Almost everyone acknowledges the importance of a woman’s health status and diet both before and during pregnancy. But not enough attention is paid to paternal health. Diet and the health status of fathers are important as well.
For example, one study showed that if a father experienced food scarcity during the years preceding puberty, his children had a 58% lower risk of dying of heart disease as adults. On the other hand, a study showed that the opposite was true – too much food and overeating resulted in a four-fold increased risk of mortality due to diabetes in grandchildren. The effect is multigenerational.[1]
The impact is not just based on how much future dads eat, but also which foods are consumed. A study of father rats showed that after 12 weeks of eating a high-fat diet, newborn daughter rats had a 30% reduction in pancreatic beta cell mass. Beta cells produce insulin. When those daughter rats became adults, they had a higher risk of glucose intolerance and lower plasma insulin levels.[2] Birthweight is lower for babies if the father has diabetes and/or eats fast food frequently.[3]
Additionally, data from over 3000 families showed that the father’s weight at conception had a significant influence on the weight of his children after factoring in the weight of the mother. Paternal obesity can also negatively impact neurological development. Researchers looked at data for 3759 single-birth children and 1062 twins and their parents. The risk of impaired social functioning, which includes issues like avoidance of interpersonal relationships and social isolation, increased if fathers were obese; and having two obese parents increased the likelihood of failing for several domains, including fine motor, personal-social, and problem solving.[4]
The mechanisms of action are known. Small RNA molecules in sperm, referred to as mitochondrial tRNA fragments, influence the inheritance of health traits through gene regulation.[5]
The bottom line: A father’s health pre-conception matters and has a profound influence on the health and life of his child. Today, most Americans are overweight and unhealthy, and getting fatter and sicker throughout their lifetimes. This is resulting in generations of increasingly unhealthy people who not only create a financial burden for all of us due to their increased healthcare needs, but also diminished quality of life and reduced lifespan for them.
[1] Kaati G, Bygren LO, Edvinsson S. "Cardiovascular and diabetes mortality determined by nutrition during parents and grandparents’ slow growth period." Eur J Hum Genet 2022 Oct;10:682-688
[2] De Castro Barbasa T, Ingerslev LR, Alm PS et al. "High-fat diet reprograms the epigenome of rat spermatozoa and transgenerationally affects metabolism of the offspring." Molec Metab 2016 mar;5(3):184-197
[3] Moss J, Harris K. "Impact of maternal and paternal preconception health on birth outcomes using prospective couples' data in Add Health."
Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2015 Feb;291(2):287-98.
[4] McPherson N, Fullston T, Aitken R, Lane M. "Paternal obesity, interventions, and mechanistic pathways to impaired health in offspring." Ann Nutr Metab. 2014;64(3–4):231–238
[5] Tomar A, Gomez-Velazquez M, Gerlini R et al. "Epigenetic inheritance of diet-induced and sperm-borne mitochondrial RNAs." Nature 2024 Jun;630:720-727
For example, one study showed that if a father experienced food scarcity during the years preceding puberty, his children had a 58% lower risk of dying of heart disease as adults. On the other hand, a study showed that the opposite was true – too much food and overeating resulted in a four-fold increased risk of mortality due to diabetes in grandchildren. The effect is multigenerational.[1]
The impact is not just based on how much future dads eat, but also which foods are consumed. A study of father rats showed that after 12 weeks of eating a high-fat diet, newborn daughter rats had a 30% reduction in pancreatic beta cell mass. Beta cells produce insulin. When those daughter rats became adults, they had a higher risk of glucose intolerance and lower plasma insulin levels.[2] Birthweight is lower for babies if the father has diabetes and/or eats fast food frequently.[3]
Additionally, data from over 3000 families showed that the father’s weight at conception had a significant influence on the weight of his children after factoring in the weight of the mother. Paternal obesity can also negatively impact neurological development. Researchers looked at data for 3759 single-birth children and 1062 twins and their parents. The risk of impaired social functioning, which includes issues like avoidance of interpersonal relationships and social isolation, increased if fathers were obese; and having two obese parents increased the likelihood of failing for several domains, including fine motor, personal-social, and problem solving.[4]
The mechanisms of action are known. Small RNA molecules in sperm, referred to as mitochondrial tRNA fragments, influence the inheritance of health traits through gene regulation.[5]
The bottom line: A father’s health pre-conception matters and has a profound influence on the health and life of his child. Today, most Americans are overweight and unhealthy, and getting fatter and sicker throughout their lifetimes. This is resulting in generations of increasingly unhealthy people who not only create a financial burden for all of us due to their increased healthcare needs, but also diminished quality of life and reduced lifespan for them.
