The best diet for your health also depends on your genetics

Have you ever wondered why some people who eat a diet rich in fat and carbohydrates never put on weight? Well, the answer seems to lie in our genes and how they interact with environmental factors such as food. The foods we eat give complex metabolic signals, and these are processed in our bodies according to our genetic makeup. As you can see, health and nutrition are even more closely linked than we thought. Therefore, if we want to enjoy the former, it is very important that our diet is adapted to our needs.

How does food influence health?

Hippocrates already said in the 5th century B.C. “Let your food be your medicine”. Good health is determined, in part, by an adequate diet. It is true that hereditary and environmental factors also play a role, but it has been proven that diet is key to the prevention of certain pathologies. Thus, there are so-called “functional” foods that, thanks to their components, reduce the risk of suffering from certain diseases. For example, tomatoes, which contain lycopene capable of reducing the probability of suffering from prostate cancer, or red grapes, whose resveratrol has antioxidant and antitumor effects. Other examples of how food and health go hand in hand can be found in the prized Mediterranean diet, recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, or in the diet of the inhabitants of the Japanese island of Okinawa, who are considered the longest-lived and healthiest people on the planet.

How can you boost your health through diet?

Improving your health and reducing the risk of suffering from certain diseases is in your hands, and it is something relatively simple that has to do with changing certain eating habits. Did you know that, in addition, the effects of a healthy diet can be enhanced by selecting those foods that suit you best according to your genetic information? This is because the foods we eat are processed by our body according to our genes. Therefore, if you know your genetic information, you can either include or eliminate specific foods. In this way you will actively contribute to prevent pathologies to which you are prone, such as celiac disease, hypercholesterolemia or certain intolerances.

This is precisely the field of study of two scientific disciplines: nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics.

Nutrigenomics and nutrigenetics: differences

It is common to use them interchangeably, so we want to clarify that, although they are interrelated, they are not the same. Nutrigenomics studies how food components and nutrients interact and even modulate genetic material. That is, the effect that the components of our diet have on the human genome. Simply put, nutrigenomics tries to answer the question: What happens to our body when we eat a certain food? 

Nutrigenetics, on the other hand, studies the different responses to the same nutrients according to genetic variations. In other words, it takes into account the genetic constitution of each individual and, based on this, determines the probability of developing a certain disease. Thus, nutrigenetics adapts the universal dietary recommendations to the individual, taking into account the genetic typology of each person.

Thanks to nutrigenetics, it is possible to recommend diets that reduce the risk of suffering from diseases to which one is more predisposed.

Finally, the discipline that encompasses both nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics is called nutritional genomics.

What can we achieve thanks to nutrigenomics and nutrigenetics?

As you can see, health and nutrition are the field of development of nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics, two sides of the same coin, thanks to which we can achieve great benefits.

As we explained previously, environmental factors modify gene expression, and nutrition, to which we are exposed several times a day, is the only one that we can completely control throughout our lives (nutrigenomics). If we also adapt our diet to the genetic predisposition of each person or, in other words, we follow a diet tailored to our genes (nutrigenetics), we will act in two directions, on the one hand by reacting to diseases or deficits that we already suffer from, and on the other by anticipating and preventing the onset of certain pathologies.

Genetics and personalized nutrition

In addition to variables such as age, the nutritional needs of each person also depend on his or her genetic make-up, which generates differences in the functioning of the metabolism. Personalized nutrition is one of the objectives of nutrigenomics and nutrigenetics in order to prevent and treat certain diseases by means of individualized diets.

It is now possible to perform precise genetic analyses and, depending on the results, to recommend a specific diet to prevent or mitigate pathologies. Genetics closely links nutrition and health.

Let’s look at an example: people with the TT variant of the TCF712 gene are more likely to suffer a stroke. A diet based on a Mediterranean diet is able to reduce this risk.

Something similar occurs with salt and its relationship with blood pressure, because, depending on their genes, not all people have the same response.

Similarly, milk can be perfectly digested or be bad for you, depending on certain genetic factors of each individual.

Genetics and external factors: interaction of diet and genetics

With an appropriate diet we can manage to control risk factors to which we are particularly predisposed or, conversely, we can know that thanks to certain genetic factors that act as protectors in certain areas we can afford certain nutritional licenses, as happens for example when we have a protective mutation related to increased production of “good” HDL cholesterol.

Conclusion

As you can see, genetics is the basis of personalized medicine and therefore the most effective way to work on health care from any perspective. One of them is nutrition, thanks to which we can control risk factors to which we have a special predisposition or, conversely, allow ourselves certain licenses and live less worried thanks to protective factors.

If you want to promote your health, you have the best tool: diet. It is accessible and you have total control over it. By modifying some habits you can achieve remarkable results. We hope this post has been interesting for you. If you have any questions or want to be proactive with your health and nutrition, do not hesitate to contact us.