How can nutrigenomics keep us informed and what does that signify for the future? What we put in our bodies has never been more questioned and explored. We’ve done low carb/high carb, low fat/high fat, keto, and paleo diets. We are confused about what we should eat, when it should be eaten and even where we should eat it! Let’s see if we can solve this dilemma with a more bespoke approach in Nutrigenomics: A Possible Future for Personalized Nutrition?
Why Personalization?
Food has shifted to the centre of our lives, and yet, we are overwhelmed by the endless choices available to us. Lately, there has been an increased consciousness around the importance of health and well-being, with more and more individuals choosing a healthier lifestyle.
However, the one-size-fits-all approach is not applicable anymore – what may work for you may not work for those around you as every anatomy and gene is different from the other. Society has now come to a stage where science and technology may be able to indicate what foods meet our individual needs and lifestyles – not only for weight control but also, for our optimum health and well-being.
The concept of nutrigenomics has already altered the nutritional domain, as we shift from a one-fit-all approach to one that is specifically personalised. Society’s inclination towards ‘feeling healthy’ has enabled wellness experts, dieticians, and nutritionists to do their job better and advise us on issues such as targeted nutrition, skin health, and weight control.
Nutrigenomics 101: Choose Foods that You Know Work Best for You
The food industry has also swamped our supermarkets with highly nutritional foods and superfoods to help us achieve our goals – improving heart health, reinforcing gut health, and prompting glowing skin – all good things right?
However, it is important to remember that without the acknowledgement that everybody is unique when making nutrition recommendations, all of these different services and choices are simply just more confusing to the rest of us.
As a result of a combination between genetic testing and personal preferences, specialists from science and the food industry now believe that it is time to take a step forward – in addition to all the options already available, people will consume food and drinks prepared to their exact needs. The entire idea of ‘we are what we eat’ will become ‘we will eat (and drink) what we are’.
Your Health is Connected to How Well You Process Nutrients
Your health is linked to the manner in which your nutrients are biochemically processed within your body. With the use of a nutrigenomics test, you can see how likely your body metabolises and processes particular nutrients.
At a time where poor nutrition and obesity are higher than they’ve ever been across the globe, a search for increased improvements in nutrition and healthier lifestyles for people around the world is crucial.
Benefits of Personalized Nutrition
- Personalized nutrition is beneficial in multiple ways. First, it teaches individuals about their body and its needs. For example, it can contribute to the understanding of how you respond to caffeine, which vitamins you are lacking most of, and what sort of exercises complement you the best.
- Second, it enables consumers to have a wider range of options and higher flexibility. Finally, it has the potential to be integrated on a macro scale to assist in the prevention of global diseases such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, malnutrition, and cancer. For example, current research has shown that if an individual has some of the ‘poor’ insulin function genes, then he or she has a higher probability of doing much better on lower-glycaemic, lower-carb diets. Whereas, if his or her genes predict ‘good’ insulin function, then carbs wouldn’t really be an issue.
