Berberine Goes Mainstream
A recent study published by a team of scientists at Yale, UCLA, University of Florida, and University of Hawaii found that (unfortunately) experiencing violence and trauma becomes biologically embedded in our epigenome, and that these changes are passed down not just to the next generation, but to grandchildren as well.
It is definitely less common to have evidence of this multi-generational inheritance in humans, since most multi-generational studies have been limited to animal models, where lifespans are shorter and easier to study. However, this echoes other intergenerational studies such as have been carried out on people who experienced the Dutch Hunger Winter.
According to one of the study authors, Connie J. Mulligan from the University of Florida: “We propose that a small subset of methylation marks is environmentally sensitive and intergenerationally heritable that allow humans to adapt to environmental stressors, including psychosocial stress and violence,” Mulligan said. “Our results also highlight the amazing resilience and tenacity of traumatized populations around the world who have survived and even flourished in the face of adversity.”
Although heart-wrenching to read about, these findings have important implications for how we think about epigenetics and all the myriad factors that affect epigenetic DNA methylation – diet and lifestyle factors included! It also extends the health history timeline of interest and begs the question, should we be asking more about parental and grandparental exposures. I am hopeful that in the (near) future we’ll have technology that can non-invasively give us clinical data on epigenetic signatures so we can learn what factors may best favorably alter them.
Learn more about intergenerational inheritance patterns in humans and animals and how to eat to optimize the epigenome in the Younger You book and program.
Link to the peer-reviewed article: Epigenetic signatures of intergenerational exposure to violence in three generations of Syrian refugees
Link to the Yale press release: Violent experiences alter the epigenome in ways that persist for generations
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