What is Nutrigenomics?
By: Rashika Dass
Tags: Genetics, Nutrigenomics, Dietitian, Nutritionist, Genetic Engineering

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“Rice is bad for weight!” But have you wondered that many rice eater communities, in fact, have leaner frames?

Why is that? I hear you say, “It is in their genes”.

Yes, it is how their genes react to the rice. So basically, rice is not the problem, but there is Nutrigenomics at play here.

What is Nutrigenomics?

Let us understand what this means to a common man.

This science of studying genes is called Genomics.

It is the study of the entire set of genes found in living things including humans, plants, animals, and even viruses.

There is a deeper connection between food and genes.

The food you eat has an impact on your genes and your genes have a profound effect on your nutritional requirements, metabolism, and the ability to lose or gain weight.

Why does it matter?

Nutrigenomics came into play nearly in the 1990s when Human Genome Project was launched. The subsequent mapping of human DNA took the world into exploring Nutrigenomics.

The most important fact that nutrigenomics made us understand was every human is different.

Every human has a different set of genetics and these genetics define the best nutrition for that individual. Nutrigenomics laid the foundation of Personalised Nutrition, catering to a particular individual. It then when we started realizing that one disease-different types of people cannot be given the same nutrition.

Obviously!

Treatment to every individual should be different. It should as per the individual body and genes. What works best for a person.

Now the fact is that many chronic diseases are not caused by a single defective gene or by single dietary exposure but it takes place due to complex interaction among a large number of gene variants.

Read: Personal genomics in India: A Bright Future

Hence, it is very crucial to actually understand one's genes to build a tailor-made nutrition plan for a better and faster result.

According to the 2003 UK Department of Health, an increased knowledge of genetics will help in treatment, lifestyle advice, and monitoring aimed at disease prevention tailored appropriately to suit each individual.

Why is Nutrigenomic tagged as the Future of Nutrition?

In human, the presence of a particular gene or mutation in most cases implies towards a particular disease. However, that genetic potential will show up or not is not sure. Unless forced upon by a complex interplay between the human genome, the environmental factor and the behavioural factor.

Thus having a gene based approach will help understand and identify such disease and have a good lifestyle.

How does Nutrigenomic Work?

We know that a gene is what determines the genetic trait of a person, however, the gene also responds to environmental factors. One such and crucial factor is nutrition.

We have already established that by now.

There are key nutrients that regulate gene expression and they are involved in the one-carbon cycle, namely folate, choline, and vitamins B2, B6, and B12, vitamin A and others.

However, there are also general dietary patterns like the diets with high Glycaemic Index (GI) Load that impact the gene expression.

For example, The closeness of a high GI diet and exaggerated polymorphism of the Adiponectin gene leads to insulin resistance and diabetes type II.

The field of Nutrigenomics is highly dependent on advanced technologies to process data relating to gene variants.

As we all know that most chronic diseases are not due to monogenic mutations. Hence the need of the technology that can help identify and measure different types of molecule simultaneously.

One Challenge

The human body is quite complex in nature. It has its own algorithm of how many dietary bio-actives react in each one's body. This kind of math is slightly difficult to crack.

How much is the optimal intake of nutrients for an individual for the maintenance of genomic stability?

And, a diverse genetic background makes it additionally difficult to extract the prediction.

Want to learn more about Nutrigenomics. Hop on to www.thegeneboxacademy.com to learn, understand and add nutrigenomics to your arsenal.

There is an advanced certified online course available for all the nutritionists, dieticians, health consultants, and enthusiasts to understand the basics of genetics. Gain knowledge about the psychology of eating, and the learn how to understand each individual on the genes level to provide people the perfect tailor fit nutrition plan for better and healthier lifestyle.