Study Unveils the Impact of Ancestors’ Diet on Descendants’ Health
A new study from Tulane University in New Orleans, USA, published in the journal Heliyon, has revealed that a nutrient-deficient diet in an individual can affect the health of their descendants across several generations.
The study focused on the impact of famine on a generation of humans, and its findings indicate that nutritional deficiencies may leave lasting negative effects on subsequent generations.
Using laboratory mice, researchers found that feeding mice a low-protein diet led to reduced birth weights over four consecutive generations, along with smaller kidney sizes. This poses a significant risk for chronic kidney disease and high blood pressure.
Even attempts to improve the diet of later generations failed to fully reverse the effects, as a deficiency in kidney cells – the units that help filter blood in the kidneys – persisted.
Dr. Giovanni Tortelloti, Assistant Professor of Pediatric Nephrology at Tulane University, explained: “Some believe that correcting the diet in the first generation will solve the problem. However, even with proper nutrition, subsequent generations – children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren – are still born with lower birth weights and fewer kidney cells, despite not experiencing famine or protein deficiency themselves.”
The study also found that the effects of protein deficiency are passed down to future generations, regardless of whether the mother’s or the father’s diet was responsible. However, the number of kidney cells began returning to normal by the third and fourth generations.
Tortelloti emphasized the need for further research to understand when this improvement occurs and why these effects are transmitted across generations.
Experts suggest that these findings could lead to a better understanding of the underlying causes of chronic kidney disease, which is the eighth leading cause of death in the United States. They also highlight a strong link between past diets and health issues that may arise later in life.
