You Are What Your Grandparents Ate: What You Need to Know About Nutrition, Experience, Epigenetics and the Origins of Chronic Disease

Journalist Finlayson (The Chili Pepper Bible) draws upon the groundbreaking work of late epidemiologist David Barker in this fascinating and eye-opening treatise on how a wide variety of chronic diseases (heart disease, diabetes, obesity etc.) are linked not only to current lifestyle but to such other factors as stress, environmental toxins, and even, per the title, one’s grandparents' diet. Finlayson argues that the seeds of good health are planted long before birth; research shows that what one’s mother ate during pregnancy—and even what one’s grandmother ate—as well as the kinds of trauma and experiences to which a pregnant mother is exposed (e.g. famine, poverty) may affect the gene expression of her offspring and thus that of future generations, as well. Emphasizing the importance of good nutrition, Finlayson comprehensively examines the first 1,000 days after conception as the time when the groundwork is set for a healthy (or unhealthy) life. In conclusion, Finlayson proposes that rather than cutting public health assistance, a more cost-effective approach would be to improve people’s economic stability, consequently improving their access to nutrition. Finlayson’s observations will be of interest not only to scientists but to all those seeking to enhance their own—and their children’s—health outcomes. (Sept.)