preservatives
bacon and sausage
dairy
junk food.
Nutrigenomics is almost certainly the wave of the
future. As more gene-diet associations are discovered,
genetic profiling and nutritional prescriptions are
expected to become commonplace. For this reason
major food corporations are investing large amounts
of money in nutrigenomics and in the development of
new products to meet the demands of personalized
diets. Nutrigenomics is also being applied to the devel-
opment of pet foods and animal feed stocks.FunctionAlthough it is widely believed that nutrigenomics
will have a tremendous impact on diets in the not-too-
distant future, as of 2007 it was not particularly rele-
vant to the average consumer. Most people who buy
commercial nutrigenomic products:
are middle-to-upper class
have a family history of chronic disease or weight
problems
are worried about aging and age-related diseases
have a strong commitment maintaining good health.
Nutrigenomics may be most relevant for the
approximately 20% of the population for whom diet
has little affect on health and for the approximately
20% for whom a conventional diet is unhealthy. The
former group may want to feel free to eat whatever
they choose and the latter group may need professio-
nal advice in designing an appropriate diet. However
some experts believe that the future of nutrigenomics
is as a population—rather than an individual—nutri-
tional program, with the development of foods that
meet the nutritional requirements for the majority of
genotypes, thus maximizing the benefits.BenefitsThe mission of the National Center for Minority
Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) Center of
Excellence for Nutritional Genomics, a major nutri-
genomics initiative at the University of California at
Davis, is: ‘to reduce and ultimately eliminate racial
and ethnic health disparities‘ that result from interac-
tions between genes and the environment, particularly
dietary factors. Its goal is to devise ‘genome-based
nutritional interventions to prevent, delay, and treat
diseases such asthma, obesity, Type 2 diabetes, cardi-
ovascular disease, and prostate cancer.’However current benefits from nutrigenomics are
limited:
Obtaining a personalized dietary regimen may
encourage people to become more health conscious.
People are more likely to heed advice that they pay
for.
Discovering genetic susceptibilities can be a strong
motivator for making dietary and lifestyle changes.
The potential future benefits from nutrigenomics
are tremendous:
The safe upper and lower limits for essential macro-
nutrients—proteins, carbohydrates, and fats—and
micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals will
be better defined and understood.
Diseases may be avoided or ameliorated.
Unnecessary vitamins and other dietary supplements
can be avoided.
People whose health is relatively unaffected by diet
can continue to eat foods that they enjoy.
Lifespan may be extended.PrecautionsFar more research is needed before nutrigenomic
diets become a reality. There are very few diet-gene
interactions for which there is enough information to
yield specific useful advice and even fewer genetic
variants that can be screened for. Nutrigenomic pre-
scriptions will probably differ depending on age and
other physiological conditions including pregnancy.
At present there is no evidence that nutritional
changes made on the recommendations of commercial
analysis will reduce an individual’s risk of developing a
particular disease. John Erdman, professor of food
sciences and human nutrition at the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, told U.S. News &
World Reportin 2006: ‘Identifying a handful of genes
from a snippet of hair or a mouth swab and returning
with a diet plan and a bill for several hundred dollars is
a waste of money and is way premature.’
Nutrigenomics companies have been accused of
making false claims. The U.S. Government Account-
ing Office concluded in 2006 that nutrigenomic tests
lacked scientific accountability and could be mislead-
ing to consumers. As of 2007 many of the products
marketed by these companies were supplements that
had no basis in nutrigenomics.
Nutrigenomic testing raises numerous ethical
questions, such as whether genetic profiling should
remain restricted to wealthy clients or whether it
should be available as standard healthcare coverage.Nutrigenomics