“The information encoded in your DNA determines your unique biological characteristics, such as sex, eye color, age and Social Security number.”
–Dave Barry
Just as your genetic make up can cause greater susceptibility to burning in the sun, your genes can make you more susceptible to autoimmune diseases like fibromyalgia. However, genetics do not guarantee that you will develop any type of what the world calls autoimmune disease.

According to the researchers at the University of Utah, genetics aren’t everything. In the case of identical twins, when one twin develops MS, there is only a 30% chance of the other (genetically identical) twin also being diagnosed with the disease. A separate study showed the incidence of lupus between identical twins even lower at 24%.  With Rheumatoid Arthritis, there is a 1 in 4 chance.

Why does one twin get sick and not the other the majority of the time? The answer is the same as if one redheaded, fair-skinned twin who went out in the sun and got a sunburn, while the other avoided sun exposure and did not get burned. The answer is the environment. The twins with MS, lupus, and arthritis had allowed an internal environment that was conducive to autoimmunity.

You can’t do anything about your DNA, so the focus of this series will be on what you can change.

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