FAT? – I’m Not To Blame It’s My Genes!
Michael Ash BSc(Hons) DO ND FDipION reviews a selection of papers exploring the intersection between our genetic code and the style of food ingested in ever increasing amounts, in which fat and sugar make up the dominant components.
It’s clear from numerous studies that a sedentary lifestyle and a diet high in fat and sugar have profound effects on human mortality and morbidity through adverse weight gain.[1] The enormous human genome project, started in 2000 has also thrown up a number of markers in our approximately 21,000 genes related to an historical adaptive need to store fat when food was scarce and starvation an ever present threat. Some have interpreted this by saying that the reason they are obese or cannot lose weight is down to their genes, and that this may in turn abrogate them from actively altering lifestyle patterns, others have questioned the accuracy or validity of this causal relationship. [2],[3]
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Were Our Ancesters Better Eaters – By Circumstance?
Many factors—including genes, sex, ancestry, foetal and childhood conditions—influence how we digest foods and store fat. Physiological stress in mothers can leave lingering imprints on descendants for generations. So although it’s true that humans evolved to eat a diet relatively high in protein and low in carbohydrates and fat, it appears there’s no single Paleolithic prescription for better health.
There isn’t a perfect diet that is the same for everyone. The nature of our success is to find and make a meal in virtually any environment. But our different responses are structured by the basic biology we bring to the table.
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