We are learning more and more about the connection between our gut microbiome and our health, and so this study about the intake of emulsifiers by mouse moms and its influence on their baby mice’s future health should be no surprise. These additives to processed foods are seemingly everywhere. They can be found in baked goods, ice cream, dairy items, even powdered baby formulas. If these food additives affect the human gut, including the baby’s gut, as it does in the mice, we could be causing a lot of unnecessary problems for future generations.
By feeding emulsifiers to mice starting 10 weeks before pregnancy, the researchers could then see what effects would show up in the baby mice. Though the baby mice never consumed any of the emulsifiers, their gut microbiomes were noticeably different during the first weeks of life. They demonstrated higher levels of certain bacteria known to trigger immune reactions. Not only this, but the bacteria were able to get closer to the gut cell lining and trigger gut wall changes. This early exposure led to overactive immune systems and inflammation.
Once the baby mice reached adulthood, the differences in bacteria population vanished, but the effects of the early life microbiome disruption continued. The adult microbiome could not be distinguished by a computer program, yet the mice still experienced adverse effects as adults. This included both increased rates of colitis and higher rates of mouse obesity, despite having the same diet.
While this does not prove anything definitively in humans, it does demonstrate that the diets of moms could affect the microbiomes of their babies in ways that persisted into adulthood even if the immediate microbiome effects resolved. In helping out our female patients who are hoping to become mothers one day sooner or later, we not only focus on toxins, infections, inflammation, but also on the basics of a good microbiome, supporting low-inflammatory diet to foster a healthy gut microbiome.
This focus on multigenerational healthier, more abundant families is a joy, but as is often the case, prevention goes a long way. The better the woman’s diet is prior to the pregnancy, the better chances of good health the infant has going forward.
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Original Article:
Clara Delaroque, Héloïse Rytter, Erica Bonazzi, Marine Huillet, Sandrine Ellero-Simatos, Eva Chatonnat, Fuhua Hao, Andrew Patterson, Benoit Chassaing. Maternal emulsifier consumption alters the offspring early-life microbiota and goblet cell function leading to long-lasting diseases susceptibility. Nature Communications, 2025; 16 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-62397-3
Thanks to Science Daily:
Institut Pasteur. “This common food ingredient may shape a child’s health for life.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 26 December 2025. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251225080732.htm>.
Sanctuary Functional Medicine, under the direction of Dr Eric Potter, IFMCP MD, provides functional medicine services to Nashville, Middle Tennessee and beyond. We frequently treat patients from Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and more... offering the hope of healthier more abundant lives to those with chronic illness.
Colson Potter writes copious fiction and nonfiction, including a weekly Proverbs post and his blog at Creational Story.
