What is Nutrigenetics? Nutrigenomics?

Explain its role in health and disease (basic

concepts, technical terms, and the technology involved) (GANIBI, GINES, HEGINA, HIYAS)

● Nutrigenetics studies on how an individual's genetic makeup influences their physical

response to the ingested nutrients. Slight changes among people's genetic makeup
resulted in different responses to particular nutrients. Depending on the food intake,
certain interactions can lead to the incipient of specific disease conditions. Nutrigenetics
enables us to realize how our genes affect the method we react to foods, beverages,
and supplements. The ultimate goal of nutrigenetics is to provide nutritional
recommendations for individuals according to their genetic makeup. There are important
factors to be considered regarding nutritional genomics. The first is to recognize diet as a
significant risk factor for certain diseases in some individuals. Additionally, ordinary
dietary nutrients can act on the human genome, either directly or indirectly to change
gene expression or structure
● Nutrigenomics is short for nutritional genomics, it deals with the science of utilizing
modern genomics technology to study the relationship between genes, nutrition, and
health. It explores how our diets act on genes and how it affects our gene expression
which is commonly seen in cancer-like non communicable diseases.
● In nutrigenomics, the interrelationships of nutrients and the human genome based on
transcriptomics, metabolomics, epigenomics, and proteomics are utilized in analyzing
the role of variation to explain personal differences related to nutrition, and sensitivity for
nutrition related disorders.
● Elevated homocysteine levels are seen in cardiovascular diseases and colon cancer
especially if there is dietary deficiency of folic acid. Nutrigenomics is the study of the
molecular relationship between nutrients and the response of genes. It primarily focuses
on the direct effects of nutrients on the expression of genes and the interaction between
them. In addition, it helps to increase our knowledge about the mechanisms by which
nutrition affects the metabolic pathways underlying homeostatic control and provide a
genetic understanding for how common dietary components affect the balance between
health and disease by altering the expression and structure of an individual’s genetic
makeup. The mechanism of nutrigenomics explains the genome-wide effects of nutrients
on transcriptome, proteome, and metabolome in cells, tissues, or organisms. An
example of nutrigenomics can be seen in patients with Phenylketonuria. It is a single
gene mutation and patients with this condition should avoid phenylalanine-rich food.
● Both of these technologies seek to improve the efficacy of individual nutritional
intervention strategies that are used to manage healthy aging, minimize disease, and
improve quality of life. The main benefits of these technologies include the improvement
of health, the prevention of diseases through individualized dietary and lifestyle
recommendations, and the successful management of chronic conditions.
●
How can it be employed in optimizing, preventing, and treating diseases? (IBARRETA,
IDALA, ILAGAN, JAINAL)
➔ Due to the fact that there are chronic disease linked to genetics, understanding of the
human genome will have a widespread improvement of our health care by:
● Providing knowledge of an individual’s genetic predisposition to specific diseases
● Allowing physicians to develop “designer” therapies - prescribing the most
effective schedule of screening, behavior changes (including diet), and medical
interventions based on each individual's genetic profile
● Enabling manufactures to create new medications for each genetic variation to
enhance effectiveness and minimize risks of side effects
● Providing a better understanding of the non-genetic factors that influence the
disease development

➔ The ultimate goal of nutrigenetics is to provide nutritional recommendations for

individuals according to their genetic makeup.
● The consumption of balanced and sensible nutrition can prevent or at least
reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases and different cancer types. The
awareness gained from examining the diet or gene synergies in different
populations may provide the knowledge necessary to address pressing global
issues like malnutrition. Additionally, genetic diversity is linked to effects on
nutrient uptake, metabolism, consumption, use, and excretion, which in turn
influences a number of metabolic processes.
● Dermagenetics is another application of nutrigenomics that targets the
commercialization of cosmetic products by society. For instance, researchers
have looked into how the bioactive compounds in the Acmella plant (spilanthol)
can lower the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase mRNA and protein.
This mechanism can inhibit the activation of inducible nitric oxide synthase.
Finally, these modifications result in anti-inflammatory activities that help treat
conditions including pancreatitis and dermatitis.

➔ Nutrigenomics is involved in the discovery of certain genes and markers during the initial
stages of diet-related diseases.
● It provides knowledge on the mechanisms by which nutrition affects the
metabolic pathways underlying homeostatic control. This can then be used to
determine naturally occurring chemical agents in food that could prevent the
onset of diseases such as obesity, type-2 diabetes and cancer.
● Various diet patterns elicit a wide range of gene expression, protein expression,
and metabolite production. These diet-induced patterns and their effects are
known as “signature dietary patterns”. The metabolic programming of cells that
play an essential role in homeostatic control are influenced by macronutrients
and micronutrients, which serve as potent dietary signals.
 ➔ Interactions between different types of food and the genome through nutrigenomics can
help in the selection of foods that are vital to health. An emerging research field on using
nutrigenomics is CAM, or complementary alternative medicine.
● CAM research has identified several active compounds from different herbal and
dietary products. It also evaluated their anti-disease (e.g. anti-cancer) properties.
These include the following:
○ polyphenols from green tea
○ resveratrol from grape seed or skin
○ anthocyanin and pigments from numerous flowers, algae, fruits and
vegetables

➔ Nutrigenomics also addresses the ability of some people to control their disease with diet
whereas others need drugs. Thus, it can significantly contribute to personalized
medicine, which can help in reducing non-communicable diseases.
➔ Additionally, nutrigenetics can be used to identify people who may be at risk for certain
nutrient deficiencies and then provide personalized recommendations for nutrient
supplementation.

REFERENCES:

Ouhtit, A. (2014). Nutrigenomics : From promise to practice. Sultan Qaboos University Medical
Journal, 14(1), 1–3. https://doi.org/10.12816/0003328

Uthpala, T., Fernando, H., Thibbotuwawa, A., & Jayasinghe, M. (2020). Importance of
nutrigenomics and Nutrigenetics in food science. MOJ Food Processing & Technology,
8(3), 114–119. https://doi.org/10.15406/mojfpt.2020.08.00250