Pie-oneering Nutritional Genomics

There is nothing coincidental in that many prolific scholars position themselves between disciplinary boundaries.    Methods and principles taken from one knowledge domain and applied in another offers opportunities for insights that would be otherwise inaccessible.  The historical record is rich with examples.  The origin of molecular biology being one, when physicists jumped (over chemistry) into the biological sciences mid-twentieth century.  The humanities and social sciences are populated by inter-disciplinary vanguards as well, such as Richard Posner’s combination of economics and legal theory.  The time is ripe for pioneers of nutritional genomics. 

We are what we eat, The Economist, Sept. 4, 2003.

"…within five years or so, researchers should learn how to modify people’s diets to fit their genes and thereby prevent or delay the onset of a possible illness. At least, that is the goal of nutritional genomics—a new field that studies how genes and diet interact."

Evidence is accumulating that the application of advances in genomics to nutrition will enable individuals to tailor habits in the kitchen for improved well-being.  For example, Dr. Jose M. Ordovas and colleagues published evidence last October indicating that variation at one genetic site (a lipase gene) is related to differences in dietary fat response across a population.  In the future, evidence such as this may be used as a tool to help people at risk for illness, such as heart disease or diabetes, formulate a far more personalized diet than, say, the generic recommendations of the food pyramid.      

Two nutrigenomics research groups to watch:
NUGO: The European NutriGenomics Organization
Center for Excellence for Nutritional Genomics at UC Davis

For another perspective see recent paper:
"Nutrition and Genes: Science, Society and the Supermarket.  The opportunities and ethical challenges of the new science of nutritional genomics." (full paper or press release)

 

November 5, 2003 | Filed Under nutritional-genomics 

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