[1] Kaati G, Bygren LO, Edvinsson S. "Cardiovascular and diabetes mortality determined by nutrition during parents and grandparents’ slow growth period." Eur J Hum Genet 2022 Oct;10:682-688
[2] De Castro Barbasa T, Ingerslev LR, Alm PS et al. "High-fat diet reprograms the epigenome of rat spermatozoa and transgenerationally affects metabolism of the offspring." Molec Metab 2016 mar;5(3):184-197
[3] Moss J, Harris K. "Impact of maternal and paternal preconception health on birth outcomes using prospective couples' data in Add Health."
Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2015 Feb;291(2):287-98.
[4] McPherson N, Fullston T, Aitken R, Lane M. "Paternal obesity, interventions, and mechanistic pathways to impaired health in offspring." Ann Nutr Metab. 2014;64(3–4):231–238
[5] Tomar A, Gomez-Velazquez M, Gerlini R et al. "Epigenetic inheritance of diet-induced and sperm-borne mitochondrial RNAs." Nature 2024 Jun;630:720-727
Wellness Forum Health, Pam Popper
From the Desk of Pam Popper, President
Wellness Forum Health
In 2011, the Endocrine Society was one of the first organizations to endorse the vitamin D Hoax, which was invented by Michael Holick. He co-authored the Society’s Clinical Practice Guidelines, declaring no conflicts of interest in the article reporting these guidelines,[1] even though his book, The Vitamin D Solution, had been published just a few months prior, and he had worked as a consultant to Quest Diagnostics, which offers vitamin D tests, since 1979. In an interview, he said that industry funding "doesn’t influence me in terms of talking about the benefits of vitamin D."[2] Right, of course.
Holick’s conflicts were not limited to books and his relationship with Quest Labs. Between 2013 and 2017, he received money from drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis,[3] which makes vitamin D supplements.[4]
Endocrine Society Guidelines are important. They are used by hospitals, physicians, and commercial labs including Quest. Due to Holick’s influence, the Society adopted Holick’s view that vitamin D deficiency was widespread in all age groups, and therefore widespread testing should be implemented. The Society also increased the target goal from 20 ng/mm to 30 ng/ml, which served to label almost 80% of the American population as vitamin D deficient. By 2016, vitamin D testing was the fifth most common lab test that qualified for Medicare reimbursement.[5] And the goal for supplementation continued to increase, with some associations and doctors setting target plasma levels at 75-100 ng/ml. This resulted in the recommendation of higher and higher doses of vitamin D.
It did not take long for health professionals who are critical thinkers to determine that there was no widespread Vitamin D deficiency, that the tests were inaccurate, and that supplementation was not only useless, but sometimes harmful. In 2015, the US Preventive Services Task Force reported that there wasn’t enough evidence to recommend routine vitamin D screening. A 2015 article in the American Journal of Medicine stated that raising plasma levels of vitamin D to 50 ng/ml could increase the risk of death.[6]
For the last 12 years, I’ve covered the vitamin D issue, writing articles and creating workshops to educate people about the hoax. Vitamin D is NOT a vitamin; it’s a hormone. The medical definition of a vitamin is a substance that the body does not produce and must be consumed in food. Vitamin D is at best useless, and in higher doses can be harmful. Lower vitamin D levels are usually a result, not the cause of health conditions, which is why hundreds of studies showed that supplementation has no effect on the prevention of or recovery from any disease.
