Survivor Eating: How Genetic Memory Influences How We Eat

Nov 1, 2021 | Food, Mind & Body

Written by Chaya Heuberger, LCSW

When we speak of trauma, it’s typically extremely subjective. After all, by definition trauma is the individual person’s emotional response to a terrible event. However, there are some events in life that, on any spectrum, are without question objectively traumatic. The Holocaust, both on the large scale and in its individual components, is obviously one such example. Because of the enormity of trauma that resulted from the Holocaust, it’s difficult to even begin to assess it. However, there are certain elements that resulted from the trauma that can be examined individually.

The way in which the Holocaust affected thoughts, behaviors, and feelings towards food and eating is one such element that deserves this form of attention. In general, eating disorders have an established link to trauma. When dealing with trauma of this extreme, a traumatic event that very much involved food, it is not surprising then that there would be a strong correlation between this event and future eating disorders. The National Institute of Mental Health has published many studies that have shown time and again that traumatic experiences make us more prone to developing eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. 

While it may seem obvious that survivors themselves would have suffered severe consequences after the war related to eating, it is much less obvious that these consequences would be passed on to future generations that did not experience the trauma directly. It makes sense that offspring who were very exposed to survivors would have attitudes and behaviors that reflect those environmental factors. But what about later generations? This is where the concept of intergenerational trauma kicks in.  It turns out that trauma can actually be passed down from those who directly experienced it to subsequent generations genetically. Trauma can actually leave a chemical impression on one’s genes, which can then be passed on to future generations in the same way as any other gene. 

Scientists studying epigenetics confirmed that, indeed, nongenetic influences such as behaviors and environment can affect gene expression.

Relatively new research suggests that Holocaust trauma can be transmitted from generation to generation through epigenetics. In 2015, researchers at  Mount Sina i Hospital  found  that

children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors actually presented with higher levels of a gene associated with PTSD. This was compared with Jews whose parents lived outside of Europe during World War II. Professor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at McGill University, Dr Moshe Szyf, a specialist in epigenetics, conveyed with his research that Holocaust trauma could have been transmitted epigenetically as early as pregnancy. 

When we break down Holocaust trauma specific to food according to generation, we can see that each struggled uniquely in this area. A 2004 study published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior revealed that Holocaust survivors themselves revealed six main attitudes towards food as a result of their experiences. 1- Difficulty throwing food away, even if it was spoiled. 2- Chronically storing excess food. 3- Craving specific foods. 4- Difficulty standing in line for food. 5- Experiencing anxiety when food is not readily available. 6- Strong feelings of empathy towards others suffering from hunger. 

Children of survivors experienced different issues. In the Professional Journal of the Eating Disorders Association, the development of eating and weight problems in children of survivors was explored. These studies discovered two groups. There was the group with restrained eating disorders and low body weights, who were related to parents that emigrated from Europe by the year 1941, and there was the group with overeating syndromes and overweight issues that had parents who were incarcerated in concentration camps. 

Second and third generation survivors also presented with disordered eating issues

associated with Holocaust trauma. In a study conducted in 2007, published in the Professional Journal of the Eating Disorders Association, it was determined that eating disorders in the second generation was largely due to the environment in which they grew up with their parents, the children of survivors, whereas third generation eating problems were attributed rather to a combination of epigenetics and exposure to their mothers’ disordered eating and level of Holocaust exposure. Fourth generation, the generation referred to as “the link between memory and preservation”, has yet to be studied in this area, but it is fair to assume that there is some level of impact as well. 

Conclusions from current studies of Jewish adolescent girls of European descent established that adolescent Jewish females appeared to be at higher risk for developing abnormal attitudes and behaviors towards eating compared to other groups, such as their non-Jewish counterparts. While the reasons behind this remained unclear, it may be safe to suspect that it could be, at least partially, due to cultural, historical, and genetic vulnerabilities. 

What this means for us today is that we need to be cognizant of the fact that we and our children are at greater risk for struggling in these areas. This means that we need to approach the issue with greater compassion, considering the fact that there may very well be a genetic component contributing to it that is trauma-based. While typically the therapeutic approach used to treat eating disorders might be behavioral, such as Cognitive or Dialectical Behavioral Therapies, in such cases, including a Complex Trauma-based approach might be more appropriate and beneficial. 

It turns out that trauma can actually be passed down from those who directly experienced it to subsequent generations genetically.

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