Your grandchild is what you eat?

[Guest guest]

I saw a very interesting Nova episode last night about epigenetics, or

the study of the mechanisms of control of gene activity during an

organism's development.

The program mentioned a study of an isolated population in Sweden

that kept very comprehensive birth, death, and harvest records over

many years. From these records they found that the grandchildren of

well-fed adolescents had a greater risk of dying from diabetes,

whereas those descended from famine survivors were less likely to die

of heart disease. Could it be that CR can affect not only an

individual, but his or her progeny?

They related this longevity link to the development of sperm and eggs.

If a man experienced famine during late childhood, his grandchildren

lived longer than the grandchildren of a well fed man. A woman must

have experienced famine in the womb, when the ovaries were forming,

for her grandchildren to have lived longer.

Here's a link describing the study:

http://snipurl.com/1saie

- Diane

[Guest guest]

Hi Diane:

This is ABSOLUTELY amazing to me!!!! For the following reason:

My paternal grandmother died at the age of 99. She had two sisters.

Both lived to be well over 100.

My grandmother was born in 1885. I don't know when her grandparents

were born, but let's suppose it was 50 years earlier, or in 1835.

So they were probably about ten years old in 1845, and sixteen in

1851!

Why is this of interest? Because they lived their lives in Ireland.

And the famous potato famine in Ireland, from 1845 to 1851, killed a

substantial percentage of the population from starvation!

It all fits! Aaaaamazing! And I had been hoping it was their genes!

From Wikipedia:

" The 'Great Irish Famine' ........... was a famine, and its

aftermath, in Ireland between 1845 and 1851. The famine was caused

initially by potato blight, which almost instantly destroyed the

primary food source for the majority of the Irish people. The blight

explains the crop failure but the dramatic and deadly effect of the

famine was exacerbated by other factors of economic, political, and

social origin. The impact of the Great Famine in Ireland remains

unparalleled in terms of the demographic decline, the Irish

population falling by approximately 25 per cent in just six years,

due to a combination of " excess mortality and mass emigration. " "

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Irish_Famine

There can be very little doubt that as teenagers my grandmother's

grandparents would have been very poorly fed.

Rodney.

>

> I saw a very interesting Nova episode last night about epigenetics,

or

> the study of the mechanisms of control of gene activity during an

> organism's development.

>

> The program mentioned a study of an isolated population in Sweden

> that kept very comprehensive birth, death, and harvest records over

> many years. From these records they found that the grandchildren of

> well-fed adolescents had a greater risk of dying from diabetes,

> whereas those descended from famine survivors were less likely to

die

> of heart disease. Could it be that CR can affect not only an

> individual, but his or her progeny?

>

> They related this longevity link to the development of sperm and

eggs.

> If a man experienced famine during late childhood, his

grandchildren

> lived longer than the grandchildren of a well fed man. A woman must

> have experienced famine in the womb, when the ovaries were forming,

> for her grandchildren to have lived longer.

>

> Here's a link describing the study:

>

> http://snipurl.com/1saie

>

> - Diane

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Diane: And what is more, Jeanne Calment was born in 1875. So it

is possible there is a link there too. Perhaps her grandparents were

similarlyu starved as teenagers? Rodney.