According to recent studies conducted in numerous countries from all over the world, there are four genetic variations that can determine the speed at which the body absorbs substances from food. If you discover how the body breaks nutrient molecules, which will then produce cells, tissues and energy, future medical care might improve. This discovery will lead to personalized therapies and diets and based on patient information on metabolism, obtained from genetic analysis, the doctors will be able to prescribe effective treatments, especially for cardiovascular disease or weight problems. Thus, there is a new science that handles studying the effect at the molecular and genetic level. Everything starts from the idea that in DNA there are a number of genes that increase the risk for certain diseases (such as heart disease, cancer or diabetes).
Scientists have tried to suggest us long ago that what we eat can be a double-edged weapon: on the one hand may stimulate the activity of these genes, leading eventually to a disease or, on the contrary, may suppress their activity, having a protective effect. Knowing how food affects our active principles from molecular and genomic level, specialists can make individual recommendations. For now, nutrigenomics is only at its beginning, but researchers believe that some tangible results will come soon.
So far, seven genes were identified as important. One of them, GNB3, controls the body\'s sensitivity to insulin, the hormone that plays a critical role in the formation of fat deposits. People with this gene are advised to reduce insulin levels in the body by adopting a diet low in sugar. Some are genetically programmed to burn more calories than others, but ultimately the most important discovery in nutrition in terms of insulin control is maintaining high energy levels, which stimulates the body to store glucose as fat tissue.
Another recently discovered gene, NPY, is responsible for hunger and explains why some people have a greater appetite than others. Experts believe that the owners of this gene should eat frequent meals, low in calories (fruits and vegetables) throughout the day. Beta3 gene stimulates the formation of fat deposits in sedentary people, which means that regular exercise is mandatory for them. We are all the same, but yet so different, and studies show that diet can have dramatic impact on health. Thus, early symptoms of possible diseases can be caught early. There have been many studies on the process by which genes are activated to make proteins, which in turn meet their many functions in the body.
It is all too clear that no diet can have the same results in each individual, no matter how appreciated it is. Whether you choose a diet low in carbohydrates, fats or glucose, the only way to lose kilograms is to burn more calories than you consume. It seems that we are more complicated and different, and the future in terms of nutrition and disease prevention for different individual sounds promising due to the great progress of nutrigenomics.