For Your Children's Children

I was talking with a friend the other day and we got on the topic of epigenetics. Yeah, you know, normal Saturday-night conversation.

Let's take a look at what the Bible says.

"The LORD is slow to anger and filled with unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. But he does not excuse the guilty. He lays the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations." - Numbers 14:18, NLT

I know, some of my non-Christian friends are probably wondering how this would apply to them. And probably all of my readers are wondering what in the world epigenetics, an Old Testament verse, and pregnancy/childbearing have in common. Well, hold up, this next part will intrigue you!

"A baby girl is born with egg cells (oocytes) in her ovaries. Between 16 and 20 weeks of pregnancy, the ovaries of a female fetus contain 6 to 7 million oocytes. Most of the oocytes gradually waste away, leaving about 1 to 2 million present at birth. None develop after birth. At puberty, only about 300,000—more than enough for a lifetime of fertility—remain. Only a small percentage of oocytes mature into eggs. The many thousands of oocytes that do not mature degenerate. Degeneration progresses more rapidly in the 10 to 15 years before menopause. All are gone by menopause. Only about 400 eggs are released during a woman’s reproductive life, usually one during each menstrual cycle. Until released, an egg remains dormant in its follicle-suspended in the middle of a cell division." - merck.com

My grandma carried me in her womb while she was growing my mom. So, although I was born in 1979, the egg that I came from was created in my grandmother’s womb, in 1956. Rad, eh?

How can that be, you ask? Unlike men, who constantly regenerate sperm from the time they hit puberty and on, girls are born with their full lifetime's supply of eggs. Around the 20th week of gestation, while she is yet in her mother's womb, a female fetus has a developed reproductive system, including about 6.5 million eggs nestled in her ovaries.

So, the egg that created you was formed inside of your mother while she was developing inside of your grandmother. Matryoshka dolls anyone? To calculate your own vintage, simply take your mother's birth date and subtract roughly 20 weeks.

A female fetus will produce oocytes that "remain in an arrested state of meiosis in the ovary, from before birth until the oocyte and its surrounding follicle are stimulated during reproductive cycles to complete maturation…In fact, the human egg or oocyte has already existed for at least 15 years in most individuals (the earliest usual first pregnancy), because oocytes are formed before birth. Thus, the egg that gave rise to each of us was formed in our mother while she existed as a fetus in our grandmother." - The Lifespan Development of Individuals

And then, "As the girl begins to ovulate each month during adolescence, these previously “suspended” cells become active." ... "Each month, whether or not the egg is fertilized, a process that began in the Grandmother’s womb, 2 generations prior, is completed." - Ritual Goddess

So, if you are pregnant with a little girl, around week 20 in your pregnancy, and on through the birth of your baby girl, you will be carrying your grandchildren. I have carried my grandbabies while pregnant with my 4 girls. Isn't that awe-inspiring?!

So that brings us full circle. As awe-inspiring as it is, it is also humbling that we have such a responsibility. How we live, where we live, what we expose ourselves to, what we eat, and more all have an affect on our children and our children's children through the cells that we directly affect, and carry, in our own wombs, for future generations . Studies show that environmental factors, exposure to toxins, maternal nutrition, stress, and other lifestyle choices all affect the development of oocytes.

"A growing body of literature shows a wide variety of substances may adversely affect the female reproductive system, impairing oocyte and embryo developmental competence... very few studies address the consequences for female fertility of simultaneous, complex exposure to compounds such as food additives, toxicants, contaminants, outdoor and indoor air pollutants, endocrine disruptors and hazardous substances. A clear side effect for the lack of a broad picture of complex exposures is an underestimation of the consequences of exposing the population to a wide variety of products. Finally, the oocyte and embryo represent a developmental window during which susceptibility to environmental circumstances is prevalent. " - Oocyte developmental competence and embryo development: impact of lifestyle and environmental risk factors

"Granddaughters of the rats that gobbled excess fat during pregnancy had a 30-percent greater chance of developing breast cancer than those with grandparents who ate healthfully. When only one grandmother, on either the mother's or father's side, had indulged, the granddaughter's disease risk was 19-percent higher." - What You Eat Affects You, Your Kids, and Your Grandkids

"These observations collectively suggest that a range of adult diseases, including hypertension and subsequent kidney and heart disease, in many cases constitute birth defects arising during the first few days of life as a result of seemingly innocuous, short-term variations in maternal diet, a situation that has subsequent clinical and societal importance." - Oocyte Quality and Maternal Control of Development

""Abnormal epigenetic regulation has been implicated in a variety of human diseases," Ohm said. "Those diseases include cancer, obesity, diabetes, infertility, and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease." Ohm completed a postdoctoral fellowship in oncology with an emphasis in cancer and stem cell epigenetics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 2009."  - Your Grandchildren Are What You Eat

Take care of your children, and your grandchildren, through proper nutrition, limit your exposure to harmful substances, food additives, and toxins, stay healthy and active, avoid environmental toxins as much as possible, and nurture the two generations that you hold in your womb! 

