The U.S. Surgeon General is hoping that this Thanksgiving, Americans will sit down with their families and discuss a topic many of us would rather avoid: the chronic diseases and conditions in their gene pool. It's part of the Surgeon General's Family History Initiative, which aims to educate people about the importance of knowing their family's health history. Last year, the Surgeon General's office named Thanksgiving National Family History Day.

Heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other chronic diseases and conditions tend to run in families, and knowing your family health history can steer you toward important lifestyle choices that may help keep you from developing these diseases. But even though 96 percent of Americans recognize that their family's health history is an important factor in predicting their future health, only one in three has actually taken the time to research and document it.

"Identifying the diseases and conditions prevalent in an individual's family tree can help a person make conscious decisions to change their behaviors, environment and lifestyle, giving them the best possible chance for a long and healthy life," says Paula Yoon, Sc.D., MPH, team leader for the genomics and family history team at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Office of Genomics and Disease Prevention.

1. Learn your family's health history and write it down.

Daniel Wattendorf, M.D., genomics liaison to the U.S. Surgeon General, suggests tracing your family's health back three generations. "For common diseases, that will give you most of the information you need," he says. Find out the exact cause of death of your relatives, including grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles and first cousins, as well as their age at diagnosis and any chronic diseases they may have had, and get medical records whenever possible. "The more specific the information, the better," Wattendorf says. "Don't just find out that your grandmother died of a stroke and stop there. Find out what kind of stroke she had. It's helpful information."

Chronic diseases account for seven of the top 10 causes of death in the United States, each of which can be passed down through families. Red flags to look for in your family tree include heart disease, diabetes, cancer, liver and kidney disease, sickle cell anemia and high cholesterol.

2. Work with your doctor to create a risk-reduction plan.

Your physician can help you put the information you've gathered to work by recommending lifestyle changes and scheduling additional screenings.

"There is so much information out there on lowering risk that people often feel overwhelmed," Yoon says. "If you know your family history, your doctor can help you determine what lifestyle changes will be most helpful in lowering your personal disease risk." Your physician also can recommend earlier or more frequent screenings. For instance, if your mother died of breast cancer at age 40, your physician may suggest that you begin getting an annual mammogram earlier than is usually recommended for the general population. Write down your physician's suggestions and take them seriously. And remember to keep your doctor up to date—pass along information about family members‚ health as it's available.

3. Make healthy changes to your lifestyle to help counter any inherited risk.

Knowing your family's health history won't do you any good if you don't follow the doctor's orders. "Do your best to make the lifestyle changes your doctor suggests," Yoon says. "Oftentimes, enlisting the support of a friend or a family member helps people be more successful at making healthy lifestyle changes."

Stay on top of your general screening schedule, but don't expect your doctor to hold you to it. "If earlier or more frequent screenings are in order, be sure to make the appointment yourself," Yoon says. "And keep it."

Most important, remember that making healthy lifestyle choices can help lower your risk for a number of conditions and diseases, not just those that appear in your family's health history. "Just because lung cancer is absent from your family tree doesn't mean that smoking all your life won't affect you," Wattendorf says. "It's important to consider all of your risk factors when developing a disease prevention plan."

Is it really possible to beat the genetic odds? "In many cases, yes," Wattendorf says. "In any case, it's certainly worth a try. Making smart lifestyle choices can only benefit you in the long run."

4. Share the information with your family members, and pass it on to future generations. "Whether you do something as simple as writing the information down in a notebook or recording it in a more complex genealogy software program, this information is incredibly valuable—not just to you, but to your children and grandchildren," Yoon says.

The CDC is in the process of developing a Web-based tool called Family Healthware that will not only help users document their family's health history but also assess personal health risks based on that information.

"This tool will help users identify key aspects of their family histories that affect their personal disease risk and provide them with a detailed report on how to lower it," Yoon says. While the tool is not yet ready for the public, Yoon says it's an exciting development for both physicians and patients.

In Your Hands "People have more control than they think when it comes to whether they'll live a long, healthy life," Wattendorf says. "For most people, genetics takes a backseat to lifestyle choices when it comes to the development of a chronic disease."

Even if you don't know your family's medical history, there are steps you can take to improve your health and prevent disease. "Many people don't follow the recommended screening guidelines for the general population," Wattendorf says. "For those who don't know their family history, paying close attention to disease prevention and keeping a regular screening schedule are especially important."

In addition to being vigilant about screenings, there's a host of things a person can do to lower his or her overall risk for a variety of diseases. "Eat a healthy diet that includes some fish and plenty of fruits and vegetables, and is low in saturated fat," Wattendorf suggests. "Include plenty of fiber and healthy fats like olive oil in your diet. Do your best to get at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise on most days of the week. Don't smoke. And learn how to deal with stress in a healthy way."

Twin Trouble Unlike other siblings, identical twins share the same genetic code, meaning that the chance of identical twins sharing the same disease is even greater than that of siblings or even fraternal twins.

"One study showed that if an identical twin develops type 2 diabetes, there is a 96 percent chance that the other twin will develop it within 15 years," says Daniel Wattendorf, M.D., genomics liaison to the U.S. Surgeon General. "Twins are at a higher risk for developing the same illnesses because they share both genetic and nongenetic family traits."

In other words, the bond between twins often extends beyond DNA to include similar diets, exercise habits and lifestyle choices. For those who do know of an increased risk in their family tree, especially twins, working with your doctor to get on the right medications or screening program is especially important to your future health.

Content provided by Parrish Medical Center and Vim and Vigor, www.parrishmed.com.