DNA and Diet

It is hard to believe it, but it’s true, if you choose foods that are appropriate to your genetic makeup then the susceptibility of getting disease may decrease and in turn the ability to perform will increase at your optimal genetic potential.

Every one has a same set of genes in the body that are essential for life and have encoded information which is translated into proteins. However there are slight variations among all individuals and this genetic variation can affect the protein encoded in each gene. The aspect of genetic variation is very important as it will affect the nutrient requirements between individuals, risk of a person getting a disease and influences of environmental factors on a person’s gene.

Days will soon go where a diet is based on ones body metabolism. Days will come where a diet is provided according to ones genetic makeup and dietary lifestyle.

The main concept is to replace the foods that have negative effects on the body to the healthy ones like saturated fats and trans fats replaced with healthy fats that promote cholesterol breakdown. (For example eating oats or whole cereals and pulses over fried chips, cheese or meat streak).

Nutrigenomics is the term used for the study of genes and nutritional requirements. This gives us an idea of how food components interact with genes or how some gene variant information can be translated to the food choices to be made. The aim is to study the effect of a nutrient at a genetic level and prescribe diets according to ones genetic makeup. Basically like other fad diets, there is no such diet called as a DNA diet, but one of the environmental factors that is food has influence on our genes. It is important to match a particular food according to an individual’s gene variation. Once this concept is clear, it will benefit an individual to perform better and lower the risk of getting diseases. Some food component like bioactive components may interact with certain type of genes. For example certain proteins may be completely digested by some genes; where else some genes may be unable to digest wheat proteins or other nutrients, in turn increasing the need of some nutrients in the body. Some genes may aggravate the inflammatory conditions in the body but this effect can be diluted by choosing the correct type of food in correct amounts.

Although the concept of DNA and diet is little complex and at a very preliminary state at the moment, it shows promising results in the coming decades. More research and through homework of dietetic professionals is required in developing this field.

Submitted on January 16, 2014