What is nutrigenomics?

Nutrigenomics is a scientific discipline that seeks to explain how nutrients affect the activity of genes and related structures. Nutrigenomics focuses on the relationships that occur between a person's diet and their genetic predisposition, for example to diseases such as cancer or cardiovascular disease. In addition to nutrigenomics, there is also nutrigenetics, whose role is to analyse genetic differences between individuals or ethnic groups and to study the impact of diet on genes. Nutrigenetics focuses on so-called polymorphisms, or differences in DNA.

Nutrigenomics, nutrigenetics and diet

Can diet influence genes? Nutrigenomics allows us to understand and study the relationships that exist between the food we eat and our genes. Research at the nutrigenome level has found that betaine molecules isolated from beetroot are effective against cancer! Other bioactive ingredients being studied at the nutrigenomics level include EGCG from green tea or the blood pressure-lowering resveratrol from grapes. The development of nutrigenomics could be crucial in the future in the fight against diet-related diseases such as diabetes, atherosclerosis or hypertension, for example. Nutrigenetics may, in the future, allow DNA testing to contribute to the realisation of a tailored, individualised diet tailored to the individual. It is through DNA testing that it becomes possible to create a personal nutritional profile. In this way, everyone will know which nutrients have a positive effect on their body and which are harmful. Perhaps in a few years' time, research based on the findings of nutrigenomics and nutrigenetics will make it possible to effectively fight diet-related diseases.