More information:
Eating. Drinking. Touching. Breathing. Nursing. Conceiving.
In Vivo and In Vitro Environmental Effects on Mammalian Oocyte Quality
Third Generation DES
GMO in Third Generation (a study of buildup of toxicity)
Dads, What You Eat Can Affect Your Grandchildren

You Are What You Eat

I always used to wonder, as a child, why my grandma would tout 'you are what you eat'. But, as I get older, and learn more about nutrition and how our bodies work/what we need to function optimally, I am beginning to realize just how wise my granny was.

Part of my role as a parent is to make sure that my children grow healthy and strong for their current health and safety as well as their future lives and health. As such, I try my darnedest to make sure that they make healthy choices and have positive eating habits.

Now, I can even fall back on my grandma's wisdom: they are what they eat... but I understand that now on a whole new level!

I have seen this email a few times, but, in case you, my reader, haven't, I wanted to share it here. I have added additional information to make it 'post worthy', but it shows how, if we only pay attention to what we are eating, we will see what it will truly benefit in our own bodies.

Nutritional scientists have a word for this occurrence. It is called 'teleological nutritional targeting' - the idea that every whole food has a pattern that resembles the body organ or physiological function that it directly benefits.

This believe stemmed from the Doctrine of Signatures, a belief that God left signatures all over his creation on how it can best be used. This was instituted and studied from the early church and Roman times up until now, and now we have science to support many of these claims.

A  sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The  pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... And YES, science now shows carrots  greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the  eyes.

Apples and Star Fruit are both known to contain components that increase neurotransmissions and strengthen the brains neurons. When sliced, both apples and star fruit create a star pattern, just like the neurons of the brain.
 

 

A  Tomato has four chambers and is red. The  heart has four chambers and is red. They both grow with 'lobes'...  We now know that tomatoes are loaded with lycopine, which translates into heart and blood food. 

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound  heart and blood vitalizing food. 

A  Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums.  Even the wrinkles or folds on  the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen  neuron-transmitters for brain function. 

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak.  These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body. 

Avocados,  Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this?  It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them). 

Figs are full of seeds and hang in clusters. They also hang down, heavy, from the branches that they grow on. They look very similar to a man's scrotum, or, more specifically, the testes. Figs increase the mobility of sperm and increase the numbers of sperm. This increases the probability of overcoming  male sterility. 

Sweet Potatoes/yams look just like the human pancreas. Interestingly, sweet potatoes/yams actually help to balance the glycemic index of diabetics, as well as increase the functionality of the pancreas. 

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries and are similar in shape to them.  Additionally, they are a huge source of Vitamin E, which aids in the health of the cervix, reducing the chances of cervical cancer and vaginal dryness. Interestingly, anyone who has seen or felt the external os of a cervix can attest that olives are very similar in feel and sight. Finally, during pregnancy, eating olives packed in their original oils increases the chances of the cervix being favorable to dilation, when the body is ready to start labor.

Yeah, we all know what a banana looks like. The banana contains 3 natural sugars which are sucrose, fructose and glucose. These natural sugars combined with the high fiber content in a banana help to give an instant sustained and substantial boost of energy. Popular research has proven that just by eating two bananas is enough to provide energy for a strenuous 90 minute workout. Which is why some may consider it a sex food due to the additional energy it provides to keep a mans erection going, and going, and going....

Zucchini looks like the trachea, complete with the larynx at the end. Because of the presence of high level of vitamin C, vitamin A, copper, fiber, phosphorus, and potassium in zucchini, it is said to be a natural cure/medicine for both season, situational, and chronic asthma sufferers.

Peanuts come in pairs and grow in an enclosed space, very much like the testes that reside in a man's scrotum. Peanuts, not surprisingly then, have a profound effect on male sexual libido.A funny tidbit of history, the church of the Middle Ages forbade men to eat peanuts. Why? peanuts increase the production of testosterone as well as contain arginine, the main component of Viagra.

Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts. 

 
Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

Part of Conscious parenting and being a conscious family is being conscientious of what we consume, our diet. So, next time you make your family a spinach salad topped with celery, onions, tomatoes, walnuts, and chopped star fruit, know you are not only feeding their bellies, but their bodies!