Mother's diet key to future health

Pregant women’s diet can affect not only the health of their children but their grandchildren too.
Research has revealed how a mother-to-be’s choice of food can affect the genes of children for at least two generations. It provides the first hard evidence to bear out a growing suspicion that what happens to the fetus in the womb could predetermine the health of future generations.

The research is the first in the world to prove the scientific basis of epigenetics – genetic changes that do not require the DNA to mutate. The work by scientists in Australia showed that vitamin supplements, including folate and B12, switched off a gene in mice which caused obesity and diabetes. This effect was also carried into the grandchildren of the mothers who took vitamin supplements, who were also more likely to switch off the gene.

Dr Jennifer Cropley, who carried out the work at Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute in Sydney, said: “Most people know that genes are passed on from generation to generation. But our research shows that lifestyle choices, such as diet, can directly affect the health of future generations, meaning that you inherit not only the genes of your parents and grandparents, but the consequences of their lifestyle. You are not only what you eat, but what your mum and grandmother ate.”

She added: “We suspect diet can affect the babies’ genes. Now we need to find out which genes are affected by which diet.”

Dr Michael Odent, founder of London’s Primal Health Research Centre, said: “We are entering a new age in our understanding of health.

“Scientists thought the environment started at birth, but this research shows our future health is to a great extent shaped in the womb and that a mother’s diet may have long- term effects on the health of future generations too.”.

Courtesy of The Daily Express

Bonnie - we brought this up in our December 2006 newsletter. I anticipate that we will be hearing a lot more about it over the next decade.