Stress can take its toll on your wellness in several ways and for multiple reasons, but you may want to blame your mum for what she ate – or didn’t eat – during pregnancy. This is according to a recent study, published in The FASEB Journal, which found that pregnant women who take choline supplements inadvertently lower their baby’s level of cortisol. This is because choline changes the epigenetic expression of genes involved in cortisol production.
Many pregnant women take choline supplements to protect their baby’s wellbeing against neural tube defects, and choline is even used as a supplement in infant formulas. It is similar to B vitamins and you can make it in your liver, but the compound is also found in foods like muscle meats, fish, liver, nuts, beans, peas, spinach, wheat germ, and eggs. Choline is used for a variety of health concerns, including liver disease, chronic hepatitis, depression, memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease. However, the new study shows that if pregnant women have a higher intake of choline than what is generally recommended during pregnancy, they may improve how their child responds to stress.
Led by Marie Caudill from Cornell University, the researchers gave pregnant women in their third trimester either a control diet providing 480 mg choline per day – a level that approximates current dietary recommendations – or the treatment diet which provided 930 mg choline per day, for a period of 12 weeks. The researchers measured the participants’ blood levels of cortisol, their expression levels of genes that regulate cortisol, and the number of methyl groups attached to the DNA of the cortisol regulating genes (the epigenetic changes). Those in the high choline group showed reduced levels of cortisol.
Even if epigenetic changes do not alter the gene itself, they still change how a gene functions. High levels of choline caused epigenetic changes that ultimately led to lower cortisol levels, which was important because high levels of cortisol are linked to a wide range of problems, such as mental health issues and metabolic and cardiovascular disorders. Gerald Weissmann, MD, Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal, commented, ‘Depending on the relationship, one’s mother can either produce stress or relieve it. This report shows that her effect on stress begins even before birth. The importance of choline cannot be overstated as we continue to unravel the role it plays in human health and development.’
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