Finally, the Endocrine Society has partially corrected its error and now advises against routine screening and supplementation for most people. Holick was not an author of these guidelines, which include these statements:
"Based on the absence of supportive clinical trial evidence, the panel suggests against routine 25(OH)D testing in the absence of established indications."
"Further research is needed to determine optimal 25(OH)D levels for specific health benefits."[7]
Additionally, the Endocrine Society no longer endorses specific definitions of vitamin D sufficiency, insufficiency, and deficiency.
The response from many disciples of the vitamin D cult is typical: They are digging in their heels. Evidence does not matter, and the demonstration of ignorance is astounding. Peter Osborne, a diplomate with the American Clinical Board of Nutrition says, "I disagree with the guidelines. Vitamin D is an essential nutrient that plays a pivotal role in multiple functions in the body. It is one of the most common deficiencies we see in the clinic."[8]
The problem is that vitamin D is NOT a nutrient – it’s a hormone produced by the body in response to sunlight. Osborne starts with an incorrect foundation for his statements. Additionally, the only way to diagnose "deficiency" is to use inaccurate tests and guidelines set by the Endocrine Society, which is why the Society changed its recommendations.
The Vitamin D Hoax shows how easy it is for one conflicted doctor to create a multi-billion-dollar industry with almost no evidence in support. It was easy to get medical societies to go along, and almost all branches of medicine readily jumped on board. Now, it’s almost impossible to get advocates to give it up. The scariest part of this is that the Vitamin D Hoax is not an isolated event. This happens regularly in medicine. Consumers MUST learn to take control of their healthcare by becoming INFORMED.
[1] Holick MF, Binkley NC, Bischoff-Ferrari HA et al. "Evaluation, Treatment, and Prevention of Vitamin D Deficienecy: an Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline." J Clin Endocrin Metab 2011 Jul;96(7):1911-1930
[2] Liz Sabo. The Man Who Sold America On Vitamin D – and Profited In The Process. KFF News August 20 2018 https://kffhealthnews.org/news/how-michael-holick-sold-america-on-vitamin-d-and-profited/
[3] https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov/
[4] https://www.campaignasia.com/article/case-study-sanofi-aventis-highlights-dark-secret-in-australia/277567
[5] https://oig.hhs.gov/reports/all/2017/medicare-payments-for-clinical-diagnostic-laboratory-tests-in-2016-year-3-of-baseline-data/
[6] Taylor CL, Thomas PR, Aloia JF, Millard PS, Rosen CJ. "Questions About Vitamin D for Primary Care Practice: Input From an NIH Conference." Am J Med 2015 Nov;128(11):1167-1170
[7] DeMay, MB, Pittas AG, Bikle DD et al. "Vitamin D for the Prevention of Disease: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline." J Clin Endocrin Met 2024 Aug;109(8):1907-1947
[8] Sina McCullough. Vitamin D Dilemma: New Guidelines Flip the Script on Sunshine Supplements. Epoch Times Sep 9 2024 https://www.theepochtimes.com/health/vitamin-d-dilemma-new-guidelines-flip-the-script-on-sunshine-supplements-5678747
Wellness Forum Health
In 2011, the Endocrine Society was one of the first organizations to endorse the vitamin D Hoax, which was invented by Michael Holick. He co-authored the Society’s Clinical Practice Guidelines, declaring no conflicts of interest in the article reporting these guidelines,[1] even though his book, The Vitamin D Solution, had been published just a few months prior, and he had worked as a consultant to Quest Diagnostics, which offers vitamin D tests, since 1979. In an interview, he said that industry funding "doesn’t influence me in terms of talking about the benefits of vitamin D."[2] Right, of course.
Holick’s conflicts were not limited to books and his relationship with Quest Labs. Between 2013 and 2017, he received money from drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis,[3] which makes vitamin D supplements.[4]
Endocrine Society Guidelines are important. They are used by hospitals, physicians, and commercial labs including Quest. Due to Holick’s influence, the Society adopted Holick’s view that vitamin D deficiency was widespread in all age groups, and therefore widespread testing should be implemented. The Society also increased the target goal from 20 ng/mm to 30 ng/ml, which served to label almost 80% of the American population as vitamin D deficient. By 2016, vitamin D testing was the fifth most common lab test that qualified for Medicare reimbursement.[5] And the goal for supplementation continued to increase, with some associations and doctors setting target plasma levels at 75-100 ng/ml. This resulted in the recommendation of higher and higher doses of vitamin D.
