Want Healthy Babies? Change The Father's Diet.
You can thank your old man for giving you his dashing looks and bad sense of humor. But science suggests your dad might have passed down a whole lot more than you realize.
You Are What Your Dad Eats
A study at the University of Cincinnati found a strong correlation between the diet of male fruit flies and the health of their offspring. That means Dad's eating habits could have impacted your health long before you became the apple of his eye.
In the study, the male fruit flies were fed varied quantities of proteins and carbohydrates. They were mated with the female fruit flies 17 days later. At the end of the experiment, researchers found that male flies with a poor diet (high carb, low protein) were less likely to produce surviving offspring.
Most of reproductive science focuses on the mother's health alone, but these findings challenge all of our prior assumptions. Michal Polak, biology professor at the University of Cincinnati, stated, "“In many species, the moms do a lot of the care. So we expect there to be an effect from maternal diet on offspring because of that strong link. But it was a real surprise to find a link between paternal diet and offspring.”
Why Fruit Flies
You must be wondering, how does a fruit fly study have anything to do with us? Surprisingly, you have way more in common with these little insects that you might have thought. Humans and fruit flies share 60 percent of their DNA. That means that what holds true for the flies may be true for us, too.
If this is the case, all you dads-to-be better shape up! Even if you're only thinking about having kids, make sure to eat balanced meals and stay away from sugary, high-carb foods. You never know: a healthy diet could make you Father of the Year!
Like this article? Find out why more mom's are making their own baby food.
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