Nutrigenomics is the study of the relationship between nutrition and your genes (or between what you eat and what you're made of). This is one of the most exciting and interesting fields of the health and fitness world.
It's the type of thing that will make future generations say, "You mean they had to just guess what foods worked well with their specific body type and DNA?!"
Nutrigenomics (sometimes referred to as nutrigenetics) is still in its infancy, but it's making enormous strides already, and the future potential is absolutely astounding.
You've probably noticed how many conflicting studies there are when it comes to nutrition and people's eating habits.
Take just about any health factor, such as blood pressure or body fat, and you can almost always find a study that says "Food A" increases risk, while another study, using a nearly identical setup, will yield the exact opposite results.
This is where a "DNA Diet" comes into play. For example, Dr. El-Sohemy, a leading nutrigeneticist, found that caffeinated coffee could either lower a person's risk of heart attack or raise it, based on a single gene called CYPIA2.
Heart attack risk is an extremely important thing to be aware of, and just knowing which version of that specific gene you have could end up saving your life.
This is only one tiny example and just the tip of the iceberg. In the coming years, it's likely that getting your DNA analyzed will be part of a routine checkup.
With this type of information, doctors and scientists could help you tailor your diet and supplements to best benefit your body and metabolism, right down to each specific gene.
In the meantime, we'll still have to stick to the common sense rules of eating more fruits and vegetables, but I fully expect nutrigenomics to be rearranging my pantry in the next few years.
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