The nutritional choices that I make for my lifestyle not only impact the expression of my genes, but in turn lay the foundation of vibrant health or chronic disease for my children and their children. This is due to epigenetics.
Epigenetics is defined as “temporary changes in how genes are expressed or turned on or off due to our interactions with the environment, and how those changes affect our health and the health of future generations.” [1] Dr. Francis Pottinger conducted a study on the health of cats through four generations. As he fed them a processed food diet, he observed their swift degeneration in health with each offspring. When he began to nourish them with a proper diet, regeneration slowly occurred. (Learn more from my previous article on Pottinger’s work. [2])
Since WWII, our diets have drastically changed. Degeneration has been the consequence. For example, in 1960, one person out of one hundred was diabetic. In 1995 this increased to one out of fifty, and in 2015 one out of eight people were diagnosed with diabetes.! It is estimated that in 2050 one out of three will be diabetic! This also means heart disease has skyrocketed because about 70% of people who have diabetes will also have heart disease. [3]
The ideas of returning to an unprocessed diet are not new to you. It is always the simple underlying theme of my writings. However, as we focus on developing healthier lifestyles, I want to encourage generational health as a motivating factor. Within this series, I will dig deeper into the fascinating topic of epigenetics and how we can practically reverse the spiral of degeneration for our health and the health of our children.
https://price-pottenger.org/healthy-living-tips/epigenetics/pottengers-cats-early-epigenetics-and-implications-your-health
https://www.thrivinghealthny.com/single-post/2018/04/30/Gleaning-From-the-Food-of-Yesterday-Dr-Francis-Pottenger-1
https://aspe.hhs.gov/report/prevention-blueprint-action/diabetes