Do you know nutrigenomics?
In France and Europe, overweight is increasing, so much so that the WHO (World Health Organization) is concerned that this overweight is becoming a norm(1).
In the United States, too, this scourge is gaining ground. However, the problem is (very) regularly raised, as evidenced for example by the recent articles in the “Nouvel Observateur”(2) and the magazine “7 sur 7″(3) on food labelling, or the article in “Mutualistes”(4) on obesity among young people.
There is no doubt that the health and nutrition sector is greatly affected and affected by overweight.
In Canada, a forerunner in all things, the profession of nutritionist is booming. On the JobBoom website an article is even devoted to this subject(5). It is signed Louise St-Denis, lecturer at the University of Montreal, and who concludes her presentation with this sentence: “Nutrigenomics? It is a question of prescribing a diet adapted to the genes of the individual.”
Overweight? A problem
In 2010, obesity affected nearly one and a half billion people. An ever more fatty and sweet diet, an increased sedentary lifestyle, irregular meal intakes, increased stress, etc. All these recent behaviors explain the phenomena of metabolic disturbances. The world’s population is moving inexorably towards this observation and, even if in the USA awareness is on the rise, overweight is waiting for us all. The proof, on a global scale, since 1980, the number of cases of obesity has doubled.
Nutrigenomics can be the solution?
Nutrigenomics ornutritional genomicsstudies all the interactions between our diet and our genes. Mainly those involved in digestion. This embryonic science has the mission to solve the metabolic problems suffered by overweight people. In fact, it is through our “food signatures” that nutrigenomics will make it possible to develop personalized diets.
For more information, visit the serious website of the University Hospital of Rouenhttp://www.chu-rouen.fr/page/detail/fr/MSH_D_054647
But not for tomorrow…
Nutrigenomics has given substance to the notion of personalized nutrition adapted to our own genes and function of our pathologies and dysfunctions. However, it is not yet topical that each of us has his DNA card. Indeed, this is pure science fiction. It is impossible to predict all possible combinations from the 30,000 genes that can possess between 10 and 100 mutations each. It will therefore take a few more decades, or even more, to achieve this feat. And if the results are in the test tubes, we are still far from finding our personalized food within our plates.
So let’s stay vigilant
We must already be wary of websites or all kinds of commercial promises that propose to establish a genetic map of some kind in exchange for a few subsidies. The proposed tests are very incomplete and are therefore pure scam. Be convinced!
So, yes, nutrigenomics will influence our future meals and will be adapted to who we are, but it will be rather for… day after tomorrow.
Stephen Paul is the lead author and founder of My Health Sponsor. Holder of a diploma in health and well-being coaching with more than 200 articles in the field of health, he makes it a point of honor to offer advice based on reliable information, based on scientific research, and verified by health professionals.