Cravings for me are directly related to the emotional state I am in and the experiences I am having around me. For example, if I am upset about something then I tend to go for sweets because whenever I would get upset when I was younger my parents would take me to go for some ice-cream. I asked my family members about their cravings and both my parents crave salty things or carbs when they are upset, and my sister tends to get sour things. Yet, all of us are biologically related to each other. So, from evidence from my family, I think our cravings may come from an environmental factor rather than genetics related to our parent’s gut biomes.
If these epigenetic tagging’s are true, (which after doing research I still do not fully agree with or think relevant in regard to food, but I do agree with alcohol and drug addiction) I would make some life-style adjustments. Research has shown that “bacterial fermentation of CHO and proteins produces SCFA which emerge as major mediators in linking nutrition, gut microbiota, physiology and pathology” (Rios-Covian 2016). This research implies that gut biomes are connected to nutrition which would make me more inclined to eat more nutrient-filled foods in order to prevent future diseases in myself and my children in the future. I think it may be a little bit of a stretch for what I eat now to effect possibly diseases in my children, I think what I eat during pregnancy would be more important to note.
However, in my opinion, alcohol and drug addiction is connected to genetics more than food consumption because of the unnatural enhancers in drugs and alcohol. Studies show that “heredity accounts for about half of the risk that a person will develop an addiction” where the other half account for environmental factors (Miller 2006). I think the perfect combination of the two, predisposition to addiction and an environment enabling addiction, would allow addiction to be almost inevitable. For someone predisposed to addiction, I think avoiding excess amounts of alcohol would be a good idea or just manage and note consumption if you know you could possibly more likely to become addicted.
Overall, I think that gut biomes could play a factor in cravings, food consumption, and addiction but environmental factors are way more important to a person and their situation. I am not sure if I can believe me eating a cone of ice-cream would possibly give my child a disease in the future, nor do I think that is the best way to live and may affect one’s mental health to be constantly monitoring food intake. I think a well-balanced diet and practicing intuitive eating would be way more effective in preventing diseases in people instead of encouraging dieting to people by proposing the idea that their children could have a disease because of their food intake.
Miller, M. (Ed.). (2006, February). Harvard Mental Health Letter: Is Addiction Hereditary? Retrieved from https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/Questions_andamp_Answers_Is_addiction_hereditary
Rios-Covian, D. (2016) Intestinal Short Chain Fatty Acids and their Link with Diet and Human Health. Front. Microbiol. 7:185. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4756104/