What if your DNA wasn’t your destiny—but instead, a starting point shaped by your life experiences?
That’s the promise of epigenetics, a groundbreaking field helping us understand how mental health conditions like eating disorders are influenced by both our biology and the world around us.

In this post, we’ll break down what epigenetics is, how it relates to eating disorders, and why this science is opening new doors for earlier diagnosis, personalized treatment, and real-time tracking of therapeutic progress—especially for complex, often misunderstood conditions.

You Can Inherit Risk—But Not Inevitability

Eating disorders—such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder—run in families. Studies show that if a first-degree relative has one, your risk increases significantly. But despite this genetic predisposition, not everyone with the “risk genes” develops an eating disorder. So what separates those who do from those who don’t?

This is where epigenetics comes in.

What Is Epigenetics (And Why It Matters)?

Epigenetics is the study of how genes can be turned “on” or “off” by environmental signals—without changing the underlying DNA. Think of your DNA as the sheet music, and your environment as the conductor deciding which notes get played and when.

These “environmental signals” can include:

• Chronic stress
  
• Trauma or emotional neglect
  
• Dieting or food insecurity
  
• Social pressures and media influence
  
• Hormonal shifts during puberty or pregnancy
  

Each of these experiences can leave an epigenetic mark, changing how your body expresses genes tied to metabolism, impulse control, anxiety, or appetite regulation. Over time, these changes can build toward a diagnosable eating disorder—especially if there’s an underlying genetic vulnerability.

Example: Studies have found that stress during adolescence can alter how the brain regulates the HPA axis, the system that governs stress and appetite. These changes may increase the likelihood of restrictive or binge eating behaviors.
[Reference: Klump et al., 2015 – PMC4517846]

How Epigenetics May Help Track Treatment Progress

Here’s where it gets even more exciting—and hopeful.

Early-stage research shows that epigenetic markers may serve as biological "signatures" of progress during therapy. For example, studies in PTSD patients have shown that successful therapy can reverse some of the stress-induced epigenetic changes in key genes related to fear, stress, and emotional regulation.

This opens the door to a revolutionary concept:
What if we could measure how well therapy is working—not just by asking how a patient feels, but by watching how their gene expression shifts during healing?

While this area of research is still developing, the implications for eating disorders are profound. We may soon be able to:

• Identify which patients are likely to respond to certain treatments
  
• Catch when a patient’s recovery stalls—biologically—before relapse happens
  
• Design personalized therapies based on someone’s unique genomic and epigenetic profile
  

🧬 Reference: Boks et al., 2015 – PMC7575010

Why This Matters for Patients and Families

Eating disorders can be invisible, complex, and devastating. They often go undiagnosed until significant damage is done—not just physically, but emotionally and relationally. The idea that we could catch them earlier, treat them more precisely, and monitor recovery in real-time isn’t just science fiction—it’s the future of mental health care.

Epigenetics is helping us get there. And it means that healing is not just possible—it's measurable.

The Future of Mental Health Is Personal, Biological, and Within Reach

At Nature&Nurture, we’re developing tools that combine genomic and epigenetic testing with compassionate, personalized care for those struggling with eating disorders and other mental health challenges.

We believe that no family should have to guess whether treatment is working—or whether they’re doing enough. By using cutting-edge science and real biological markers, we help bring clarity to a space that’s long been clouded by uncertainty.

Want to learn more?
Join our mailing list to get early access to our genomics-based mental health app, or contact us to explore how our tools can help you or your loved ones.