Mothers get all the attention. But a study led by a McGill researcher suggests that the father's diet before conception may play an equally important role in the health of their offspring. It also raises concerns about the long-term effects of current Western diets and of food insecurity.
The research focused on vitamin B9, also called folate, which is found in a range of green leafy vegetables, cereals, fruit and meats. It is well known that in order to prevent miscarriages and birth defects mothers need to get adequate amounts of folate in their diet. But the way that a father's diet can influence the health and development of their offspring has received almost no attention.
Now research for the first time suggests that the father's folate levels may be just as important to the development and health of their offspring as are those of the mother. Indeed, the study suggests that fathers should pay as much attention to their lifestyle and diet before they set out to conceive a child as mothers do. Fathers who are eating high-fat, fast food diets or who are obese may not be able to use or metabolize folate in the same way as those with adequate levels of the vitamin.
Comparing the offspring of fathers with insufficient folate in their diets with the offspring of fathers whose diets contained sufficient levels of the vitamin, they found that paternal folate deficiency was associated with an increase in birth defects of various kinds in the offspring, compared to the offspring whose fathers were fed a diet with sufficient folate.
There was an almost 30 per cent increase in birth defectsby fathers whose levels of folates were insufficient. While the study was done on mice, they saw some pretty severe skeletal abnormalities that included both cranio-facial and spinal deformities.
The research focused on vitamin B9, also called folate, which is found in a range of green leafy vegetables, cereals, fruit and meats. It is well known that in order to prevent miscarriages and birth defects mothers need to get adequate amounts of folate in their diet. But the way that a father's diet can influence the health and development of their offspring has received almost no attention.
Now research for the first time suggests that the father's folate levels may be just as important to the development and health of their offspring as are those of the mother. Indeed, the study suggests that fathers should pay as much attention to their lifestyle and diet before they set out to conceive a child as mothers do. Fathers who are eating high-fat, fast food diets or who are obese may not be able to use or metabolize folate in the same way as those with adequate levels of the vitamin.
Comparing the offspring of fathers with insufficient folate in their diets with the offspring of fathers whose diets contained sufficient levels of the vitamin, they found that paternal folate deficiency was associated with an increase in birth defects of various kinds in the offspring, compared to the offspring whose fathers were fed a diet with sufficient folate.
There was an almost 30 per cent increase in birth defectsby fathers whose levels of folates were insufficient. While the study was done on mice, they saw some pretty severe skeletal abnormalities that included both cranio-facial and spinal deformities.
The research shows that there are regions of the sperm epigenome that are sensitive to life experience and particularly to diet. And that this information is in turn transferred to a so-called epigenomic map that influences development and may also influence metabolism and disease in the offspring in the long-term.
Although it has been known for some time that there is a massive erasure and re-establishment that takes place in the epigenome as the sperm develops, this study now shows that along with the developmental map, the sperm also carries a memory of the father's environment and possibly even of his diet and lifestyle choices.
Bonnie: As we have said incessantly, fathers need to think about what they put in their mouths, what they smoke and what they drink and remember they are caretakers of generations to come. We don't need a mouse study to tell us this. It has and will continue to occur until parents-to-be prepare themselves optimally for fertility.
Although it has been known for some time that there is a massive erasure and re-establishment that takes place in the epigenome as the sperm develops, this study now shows that along with the developmental map, the sperm also carries a memory of the father's environment and possibly even of his diet and lifestyle choices.
Bonnie: As we have said incessantly, fathers need to think about what they put in their mouths, what they smoke and what they drink and remember they are caretakers of generations to come. We don't need a mouse study to tell us this. It has and will continue to occur until parents-to-be prepare themselves optimally for fertility.
No comments:
Post a Comment