What if your lifestyle choices have a lasting legacy? We know that poor diet, inactivity and toxin exposures shape your own health. But what if I told you that your choices write the health story of your kids and grandkids as well?!

Like a stone dropped in water, parents’ health in the months leading up to conception, have effects that ripple into future generations [1]. Something I call, your ‘health legacy’.

If I was a parrot on repeat, and sometimes I think I might be, this is what I would squawk, 

“Health legacy, health legacy. Polly wants a good HEALTH LEGACY!” 

Stick with me… 

What the Dutch Famine Taught Us

During the ‘Hunger Winter’ of 1944-45, the Netherlands went through a devastating famine. WWII German forces blocked food and fuel sources to the western part of the country for seven months. People survived on several hundred calories a day (think tulip bulbs, turnips and sugar beets). By spring, approximately 22,000 people had died of starvation. 

Decades later, researchers noticed something extraordinary. Children conceived during the famine (when their parents were malnourished) were far more likely to develop obesity and chronic diseases later in life [2, 3].

From an evolutionary standpoint, it made sense: when food was scarce, babies’ genes “adapted” to store fat more efficiently. But when the famine ended and food became abundant again, those same genetic adjustments backfired leading to higher rates of metabolic disease and decreased longevity.

You Write the Story of your Future Child’s Health

This historical landmark finding revealed that a parents’ environmental exposures, particularly during the preconception window, influence which genes are expressed in their baby. Just like a light switch, some genes are turned off and some genes are turned on. 

Micronutrient-deplete diets [6] and exposure to toxins like pesticides [7], paints/solvents [8] and plastics [1] all influence these genetic switches and impact a child’s propensity to develop chronic illnesses like diabetes [9], obesity [10, 2], cancer [3], cardiovascular disease [4,11] and mood disorders [12] . 

Reclaiming your Legacy

Good news! If your environment can influence genetic expression for the worst, it can also shape it for the better.

This is where preconception care becomes so important. I want to shout it from the roof top! It takes three months for an egg to develop into a mature ovum and it takes about 2.5 months for a sperm to mature. During this window, future moms and dads have a lot of influence over the quality of the gametes that form. It’s an incredible opportunity to rewrite the story your future child inherits. 

Is there a greater gift you could give your children than the gift of health?

You don’t have to carry this responsibility alone. Schedule your free, 15-minute discovery call so we can talk more about your unique challenges and how I can best help you build your preconception foundations.

Warmly, 

Dr. Casey

  1. Manikkam, M., Tracey, R., Guerrero-Bosagna, C., & Skinner, M. K. (2013). Plastics Derived Endocrine Disruptors (BPA, DEHP and DBP) Induce Epigenetic Transgenerational Inheritance of Obesity, Reproductive Disease and Sperm Epimutations. PLoS ONE, 8(1). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0055387
  2. Ravelli, G.P., Stein, Z.A., Susser, M.W., 1976. Obesity in young men after famine exposure in utero and early infancy. N. Engl. J. Med. 295, 349e353.
  3. Lumey, L.H., Stein, A.D., Kahn, H.S., Romijn, J.A., 2009. Lipid profiles in middle-aged men and women after famine exposure during gestation: the Dutch Hunger Winter Families Study. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 89, 1737e1743.
  4. Painter, R.C., De Rooij, S.R., Bossuyt, P.M., Osmond, C., Barker, D.J., Bleker, O.P., Roseboom, T.J., 2006a. A possible link between prenatal exposure to famine and breast cancer: a preliminary study. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 18, 853e856.
  5. Soubry, A. (2015). Epigenetic inheritance and evolution: A paternal perspective on dietary influences. Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology, 118(1-2), 79-85. doi:10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2015.02.008
  6. Mejos, K.K., Kim, H.W., Lim, E.M., Chang, N., 2013. Effects of parental folate deficiency on the folate content, global DNA methylation, and expressions of FRalpha, IGF-2 and IGF-1R in the postnatal rat liver. Nutr. Res. Pract. 7, 281e286.
  7. Skinner, M. K., Manikkam, M., Tracey, R., Guerrero-Bosagna, C., Haque, M., & Nilsson, E. E. (2013). Ancestral dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) exposure promotes epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of obesity. BMC Medicine BMC Med, 11(1), 228. doi:10.1186/1741-7015-11-228
  8. Reid, A., Glass, D. C., Bailey, H. D., Milne, E., Armstrong, B. K., Alvaro, F., & Fritschi, L. (2011). Parental occupational exposure to exhausts, solvents, glues and paints, and risk of childhood leukemia. Cancer Causes & Control Cancer Causes Control, 22(11), 1575-1585. doi:10.1007/s10552-011-9834-4
  9. Wei, Y., Yang, C., Wei, Y., Zhao, Z., Hou, Y., Schatten, H., & Sun, Q. (2014). Paternally induced transgenerational inheritance of susceptibility to diabetes in mammals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 111(5), 1873-1878. doi:10.1073/pnas.1321195111
  10. Ravelli, G.P., Stein, Z.A., Susser, M.W., 1976. Obesity in young men after famine exposure in utero and early infancy. N. Engl. J. Med. 295, 349e353.
  11. Painter, R.C., de Rooij, S.R., Bossuyt, P.M., Simmers, T.A., Osmond, C., Barker, D.J., Bleker, O.P., Roseboom, T.J., 2006b. Early onset of coronary artery disease after prenatal exposure to the Dutch famine. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 84, 466e467, 322-7; quiz.
  12. Jabbar, S., Chastain, L. G., Gangisetty, O., Cabrera, M. A., Sochacki, K., & Sarkar, D. K. (2016). Preconception Alcohol Increases Offspring Vulnerability to Stress. Neuropsychopharmacology. doi:10.1038/npp.2016.92
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