“In the famous “Pottenger Cat Study” it took one generation for the deterioration to occur when diet was inadequate and a further three generations on an optimal diet for their physical condition to return to that of the original cats…”
~Effect of western diet on facial and dental development
It’s common to blame individuals for the old Christian sins of sloth and gluttony. But that has never made much sense, at least not scientifically. Gary Taubes has discussed this extensively, and so look to his several books for more info about why applying Christian theology to diet, nutrition, and health is not a wise strategy for evidence-based medicine and public health policy.
Yes, Americans in particular would be wise to do something about their health in a society where 88% of the adult population has one or more symptoms of metabolic syndrome with about three-quarters being overweight and about half diabetic or prediabetic (Joana Araújo, Jianwen Cai, June Stevens. “Prevalence of Optimal Metabolic Health in American Adults: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009–2016”; for more info, see The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill or Science Daily). Consider, these statistics are even worse for the younger generations. But let’s put this in even greater context. It’s not only that each generation is unhealthier than the last for this declining health is being inherited from before birth. There is now an obesity epidemic among 6 month old babies. I doubt anyone thinks it’s reasonable to blame babies. Should babies eat less and exercise more?
This goes back a while. European immigrants in the early 1900s noticed how American children were much chubbier than their European counterparts. By the 1950s, there was already a discussion of an obesity epidemic, as it was becoming noticeable with the younger generations. We are several generations into this modern industrialized diet of highly processed starchy carbs, added sugar, and seed oils. Much of this is caused by worsening environmental conditions, from harmful chemicals to industrial food system. The effects would begin in the womb, but the causality can actually extend across numerous generations.
This is called epigenetics, what determines which genes get expressed and how. And this epigenetic effect is magnified by the microbiome we inherit as well, since microbes help determine some of the epigenetic effect, involving short-chain fatty acids that can be obtained either through plant or animal foods (Fiber or Not: Short-Chain Fatty Acids and the Microbiome). This is important, as it is easier and more straightforward to manipulate our microbiome than our epigenetics, or at least our knowledge is more clear about the former. By changing our diet, we can change our microbiome. And by changing our microbiome, we can change our epigenetics and that of our children and grandchildren.
The dietary aspect is the most basic component, in that some diets seem to have an effect directly on the epigenome itself, however the microbiome may or may not be involved — for example, there is “recent evidence that KD [ketogenic diet] influences the epigenome through modulation of adenosine metabolism as a plausible antiepileptogenic mechanism of the diet” (Theresa A. Lusardi & Detlev Boison, Ketogenic Diet, Adenosine, Epigenetics, and Antiepileptogenesis). It’s been proven for about a century now that the ketogenic diet is the most effective treatment for epileptic seizures, but there has been much debate about why. Now we might know the reason. The mechanism appears to be epigenetic.
This is not exactly new knowledge (Health From Generation To Generation). Such cross-generational influences have been known since earlier last century, but sadly such knowledge is not epigenetically inherited by each succeeding generation. Francis M. Pottenger Jr studied the health of cats on severely malnourished and well-nourished diets — by the third generation the malnourished cats were no longer capable of breeding and so there was no fourth generation. This doesn’t perfectly translate to the present human diet, although it does make one wonder. Many of our diseases of civilization seem to be at least partly caused by malnourishment. This is a public health epidemic as national security crisis.
Here is the question that comes to mind: In this modern industrialized diet, what generation of malnourishment are we at now? And if as a society we changed public health policies and medical practice right now, how many generations would it take to reverse the trend and fully undo the damage? To end on a positive note, we could potentially turn it around within this century: “Dr. Pottenger’s research also showed that the health of the cats could be recovered if the diet were returned to a healthy one by the second generation; however, even then it took four generations for some of the cats to show no symptoms of allergies” (Carolyn Biggerstaff, Pottenger’s Cats – an early window on epigenetics).
So, what are we waiting for?
* * *
To give you some idea of how long our society has experienced declining health, check out some of my earlier posts:
Malnourished Americans
Ancient Atherosclerosis?
