||||||||||Rats on Junk Food Pass Cancer Down the Generations ++++++++

When pregnant rats were fed a fatty diet, both their daughters and granddaughters proved to be at greater risk of breast cancer. In fact, even if the daughters of the first generation of rats ate healthily, their offspring -- the third generation -- were still at greater risk of disease.

According to the New Scientist:

“... a fatty diet may cause "epigenetic" DNA modifications that can be passed on to future generations.”

If this is also true for humans, it means that genetics could be only one of several reasons why a family history of breast cancer increases your risk for the disease.

Sources:

New Scientist April 20, 2010

Most people are aware that certain genes are linked to an increased risk of breast cancer, however having a family history of breast cancer is not the only risk factor women have to contend with, and it’s likely not even the most important one.

In fact, according to statistics only about 20-30 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer actually have a family history of the disease.

The research presented at the 101^st 2010 meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Washington DC offers a very interesting glimpse into what may be going on here.

Could it be that the increasing health problems and diseases such as cancer we’re seeing today is the result of our grandparents’ adopting a diet of processed foods?