We’re all connected by our family tree. It’s uncanny how traits in families get passed on. Passions for cooking, sports, fashion, music all show up in varying degrees in different family members through the generations.

 On the outside, we all have some understanding of these similarities and accept them. We even joke and talk about them in family gatherings. “She has my knack for clumsiness.” “Look at his cooking talents - he’s a chip off the old block.”  

Did you know that on the inside we are just as alike, and even more so? The very core of our insides – our cells and organs themselves share similarities which is why so many illnesses and conditions “run in families.”

Our genes are really our body’s computer programs for how we work and function on the inside and out. The genes that get “passed” on are not a sure thing, however. They get turned on by a complicated cascade of switches that are really triggered by our experiences. This is where the phrase “nature or nurture” has come from. We are all born with tendencies for “things” on the inside and out due to our genes - our heredity. The environment of those genes – meaning, the experiences of the body those genes live in, is what determines whether those genes stay off or turn on. So, you could carry around the gene for your dad’s high blood pressure and never get it.

The question we need to ask is how we can learn about this tendency. How in the world can we begin to discover what our family members experience as they get older? The answer to this questions is already at the dinner table! It’s as simple as sharing your, and other family member’s, medical histories.

Now, keep in mind this knowledge does by no means mean your kids or grandkids will develop any of these conditions.  If they learn that every person on your side was over weight by the time they were 20, you may help your kids and grandkids eat and move differently. Same with high blood pressure trends or even cancers. This is where their doctor comes in. By discussing their family medical history with a doctor and your grandchild’s pediatrician can come up with a medical screening plan that makes sense– if one is needed at all. This is called a “risk assessment.”

My family tends to be chatty but my grandparents didn’t discuss their health histories much, until after they were hospitalized! Many relatives in my family have migraines, including me. Recently we learned that my own grandmother had horrible migraines. That was news to many of us and the relative that new never thought it was important to let us know (“You already have headaches, how would it have helped?”) Well, given our strong family history back to my grandmother made it possible to diagnose my own daughter at a much younger age and get her treatment than it would have been possible otherwise. So, family history is important and these trends do help. But, they can only help if people talk about them.

But, you don’t have to talk. We live in a modern age, you can email, blog or IM!  The key is sharing medical histories. Here is a list to get you going: 

• Blood pressure: high and low
• Migraines and headaches
• Menstrual issues
• Stress, anxiety and depression
• Cancers
• Allergies and Asthma (including food allergies and drug allergies)
• Diabetes
• Obesity
• Stress Fractures
• Heart Problems, including heart attacks
• High Cholesterol and Triglycerides
• Eye problems of any and all kinds
• ADHD and learning issues
• Stomach Issues
• Urinary Issues

Basically, if you are going to a doctor and receiving treatment, that is what you have to communicate to each other!

Go as far back as you can recall then hand to your family for their next doctor’s appointment. This information may be FYI for now but could come in handy for someone down the line. If nothing else, learning about your family is always worthwhile and you may find you learn something interesting about each other all at once (“I didn’t know Great Uncle Herman had 6 toes!”)