What you eat may change the genes and health outcomes of your unborn children and grandchildren

Over the last century, researchers have undergone profound shifts in their understanding of genetics.

Genes (regions of DNA that largely determine our physical characteristics) were considered immutable under the original model of genetics pioneered by biologist Gregor Mendel in 1865. environmental impact.

The emergence of the field of epigenetics in 1942 shattered this notion.

Epigenetics refers to changes in gene expression that occur without changing the DNA sequence. Some epigenetic changes are an aspect of cell function, such as those associated with aging.

However, environmental factors can also affect the function of genes, meaning that people’s behavior can affect their inheritance. For example, identical twins develop from a single fertilized egg and therefore have the same genetic makeup. However, as twins age, their appearance may differ due to different environmental exposures. One twin may eat a healthy, balanced diet, while the other may eat an unhealthy diet, causing differences in the expression of genes that play a role in obesity, helping the former twin lower his body fat percentage.

People don’t have much control over some of these factors, such as air quality. However, other factors are more under human control: physical activity, smoking, stress, medications and exposure to pollution, such as from plastics, pesticides and burning fossil fuels, including car exhaust.

Another factor is nutrition, which has given rise to the subfield of nutritional epigenetics. This discipline involves the idea that “you are what you eat, you are what your grandmother ate”. Simply put, nutritional epigenetics is the study of how your diet and the diets of your parents and grandparents affect your genes. Because the dietary choices a person makes today affect the genetics of their future children, epigenetics may provide an incentive to make better dietary choices.

Two of us work in the field of epigenetics. Another study looked at how diet and lifestyle choices help people stay healthy. Our research team consists of fathers, so our work in this area will only enhance our familiarity with the transformative power of parenthood.

famine story

The roots of nutritional epigenetics research can be traced back to the poignant historical chapter of the Dutch Hunger Winter at the end of World War II.

During the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, people were forced to eat rations of 400 to 800 calories a day, a far cry from the typical 2,000-calorie diet standard adopted by the Food and Drug Administration. As a result, approximately 20,000 people died and 4.5 million suffered from malnutrition.

Studies have found that famine causes epigenetic changes in the IGF2 gene related to growth and development. These changes inhibited muscle growth in the offspring of pregnant women who experienced famine. In offspring, this suppression leads to an increased risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and low birth weight.

These findings mark a critical moment in epigenetic research and clearly demonstrate that environmental factors such as famine can lead to epigenetic changes in offspring that can have serious consequences for their health.

The role of mother’s diet

Before this groundbreaking work, most researchers believed that epigenetic changes could not be passed from one generation to the next. Instead, the researchers believe that epigenetic changes may occur when exposed early in life, such as during pregnancy, a highly vulnerable period of development. Therefore, initial nutritional epigenetic studies focused on dietary intake during pregnancy.

The discovery of the Dutch Hungry Winter was later supported by animal studies, which allowed researchers to control how animals reproduced, helping to control for background variables. Another advantage for researchers is that the mice and sheep used in these studies reproduce faster than humans, allowing for faster results. Additionally, researchers have complete control over an animal’s diet throughout its lifespan, allowing specific aspects of the diet to be manipulated and examined. Together, these factors allow researchers to study epigenetic changes in animals better than in humans.

In one study, researchers exposed pregnant female mice to vinclozolin, a commonly used fungicide. As a result of this exposure, the ability of the first generation to produce sperm decreases, leading to increased rates of male infertility. Crucially, these effects, like those of the famine, were passed on to subsequent generations.

Although these works were landmark in shaping nutritional epigenetics, they ignored other developmental periods and completely ignored the role of the father in the epigenetic legacy of his offspring. However, a recent study in sheep showed that paternal diet supplemented with the amino acid methionine from birth to weaning affected growth and reproductive characteristics in the following three generations. Methionine is an essential amino acid involved in DNA methylation, an example of an epigenetic change.

Healthy choices for future generations

These studies highlight the lasting impact of parents’ diet on their offspring. They can also be a powerful motivator for future and current parents to make healthier dietary choices, because the dietary choices parents make influence their children’s diets.

Meeting with a nutrition professional, such as a registered dietitian, can provide evidence-based recommendations for individuals and families to make practical dietary changes.

There are still many unknowns about how diet affects and influences our genes. Research on nutritional epigenetics is starting to show that this is a powerful and compelling reason to consider lifestyle changes.

Researchers already know a lot about the Western diet (what many Americans eat). The Western diet is high in saturated fat, sodium, and added sugar, but low in fiber; not surprisingly, the Western diet is associated with negative health outcomes such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and some cancers.

A good start is to eat more natural, unprocessed foods, especially fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and less processed or convenience foods, including fast food, chips, cookies and candies, ready meals, frozen pizza, and canned foods Soups and sweetened drinks.

These dietary changes are known for their health benefits and are described in the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the American Heart Association.

Many people find it difficult to accept lifestyle changes, especially when it comes to food. Motivation is a key factor in making these changes. Fortunately, family and friends are here to help make a profound impact on their lifestyle decisions.

However, at a broader societal level, food security means that people’s ability to access and afford healthy food should be a priority for governments, food producers and distributors, and non-profit organizations. Lack of food security has been linked to epigenetic changes, which are linked to negative health outcomes such as diabetes, obesity and depression.

Through relatively simple lifestyle changes, people can significantly and measurably impact the genes of their children and grandchildren. So when you ditch that bag of chips and opt for a fruit or vegetable, remember: It’s not just for you, it’s for generations to come.