HOT TOPIC: Emerging Science Of Nutrigenomics
The correlation between nutrition and genes is currently a hot topic for worldwide research. The scientific community is looking for a way to pair our genetic background with our nutritional consumptions in order to gain optimal health. The only way to comprehend the possibility of this match is to have a vision and look into the future of health.
The first step in obtaining the vision, is a visit to a qualified dietitian who specializes in nutrigenomics. Nutrigenomics examines the connection between genes and nutrition. The dietitian will ask for your genetic card, which s/he will examine in order to find out comprehensive information regarding your genetic makeup. This information is known as your genetic profile.
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Based on your specific profile, a scientist can create nutritional guidelines and suggestions individually designed for you. Therefore, you will receive a tailored diet plan that is created to suit your genetic necessities, which incorporate the amount of daily micro and macro nutrients that are required to alleviate health problems. This advice will be more personalized than anything provided in the past. Data must be accumulated to create your profile. “The data that will be needed for this personalization are quantitative information about lifestyle – including nutrient intakes, genetic analyses, and measures of physiology, probably supplemented by metabolomics or proteomic analyses,” as stated by Dr. Jim Kaput with University of California, Davis.
It doesn’t matter if two people have the same health problems, each prescription is tailored and completely unique due to a person’s genetic profile. This might sound like it’s too good to be true, but many believe that this could be a possible scenario in the not-too-distant future. There is no doubt that this will require in-depth scientific research, but it does seem to be the direction in which genetic studies is growing.
How Would Nutrigenomics Work?
If you examine every aspect of the human body in terms of cells, you will notice that cells have to interact with each other to feed life’s building blocks. Genes and cells don’t merely exist, they have to actually work and interact together to create an optimal and effective system that allows us to live our lives in the healthiest and best way possible. Most of us understand how our body systems work, such as our digestive, respiratory and muscular systems, but if we were to examine even deeper mechanisms of the human body, we would see that none of these systems would be possible without our cells’ complete and proper cooperation.
However, our cells aren’t always working as they should be. There are various things that cause negative impacts on our bodies genetic and cellular level, such as injury, degeneration and disease. This is exactly why nutrigenomics is needed, because it could potentially prevent any type of destruction. Scientists are studying the effects of particular foods, herbs and nutrients to find out how they can aid our bodies’ genetic and cellular systems so that they can perform at their best. In fact, nutrigenomics experts have already found some interesting and remarkable facts about our bodies and health.
Nutrigenomics Explained
You are what you eat! It is highly likely that you have heard the phrase and that is because it is backed by truth. We now understand that there are foods that are ideal for us, such as those rich in minerals, vitamins and nutrients, and those that really do nothing but harm to our bodies as well. However, before the study of nutrigenomics, people were not aware of the importance of nutritional procedures in terms of increasing ones vitality and health.
Since we have come to understand nutrients and vitamins, nutrigenomics has continued to peak. It provides us with useful information that we wouldn’t know otherwise. We understand the impact that nutrition has on our bodies, how vitamins improve the immune system, how protein helps muscles and how to reduce signs of aging by consuming high quality nutritional supplements and the correct foods. What it all comes down to is the genetic level, which nutrigenomics has been able to show us for the first time.
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Sources:
http://www.ion.ac.uk/information/onarchives/nutrigenomics http://www.sinehealthlabs.com/nutrigenomics/
