FUTURE OF EATING
Forget fad foods and one-size-fits-all diets: the real secret to living longer (and fitting into your jeans) lies in your genes.
198 Forget fad foods and one-size-fits-all diets: the real secret to living longer (and fitting into your jeans) lies in your genes.
“WE WILL KNOW FROM BIRTH WHAT WE SHOULD OR SHOULDN’T BE EATING”
The beginning of the 21st century may one day be remembered as a bizarre time in human history when our species was completely confused about what to eat.
We barely cooked, ordered in, dined out, over-ate then counted calories or followed fad diets prescribing crazy combinations of carbohydrates, fats and proteins.
We also splurged on supplements and superfoods, salivated over #foodporn and devoured pseudo science on social media urging us to #eatthis and #quitthat.
However, the relatively new science of nutrigenomics is about to revolutionise the way we eat and exercise.
While genetic testing is widely used to determine our risk of diseases such as breast cancer, nutrition scientists are now able to look at how our genes interact with the food we eat, how well we absorb certain nutrients and how that affects our long-term health.
“Our genes interact with components in our diet, for example, they make us metabolise a nutrient quicker, or slower, which then impacts our risk of disease, says Dr Flávia FayetMoore, a nutritionist and director of Nutrition Research Australia. “So you have actionable advice that can alter your risk, rather than just knowing you have a risk factor for a particular disease.”
That being the case, we may soon be following personalised eating and workout plans based on our own genome and genetic variations that are mapped using a swab of our saliva.
And if you want to lose weight, prevent disease, age slowly, train better and enjoy optimal health, then you will simply choose the right foods to suit your genes.
Nutrigenomics allows us to find if eating certain foods may influence our risk of disease and how our body responds to certain diets. For example, a gene that makes you salt-sensitive can increase your risk of high blood pressure if you consume too much, and another gene makes some of us more sensitive to high-GI carbohydrates, raising our personal risk of type 2 diabetes.
“Would you still have four coffees a day or five cups of black tea if you knew that you’re a slow caffeine metaboliser and that it would increase your risk of having a sudden heart attack by 400 per cent?” asks Dr Fayet-Moore.
Conversely, people who have a gene variant that makes them metabolise caffeine quickly, may find moderate amounts of coffee lowers their risk of heart attack.
“In the future, we will know from birth what we should or shouldn’t be eating,” says Dr Fayet-Moore. In fact, every hospital in Australia already uses nutrigenomic testing to screen newborn babies for phenylketonuria (PKU), a condition that affects brain development if left untreated. “If someone is born with the genetic variant for PKU, it means they cannot metabolise one of the amino acids [building blocks for protein] called phenylalanine,” she says. “All they have to do is avoid eating it. A more common example would be lactose intolerance.” Likewise, if you possess a gene variation that means you store too much iron, then you need to avoid eating too much red meat. Or if your mum and grandmother suffer from osteoporosis, you may have gene variants that influence how you utilise vitamin D or calcium, so you need to consume more of these.
Dr Fayet-Moore says the Nutrigenomix test (www. nutrigenomix.com) developed by Canada’s University of Toronto currently screens for 45 genetic markers affecting weight management, nutrient metabolism, eating habits, heart health, food intolerances and physical activity.
She says the test, which currently costs about $500, must be requested by a qualified health professional, who then interprets your results and tailors dietary advice.
Dietitian Dr Joanna McMillan agrees that getting to know your genetic make-up can be a powerful motivator to improve your diet and exercise habits. However, she says most Australians would enjoy better health if they simply followed the national nutrition guidelines. “We have general health guidelines but there is a range within those, so this is really just about tweaking those to suit your needs,” she says. “Nutrigenomics can help you make the most of the gene set you have.”