Genes hold the power to carry a generation’s looks, as well as nature to the next. It can work in mysterious ways. According to new research, whatever a person ate in their youth could affect their children and even grandchildren. The research claims that even dietary preferences could be based on genes. According to Nathaniel Johnson, the Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics from the University of North Dakota and other scientists, an individual’s diet and food choices could affect the genes of their future generations. According to more information, the evidence of this research lies in the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands during the second world war. The Dutch had to survive on 400 to 500 kilocalories of food, while 2,000 kilocalories were the adequate requirement. This resulted in 20,000 deaths and around 4.5 million cases of malnourishment.
These dietary shifts in the Netherlands led to a change in the IGF2 gene, responsible for growth and development. Women who survived those situations, were observed to have children and grandchildren with suppressed muscle growth. As per more information, this posed an increased risk of diseases like obesity, heart diseases, diabetes along with the condition of low birth rate in the post-World War 2 generations of Netherlands.
Similarly, a video of a National Health Service (NHS) doctor went viral, where he revealed that even stress along with diet can affect the genes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US, states that our environment as well as behaviour can cause changes affecting the genes. So, if a pregnant woman eats healthy food, there is a chance that it may change the baby’s epigenetics. These changes can expose the child to certain diseases, if the change persists for decades.
Adding an interesting fact, the doctor stated that when a woman is pregnant with a girl, she is also carrying a part of her future grandchildren, as the foetus will develop all its eggs.
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