It did not take long for health professionals who are critical thinkers to determine that there was no widespread Vitamin D deficiency, that the tests were inaccurate, and that supplementation was not only useless, but sometimes harmful. In 2015, the US Preventive Services Task Force reported that there wasn’t enough evidence to recommend routine vitamin D screening. A 2015 article in the American Journal of Medicine stated that raising plasma levels of vitamin D to 50 ng/ml could increase the risk of death.[6]
For the last 12 years, I’ve covered the vitamin D issue, writing articles and creating workshops to educate people about the hoax. Vitamin D is NOT a vitamin; it’s a hormone. The medical definition of a vitamin is a substance that the body does not produce and must be consumed in food. Vitamin D is at best useless, and in higher doses can be harmful. Lower vitamin D levels are usually a result, not the cause of health conditions, which is why hundreds of studies showed that supplementation has no effect on the prevention of or recovery from any disease.
Finally, the Endocrine Society has partially corrected its error and now advises against routine screening and supplementation for most people. Holick was not an author of these guidelines, which include these statements:
"Based on the absence of supportive clinical trial evidence, the panel suggests against routine 25(OH)D testing in the absence of established indications."
"Further research is needed to determine optimal 25(OH)D levels for specific health benefits."[7]
Additionally, the Endocrine Society no longer endorses specific definitions of vitamin D sufficiency, insufficiency, and deficiency.
The response from many disciples of the vitamin D cult is typical: They are digging in their heels. Evidence does not matter, and the demonstration of ignorance is astounding. Peter Osborne, a diplomate with the American Clinical Board of Nutrition says, "I disagree with the guidelines. Vitamin D is an essential nutrient that plays a pivotal role in multiple functions in the body. It is one of the most common deficiencies we see in the clinic."[8]
The problem is that vitamin D is NOT a nutrient – it’s a hormone produced by the body in response to sunlight. Osborne starts with an incorrect foundation for his statements. Additionally, the only way to diagnose "deficiency" is to use inaccurate tests and guidelines set by the Endocrine Society, which is why the Society changed its recommendations.
The Vitamin D Hoax shows how easy it is for one conflicted doctor to create a multi-billion-dollar industry with almost no evidence in support. It was easy to get medical societies to go along, and almost all branches of medicine readily jumped on board. Now, it’s almost impossible to get advocates to give it up. The scariest part of this is that the Vitamin D Hoax is not an isolated event. This happens regularly in medicine. Consumers MUST learn to take control of their healthcare by becoming INFORMED.
[1] Holick MF, Binkley NC, Bischoff-Ferrari HA et al. "Evaluation, Treatment, and Prevention of Vitamin D Deficienecy: an Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline." J Clin Endocrin Metab 2011 Jul;96(7):1911-1930
[2] Liz Sabo. The Man Who Sold America On Vitamin D – and Profited In The Process. KFF News August 20 2018 https://kffhealthnews.org/
[3] https://openpaymentsdata.cms.
