The challenges of future foods from prevention of nutrient deficiencies to the management of diabetes

Abstract

With rise of global populations, food demand is expected to increase correspondingly. Concurrently, the number of people with chronic metabolic diseases, specifically diabetes, is also on the rise. Since the discovery of insulin exactly 100 years ago, every aspect of society including food industry has evolved drastically. Hormones, and pesticides have been introduced constantly to increase food production for consumptions. Additionally, the changes of biodiversity in agriculture might have incorporated certain foods and excluded others selectively in diets, which probably results in the production of food with more calories, but less essential nutrients. These might have affected systemic functions in the body and contributed to the development of chronic metabolic diseases. Moreover, genetic and epigenetic factors have had impacts on disease susceptibility, which has challenged the protective mechanisms that have been established in the human genome during evolution. Here, we try to summarize certain changes of systematic, environmental, metabolic, and physiological factors that may have potential effects on human diets and metabolism, and in turn, contributed to the current epidemic of chronic metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes. In so doing, we hope to bring the attention of colleagues to develop future foods that not only eliminate malnutrition, but also reduce the incidence of metabolic diseases.