583management to maximize benefi t and minimize adverse outcomes within genetically
diverse human populations (Stover and Caudill 2008 ). Research in nutrigenomics
may discover pathways that are potentially useful for discovering new therapeutics,
particularly for diseases related to metabolism and nutrition such as the following:
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Cardiovascular diseases
- Some neurological disorders
- Disorders of aging
- Cancer
Nutrition and Proteomics
Scientists at the Nestlé Research Centre (Lausanne, Switzerland) are employing pro-
teomics to address questions of nutrition and health. Nestlé believes that foods and
drinks affect individual consumers differently. A food may be well-tolerated by one
individual cause but cause violent gastric discomfort in another. Food preference
may be related to biomarkers. It is worthwhile to investigate genes that are activated
by specifi c foods for enhancing health and wellness. Certain individuals are more
predisposed than others to conditions like obesity or diabetes. If protein markers that
indicate such predisposition can be identifi ed before disease symptoms arise, dietary
approaches could be devised for health promotion and disease prevention. Nestlé is
now including genomics and proteomics approaches into consumer research to
impart the health and wellness dimension and to more accurately address individual
differences in terms of response to diet and food preference. The long- term deliver-
able of “Omics” driven food research is personalized nutrition. Proteomics adapted
and applied to the context of nutrition and health has the potential to deliver bio-
markers for health and comfort, reveal early indicators of disease disposition, assist
in differentiating dietary responders from non-responders, and, last but not least,
discover bioactive, benefi cial food components (Kussmann and Affolter 2006 ).
Personalized Diet Prescription
Individual response to diet varies; two persons can eat exactly the same diet and
respond very differently to it. Genetic variations can explain why some individuals
can maintain their weight on a certain diet whereas others gain weight. Diet chemi-
cals can bind to receptors and regulate genes. For example, genestein, a chemical in
soy, attaches to estrogen receptors and starts regulating genes. Individual variations
in estrogen receptors lead to different reactions to genestein. Genotype and diet
interactions contribute to the incidence and severity of obesity, atherosclerosis, cer-
tain cancers, asthma, and other chronic conditions. The overall integration of data
Personalized Nutrition