Parents with poor dietary habits pass down disease to their children

Saturday, October 23, 2010 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: disease, hereditary, health news

(NaturalNews) They say you are what you eat, but a new study published in the journal Nature has proven that your children are also what you eat. According to the study, fathers who eat lots of junk food pass on traits to their children that make them more susceptible to diseases like type-2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer.

Australian and American researchers first tested their hypothesis on rats, feeding young male rats a diet high in bad fats, and pairing the mice with healthy female rats. Compared to young male rats who ate healthier diets, the fat-fed rats produced rat pups with blood glucose levels twice that of the healthy rats' offspring. The fat-fed rats' pups also produced about half the amount of insulin as pups from healthy parents.

Researchers believe that the food people eat actually changes the DNA in sperm, passing on unhealthy genetic traits to offspring that affects their metabolism and overall bodily function. So experts are urging parents to lay off the junk food and start paying attention to what they eat, especially for their children's sake.

"This is not only for their own health, but for that of the next generation," wrote the team.

Another aspect of genetic inheritance not addressed by the study is the role toxic food chemicals play in the overall health of parents and their children. Many food chemicals disrupt and destroy vital gut insulin, which prevents the body from being able to process blood sugars. Parents that consume such food chemicals also alter the balance of their intestinal flora in ways that are passed down to children.

The moral of the story is to avoid processed foods high in bad fats and processed sodium. Avoid foods with toxic food additives like monosodium glutamate (https://www.naturalnews.com/MSG.html), sodium nitrite (https://www.naturalnews.com/sodium_nitrite.ht...), and high-fructose corn syrup (https://www.naturalnews.com/high-fructose_cor...), to name just a few.

Be sure to check out this great NaturalNews article about the "hundred health sapping neurotoxins" hidden in processed foods:
https://www.naturalnews.com/026244_food_MSG_n...

Editor's Note: NaturalNews is strongly against the use of all forms of animal testing. We fully support the implementation of humane medical experimentation that promotes the health and well-being of all living creatures.

Sources for this story include:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-13...