(Aging Untold) — A family history of heart disease, diabetes or high cholesterol can feel like a warning about what’s ahead, but genes are only part of the story, according to Dr. Rhea Rogers, a board-certified physician and Aging Untold expert.

Inheriting a risk is not the same as a guarantee to get the disease, Rogers said.

“The gene just says you have the risk or you don’t. It doesn’t mean that it’s going to be turned on. You have to turn the gene on. So, what turns the gene on is what we call epigenetics, your terrain or your environment. In the right setting, and if you give it the wrong things, then you probably will get that,” Rogers said.

Environmental factors

Beyond diet and exercise, Rogers says some outside exposures can take a toll on the body as well.

“The other things that you don’t have as much of a control over is the environmental toxins. So environmental toxins will do what? They will damage DNA, they will create inflammation, so that’s a harder one to control,” Rogers said.

Inflammation builds up in the body over time and efforts to control that can help in the long run, Rogers said.

“Go back to the basics, foundation, it’s inflammation. Minimize inflammation,” Rogers said.

Your genes may shape your risk, but your environment and daily habits still help shape the outcome.