Modifiable factors and nonmodifiable factors: Are they interchangeable?

Welcome to my third issue. First, I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my discussion. I am not an experienced professional writer like Tony Robbins, Ryan Holiday, or Adam Grant, but I will say that I am different. We are all unique beings coming from unique backgrounds.

My purpose in writing is slightly different. I aim to combine conscious thinking with science, nursing, and public health. By combining all these areas, I will challenge my readers to think outside the professional mindset. I encourage them to dream, imagine, consider contradictions and controversies in everything, and make their interpretations.

Today, we will discuss the duality of modifiable factors and nonmodifiable factors. Are they interchangeable?

The mystery of these two factors lies in the paradox of how something so simple can be so powerful.

Modifiable factor: This is self-explanatory, so-called things that we can change or are under our control. In healthcare, the factors under our control are eating healthy food and keeping ourselves active. When we think a little further, the same modifiable factors become eating the correct food choices. For example, growing children and certain groups of people, such as professional athletes, need more carbohydrates for energy. People with acid reflux problems need to avoid fatty, fried, and spicy foods, caffeine products, carbonated drinks, and wine. Physical activity also varies based on lifestyle. A sedentary work lifestyle requires active cardio exercise, whereas active people may need more strengthening and toning exercises. Hence, modifiable factors are different for different people and are tailored to their needs. As nurse practitioners, our management differs based on the differences in these modifiable factors in our patients.

Non-modifiable factors, such as genetics, race, age, and gender, cannot be changed or are not under our control. Certain conditions, such as cardiovascular disease risk, are higher in males over 45 years of age and among those with a family history of cardiac disease.

Outside the healthcare matrix, non-modifiable factors can include the family, country, ethnicity, and language we are born into. Some people may be privileged enough to be born with plenty of resources, whereas others may be born into scarcity. Some children are born in their best health, whereas others may have significant life-altering disabilities. In superficial terms, these are given so they appear non-modifiable. But can we change these non-modifiable to modifiable? Yes, we can. We can change the course of our destiny through hard work, education, and seeking opportunities. We can earn wealth; we can change location, seek medical care for our disabilities, and modify them to have optimum quality of life.

Neurodevelopmental disorders, namely autism spectrum disorder, are caused by oxidative stress, immune dysregulation, environmental toxins, pesticides in foods, and some components of genomics. While we may argue that genomics is non-modifiable, the remaining causes are modifiable factors. Suppose we modify our lifestyle, which favors reducing stress. We can try living in a clean environment as much as possible, for example, checking our homes for mold and distancing ourselves from mercury exposure. We may focus on more whole foods and avoid synthetic foods like processed and canned foods. These are all under our control. However, genetic makeup is viewed as non-modifiable; can we change this to a modifiable factor? If we think about it, we can change the genetic makeup of our existence, although it may be over a few generations to come. ?I believe prolonged exposure to certain foods and lifestyles can affect the microbiome of our stomach, which slowly changes the genomics and, ultimately, our genetic makeup after being passed down to a few subsequent generations.

Ultimately, it is right to consider that we have the ability to change non-modifiable to modifiable. Now, let's talk about changing modifiable factors into non-modifiable ones. The key reason to do this is to transform all the positive things in our lives that are inconsistent into forever form, i.e., consistent. So, the positive things will remain unchangeable or non-modifiable. Wouldn’t that be great?

An example that comes to mind is building a legacy or creating something that will serve future generations. (a) Let us consider a simple example: giving a child a bedtime routine. Suppose the child is programmed to be in bed at 20:30 every day without exception. This consistency slowly transforms from modifiable to non-modifiable, becoming a healthy sleeping habit. This may be how he will raise his child when he grows up. (b) Another example could be establishing whole food markets everywhere so people can access real foods. As we serve the current generation with proper nutrition, they will pass healthy immunity to future generations. Thus, we will be able to transform this into non-modifiable, something more long-lasting, and (c), of course, and last but not least, affordable and accessible healthcare. Health, in general, transcends generations, and stability in health becomes non-modifiable. This is an entirely different topic to discuss in the future.

Overall, we could transform good things into non-modifiable factors so that our foundation remains solid and flawed things into modifiable ones so that we can always revisit, reinvent, rethink, and reshape them to serve a better purpose. We may assume that the external environment is non-modifiable; we do not have control over it. But can we modify our external environment and make it a positive experience? When unpleasant experiences challenge us, we need to acknowledge the feeling without dismissing it and transform that experience into an opportunity to grow. Lastly, our core values are non-modifiable, whereas our beliefs and cultural practices can be interchangeable.

I would love to hear if this discussion made you think of your modifiables and non-modifiables. How can you interchange these two to your benefit?