What is Nutrigenetics All About?
The fields of nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics are focused on the relationship between human genes and nutrition. Nutrigenetics is defined as the “science of the effect of genetic variation on dietary response”. Nutrigenomics, on the other hand, is defined as the science of “the role of nutrients…in gene expression”.
In layman’s terms:
- Nutrigenetics examines how your body responds to nutrients based on your genetics.
- Nutrigenomics studies how nutrients affect your body’s expression of your genes.
First, a few simple definitions: DNA, Genetics, and Nutrition.
- DNA is short for Deoxyribonucleic Acid. DNA stores information and instructions for all organisms to grow, develop, function, and reproduce. Human DNA has around 3 billion chemical bases. The arrangement of these bases determines every aspect of human function.
- Genetics is the study of how DNA is passed on to offspring (heredity), how and why variations occur, and how these variations are expressed.
- Nutrition refers to both the process of being nourished by food and the study of how nutrients are used in human metabolism, growth, and repair cycles.
- What Is nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics
The Human Genome Project was launched in 1990 with the goal of identifying and mapping out every single gene in the human genetic code. When the human genome was completed in 2003, entire fields of scientific study opened up. Nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics are just two of the fields to benefit, and to date thousands of studies have already been performed and published on these topics.
What is the Difference Between Inherited and Acquired Genetics?
Inherited genetics refer to the traits we inherit from our ancestors. These include height, eye color, skin pigmentation, ect… Inherited traits can also include a number of different health conditions. We now know that a family history of breast cancer can mean that you are more likely to develop breast cancer. However, if you carry certain genetic markers in your DNA, then you are significantly more likely to develop breast cancer regardless of your family history.
Acquired genetics are traits that cannot be inherited from previous generations, but they can be passed on to future generations if the reproductive genes are affected. These usually come about from a variety of environmental influences such as exposure to smoke, radiation, chemicals, and of course from certain nutritional factors.
What Can Nutrigenetics Tell You?
The overall goal of nutrigenetics is to be able to develop an individual nutrition plan to help you achieve and maintain your best health possible. When applied correctly, information related to nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics can even help prevent, treat, or even cure certain diseases.
Most thorough diet and nutrition plans begin by calculating the daily caloric needs of an individual and applying the RDA (recommended daily allowances) of important nutrients to the diet plan through foods and supplements. While this approach is better than most, there is an inherent flaw that nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics account for: individual needs and response.
RDAs were developed to be applied to the general population as a whole. They don’t take into account the specific needs or responses of genetic subgroups. The importance of inherited and acquired genetic response in optimizing one’s health cannot be overemphasized.
Your genes can determine how sensitive you are to salt, if you are lactose intolerant, how likely you are to become vitamin D deficient, how well you tolerate caffeine, and even how efficient your body is at repairing injuries.
Nutrigenetics can explain why two individuals of similar age, stature, and activity levels will react differently to the same diet. Should you be consuming more or less saturated fat? Will a low-carb diet actually benefit you? What supplements should you be taking? Which supplements do you need to function properly? These are all questions that the information hidden in your DNA can help to solve.
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