On page 177 of Survival of the Sickest one of the study's authors, Dana Dolinoy states, "What is good in small amounts could be harmful in large amounts. We simply don't know the effects of literally hundreds of compounds that we intentionally or inadvertently ingest or encounter each day." I think that her statement is very true and I support it because we are told on a daily basis that certain things are bad for us, but then a couple months or years later we are told the opposite. Just like we mentioned in class about butter, first we were told that butter is bad for us and to use margarine instead, and now we are told that margarine is even worst and to go back to using butter. But I think as long as we limit our intakes of products, and portion them out accordingly, it is less harmless than consuming it in large amounts. I think that humans as a whole have a problem with consuming too much of one product, and not balancing out the good with the bad.
Another thing I found interesting is Dr. Sharon Moalem saying, "we don't know" throughout the book. One thing particularly, how little we know about possible epigenetic and maternal effects. Being a psych major I've learned a lot about the maternal effects on the baby, but I've never heard that my mothers genes will have an effect on my baby. Even though there is still complications and uncertainty with the data I find it very interesting that my mothers habits and environmental settings might have effects on my children, or that my genes can be carried to my granddaughter, through my daughter.
I agree that learning that our genes can affect those of our grandchildren was a bit of a shock. Many of the books we have read so far stated that too much of something good is bad for us. I think a reoccurring theme in the readings is the importanace of moderation such as daily intake of foods, stress levels, and etc. It's been making me realize the importance of good eating habits,exercising,and taking care of ourselves emotionally. Because if we don't take good care of ourselves now, our grandchildren will reap what we sow.
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