The Agricultural Mind
* * *
Videos, podcasts, and articles on epigenetics as related to diet, nutrition, microbiome, health, etc with some emphasis on paleo and ketogenic viewpoints:
Nutriepigenomics
from Wikipedia
Changes in the diet affect epigenetics via the microbiota
from EurekAlert!
Diet and the epigenome
Yi Zhang and Tatiana G. Kutateladze
Dietary Epigenetics: New Frontiers
by Austin Perlmutter
RHR: The Latest Discoveries in Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, and Epigenetics
by Chris Kresser
Epigenetics, Methylation, and Gene Expression
by Kevin Cann
Epigenetics: Will It Change the Way We Treat Disease?
by Kissairis Munoz
Hacking Your Genes Through Epigenetics and Targeted Nutrigenomics
by Daniel Rash
The Promise of Paleo-Epigenetics
by Jennifer Raff
Dawn of Paleoepigenomics
by Zachary Cofran
37: Robb Wolf – Diets, Epigenetics, Longevity, and Going Foodless for 9 Days
by Andy Petranek
Epigenetics and the Paleo Diet
from The Paleo Diet
Paleo, Epigenetics, and Your Weight
from Paleo Leap
EP157: Improving Mental Health with Epigenetics, Diet & Exercise with Alex Swanson
from Paleo Valley
Epigenetics Warning: Are You Wrecking Your Kids’ Health?
by Louise Hendon
EPISODE 64: Epigenetics 101 with Bailey Kirkpatrick
from Phoenix Helix
Episode 90 – Dr. Lucia Aronica studies keto and epigenetics
by Brian Williamson
Can Keto Affect Your Genes?
from KetoNutrition
Energy & Epigenetics 1: The Infant Brain is Unique
by Jack Kruse
Dr. David Perlmutter: Intermittent Fasting, Epigenetics & What Sugar Really Does To Your Brain
by Abel James
Epigenetic Explanations For Why Cutting Sugar May Make You Feel Smarter
by Caitlin Aamodt
Eating Sweet, Fatty Foods During Pregnancy is Linked to ADHD in Children
by Bailey Kirkpatrick
High Fat, Low Carb Diet Might Epigenetically Open Up DNA and Improve Mental Ability
by Bailey Kirkpatrick
A Child’s Mental Fitness Could Be Epigenetically Influenced by Dad’s Diet
by Bailey Kirkpatrick
Dad’s Drinking Could Epigenetically Affect Son’s Sensitivity and Preference for Alcohol
by Bailey Kirkpatrick
B Vitamins Protect Against Harmful Epigenetic Effects of Air Pollution
by Bailey Kirkpatrick
Vitamin D Adjusts Epigenetic Marks That Could Hinder A Baby’s Health
by Bailey Kirkpatrick
Could We Use Epigenetics and Diet to Fix Binge Eating?
by Bailey Kirkpatrick
Early Epigenetic Nutrition ‘Memory’ Could Program You for Obesity Later in Life
by Bailey Kirkpatrick
The Consequences of a Poor Diet Could Epigenetically Persist Despite Improving Eating Habits
by Bailey Kirkpatrick
Epigenetic Transfer of Nutrition ‘Memory’ Ends Before Great-Grandchildren
by Bailey Kirkpatrick
How your grandparents’ life could have changed your genes
by Tim Spector
Nutrition & the Epigenome
from University of Utah
The epigenetics diet: A barrier against environmental pollution
from University of Alabama at Birmingham
How Epigenetics May Help Explain the Complexity of Autism Spectrum Disorder
from Zymo Research
Epigenetics, Health and the Mind
from PBS with John Denu
Eating for two risks harm to the baby
by Laura Donnelly and Leah Farrar
Micronutrients in Psychiatry: Sound Science or Just Hype?
by Seth J. Gillihan
Epigenetics: A New Bridge between Nutrition and Health
by Sang-Woon Choi and Simonetta Friso
Role of diet in epigenetics: a review
by Abhina Mohanan and Raji Kanakkaparambil
The science behind the Dutch Hunger Winter
from Youth Voices
Epigenetic Marks From Parents Could Influence Embryo Development and Future Health
by Tim Barry
Can Your Diet Epigenetically Shape Your Child’s Health?
