Nutrigenomics: what’s it and what’s it for

August 26, 2022
Nutrigenomics

Deciding on what to eat and the steps you need to undertake to fulfill your health goals can have a virtually immense effect. With a plethora of diets out there and professionals who all have various thoughts that differ from each other, how can you choose what’ll be good for you? To this issue, nutrigenomics brings some clarity.

Nutrigenomics: what is it?

This is a study that studies the interactions between nutrition and the genome. For instance, some cοmponents – fatty acids, vitamins, and trace elements – exert direct contrοl over gene expression without altering gene structure. Other ingredients (fοlate, chοline, vitamins B12 B2 and B6) can induce epigenetic mοdifications that, though generally reversible, are sometimes stable enough to be passed from one generation to the next. As differences in genome define how the organism will respond to certain products, the development of nutrigenomics will make nutrition a powerful health tool, allowing us to put together bespoke dietary recommendations.

The nutrigenomic test results can help facilitate your day-to-day decisions. For instance, your genetic differences may indicate that you tend to:

  • Losing weight on a diet grounded on high proteins: You can make up an eating plan understanding how your body responds to such nutrients as carbοhydrates, fat, and protein.
  • Having high blood pressure: Understanding this, you can take measures to bypass these conditions by reducing your saturated fat cοnsumption.

How eating impacts our genes

Keeping in mind the enormous complexity of contemporary food is highly essential for medicine grounded on ultra-personalized nutrition that pays attention to the individual regulatory capacity of the human genome and could impact its genetic heritage. It will also make it possible to create efficient therapies, adding to nutrigenomics drug-based medicine.

Along with the health advantages, this new to science approach could change the odds in economic and social respects. It offers the potential to develop more efficient diets for, for instance, aging populations, along with the efforts applied in the domain of pharmacogenetics, allowing drugs to be matched with food in the best possible way. In addition, it should also facilitate new generations of safe products to appear in the agrifood markets, often in the form of combined ingredients that can better some functions, whether in humans, animals, or plants.

Nutrigenomics and lifestyle

It is obvious that genetics greatly defines our health, however, things like life style and surroundings are key impact-makers, too. Scientists from the PREDICT1 study discovered how much does each ingredient contribute to how a human organism responds to eating.

In this research, there was analyzed the data from 1,000 persons, over 500 of whom were twins. During the experiment, they ate special cookies, and then scientists analyzed the levels of insulin, sugar, and fat in their blood. Previously, scientists also gathered information about each person’s amount of sport and sleeping.

The findings were the following:

  • Gut bacteria had the biggest influence on fat levels in the blood.
  • Meal macronutrients had the biggest influence on sugar levels.
  • Genetics influenced sugar and fat levels less substantially in comparison with eating.

Nutrigenomics brings us a more targeted approach to discovering what we can undertake to feel our best. Combining nutrition, medicine, biology, ethics, human science, and the food industry, nutrigenomics makes all these studies catalysts for scientific and social innovation. This will precisely boost people’s awareness of the evolution of food-connected behavior.

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