Have you heard about nutrigenetics? It’s a relatively new scientific field that is the study of how diet affects gene expression.
But what does this have to do with your health? Well, quite a bit, and you’re about to find out. In this article, we will cover everything you need to know about nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics.
So whenever you’re ready to dive deep into the intricacies of these topics, keep reading and pay attention.
Nutrigenetics, Nutrigenomics, and Our Genes
Simply put, DNA is the information that makes you who you are. It contains instructions for all cell functions. It is responsible for their process of reproduction.
Inherited genetics is more than just your height and eye color. It can also include several different health conditions that you may or may not have. For instance, like breast cancer, for example!
While many people believe they are only at risk if their family members had the condition, it turns out there’s much more to inherited genes than we previously thought.
Acquiring genetics is very similar to how people acquire foreign languages, except it’s genetic. You can’t inherit these genes from previous generations due to their acquired nature. But they’re still passed down if you play your cards right and have children with someone who has them too.
This often comes about as a result of environmental factors, including:
- exposure to smoke or radiation
- chemicals in food such as pesticides
- nutritional deficiencies caused by poverty
DNA Structures
There are around 3 billion chemical bases in humans as a part of our genetic code. These determine every aspect of how we look and act (including traits such as eye color).
Genetics focuses on how this instruction manual is passed down from parents to children through heredity. It explores why variations occur among people with different genetics. It covers parts or types of DNA based upon their ethnicity.
Nutrition encompasses nourishment provided by food intake. It covers everything with human metabolism involving nutrients like carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.
What Is Nutrigenetics?
Nutrigenetics is a relatively new scientific branch of genetics. It studies how diet affects gene expression.
It’s also been called “nutritional genomics” in some studies. But this name doesn’t really capture what it does as well. This is because nutrigenetics covers so much more than just genetic material.
The field has a lot to offer for people who want personalized nutrition plans. For instance, for those with special diets or food allergies.
But there are still limitations when it comes to research-based conclusions about whether these types of individualized diets actually work better than other approaches to nutrition like calorie counting.
This is one reason why many doctors stick with more straightforward solutions. Specifically, those that don’t require an extensive knowledge base on your genetic code. Yet, they can still be of benefit.
Nutrigenetics is still a relatively new field. Many questions need to be answered before it can set the standard for personalized nutrition.
How Can I Use Nutrigenetics?
To acquire any benefit from nutrigenetics, you must first be aware of your genetic code. one can do this through a simple cheek swab. The information is then uploaded into an online profile for you to use in conjunction with personalized nutrition programs or other food-related research studies.
Once this has been completed, you’ll have access to your person’s unique genomic map. This will show where specific genes are turned on or off. It will show how they affect health conditions like diabetes or obesity.
Curious about what it all means?
Testing of Erythrocytes
Many companies offer assistance interpreting results from nutrigenetic testing. This is to avoid getting lost in the scientific jargon. Thus, users don’t need any background knowledge whatsoever.
In addition to having natural enzymes within their system work more efficiently due to their customized diet, many people who undergo nutrigenetic testing also have the opportunity to discover food sensitivities.
One can do this through a simple blood test where erythrocytes are drawn and then put under a microscope to see how they react with different proteins in certain foods- this allows for high sensitivity without being painful or uncomfortable!
One of the most important benefits that come from taking an individualized approach to nutrition is weight management.
Nutrigenetics makes it possible for individuals to control their calorie intake. This is to avoid over or undereating at any given meal. As a result, they’ll still feel satisfied throughout the day.
It’s not only beneficial based on caloric intake, either. Because you know what nutrients, vitamins, and minerals your body needs more of, it’s easier to reach your daily requirements.
What Is Nutrigenomics?
While nutrigenetics focuses on how food affects genes, nutrigenomics looks at all aspects of metabolism and genetics. It’s not as specific in its focus. Thus, it may seem less promising than nutrigenetics. Especially when looking purely at these two fields alone.
But this broadness allows for exploration into more areas. For instance, neurochemistry or pharmacology-related research.
And because of this breadth, it offers some scientific backing for studies. It covers how healthy food impacts cognitive function and mood regulation.
This makes sense since we know that what you eat affects your mood and energy levels.
One thing that makes this field a little harder for the average person to understand is its focus on genetics. Nutrigenomics mostly looks at our genome or genetic material. It doesn’t cover the more accessible aspects of biology like genotype.
It’s looking at all of an organism’s genes instead of just those expressed by one individual gene from their DNA sequence.
It may sound complicated, but research into this new field has already uncovered some essential information. It covers a healthy diet, metabolism, medicine development, and drug toxicity testing.
How Can I Use Nutrigenomics?
The process of getting benefits from nutrigenomics is quite similar to that of nutrigenetics. It requires a DNA sequence. It can be acquired through a simple cheek swab to input genetic code into an online profile.
Once this is done and the results are entered, you’ll have access to more detailed descriptions of your genome. You will also have access to scientific journals that center around specific research studies.
Many companies also offer personalized nutrigenomics diet plans based on what they learn about someone’s genetics. They may help narrow down available dietary information. This is because food choices will depend not only on one’s blood type but also on their unique genomic map.
Another thing worth mentioning is how much can be discovered about health conditions like diabetes or obesity when utilizing nutrigenomics. This knowledge helps individuals better understand these conditions. It helps find ways to treat them or maintain a healthy weight.
Nutrigenetics And Nutrigenomics Compared
The main difference between these two fields is their focus. While nutrigenetics focuses on how food affects genes, the other does not. Nutrigenomics looks at all aspects of metabolism and genetics.
Nutrigenetics studies our genome’s response to the foods we eat. This can help people get personalized nutrition plans. It can help develop individualized diets that work.
Nutrigenomics takes a broader approach and examines all parts of your biology. This includes hormonal levels, gut bacteria balance, and metabolic changes.
This means it offers scientific evidence about how diet impacts cognitive function or mood regulation. It does so by looking at specific genes and more broadly across an organism’s DNA sequence.
Novelty of Study
Furthermore, nutrigenetics is relatively new and less widely accepted than nutrigenomics. However, it still has some important links to personalized nutrition plans. It also links to individualized diets that work for you based on your genetic makeup.
Nutrigenomics also offers scientific evidence about how diet impacts cognitive function or mood regulation, among other things. It does this by looking not just at specific genes but all of an organism’s DNA sequence. In addition, there are more applications in the field, like drug toxicity testing.
The breadth of this field makes it a little difficult to understand compared with nutrigenetics. This is because it focuses purely on genetics. So while there may be fewer studies done so far, those who have learned about these two fields can use their knowledge to make better decisions when they eat.
A Complicated Topic Made Easy
Now that you understand the complexities of nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics, you are well on your way to utilize this information to your benefit. In any case, there’s still a ways to go before the methodologies for using these sciences become properly consumerized.
If you’re interested in thoroughly exploring complicated topics, check out some of the other articles we’ve written.
