Early Life Nutrition and Mental Health: The Role of DNA Methylation

Abstract

Does the quality of our diet during early life impact our long-term mental health? Accumulating evidence suggests that nutrition interacts with our genes and that there is a strong association between the quality of diet and mental health throughout life. Environmental influences such as maternal diet during pregnancy or offspring diet have been shown to cause epigenetic changes during critical periods of development, such as chemical modifications of DNA or histones by methylation for the regulation of gene expression. One-carbon metabolism, which consists of the folate and methionine cycles, is influenced by the diet and generates S-Adenosylmethinoine (SAM), the main methyl donor for methylation reactions such as DNA and histone methylation. This review provides current knowledge on how the levels of one-carbon metabolism associated micronutrients such as choline, betaine, folate, methionine and B vitamins that play a role in brain function can impact our well-being and mental health across the lifespan. Micronutrients that act as methyl donors for SAM formation could affect global or gene methylation, altering gene expression and phenotype. Strategies should then be adopted to better understand how these nutrients work and their impact at different stages of development to provide individualized dietary recommendations for better mental health outcomes.

Guideline No. 427: Folic Acid and Multivitamin Supplementation for Prevention of Folic Acid–Sensitive Congenital Anomalies

“…Maternal mental health: There is a relationship between maternal nutrition and well-being during pregnancy, 31 and a retrospective cohort analysis showed that folate was positively and significantly associated with well-being in a pregnant population. 32 Another small cohort study found that postpartum depression was lower with folic acid supplementation when taken for more than 6 months of the pregnancy when compared with those who took folic acid for less than 6 months.…”

Epigenetics of pregnancy: looking beyond the DNA code

“…Early life nutrition can modulate the epigenome through different mechanisms: the change in the structure of chromatin through histone modifications and the supply of methyl donors (i.e., methionine, choline, folate), the activity of DNA methyltransferases, and of specific transcription factors. In this way, altered maternal nutrition may induce epigenetic changes in the global expression pattern of the fetus, which will trigger biological and psychological alterations in offspring's lifelong outcomes [136][137][138][139].…”

Genetics and Epigenetics in Personalized Nutrition: Evidence, Expectations, and Experiences

“…[44] Other studies demonstrated the role of dietary micronutrients during early life in altering gene expression and influencing health or disease later in life. [45,46] In adults, large-scale analysis of DNA methylation in leukocytes, for example, identified differentially methylated CpG sites associated with folate or vitamin B 12 intake. [47] A study of habitual diet quality, including the Mediterranean diet score and the Alternative Healthy Eating Index, reported an association with differential leukocyte DNA methylation levels of 30 CpG sites, most of which were also associated with adverse health outcomes.…”

“…[ 44 ] Other studies demonstrated the role of dietary micronutrients during early life in altering gene expression and influencing health or disease later in life. [ 45,46 ]…”