[4] https://www.campaignasia.com/
[5] https://oig.hhs.gov/reports/
[6] Taylor CL, Thomas PR, Aloia JF, Millard PS, Rosen CJ. "Questions About Vitamin D for Primary Care Practice: Input From an NIH Conference." Am J Med 2015 Nov;128(11):1167-1170
[7] DeMay, MB, Pittas AG, Bikle DD et al. "Vitamin D for the Prevention of Disease: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline." J Clin Endocrin Met 2024 Aug;109(8):1907-1947
[8] Sina McCullough. Vitamin D Dilemma: New Guidelines Flip the Script on Sunshine Supplements. Epoch Times Sep 9 2024 https://www.theepochtimes.com/
Squash and sweet potato bisque
Ingredients
- 1 - Acorn squash,
- 1 sweet potato
- 1 medium onion
- 1 sweet pepper (orange or yellow)
- Herbs: thyme, sage, rosemary
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 -2 cups vegetable broth
Instructions
Preheat oven to 35o. Slice the squash in half and scoop out seeds; slice sweet potato in half lengthwise; peel and cut onion in large chunks; cut pepper in half and scoop out seeds and stem. Add about 1/2 teaspoon of each of the herbs in the center of the squash and rub into the flesh. Place the squash and potato face down, along with the other vegetables on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Roast for about 30 minutes or until the squash and potato are tender. (Your kitchen will smell wonderful). Let vegetables cool and scoop out the potato and squash flesh into a blender. Add the other vegetables with about 1-2 cups of the broth. This will depend on how thick you want your bisque. Blend until completely pureed. Transfer to stock pot and heat, stirring well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Top with sunflower seeds or pepitas!
Enjoying the Journey
Writer and philosopher Robert Persig ( Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance) wrote "Mountains should be climbed with as little effort as possible and without desire. The reality of your own nature should determine the speed. If you become restless, speed up. If you become winded, slow down. You climb the mountain in an equilibrium between restlessness and exhaustion. Then, when you're no longer thinking ahead, each footstep isn't just a means to an end but a unique event in itself."
This is some great advice to apply to our health journey! Focusing your energy on what is attainable today, on what you can realistically accomplish today, will help you see the reality of your own nature. You have your own learning curve, and you don't need to keep up with anyone else. Don't let perfection be a roadblock in your health journey. Developing good habits one at a time will help you develop a good mindset. "What the mind believes, the mind creates." (Melanie Fernandez, M.D.) Success does not come from what you do occasionally, it comes from what you do consistently. Mountain climbing takes strategy and practice. So does maintaining your health journey!
Think about what is most important to you and your family. Is good health one of them? We usually create strategies for our finances, budgeting what we can afford, when can we buy a new car, etc. Creating a health promoting environment for you and your family should be part of your life strategy. This means prioritizing learning about health, learning how to make healthy food choices, taking time to engage in the right kind of exercise, and paying attention to all the other factors that lead to optimal health. Our strategy should be to live a healthy lifestyle to old age.
Did you know that the belief held by the medical field is that people are not willing to listen to information about diet and lifestyle and that they just want a "magic bullet" as a solution to their health issues? This is not true! I see more and more folks wanting to learn more about their health and wanting to learn the causes of their diseases. And it's not "just genetics". People love seeing the research that supports dietary changes instead of suppressing symptoms with pills and procedures. The problem is that more time is needed by doctors with patients in order to discuss and teach lifestyle changes. Doctors are incentivized and rewarded for prescribing more drugs. According to the AMA, 71% of medical students think nutrition is clinically important when they start their education. However, the average doctor has only received about 19 hours of nutrition training in medical school.
Most people are interested in many years of healthy living and not just changing their biomarkers with a pill. If you address the totality and breadth of your diet and lifestyle, long-term health can be achieved.
Liz
SUMMER PASTA SALAD
Ingredients
- 8 OZ pasta (any kind you prefer)
- 1 small head broccoli, cut in small pieces
- 8 0z cherry tomatoes (or 2 tomatoes diced)
- 4-5 cloves garlic
- 1 cucumber
- 1 can chickpeas (reserve the liquid)
- 1/2 can pitted olives
For dressing:
Add reserved chickpea liquid (aka aquafaba), 1/3 cup white balsamic vinegar (or any vinegar of your choosing) to a bowl. Add salt & pepper to taste, 1 teaspoon each of dried oregano and basil. Whisk all ingredients together until frothy.
Instructions
Cook the pasta according to package directions. When the pasta is about 2 minutes away from al dente, add the broccoli. Drain and let cool. While pasta is cooking, sauté the garlic together with the chickpeas until lightly browned. Oil free cooking is the best for low fat, but if using olive oil, use a sprayer and lightly spray the garlic and chickpeas. Set aside to cool. When pasta and broccoli are cooled, toss together with the other ingredients, including the garlic and chickpeas. Toss with the dressing.
