Diet when pregnant can alter baby's DNA

Was doing some research for uni, found this:

Diet When Pregnant Can Alter Baby's DNA

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New scientific evidence shows that a woman's diet when pregnant can actually alter the structure of her baby's genes. A study, conducted by the American Diabetes Association, concludes: "Our findings suggest a substantial component of metabolic disease risk has a prenatal developmental basis." What this means in plain English is that, contrary to previous beliefs about the "fixed" nature of DNA, our diet may effect the development of our offspring in fundamental ways.

Epigenetics is the study of how environmental factors, including diet, can affect our DNA. While it has previously been believed that the growing problem of childhood obesity was linked only with the child's diet after birth, this new study reveals that the mother's diet when she is pregnant may actually create epigenetic changes in her offspring that make the child more predisposed towards obesity.

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Oh no! I ate hot chips for the first 12weeks cos that's all I could keep down and the last 3mths I ate a block of chocolate a day!

I ate twisties and kfc everyday.

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I ate twisties and kfc everyday.

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Lucky you had a baby and didn't have a zinger burger then :)

But seriously, it's interesting to read these studies, which I will when I get to the real computer.

I think setting a healthy example for your kids once they're earthside is equally as important.

This particular research actually showed that people who follow a low carb diet in early pregnancy can alter the babies DNA to believe they are in starvation mode and therefore store fat more efficiently, leading to obesity in the child later on as they eat a normal diet but store much more of the fat content...a bit like taking a child that was conceived in famine and giving them a western diet. It has shown no correlation to any other forms of diet causing dna changes, although if you take the results to the opposite extreme, a baby conceived on a fatty carb laden diet may have dna more efficient at getting rid of the fat. I like to think that because Mr.C was grown exclusively on cheeseburgers with bacon and KFC 2 piece feeds!

This study made me feel so much better about the shameful amount of breakfast pies I ate in the early days of this pregnancy.

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But seriously, it's interesting to read these studies, which I will when I get to the real computer.

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I'm seriously thinking about going into uni to access the American Diabetes study (Epigenetic Gene Promoter Methylation at Birth Is Associated With Child’s Later Adiposity), I've read the abstract and I'm itching to read the research & findings a bit more in detail.