Sugar and Your Genes

A recent Australian study reported in the Journal of Experimental Medicine may help explain, at least in part, why so many people are struggling with their weight today, and why weight problems tend to run in families.

Sam El-Osta, from the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, led the study which examined the impact of diet on human heart tissue and in mice. The researchers found that cells remember the effects of a single spike in sugar intake by temporarily switching off the genetic controls designed to protect the body against diabetes and disease.

"We now know that the chocolate bar you had this morning can have very acute effects, and those effects can continue for up to two weeks" said lead researcher Sam El-Osta, from the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, during an interview with the Australian Associated Press.

"These changes continue beyond the meal itself and have the ability to alter natural metabolic responses to diet. With chronic poor eating habits, this genetic damage may last months or years, and could potentially pass through bloodlines... to one's children"

I don't know about you, but I find this very interesting. The more we learn about the interplay of our genes and our diet through the new field of nutritional genomics, the closer we are to finding new approaches for health.