14 Mar DO YOU KNOW ABOUT NUTRIGENOMICS ?

The whole purpose of nutrition seems to be giving the body the required nutrients to keep the immune system functioning properly, prevent the emergence of illnesses and diseases and treat these illnesses and diseases if possible.

To achieve this, we may go on specific diets, supplant our diets with supplements and vitamins, reduce our intake of certain foods and drinks, and engage in some other lifestyle choices which may one way or the other have an effect on our nutrition.

But there is more – nutrigenomics, a more individualized approach and less of the general rules of nutrition.

What is Nutrigenomics

Simply put, nutrigenomics just as the name suggest, is the relationship between nutrition and genes as it concerns diet, diseases and health. In Nutrigenomics (also called nutritional genomics), scientists try to understand how the human genes interact with food and nutrients to bring about successful disease prevention (and in some cases treatment).

It brings to focus genetic conditions pertaining to diet and has been used to bring about treatments through individualized nutritional requirements.

In other words, to prevent diseases and attain a healthy status, nutrition may be personalized and tailored to the specific individual involved based on their genes and individual needs.

The ideology behind this approach is that what we eat affects how our genes are expressed and nutrition has a huge impact on genes.  For example, the deficiency of a key vitamin like Vitamin B12 in a diet can cause anemia (pernicious anemia).

Nutrigenomics should not be confused with nutrigenetics, which works the other way round– our genetic makers inform how our diets affect our health. For instance, one who is lactose intolerant may not digest lactose because he is genetically unable to produce the enzyme, lactase.

Why Nutrigenomics?

The recourse to nutrigenomics in nutritional science gained popularity some years ago. Scientists discovered that environmental factors like nutrition can interact with the genomes to bring about different dietary outcomes in different people, hence the idea of personalized nutritional approaches tailored to fit each person’s needs.

Some of the benefits of nutrigenomics to improving health include the following:

• Nutrigenomics causes the prevention and treatment of diet-based diseases and illnesses.
• It promotes the discovery of genetic makers during the processes of diet-associated diseases.
• The knowledge of nutrigenomics helps people make informed choices on the foods vital or detrimental to their health.
• Technological and scientific advancement in nutrigenomics may bring about rapid medical breakthroughs in treating genetic conditions.
• Nutrigenomics helps in bringing to the fore, genetic and dietary variants

TAKE AWAY

The world is evolving and in the same light, science is. Many years back, it wasn’t discovered that nutrition and genomes may interact to either promote or depreciate one’s health. Today it is a known fact, the science of which is rapidly evolving.  While you may not have the powers to change your genetic makeup, you have control over your diets and should take caution (through the knowledge of nutrigenomics) not to include in your diets, any foods that may negatively interact with your genomes.