Importance of nutrigenomics and nutrigenetics in food Science

Abstract

Nutrigenomics and nutrigenetics are bidirectional terms that are interrelated as two sides of a coin. Nutritional genomics is the latest scientific discipline that uses modern genomics technology to study the relationship between genes, nutrition, and health. It explores the effects of nutrients on the entire genetic makeup (genome), proteome, and metabolome. Simply, nutrigenomic defines how the diet acts on genes and changes gene expression which is commonly prominent in cancer like non-communicable diseases. Nutrigenetics explains how the genes affect the diet which is generally notable in illnesses like phenylketonuria and lactose intolerance. Nutritional genetics combines the study of nutrition and genetics to discover the different ways people respond to food based on their genetic makeup. Even though humans are similar in genetics, we all have slight differences in our genetic blueprints due to single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that make us unique from each other. These tiny variations determine both the effect nutrients have on our bodies and how we metabolize the food that we eat. Personalized nutrition connects this two-way relationship between nutrients and genes. This mini-review discusses the applications, advantages, and disadvantages, Sri Lankan context, and future trends of these emerging technologies. Furthermore, this review emphasizes how the consumed nutrients can affect our gene expressions as well as how our genes can influence response to these nutrients. This emerging field could be improved to enhance personalized diet consumption trends depending on individual genetic makeup and to develop innovative functional foods based on genetic patterns. Finally, the production of biomarkers could be applied in the future to predict early disease recognition and to mitigate disease risk.