Epigenetics as an impulse for primary prevention. The conception of vegetative imprinting

Micronutrient deficiency will lead to permanent physical and mental atrophy, weaken the immune system and increase the risk of contracting chronical diseases. It is especially children who suffer most and in several respects. Since serious micronutrient deficiency plays a formative role during the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, the associated long-term effects on health can hardly be compensated later. With the concept of vegetative imprinting, epigenetics provide a possible explanation for this interconnection.

The concept of vegetative imprinting assumes that in the period from the 24th week of pregnancy (approx.) until the end of the fourth week of life after birth, the developing organism learns on the basis of signals it receives from its surroundings, how to function in the future or, respectively, which norm of action within the interaction with its environment will apply in order to maintain its individuality. The environmental conditions seem to almost imprint themselves as a training and calibration program in order to determine the functional and tolerance ranges for the future life. Both a deficiency and an excess of certain impulses from the energy, nutrient and hormone supply during critical development stages will faultily and sustainably shape the patterns the organism will use in response to environmental stimuli in the future. Thus, nutrients, vitamins and trace elements, metabolites, system hormones, neurotransmitter or cytokines may be elements of unfavourable development conditions, as a result of which functional disorders of lasting nature will develop and manifest themselves later in life as susceptibility to chronic diseases such as the metabolic syndrome. Although this faulty individual, vegetative programming is not an element of the genetic material, it may be passed on to an individual’s  offspring.

Read more:
A. Plagemann (2011) Toward a unifying concept on perinatal programming: Vegetative imprinting by environment-dependent biocybernetogenesis. In: Plagemann A, editor. Perinatal Programming—The State of the Art. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter. pp. 243–282. Link:
Assmann-Stiftung für Prävention. https://www.assmann-stiftung.de/epigenetik-als-impuls-fuer-die-primaerpraevention-des-metabolischen-syndroms-das-konzept-der-vegetativen-praegung-99/