by Janeth Santiago Rios
Epigenetic Insights on Nutrition, Hormones and Eating Behavior
by Janeth Santiago Rios
Paternal Environmental and Lifestyle Factors Influence Epigenetic Inheritance
by Estephany Ferrufino
How Diet Can Change Your DNA
by Renee Morad
Food that shapes you: how diet can change your epigenome
by Cristina Florean
The Unknown Link: Epigenetics, Metabolism, and Nutrition
by Nafiah Enayet
Obesity, Epigenetics, and Gene Regulation
by Jill U. Adams
Epigenetics and Epigenomics: Implications for Diabetes and Obesity
by Evan D. Rosen et al
Epigenetic switch for obesity
from Science Daily
Epigenetics between the generations: We inherit more than just genes
from Science Daily
Low paternal dietary folate alters the mouse sperm epigenome and is associated with negative pregnancy outcomes
by R. Lambrot et al
Diet-Induced Obesity in Female Mice Leads to Offspring Hyperphagia, Adiposity, Hypertension, and Insulin Resistance
by Anne-Maj Samuelsson et al
Maternal obesity increases the risk of metabolic disease and impacts renal health in offspring
by Sarah J. Glastras
Transgenerational Epigenetic Mechanisms in Adipose Tissue Development
by Simon Lecoutre et al
Your Grandma’s Diet Could Have Made You Obese, Mouse Study Suggests
by Kashmira Gandery
Your Diet Affects Your Grandchildren’s DNA, Scientists Say
by Christopher Wanjek
You Are What Your Grandparents Ate
by Maria Rodale
People who eat too much fast food could cause heart disease in their great grandchildren by Jasper Hamill
Eating Badly When Pregnant Might Make Your Kid Fat
by Zak Stone
Perinatal Western Diet Consumption Leads to Profound Plasticity and GABAergic Phenotype Changes within Hypothalamus and Reward Pathway from Birth to Sexual Maturity in Rat
by Julie Paradis et al
A Maternal “Junk Food” Diet in Pregnancy and Lactation Promotes Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Rat Offspring
by S. A. M. Bayol et al
Exposure to a Highly Caloric Palatable Diet during the Perinatal Period Affects the Expression of the Endogenous Cannabinoid System in the Brain, Liver and Adipose Tissue of Adult Rat Offspring
by María Teresa Ramírez-López et al
A maternal junk food diet alters development of opioid pathway in the offspring
from Science Daily
‘Junk food’ moms have ‘junk food’ babies
from Science Daily
Born to Be Junk Food Junkies
by Linda Wasmer Andrews
Reality check: Do babies inherit junk food addictions from their moms?
by Carmen Chai
Bad Eating Habits Start in the Womb
by Kristin Wartman
Could Over-Snacking While Pregnant Predispose Children to Be Obese?
by Natasha Geiling
Overeating in pregnancy could lead to child obesity
by John von Radowitz
Eating for two puts unborn child at risk of junk addiction
by James Randerson
Craving for junk food ‘inherited’
from BBC
Craving for junk food ‘begins in the womb’
by Fran Yeoman
Hooked on junk food in the womb
by Fiona MacRae
How pregnant mums who ‘eat for 2’ can make their babies fat
by Victoria Fletcher
Marmalade 
“It’s common to blame individuals for the old Christian sins of sloth and gluttony.”
Write a book about what you’ve found in your extensive compulsive research. I want to buy such a book, after a professional editor has had her way with it. “I doubt anyone thinks it’s reasonable to blame babies. Should babies eat less and exercise more?” (Thanks for the shitload of links to videos!) “Here is the question that comes to mind: In this modern industrialized diet, what generation of malnourishment are we at now?” People could quite posiibly devour your book. It’s common for people to not want to sift through a collection of blog posts. Offer a book. You’ve already practically written one. Might as well follow-through. Write a book. You can do it.
That would be the ultimate writing project. Putting it together would consume me for a long time. But I agree with you that a book is better than a bunch of random blogs.