Design of human nutrigenomics studies

the long version

The key to exploiting links between diet and health is to have a better understanding of how our bodies respond to what we eat. In the past, many food constituents were regarded as unimportant because they lacked a specific nutritional role. More recently nutritional research has been limited to a few dietary compounds, a handful of relevant biochemical pathways and a small number of genes pertinent to specific diseases. These studies have given rise to specific examples of benefits provided by individual/ groups of food compounds including non-nutrients, and demonstrated that whilst poor diet can accelerate age-related degeneration, a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, cereals and plant oils significantly reduces our risk of chronic disease. However, the benefits of dietary and lifestyle choices are not the same for everyone. Nutrigenomics offers a more holistic approach to nutritional research. It considers not only our genes and the effect they.