic defects can have an impact on our health, but in many cases, this does not mean that you will in fact develop a given disease, but that you will only have an increased risk of disease. Whether the disease occurs is dependent on external influences such as the environment and personal lifestyle. For example, if a person is lactose intolerant due to a genetic defect, this person is perfectly healthy as long as he or she does not drink milk. Symptoms only occur if certain environmental influences come into play - in this case, it is the supply of lactose through ingestion.

The same is true of other diseases. If, for example, you have an iron absorption-regulating genetic defect, this increases the risk of hemochromatosis and a preventative lifestyle is necessary to prevent the disease.
Genetic testing for disease prevention
The newest technologies now make it possible to test certain genes that are associated with diseases for defects. On the basis of the analysis result, a personal prevention program can be created which will decrease your personal risk of disease and will help you to stay healthy.

A healthy lifestyle should be sought-after regardless of course, because it can neutralise many genetic predispositions even without information about personal risks. DNA Plus provides you with additional information on what you should pay particular attention to on the basis of your genetic profile and with preventative measures which do not fall under the general guidelines for a healthy life.
The tissues of our bodies consist of single cells that contain a nucleus. Each single nucleus contains the human chromosomes.
Each nucleus contains 2 copies of 23 different chromosomes. Our genes are part of the chromosomes.
The chromosomes consist of a tightly packaged chain of molecules - the DNA double helix. The DNA is comparable to a book, that contains the blueprint for our bodies.