Personalised Nutrition and Advances in DNA Research
Nutrigenomics is the study of how our genes (or DNA) affect the relationship between the food we eat and our bodies. It’s a booming industry and it’s forecast to get even bigger. The mapping of the human genome back in the 1990s brought about an era of science never seen before and by the early 2000s nutritional science took off.
Our search for the perfect diet is a seemingly endless one. Nutrigenomics may potentially help us find it by tailoring a diet specifically to our genetic makeup. We know for example that the Mediterranean lifestyle diet is the “gold standard” in eating for optimal health however we also know that as individuals we can respond very differently to eating the same food.
Our DNA is approximately 99.9% identical to each other, but the 0.1% difference is what makes us unique. And it is also what makes us metabolise what we consume so differently. Personalised nutrition and lifestyle advice following DNA testing is believed to be more effective in providing a successful diet strategy; whether it’s to lose weight, improve health or protect against predisposed chronic disease.
Although this research is showing great promise, and plenty of companies have jumped on the bandwagon to offer DNA testing with regards to nutritional advice, we must remember that our genes are still only part of the picture. Emotions, economics, and social conditions also play a part. Watch this space.
Nadine Meggitt
Associate Nutritionist (Nutrition Society of Australia)
References
CSIRO. 2017. Personalised nutrition. Retrieved from https://research.csiro.au/foodag/health-and-wellbeing/personalised-nutrition/
Nutrition Australia. 2020. Personalised Nutrition: what is it and does it really work? Retrieved from