What is Nutrigenomics?

Kazumi Iino iino@i-techno-office.com

Nutrigenomics is a very new word in the food and scientific fields. It is now emerging as a business, as introduced in Newsweek and other popular journals. The term "-genomics" represents genes and similar words, an example being pharmacogenomics. Nutrigenomics is the study of food and nutrition focused mainly on the interactions with diseases and human-specific genes. Recently the word "nutrigenetics" is being used to refer to study of the effects of genetic variation and gene-nutrient interactions in the management of chronic diseases (ref: Experimental Biology 2003 Nutrition and Metabolism Program Nutrition And Metabolism Program Highlights). Both are novel terms covering cutting-edge science. Practically speaking, the terms are often combined as ?nutrigenetics / nutrigenomics? in academic symposia and conferences.

WHY IS NUTRIGENOMICS NOW GROWING?

The prime reason for the expansion of nutrigenomics is the completion of Human Genome Project, with the focuses of genomic studies shifting to functional genomic analyses. The functional elucidation of specific genomes will yield not only the feasibilities of new drugs but also the ways of preventing specific diseases. Nutrition and food iwill then be recognized as important tools for disease prevention. Secondly, preventive medicine including nutrition and food should be discussed more scientifically throughout the world, especially in developed countries like the USA and Japan, where the aging of people and the pursuit of higher QOL (quality of life) become important issues for academia and industry. Nutrigenomics / nutrigenetics sessions have been set up at many international food-related symposia and congresses.

WHAT IS THE FUTURE PROSPECT OF NUTRIGENOMICS?

Nutrigenomics is surely expected to be the next wave for food industry, even though only a few practical ideas have emerged. One business model is the development of customized nutraceuticals based on specific genetic profiles: GeneLink and Garden State Nutritionals Another model may be foods for specified health use, which are already on the Japanese market. In Japan, about 350 items have been approved as food for specified health use by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. Each item has a specific health claim, such as food for hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, etc. based on clinical studies. All products have been developed based on scientific analysis and data, even though not yet on the genetic level yet. The foods are expected to expand the field of nutrigenomics.

Nutrigenomics, Genewize, Individualized Nutrition, and your DNA

Nutrigenomics: Is there a Connection Between Nutrition and Genetics?

Yes, there is a connection between nutrition and genetics, and for want of a better word it is called nutrigenomics since the science became possible only after the cracking of the human genome in 2003. If you have not yet heard the word, it will not be too long before it is on everybody's lips. It might sound like the science of fiction, yet it is the science of today. Genetic research has not only explained how your genetic make-up can determine how you utilize the nutritional content of the food that you eat, but also how these nutrients affect your body and genetic make-up. The term nutrigenomics is given to the study of the interaction between food and your genes, and is not some weird new order-manufactured term, but in fact an accepted term recognized by the scientific community, and that will eventually change our eating habits and perhaps our whole lives. First consider some facts. Why are Inuits becoming obese by following western diets? Why have the East African Masai, that great warrior race, become so unhealthy since adopting western diets? Why do Japanese have soaring cholesterol levels when they stray from their traditional diet of fish and rice? There can be only one answer to these questions, and it is one that science has now established. Their genetic make-up is not suited to handling the western diet. It is only a freak of nature that occurred thousands of years ago that enables Northern Europeans and their descendants to be able to digest milk: in other societies

that is not possible after childhood, particularly in SouthEast Asia. The reason for all this is genetics. Your genetic make-up determines how your food is put to use in your body, and although it is considered by most to be either a new science or a 'new age' science, it is accepted by the foremost biochemists and geneticists in the world. Nutrigenomics is valid science, and the more studies that are carried out on the effect of genetic structure on health, the more is being understood as to how genes determine which foods are nutritious for you and which are not. Although the day is still far off when you will be sending a blood sample to your local store and receiving your food for the week that is most suited to your genetics, the concept is not groundless in science. Nutrigenomics is valid science and is starting to explain some of the dietary inconsistencies between members of the same family, and also similarities in body shape and use of nutrients. For example, why is one person able to eat as much as he likes without gaining weight, while another puts on stones just by looking at cream cookies? Nutrigenomics can explain that, but it can do a lot more. It can be used to calculate the nutritional supplement most suited to your genetic architecture. Personalized dietary advice just got explainable! In fact genetically-guided nutritional supplements can now be formulated on a personal basis. The days of everybody buying the same supplements from their local health store are numbered: the future is bespoke nutrition. Nutritional tailoring just for you. What suits you sir, doesn't suit your neighbor.

