Epigenetics

Epigenetics

by Deleted user -
Number of replies: 2

 

            As a child, I remember my mom always baking sweets like cookies, cupcakes, brownies, and peach cobbler. Now as a young adult, I realize that I do crave sweet snacks over salty ones. Don’t get me wrong, I love to go down on a bag of salty potato chips but if I was presented options of a salty snack or a sweet snack, I’d choose the sweet one. However, my dad has a love of salty foods, particularly French fries and he used to cook them all the time, sometimes just to eat alone. As I’m looking back on it, he definitely had a potato addiction. He was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes last year which landed him in the hospital for about a week and ever since then he has not had any form of potatoes.

            If his potato addiction was learned through epigenetic tagging, I realize that in the future I can protect myself from possibly forming an addiction by consuming everything in moderation. It is okay to have some foods more than others, but to reduce the risk of becoming addicted to a certain food, I must keep track of how much I am eating. I also noticed that my dad ate potatoes and other salty foods in reaction to certain stressors like dealing with us or things that were going on at work. I think that me being intentional about the foods that I eat will help my kids in the future to not have to worry about food addiction.

            I think that my beverage decisions now will affect my future offspring because I read that having a predisposition towards alcohol abuse and addiction is a behavioral trait that parents can pass down to their offspring. It is definitely something that I will consider the next time that I consume an alcoholic beverage because having kids is something that I look forward to, and I don’t want to do anything that could put them at risk.

also, S., & ElectrophysiologyFeaturedNeuroscience. (2019, October 23). Consuming alcohol leads to epigenetic changes in brain memory centers. Retrieved from https://neurosciencenews.com/alcohol-epigenetics-memory-15113/amp/

Genetics of Alcoholism: Hereditary Factors of Alcohol Use - Addiction Center. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.addictioncenter.com/alcohol/genetics-of-alcoholism/


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In reply to Deleted user

Re: Epigenetics

by Deleted user -
Hey Kamryn-
I like how you pointed out the importance of consuming everything in moderation. I also believe that that is our first line of defense when it comes to handling cravings and monitoring addictive behaviors. Knowing our family history of addiction and consumption patterns can help us make the best-informed decisions about our health, as with any inheritable disease. I saw one article that discussed the concept of acetylation and addiction with the added layer of tolerance levels, and I thought that was really interesting. It made me consider how my actions now could have less of an effect on me, yet translate into epigenetic markings that I can pass on to my children who might be faced with stronger cravings in a body that might not be capable of handling them.

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In reply to Deleted user

Re: Epigenetics

by Deleted user -
Hey Kamyrn,
I totally agree on the point consuming everything with moderation. I actually said the same exact thing you said, because I feel as if you can eat whatever you want as long as its in moderation. When I was growing up my mom didn't really bake sweets. She really doesn't likes sweets, but when she did make them they were good. She made fudge brownies and pound cake they were the best dessert of my life. We try not to consume a lot of sweets because most of my family has some form of diabetes. We also try to stay away from salty things because majority of folks has high blood pressure. We usually have the most salty and sweet stuff during the holidays because everyone be wanting there own sweets and salty dish they can eat. My dish that I eat is sweet potato pie, pound cake and brownies for the sweet and macaroni and cheese and black eye peas for the salty.

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