How parents' health affects eggs and sperm

Lucilla explains how maternal and paternal obesity and oxidative stress impair eggs, sperm and early embryo health.

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Episode notes

The blueprint for your life starts much earlier than you realise - long before you took your first breath, before your heart beat its first beat, before your mum and dad even met.

This is the story of the first 1,000 days of life. From conception to age 2, a window so powerful that scientists now believe it influences our future risk of heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and even how our immune system reacts to the world.

In this episode, the world’s leading expert on how childhood nutrition and metabolism shape our long-term health, Professor Lucilla Poston, explains how early nutrition may influence appetite, metabolism, and future disease risk.

Lucilla and ZOE’s Head Nutritionist, Dr Federica Amati, break down what science says about pregnancy, early feeding and the food children eat, and questions how lifelong health is shaped before a child even chooses their first meal.

Lucilla offers practical guidance on what matters most and explains key nutrients to consider. They discuss why regular movement may help support healthy blood sugar levels. They also explain what a balanced diet can look like for parents and young children, why babies should try a wide range of whole foods, and why many packaged baby foods may contain far more sugar than parents expect.

What small choices can you make today to help shape a healthier future for you, your children, and your children’s children?

🌱 Try our science-backed and tasty wholefood supplement Daily 30

Get our brand-new app and Gut Health Test designed by world-leading gut health and nutrition scientists to build healthy eating habits 👉 Join ZOE

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Timecodes

00:00 Intro

03:47 Why the first 1,000 days can shape your entire life

08:12 What happens in the womb doesn’t stay in the womb

11:16 The tiny window where everything can go wrong

13:35 Why obesity in pregnancy is now a silent epidemic

15:17 Can a father’s health affect a baby before it even exists?

17:50 The missing nutrient most women don’t realise they need