This is not George Orwell's 1984, but now: 2008. George is way behind the times, and even he couldn't have foreseen what was to come in the world of nutrition. There is no foretelling where it will end or what the final outcome will be. There is no doubt that life expectancy will increase as our nutritional needs are designed for each individual one of us. Your guess is as good as anybody's where this type of blending of genetics and nutritional science will take us. It will certainly mean that we will be healthier, and live longer, but how much longer? This was not entirely unexpected, since it was one of the benefits expected to arise from the mapping of the human genome: the human DNA map that tells us the function of every gene. Individual genes are even now being identified and allocated to specific human traits. Evidence will become increasingly clearer as our biogeneticists learn more about us from our genetic architecture. Perhaps alcoholics are born as such, just as we now know now that diseases are not punishments for past sins. Such knowledge could help us find a cure for many of man's ills. However, one thing is sure, nutrigenomics is the science of nutrition and genetics, and it is working for the benefit, not only of mankind, but of individual people who can take advantage of this new science to make the best use of the food that they eat, and so make themselves healthier and live longer. The future has arrived! This science has been endorsed by the top scientists in the world, and is a result of the human genome project.

Can GeneWize actually help you Profit from your DNA?

Well, it's never been done but it's happening now. Genewize has now launched its marketing arm to the public as of August 1st 2008 and is now available to the general public. We are continuing to enroll "Leaders" during this early stage of our company. It is an extremely rare occasion that people have the opportunity to join a company when it is the first in the world to bring something new to market. How would like to be able to say that you were a founding affiliate in the first company ever to offer DNA customized nutrition to the public through network marketing. You now have the opportunity. We know that companies to do something first, before the copycats start to sprout up make alot of money. Genewize is the first to offer the "Life Map" nutrition system using your DNA to provide a nutritional supplement designed specifically for you. There will never again be another company to be first to do this. wt is nutri n its future role?

Nutrigenomics is gaining attention in this day and age. In the future it may shape our diets or more importantly help us to understand how our diets shape our health.

Nutrigenomics is the examination of molecular connection involving nutrition of the foods we consume and the reaction of our genes. The goal of nutrigenomics is to research and record all changes regardless of how strong or how faint the changes to the body and its over all health can be. Primary Focus of Nutrigenomics The primary focus of nutrigenomics is to apply the knowledge of genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics to learn all we can about the outcome that the nutrients have on various elements such as:

Genome: this holds all biological data that makes up the individual. It is encoded in DNA, and in distinct elements is called genes. Metabolome: the bodys complete set of small-molecule metabolites.

Proteome: the protein profile of a cell. By researching the actual working factors of the diet (nutrition) that are producing the results and effects on the human body by way of these vital areas, the specific nutrients and values can be revealed. This highlights the molecular relationship to enhance the human bodys nutritional needs.

Working Toward the Ultimate Goal So, the ultimate goal of nutrigenomics is obviously to allow, based on genotype and individual information, a tailored nutritional diet to maximize over all health and body function. For right now though the step by step goals are modest and are generally taken slow as to limit the trial and error results. Perhaps in the years ahead the scientists and medical professionals working hard to learn from this study will be able to introduce a more effective way for us to get all we can from the foods and drinks we consume. The Impact of Nutrigenomics Nutrigenomics is a very big step for all of us. It is a more advanced research than what has been applied in the past to discover for example, the nutritional value of vitamins and supplements as well as the positive effects that they each have on the human body. This can, and will in the future, completely change the way we view our diets and nutritional standards